The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

As someone who grew up with Starsky and Hutch, it might seem odd that I'm also a Harry O fan, but in an era of crap formula shows that were usually split into acts and epilogs it was a standout. There were only two shows of that time that both me and my dad could agree on: Kojak and Harry O; and of the two, I think Harry O was slightly more consistent.David Janssen carries the world-weary lead with considerable panache, paving the way for later shows such as the Rockford Files, and Anthony Zerbe is an excellent foil as the long-suffering cop-who-secretly-likes-him-but-will-never-say (cf. Joe Santos and James Garner). Played out against the backdrop of San Diego in the 70's, the main thing that stretched belief was the number of gorgeous birds that wrinkled old Harry used to pull. But then, I was in my teens and the hormones enjoyed them...

This series was that rare thing in the 1970s - an original and intelligently constructed mainstream US TV series.This was due to two factors, the personality and performance of David Janssen (the word unique is grossly over-used, but it truly applied to him), and the way that the character of Harry Orwell was constructed around Janssen's screen persona. The idea of an ex cop taking up private detection was not new, even then, but the details were what made this one special. For example, Harry often travelled by bus, being unable to drive because his car was always hosed. Imagine, Kojak or Jim Rockford doing that? No, neither can I. Harry also had a family history (ex-partner, money problems etc)that we actually saw him dealing with. Very little gloss on Harry's life.So, an intelligently constructed premise, a great central performer, superb performances from the recurring characters - notably Anthony Zerbe as the acerbic Lt. Trench (replacing Lt. Manny Quinlan half-way through series 1, when the series' location moved from San Diego to LA at the behest of the studio suits). And then, we had some interesting and well written scripts - but yes, there were some clunkers too. Harry O was well directed, very well cut in the styles of the time and oh! - those Foley sounds, loud footsteps in longshots - I love it! The sound on just one of the series one episodes is appalling, but for all the rest, they look and sound great. Perhaps because it came in at the middle or latter end of the US boom in detective series, Harry O ran for only two seasons. A great shame, it had a lot more potential to realise - and without Janssen it can never be recreated.2013 UPDATE: The first series is available now as a box set from the Warners online shop!2014 UPDATE: No longer a rare series! Warners have put out box set of both series now. You can buy on Amazon or direct from WBshop. Excellent! Just ordered mine!

My wife and I watched the show when it first went into syndication. 78-79? We both enjoyed it. I particularly liked the way David Jansen portrayed this character. Smooth and cool. David's smirk really worked portraying Harry. Very low key approach that works. Farrah Fawcett was very low key and actually funny in her roll. Another gem in the show was Anthony Zerbe. The verbal barbs and sparring with 'Harry' were excellent. The original fugitive series was pretty good but over time the plots grew weak and the show seemed to crawl along. I check every now and then to see if 'Harry O' is available anywhere EVEN on VHS! great show!

Only 2 comments so far? That can't be right!I can't believe how rarely shown this show is, I've only ever caught 2 episodes! But even just 2 episodes were enough to tell that this was a series of quality, in all departments. David Jansen brought something special to every role he played and definitely gives extra depth and believability to the character of Harry O, compared with most other shows of this type. I've always had a soft spot for The Rockford Files and Harry O reminds me of it in some ways, but there seems much more to Harry O that would keep me watching over and over, if only the TV companies would actually show it! All 44 episodes on DVD would be even better of course. Soon Please, come on.