Posted on: May 20, 2009 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

Peyton Place is another of those shows that we huge when it was originally aired, but has lost some of its perceived importance as the years have went by . The individuals that watched the show need no reassurances about Peyton Place, but for those that did not get a chance to see this mid-sixties show may wonder what it is all about. Peyton Place in its original format was a bestseller, a book that was on the NYT bestseller list for well over a year. Only a few years later, ABC decided to turn Peyton Place into a television show, getting together some of the best known (and to be best known) actors , with a cast including Mia Farrow, Ryan O’Neal, Barbara Parkins and Dorothy Malone.

The show starts out with Dr. Michael Rossi (Ed Nelson, Channing) moving in to Peyton Place from New York City. After the move is complete, Rossi begins to see the machinations of all in the town, ranging from schoolgirl romances all the way up to infidelity and mistaken identity. The episodes in this cycle build up each character with a back story that any current soap opera or drama would kill to have: the increased rate at which episodes were initially commissioned (at one point, ABC played three a week) meant that each character was put under the microscope for all to see.

This DVD set features the first 31 episodes (out of an astounding run of 514 episodes), and while this DVD set does not have anything in the way of extras, it provides the possibility of the entire run of the show making it to DVD. Viewers of the show during its initial run, as well as those who found the show at some later point, need to do themselves (And Shout Factory) a favor and pick up this set, as it is only through strong sales will we ever get to the chance to see the transition to color, the introduction of the integrated series (with amazing performances by Percy Rodriguez and a very young Glynn Turman).

Rating: 8.2/10

Peyton Place: Part One / 2009 Shout / 13 Hours / http://www.shoutfactory.com

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