From 1977-1984, producer Michael Jaffe turned out a series of hard-hitting and topical primetime television movies. This collection includes three made-for-television films from Michael Jaffe’s early career: The Death of Richie, Incident at Crestridge and The Seduction of Gina.

For thoughts on Primetime Panic 2, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/17tejdPYFEY?si=WDaDytttSgfkSzCH&t=3937]

Video Quality

The Death of Richie, Incident at Crestridge and The Seduction of Gina come to Blu-Ray with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in both the 1.33:1 TV and the 1.85:1 Theatrical aspect ratios derived from new restorations of the best preservation elements. The fact that Fun City Editions has not only rescued these forgotten television films from obscurity but has also given them such carefully handled presentations makes us love them all the more.

The Death of Richie is the major outlier here, as the presentation is preceded with a text card explaining that the film is sourced from a 16mm print which is the best source available. The label decided not to overly process this image, instead just choosing to try to bring back as much of the faded color as possible and leaving other elements looking more natural than processed. While the image is indeed pretty rough, we believe they made the right choice to not overly manipulate the image and leave it looking like a digital mess. There is significant damage throughout with lines showing up and plenty of nicks and scratches throughout. The color also does still look faded, but we can only imagine it looked much worse before the enhancements. We do wish we could have this in better quality, but if this is the only way to see this one, we are glad to have this option.

Incident at Crestridge and The Seduction of Gina are in much better shape, making you very happy that the source elements available were of a higher quality. Instances of print damage have been cleaned up immensely with only fleeting blemishes. These transfers maintain the natural film grain of the source without any hints of digital tinkering to smooth over the details. The grain presents as organic rather than overwhelmingly noisy, which allows for greater nuance to the image. Overall clarity and detail is incredible with subtle facial features easily noticeable in closeup. Skin tones seem to be natural and consistent. Colors are fairly well saturated with distinct hues popping off the screen when it comes to the foliage and clothing. Black levels are deep and hold up well with crush not serving as a noticeable issue. Fun City Editions has done some very good work with this collection.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray collection comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that captures the intended sound of the films. Like with the video side of the equation, The Death of Richie proves to be the weakest title when it comes to sound, exhibiting a bit of distortion and other age-related wear and tear at points. The other two films hold up favorably when it comes to the sound presentations. Environmental sounds such as the casino in The Seduction of Gina are rendered well alongside everything else.

The tracks handle music well throughout the duration of the film with no obvious distortion or fluctuations in fidelity. There are rarely moments when it threatens to overwhelm competing sounds, and it maintains a good balance so that dialogue comes through clearly. There does not seem to be any majorly noticeable instances of age-related wear and tear for Crestridge or Gina. Fun City Editions has given these films a considerately preserved audio presentation that brings them to life in a welcome manner.

Special Features

The Death Of Richie Audio Commentary: Film Historian Samm Deighan provides a thorough and informative commentary track in which she discusses the story, the refreshing ways in which it tackles social issues, the background of the cast and creative team, social values of the time and much more which makes you appreciate the film on a deeper level.

Incident At Crestridge Audio Commentary: Dino Proserpio and Jonathan Hertzberg provide a fun commentary track in which they set the scene for the time period in which this film debuted including competition on TV when this first aired while also discussing the background of the cast and creative team. There is some good exploration of the story, how it fits into this subgenre and more.

The Seduction Of Gina Audio Commentary: Author/Film Historian Amanda Reyes provides a great commentary track in which she discusses Valerie Bertinelli’s career in TV movies, the background of the ensemble, the music in the film, the television landscape of the time, the themes of the story and more.

Trailers: There are trailers provided for The Death of Richie (1:26), Incident at Crestridge (2:09) and The Seduction of Gina (2:36).

Booklet: This release contains a booklet featuring the essay “Jaffe Delivers: Michael Jaffer and the Made-for-TV Experience” which shines a light on the prolific producer.

Final Thoughts

The movies included in Primetime Panic 2 may be exploring morality in different forms, but they are far from the pithy “afterschool special” designation often associated with television movies of this time. There is some great care into presenting these stories in a somewhat nuanced manner while remaining incredibly entertaining. The talent gathered for these three films is quite impressive with Eileen Brennan proving to be the MVP of the set. If you have a negative view of old-school TV movies, these works are sure to make you question your perception. Fun City Editions has once again rescued lesser-known television artifacts with a new Blu-Ray set featuring pretty strong A/V presentations and a nice array of commentaries. Recommended

Primetime Panic 2 is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Fun City Editions and MVD Entertainment have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.