Silk Stalkings: Season one

It was so awesome to go back and relive the first season of this show! I first saw an episode of this show when I was in high school and watched it all of the time even the re-runs. I have missed it so much since it was taken off of the air and now I can watch it whenever I want! The team of Chris and Rita and their crime solving perfection is what got me into the crime genre and eventually led me to shows like Forever Knight, CSI, Bones, etc... I just have so much love for this show I really cannot express it all.

Seriously, how long was this available before I found out that I could own, yes own, season one of one of the greatest late night tv shows in the history of late night tv shows ever in the history of our universe. Mitzi Kapture, oh my god. And dude that is her partner, you’re awesome too in your own ways. Can’t wait to binge watch this in one sitting. I used to religiously make sure I was home to watch this when it was on tv. You. Need. To. Own. This. Now.

1991 represented a unique opportunity for U.S. TV show creators. Unlike today, when cable networks make up much of the original programming, there were few markets for new shows. The fledgling Fox network was only four years old, and the triumvirate of broadcasting giants (ABC, CBS, and NBC) had the power of dinosaurs. But there was a hiccup in late-night scheduling: David Letterman had signed a new contract to host a talk show on CBS, but his NBC contract still had two years to run. So CBS decided to run a slate of dramatic fare -- five new shows to keep the seat warm for Letterman -- which they called "Crime Time After Primetime". Stephen J. Cannell, creator of literally dozens of TV shows, had something called "Silk Stalkings" that he'd been working on for a few years; he pitched it, got the go-ahead, and quickly went into production. This was a cop show featuring a pair of Palm Beach (Florida) police detectives who specialized in crimes of passion in that enclave of the wealthy, said crimes being referred to as "silk stalkings". A first for television, they were a mixed-sex pair who were friends and partners on an equal footing (both Sergeants) -- but NOT romantically involved. The headliners were Rob Estes (whom Cannell had been attempting to fit into a series for a while) as Chris Lorenzo, and newcomer Mitzi Kapture as Rita Lee Lance. Longtime Cannell friend Ben Vereen completed the short list of headliners as Captain Hutchinson. But the important element of "Silk Stalkings" was the dynamic duo of Rob & Mitzi as Chris & Rita, with a natural screen chemistry that shone over such dialog as "That woman would leave skidmarks on your libido." From the first episode of "Silk Stalkings" it's easy to see that this show is long on style and short on budget. The low advertising rates for late-night TV meant that the show had to be shot on a relative shoestring, so Cannell and company decided to emphasize stylistic elements, such as vivid colors in both sets and wardrobe. Chris and Rita both refer affectionately to each other as "Sam". This isn't the expected reference to Dashiell Hammett's detective, but rather to "Slammin' Sammy Sneed, the greatest golfer of all time". Golf is VERY important in the first season of "Silk Stalkings", because it's used mostly as a metaphor for sex. When you're specializing in crimes of passion sex takes center stage, and the riveting opening credits featuring many quick cuts of attractive bodies capably sets the tone for the show. Two years before "NYPD Blue" brought "partial nudity" to prime time TV, "Silk Stalkings" established it as a late-night mainstay. In the very first episode there are topless women jumping into a pool. The bare breasts here happen to be moving quickly and in dim lighting, but this was just a start. With the limited budget they couldn't afford to re-shoot accidental exposures any more than they could redo the frequent poor acting of an episode's bimbo of the week, so there are several nipple exposures that would have caused fits with the prime time censors. To be fair these only show up for a second or two each, but DVD sets mean never having to say "I missed that". (There are also a couple of actresses who wore flesh-tone pasties for modesty.) The first season tried a bunch of experiments toward achieving a workable series formula, and many failures were quickly discarded. Rita is introduced with an inoperable brain aneurism; a questionable life expectancy is supposed to make her wring the most out of every day. After a few episodes the aneurism is never mentioned again. In the first season women's hosiery is worn ubiquitously (silk stockings for the "silk stalkings" crowd, of course) after bare legs had been the fashion norm for the beach crowd a couple years already. Plus there was lots of 1980's big hair to go with the hosiery (perhaps an attempt at copying some of the feel of "Miami Vice", which had been airing while Cannell was developing "Silk Stalkings"). The golfing metaphors dropped off quite a bit after this season, too. And there were a couple too many hillside homes used from the San Diego shooting locations than made sense for Florida, where a 20-story Miami Beach hotel towers over the highest spot in that very flat state. Guest stars for this season included Gary Hudson, Cindy Ambuehl, William Anton, Ann Turkel, R.G. Armstrong, Kim Morgan Greene, Jay Acovone, Terri Treas, Dennis Paladino, Judith Chapman, William McNamara, Elizabeth Barondes, Denice Duff, Marta DuBois, Kristen Cloke, Vanity, and Bobbie Phillips. The DVD collection doesn't have any audio commentaries, and lacks closed captions. The audio and video are of very good quality, though. The bonus material features a few minutes each of reflections on the show and the people they worked with from Rob Estes, Mitzi Kapture, Steven J. Cannell, and Ben Vereen. Summary: If you can overlook frequents signs of a low-budget show, "Silk Stalkings" has a lot to offer. Highly recommended.

I received my package promptly. The DVDs were in almost perfect condition for used materials. This was one of my favorite TV programs when it was on the air, I always enjoyed watching the chemistry between Chris and Rita, and the plots were always quite intricate. I would recommend this to anyone who liked the original series. I enjoyed it so much that I placed another order for another season! Great job!

One of the late night series, Silk Stalkings covered the hot flavor of 80's tv. The two officers hunted down all sorts of criminals mostly murder, amid the hustle of Miami's elite. Running 8 seasons in total, this long lived series is well worth getting, but as they say, this is one you watch with that special someone.

*** Great Television Series from The early 90s that was & probably would still be a good series to take another look at featuring *Rob Estes & Mitzi Kapture !.. If you are someone who remembers the early 90's back when *BayWatch.. came on you might remember this series. Yes... Of Course, *** You should check it Out !..

Haven’t had time to sit down and enjoy the series. Was great when it was on tv.

I am completely happy with purchasing the Silk Stalkings t.v. series season one through six. I am looking forward to more of the t.v. series to come out on dvd. This has been one of my favorite thriller/crime investigation shows from all the ones I have watched. It is a classic. Hopefully Silk Stalkings will release more dvds on Amazon.

This was shown in the USA in the early 90's at 10 pm. It is about two homicide detectives in Palm Beach near Miami (filmed in San Diego). As far as I know it was never shown in the UK. Much of it is the platonic relationship between Mitzi and Rob. The DVD's are region 1 and NTSC, there are 5 seasons. It is made to a formula, but it is pretty good. It involves two homicide detectives solving murders etc etc. It has some scenes of Bikini clad woman, the language is OK, no nudity, strictly for adults. I bought the DVD for nostalgia reasons as it helped to get me to sleep nearly 20 years ago, for longer reviews go to Amazon.com. The creator of the series, Stephen J. Cannell also helped to create "The Rockford Files" with James Garner.

～ついに、Silk～～ StalkingsのDVD発売の日がやってきました。USAネットワークで大好評だったシリーズが10年以上の歳月を経てのカムバックです。 クリスとリタ、２人のセクシーな殺人科刑事コンビがパームビーチ市で発生する難事件（といっても主に色恋絡みの殺人ですが・・・）を解決していきます。 なぜか日本にアメリカの刑事物が紹介されなくなって久しい今日この頃ですが、本～～シリーズは一見の価値ありです！唯一の心配は、発売会社があまり字幕、キャプションを入れてくれないところなので・・・。 追伸 やっぱり字幕は入っていませんでした。やれやれ・・・。～

Video quality very good. Be advised there are no subtitles or closed captioning. Also the DVD case is pretty low-budget with paper sleeves for the discs, but on the other hand, no holders to get worn out or chipped.

Very risqué for its era. A series of good plots. Old but interesting as part of film history.

Plenty of superb women throughout the series which everybody will enjoy,in action and diversity. Not at all in the great Miami Vice though. B.Griffiths.