I love(d) this series. When this was on regular TV I videotaped every episode. I found it extremely well written. The actors/actresses brought the characters to life. Each episode had bits of drama, humor, pathos and anguish. I tbought the writers followed the books feel very well. They conveyed the sense of the novels to TV. I think they should have stopped when the series was cancelled. I have seen the movies with joe mantenga and the others. I did not feel intimidated at all. When I saw robert urich and avery brooks I felt the you were watching spenser and hawk in person on the screen. It was fun to watch Spenser driving his reliable classic mustang while Hawk kept getting another new car. The series was very well done. I got used to watching Carolyn McCormack instead of Barbara Stock. Too bad they don't rerun the series.

I think Spenser for Hire is the best shows I've ever watched. The books that Robert Parker wrote are excellent. Just recently been able to purchase all of his shows and watch them non-stop on weekends. Spenser and Hawk were great team partners, Robert Urich is surely missed and Avery Brooks, well he's great also. I have read all of books that Robert Parker wrote about Spenser for Hire. The movie Hawk is also excellent to watch as well. If you have not seen any of the movies and your a fan of both Robert Urich and Avery Brooks, then you should take the time to watch the shows. As for the movies that were released, okay, didn't particularly care for the actor that played Susan Silverman.

The DVD for the Spenser series is now available. The version I bought for $99.95 US contained 67 episodes on 17 discs. There were no "extras" such as: menus or scene selection. The episode guide promised in the add was not included When I enquired, I was told it was available on the internet! Anyway, the color is OK, the sound is a bit wonky. The screen is the standard screen. No subtitles. Looks like it was taped off the air and downloaded on DVD. Some bits of the original commercials pop up. Otherwise, enjoyable. Urich and Brooks are excellent in their roles. However, the Spenser character seems to kill a lot of people every week.

I never liked VEGA$ very much, never read any of Parker's books, had never heard of Parker before, and found myself watching almost every episode of SPENSER only because TV GUIDE described it as a conventional cop show. (Not that VEGA$ was unconventional, but SPENSER was the first such show I ever watched without considerable parental guidance.) What I didn't expect were Spenser's delightful literary meditations. They (along with the beauty of Barbara Stock) made this show not just a rite of passage (for me) but one of my all-time favorites.However, there was one Shakespearean passage I waited to hear and never did. Given Spenser's apparent compassion for all those involved in his cases, when he had to kill someone or witness a scene of massive killing I kept waiting for him to quote Fortinbras' lament for both the innocent and the guilty dead at the end of HAMLET:"Take up the bodies. Such a sight as this Becomes the field, but here shows much amiss."