Act One

William Conrad is back as butterball private eye Frank Cannon in CBS DVD/Paramount's release of Cannon - Season Two, Volume Two, a collection of 12 episodes from the 1972-73 television season. I've pretty much said all there is to say about the series in my reviews of Season One, Volume One, Season One, Volume Two, and Season Two, Volume One. If you've read those, you'll note that the program has grown on me a bit over time, primarily because of William Conrad's consistently strong performances and his interesting characterization of the fat, high-living detective. Unfortunately, one thing that hasn't changed much has been the video transfers, which still source obviously old masters which are soft and muddy with video noise and other problems. When I received both this and Barnaby Jones - Season One on the same day I was briefly optimistic. Barnaby Jones, a concurrent Quinn Martin series and which I popped into my player first, looked just great. But alas, Cannon looks no better than it did last time.

Act Two

While it's kinda neat CBS DVD thought to release Cannon - Season Two, Volume Two and Barnaby Jones - Season One simultaneously (both sets begin with episodes that aired at roughly the same time, in December 1972/January 1973) Barnaby Jones is a reminder of just how generic private eye shows generally and Quinn Martin series in particular had become by the early 1970s. Swap the character's names and derisive adjectives (e.g., "Hey, fat man!" for "Hey, old man!") and just about any episode of Cannon could become a Barnaby Jones, and vice versa.

On the other hand, Buddy Ebsen's 60-something detective is surprisingly humorless, given the actor's other famous roles - Ebsen's Barnaby has more in common with his Doc from Breakfast at Tiffany's than Jed Clampett. Frank Cannon, on the other hand, with his steely blue eyes and road-hogging Lincoln Continental Mark IV (the Cannonmobile) looks like one mean sonofabitch but is actually a pussycat. Yes, he can be intimidating when he needs to be - every other show has him blowing his top because his clients' lies get him into trouble; he demands the truth and he's all smiles once they finally come clean. Mostly, though, Cannon is eager to share with his clients his latest culinary masterpiece fresh out of the wall oven.

However, most of Cannon's scripts are the usual stuff and highly generic. Some frankly put me to sleep; others are rather good, like decent dime-store thrillers. The best episodes tend to be those where Cannon is at the center of things, usually working undercover. In "The Dead Samaritan," for instance, Cannon pretends to be a lonely motel guest who happens to be next-door to a "person of interest," an unsuccessful would-be model (Arlene Golonka) peripherally involved in a murder plot. The pair has an almost sweet quasi-romance, and Conrad's performance as a detective pretending to be a lonely fat man is very good.

"Nobody Beats the House" is another above average example, with Cannon coming to the aide of a chronic gambler (Tom Skerritt) neck-deep in debt with The Mob. Cannon's alternately supportive and impatient reactions to the gambler's realistically depicted addiction have a meaty, tough-love edge that's interesting. Other shows, like "Hard Rock Roller Coaster," about smuggled diamonds, are real snoozers.

Act Three

Guest-starring in this set of 12 shows: Corrine Camacho, John Marley, Gary Clarke, Paul Michael Glaser, Geoffrey Lewis, Maxine Stuart, William Hansen, Greg Mullavey, William Sargent, John Vernon, Fritz Weaver, Barbara Babcock, David Hedison, Bill Erwin, Sondra Locke, David Soul, Malachi Throne, Tim O'Connor, Susan Oliver, Richard Carlson, Gorden Pinsent, Keith Andes, Meg Wylie, Jason Evers, Dick Van Patten, Naom Pitlik, Mary Frann, Charles Bateman, Ramon Bieri, John Larch, Michael Pataki, Geraldine Brooks, Harold Gould, Barry Nelson, Jim Davis, Jeff Donnell, Shelley Duvall, Anthony Zerbe, Dana Wynter, Marlyn Mason, Ron Hayes, Stuart Margolin, Oscar Beregi, Geoffrey Horne, John Zaremba, Beverly Garland, and John Anderson.

Cannon - Season Two, Volume Two is a pretty muddy, murky looking DVD. The full frame transfers aren't terrible, but they should look much better than they do. The color is weak, there's no contrast and considerable video noise. On smaller sets Cannon looks okay (just) but this release is far from CBS's usual high standard. For what they're charging the consumer deserves better. Audio is mono English only with no subtitle options. The set is spread over three single-sided discs, four episodes per. At least the shows appear complete, not time-compressed, and retain their original underscoring.

Act Four

The only supplement is bland episodic promos on selected episodes that look worse than the episodes. They're not interesting; just lengthy, spoiler-filled clips.

Cannon - Season Two, Volume Two gets the same mixed recommendation as before: mediocre transfers and, usually, scripts not up to the show's potential, but with a leading performance that in the end make it more than worthwhile. Recommended.

Stuart Galbraith IV's latest audio commentary, for AnimEigo's Tora-san DVD boxed set, is on sale now.