bensonmum2 I just finished going through the Honey West episodes for the second time in the last few years. Overall, it's a fun show. Anne Francis is fantastic as Honey. Smart, sexy, funny - she played Honey perfectly. As good as she is, I think John Ericson deserves as much credit for making the show what it was. Other than being a bit too overprotective at times, his Sam Bolt is an excellent partner for Honey. And I don't want to forget Irene Hervey as Aunt Meg. Her comic relief is generally well done.When Honey West is good, it's very good. Episode #4 A Matter of Wife and Death, Episode #21 Like Visions and Omens... and All That Jazz, and Episode #30 An Eerie, Airy, Thing are three examples of Honey West at its very best. For anyone unfamiliar with the show, these would be good jumping off points. Unfortunately, the writing was incredibly uneven (to put it politely). Episode #24 Slay, Gypsy, Slay, Episode #25 The Fun-Fun Killer, and Episode #27 Little Green Robin Hood are among the worst. When Honey West was bad, it was real bad. While I would have liked to have seen Honey West with a longer run, the writing in the latter episodes is so bad that it's probably best things ended when they did.A few other random thoughts: I may be alone, but I never cared for Bruce. It looked like he was going to rip-off someone's hand at any given moment.As sexy as Anne Francis could be, that AC Cobra she drove just might have been sexier. What an incredible looking car! I've complained about it any number of times, but one of the things that annoyed me the most about Honey West was the poor stunt double. He/she looked nothing like Francis.I've read all the comparisons and connections between Honey West and The Avengers. As mush as I enjoy Honey West, you really can't compare it with the innovative and creative "stuff" they were doing on The Avengers.

Gatorman9 I am a bit perplexed by a lot of the negative comments I have read about this show on this website. Granted, I have only seen three episodes as an adult, but still . . .I first saw this program during the sixties when I was only 9 or 10 years old. There was enough action (the fist-fights and most of the Judo moves still look great now) and gadgets (only in more recent years do you see readily commercially available some of the things they purported to have then) to make it entertaining to kids at that age and both my younger sister and I enjoyed watching it. In the past few years, however, when I became interested in revisiting the shows I had watched growing up when they became available for the first time on video, I made no particular effort to see it when I learned that it was canceled after only a single year on the air. I naturally assumed that must have not been very good, something only a ten-year-old looking for action and gadgets would think was worthwhile. Maybe I would find it would turn out to be as bad as *Lost In Space* (which ran for three seasons) did, for example.Just recently I had a chance to see the three episodes alluded to previously ("The Owl and the Eye", "A Neat Little Package", and "The Abominable Snowman") and based on that I'm just plain amazed this show was canceled so soon. The writing overall was excellent, the score very reminiscent of a lot of what you heard on *I Spy* or even *Peter Gunn*, and the rest of the production values were every bit as good as anything else that you would see on TV in the mid-sixties. It was much more plausible in every respect than the comparatively cheesy *It takes a Thief* with Robert Wagner, which lasted three seasons, and the terrific dialog and character development and relationships light-years better than the famed *Hawaii Five-O*, which ran for a total of 11 in prime time. I can't disagree enough with the reviewer who said that the only reason to see this show was to appreciate the blonde bombshell appeal of Anne Francis. He really ought to go back and look at it again as an adult over 40 or 50.From that perspective, too, the relationship between Sam & Honey is readily understandable. Sam is a classic protective male who out of uneasiness or even acute anxiety finds him constantly yelling at Honey that she needs to do or not do something on a case because, at a minimum, it makes him worry about her, but she totally fails to appreciate this. Instead, after promising to heed his concerns, without a second thought she then promptly goes off does exactly the opposite of what he advised, just as she always intended, leaving Sam looking rather hapless and helpless. The results are mixed but often include Sam having to physically come to the rescue in the end. The writers caught this kind of real-life battle-of-the-sexes dynamic perfectly and if you don't appreciate it when you see it it probable that you have never experienced it yourself. While it is much more prosaic than the intriguingly ambiguous relationship between Mrs. Peel and Mr. Steed of *Avengers* notability, it is also that much more likely and realistic.Add to this some cleverly conceived supporting characters (not the least Bruce the Ocelot, played by Himself) and the most perfect choice of a car for Honey, a 1965 AC Cobra (that car could be worth as much as 1.5 million dollars today, depending on which version it was) and you have about as stylish and entertaining a detective show as was ever on American TV.If this program had any weaknesses that I could see, it was in the acting or direction. I felt that the lead actors performed outstandingly well in some scenes yet appeared to lack the range to do as well with some of the other scenes that had been written for them. While actors in this situation tend to get blamed for this kind of thing, it could easily have been the fault of directors who asked them for the wrong kind of performances in the wrong scenes.Anyway, the user rating of 7.8 that is on here at the time I'm posting this is well-deserved, and I think it is most definitely a must-see for anyone who likes vintage crime/private-eye TV. Moreover, I am delighted to be able to add that it has been released on DVD!

mustang68 Honey West/Anne Francis was certainly my favorite back then (on TV, second was Diana Rigg - in the movies, I liked Raquel Welch).Honey had an attitude that Donna Reed & Doris Day did not have. For a kid in the 60's, she was something different & special.My folks let me watch because they thought I liked the cat - duh... I had a crush on Anne Francis... (I was 15).And the ocelot's full name was Bruce Bite-A-Bit.I don't remember much else. Maybe some studio would do a re-make with a current star as Honey (sorry, Anne, but you are in your 70's now, and still very good looking, but you're just not convincing as a karate-chopping PI any more - maybe you could be the new Honey's "office manager" or something... that way, we could still enjoy your screen-presence).

mike robson The sort of show that epitomised mid 60's Hollywood hip-great clothes and cars,fab music,graced with the presence of slim beautiful Anne Francis as the foxy sleuth.Okay the plots are elementary at best,and can veer towards silliness("Little green Robin Hood" anyone?),and the show is too darn short at half an hour to do real justice to itself.Also it's in black and white-but who cares-just watch Francis and John Ericson in action.Like the "Burke's Law" series-where Honey West first appeared on screen-there's quite a lot of wit in the writing(this show,like "Burke's Law",is from "4 star" television productions).And there's Bruce,Honey's amusingly roguish ocelot.Some interesting guest stars include Everett Sloane(in one of his final appearances),Edd Byrnes,Alan Reed(Fred Flinstone!)and Dick Clark!Special mention should be made of the brilliant montage of pictures accompanying the jazzy opening credits.