Music
Matt Houston: The First Season
March 18, 2010 by admin · 5 Comments
Description
A fabulously wealthy Texan moves to California to oversee his family’s offshore drilling enterprises but spends most of his time dabbling in his private investigator hobby. He is handsome, lives in a penthouse and flies his own helicopter to and from his investigations. Naturally, he is always surrounded by beautiful women!Amazon.com
Lee Horsely is rocking his ’80s ’stache as Matlock Houston, a transplanted Texas oilman who solves murders in Los Angeles as an amat… More >>
The product data says that the actor is “Matt Houston”, when it was actually Lee Horsley. And no mention or photo of Pamela Hensley. The cover art looks like it was produced in Panama or something. Well, if it’s the original video, legal, and of very good video quality, I’ll be okay with this release. I guess he was sort of a pimp-like character in retrospect.
Rating: 5 / 5
It’s about time they finally release this lovely private detective drama out on DVD, starting with this 1982-83 Season of MATT HOUSTON, especially since Universal already has all 8 seasons of MAGNUM, P.I. and all 6 seasons of THE ROCKFORD FILES and the first 3 seasons of SIMON & SIMON out on DVD already along with the fact that MATT HOUSTON was a cool show about a filthy-rich playboy and former Vietnam Veteran from Texas who moved to L.A. to take over his family business overseas and ran a private detective agency on the side as a hobby.
As a matter of fact MATT HOUSTON was in competition with MAGNUM, PI as well as MAGNUM’s biggest competitor since MAGNUM was in its 3rd Season on CBS when MATT HOUSTON made its debut on ABC in the Fall of 1982 on the same exact night that KNIGHT RIDER made its debut on NBC which was on Sunday September 26,1982.
In addition Houston(Lee Horsley)had a slight resemblence to Magnum(Tom Selleck), except Houston was wealthy, a lot tougher, a lot huskier, a lot more organized, a lot more up to par, and a lot more fortunate than Magnum ever was since Houston outclassed Magnum big time since Houston was a rich private dick and ladies man who lived high on the hog in a swanky penthouse in Hollywood & had a private investigations office in Downtown L.A. and Magnum was just a world-class private eye and beach bum who lived rent-free on a shoe-string budget in the so-called wealthy Robin Masters Estate in Honolulu, Hawaii barely able to make ends meet along with the fact that Magnum was always broke and Houston never was since Houston was always rolling in bucks living in luxury, unlike most other private investigators and unlike most other private detective shows, including MAGNUM, P.I., THE ROCKFORD FILES, MANNIX, and even SIMON & SIMON since Magnum(Tom Selleck), Rockford(Jim Garner), Mannix(Michael Connors), along with Rick & AJ Simon(Gerald McRaney, Jameson Parker)were all private eyes who were never rolling in dough and therefore used talent and brains to solve their cases instead of money.
This was also the season when MATT HOUSTON was an instant smash on ABC and when this show was in its honeymoon phase while the honeymoon phase of MAGNUM, PI was already gone.
This show also takes me all the way back to memory lane to when I was a kid and watched MATT HOUSTON on ABC every Friday night, but then the premiere of MIAMI VICE in the Fall of 1984 led to this shows cancellation since the ratings on MATT HOUSTON sunk drastically when MIAMI VICE joined the 10PM time slot on ABC’s rival network NBC, which conflicted with MATT HOUSTON’s 10PM time-slot on ABC since MATT HOUSTON started losing a lot of viewers from MIAMI VICE since MIAMI VICE stole MATT HOUSTON’s thunder as well along with the fact that MIAMI VICE was in its honeymoon phase of the show back then while MATT HOUSTON was losing its honeymoon phase of the show leading to this detective dramas cancellation in July of 1985.
Therefore I think MATT HOUSTON probably would’ve lasted longer if MIAMI VICE hadn’t premiered or hadn’t been shown at the same time-slot as MATT HOUSTON or if ABC had moved MATT HOUSTON to another night or if NBC had moved MIAMI VICE to a different night since MATT HOUSTON was actually a more upgraded detective program than MAGNUM was along with the fact that MATT HOUSTON had more action in it than MAGNUM, P.I. along with the fact that MATT HOUSTON seemed to be a little more realistic than MAGNUM was with the exception that Houston was a millioniare who didn’t have to struggle to make ends meet or barely able to stay afloat along with the fact that MATT HOUSTON didn’t have Houston or anyone else for that matter narrating each episode like Tom Selleck always did on MAGNUM, PI which sometimes got to be somewhat like a chore to listen to at times, unlike MATT HOUSTON along with the fact that Houston had all the luxuries that Magnum was never able to have along with the fact that Houston always wore spiffy 3-piece suits to prove it, unlike Magnum who usually wore more casual type clothes like his Hawaiian tropical shirts with shorts or blue jeans.
Therefore, you could say that Houston was probably like the Rolls-Royce in private investigators and MATT HOUSTON was like the Rolls Royce in private detective shows since Houston was was the only wealthy private eye on television, unlike Magnum, Rockford, Mannix, and the Simon brothers and I agree with J. Mc Donald’s review on the fact that even though MATT HOUSTON didn’t end up being as successful as other private detective shows such as MAGNUM, THE ROCKFORD FILES, MANNIX, and SIMON & SIMON for instance that a 3-year run is still not something to dismiss lightly, despite the fact that MATT HOUSTON didn’t last very long, unlike MAGNUM, P.I., THE ROCKFORD FILES, MANNIX, and SIMON & SIMON and despite the fact that it would’ve been nicer if MATT HOUSTON would’ve ended up lasting longer than 3 years to give MAGNUM more competition.
I agree with Erik Anderson’s review about “Roll-Over MAGNUM, here comes MATT HOUSTON” along with the fact that you could say that MATT HOUSTON was a classic underrated detective show that deserved more, unlike MAGNUM, PI and THE ROCKFORD FILES.
Unfortunately, the fact remains that ABC had cancelled MATT HOUSTON in the Summer of 1985 when MAGNUM’s 6th Season was underway on ABC’s rival network CBS for the Fall of 1985 after MATT HOUSTON had completed an unsuccessful 3rd Season on CBS’s rival network ABC, despite the fact that Houston was obviously a lot more of a successful private investigator than Magnum ever was, despite the fact that MAGNUM had outlasted MATT HOUSTON in the ratings department since MAGNUM, PI lasted a lot longer than MATT HOUSTON did since MAGNUM ran for 8 years on CBS from 1980-88, but MATT HOUSTON only ran for 3 years on ABC from 1982-85 since MIAMI VICE pretty much killed MATT HOUSTON since MIAMI VICE K.O.’d MATT HOUSTON in the ratings while the ratings on MAGNUM were still going pretty strong on CBS back then which obviously helped MAGNUM, P.I. cut its competition with MATT HOUSTON on CBS’s rival network ABC, yet something that I found odd between Houston & Magnum was since Houston was rich and Magnum wasn’t, why didn’t Houston have like a Lambourghini or even a Ferrari like the one Magnum used to drive around in on MAGNUM, PI which of course belonged to Robin Masters, not Magnum.
Something else I noticed about this show is MATT HOUSTON had a lot of the same guest stars that have been on MAGNUM, PI too like Barbara Rush, Jack Kruschen, Steven Keats, Marta Dubois, Alan Fudge, Cameron Mitchell, Bill Lucking, Cesar Romero, John Calvin, Robin Dearden, Edward Grover, John-Dennis Johnston, etc.
In the meantime, I can hardly wait to get MATT HOUSTON’s 1st Season DVD, since I loved this show when it was a hit on ABC during my childhood years when I was living in my hometown(El Centro,CA)growing up in the Imperial Valley and I hope Paramount includes giving us the option of Closed Captioning in DVD mode too just like Universal does with all their DVD’s, including all the 8 Season DVD’s of MAGNUM, P.I., but maybe MATT HOUSTON’s 1st Season DVD will be even better than all the DVD box sets OF MAGNUM and THE ROCKFORD FILES.
However, I’m just happy to add MATT HOUSTON-Season 1 to my collection of DVD box sets, especially with my MAGNUM and Rockford DVD box sets.
In addition, SIMON & SIMON-Season 4 is now in the works to be released on Tuesday April 6th, 2010 for all you classic private eye show fans out there which gives us 2 new private detective dramas underway to look forward to for the Spring of 2010.
This 1982-1983 Season of MATT HOUSTON also takes me all the way back to memory lane to when we had all those fiscal budget cuts going on from the recession we had back in 1981-1982 when Ronald Reagan was the president, plus this season takes me all the way back to my childhood days of when I was in the 4th grade living in my hometown(El Centro, CA) growing up in the Imperial Valley.
It was also interesting seeing
-James Luisi in “The Showgirl Murders” episode after his co-starring days as Becker’s hard-nosed superior officer(Lt. Chapman)on THE ROCKFORD FILES
-Heather Locklear in the “Stop The Presses” episode during her co-starring days on DYNASTY & TJ HOOKER and before her co-starring days on MELROSE PLACE
-Phyllis Davis in the “Killing Isn’t Everything” episode before her co-starring days as Cleo on MAGNUM, PI & after her co-starring days on VEGAS
-Cesar Romero in the “Who Would Kill Ramona” episode after his co-starring days as The Joker on the BATMAN series with Adam West in the 1960’s
-David Hedison in the “Recipe For Murder” episode after his co-starring days on VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA & before his co-starring days on DAYS OF OUR LIVES
-Kiel Martin in the “Who Would Kill Ramona” episode during his co-starring days as Detective Joe La Rue on HILL STREET BLUES
-Beverly Garland in “The Good Doctor” episode before her co-starring days on SCARECROW & MRS. KING
-Edward Mulhare in the “Whose Party Is It Anyway” episode during his co-starring days as Michael Knights British boss(Devon Miles)
-Don Stroud in the “Get Houston” episode before his co-starring days as Detective Sgts. Vic Daniels & Carl Molina’s superior officer(Capt. Lussen)on THE NEW DRAGNET
-Andy Robinson in the “Here’s Another Fine Mess” episode after his co-starring days on RYANS HOPE & before his co-starring days on STAR TREAK: DEEP SPACE 9
-Ernest Borgine in the “Here’s Another Fine Mess” episode before his co-starring days as Hawke’s partner & Vietnam buddy(Dominic Santini)on AIRWOLF
-Dawn Wells in “The Visitors” episode after her co-starring days on GILLIGANS ISLAND
-Rebecca Holden in the “Here’s Another Fine Mess” episode before her co-starring days as Michael & Devon’s assistant(April Curtis)on KNIGHT RIDER
-Dick Sargent in “The Yacht Club Murders” after his co-starring days as the 2nd Darren Stephens on BEWITCHED
-George Takei in “The Rock & The Hard Place” episode after his co-starring days on STAR TREK
-Alan Hale in “The Yacht Club Murders” after his co-starring days on GILLIGANS ISLAND
-Shelley Fabares in “The Visitors” episode before her co-starring days on COACH & after her co-starring days on ONE DAY AT A TIME
-Tori Spelling in the “Fear For Tomorrow” episode before being a star as well as before her co-starring days as Donna on BEVERLY HILLS 90210
-Fred Grandy in “The Showgirl Murders” during his co-starring days on THE LOVE BOAT
-Richard Anderson in the “A Novel Way To Die” episode after his co-starring days as Oscar Goldman on THE BIONIC WOMAN & THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN
-Edward Grover in the “Fear For Tomorrow” episode & the “A Deadly Parlay” episode after his co-starring days on the short-lived NBC series SUPERTRAIN
-Bo Hopkins in “The Beverly Hills Social Club” episode during his co-starring days on DYNASTY
-Ray St. Jacques in the “Get Houston” episode before his co-starring days on SUPERIOR COURT
-Malcolm Jamal Warner in the “Stop The Presses” episode before his co-starring days as Theo Huxtible on THE COSBY SHOW
-Monte Markham in the “Joey’s Here” episode before his co-starring days as Capt. Thorpe on BAYWATCH
-Tina Louise in “The Kidnapping” episode after her co-starring days as Ginger on GILLIGANS ISLAND
-Lew Saunders in the “Joey’s Here” episode after his co-starring days as Ponch & Jons fellow CHP Officer(Gene Fritz)on CHiPs
-Natalie Schafer in “The Beverly Hills Social Club” episode after her co-starring days on GILLIGANS ISLAND
-Sonny Bono in “The Purrfect Crime” episode after his co-starring days on SONNY & CHER
-Richard Jaekel in “The Rock & The Hard Place” episode before his co-starring days on BAYWATCH
-Markie Post in “A Novel Way To Die” episode during her co-starring days as Colts agent(Terri Michaels)on THE FALL GUY & before her co-starring days on NIGHT COURT & HEARTS AFIRE
-Timothy O’Connor in the “Fear For Tomorrow” episode after his co-starring days as Dr. Huer on BUCK ROGERS:IN THE 25TH CENTURY
-Lori Loughlin in the “Shark Bait” episode before her co-starring days as Rebecca on FULL-HOUSE
-Football celebrity(Dick Butkus)in the “Killing Isn’t Everything” episode
So now I hope CBS Paramount doesn’t take too long to release Matt Houston’s 1983-84 Season out on DVD and I hope to see MATT HOUSTON-Season 2 get released on DVD by the Fall of 2010 and I hope CBS entertainment makes the next MATT HOUSTON season DVD box set with Closed Captioning subtitles for DVD mode like Universal did for MAGNUM, P.I. and all their other DVD box sets.
So lookout MAGNUM, here comes your biggest and best rival MATT HOUSTON.
Rating: 4 / 5
its about time .. this is a underated show. i cant wait to get it.
Rating: 5 / 5
I was looking forward to getting the Boxset of Matt Houston primarily for the Pilot and found that the great music was replaced by “The Chariot’s Of Fire” theme and other minor music changes. The reason why I remember this is because I DVD -r’d a copy from a beta tape about ten years ago and remember why I liked that Pilot so much.
For me this is a major Paramount screwup. Why can’t they just leave things alone and why do the idiot’s have to make demands on the music that keeps us from enjoying these great shows.
On the back of this package in microscopic print it says that the versions of the episodes are “Edited” and “Some music has been changed”
I am personally disappointed for that reason.. We have waited 28 years for this debacle?? very disappointed!!
Rating: 2 / 5
I am 34 yrs old and the day I purchased Matt Houston from Amazon I was instantly a child again sitting on my folks couch on a Friday night listening to the theme music…waiting to see what Houston would get into that week…this show was once…and still remains…my all time favorite tv show…Horsely was an icon in my eyes…an idol…a class act with morals and values…and I’m glad to see this show brought back to life after so many years…I have watched the entire first season and I could not be happier with it…its a great family show and the quality is above average…my only complaint is that the show was not released as a complete set…had it been…I’d have been first in line to purchase every season…I give this show a five star rating…I give my sincere thanks to those at Paramount for not over looking a truely great show…lets just hope the other seasons are soon to follow…and fast…as I’d love to see the old cast who were not in season one again…Lt. Hoyt was always a great one to watch…you won’t go wrong with this purchase.
Rating: 5 / 5