The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew 25th Anniversary (1995-2020)

[tomswift2002]

On Saturday, September 23, 1995 the world was re-introduced to Frank and Joe Hardy and Nancy Drew.  Unfortunately, this show would only last for 26 episodes (13 Hardy Boys & 13 Nancy Drew) and would make it's bow just before Christmas 1995.  Many fans suspect that it's demise might've been due to its half-hour length, which didn't give much time to develop the stories, and possible its status as a syndicated, rather than network show.

Since the Hardy Boys book series debuted in 1927, this was only the 4th TV/film Hardy Boys production.  And it had been 16 years since the 1970's Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Mysteries went off the air in January 1979.  (So in 2020 it's been 41 years since the HBNDM aired its last episode).  Of course the 1995 The Hardy Boys had a famous callback to the 70's series in it's second episode, Jazzman, where a LP copy of Shaun Cassidy's (Joe Hardy in the 70's series) album, Born Late is seen in a scene where the Hardy's are looking for a clue in Fenton Hardy's LP collection (we also learn that Fenton alphabetizes everything, including the spice rack!)

The 1995 is also closely related to The Hardy Boys Casefiles & Nancy Drew Files due to the fact that from November 1995 (Hardy Boys Casefiles #105 Law Of The Jungle[/b] to January 1997 (Hardy Boys Casefiles #121 Absolute Zero) publicity photos of the show were used on the books.  And today in 2020, this is the one thing that has lasted and is the most common promotional item for the series.  And it's funny how, the book covers would tell people to look for the series, however, by January 1997, the 1995 series had all but disappeared from TV stations, so it was funny to see the books advertising a show that was no longer aired (or like in my location at the time, no stations had aired it, except for if you were subscribed to really expensive cable package).

Of course, this wasn't the end of the series.  In May 2006, kaboom, a Peacearch Compsny, acquired the Canadian DVD rights to the series, and released both series on DVD in Canada only (there was also a European release but no US release, however, US & Canada are both REGION 1 in DVD encoding, so the DVD's could be played on any DVD player in the US, thus many US fans imported the Canadian set to the US).  Kaboom issues the DVD set in 2 formats, that used the same cases for the DVD's.  1 format was each series by itself, while the second release packaged the 2 individual sets in a cardboard slipcase that combined the artwork of both sets.  This slipcase is scarce to find in 2020.  Of course an odd thing with the DVD's is that they were called "The Complete First Season", which made some fans wonder if one or two additional episodes for each series had been shot and edited, but held back in 1995 to have a few to start a second season should the series have been renewed, and the crew would have a few extra weeks to get the second season produced, kind of like what UPN did with Star Trek Voyager in 1995.

[MacGyver]

I've got the DVD set of these shows with the cardboard slipcase. I honestly can't say I watch it very often but I have watched both series in their entirety. They are not my favourite adaptations but I do like that they remind me of the Casefiles books. This version of The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew wasn't totally in keeping with the books but we did get a crossover episode or two with The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. I also agree that the shows suffered from the half hour format.
   By comparison, Superboy and Super Force are both live action half hour fantasy/sci-fi/action/adventure shows, but they generally come off better. I think mystery shows really need a full hour to be well developed and intricate enough to capture interest, like The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries did so well. That show is always my favourite but the '90s version wasn't too bad, despite its flaws. The relationship between Frank and Joe and the humour was well done, at least. And these shows are still WAY better than the current CW Nancy Drew show.

[MacGyver]

I just noticed the other day that both the 1995 The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series are available to stream for free on Tubi! :-)
https://tubitv.com/search/Hardy%20Boys

[tomswift2002]

I just noticed the other day that both the 1995 The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series are available to stream for free on Tubi! :-)
https://tubitv.com/search/Hardy%20Boys

Maybe it's because I'm in Canada, but neither series is coming up at that link.

[MacGyver]

Try just going directly to www.tubitv.com and searching from there.

[tomswift2002]

Try just going directly to www.tubitv.com and searching from there.

It's not showing the Hardy Boys.  It's only showing the 1995 Nancy Drew, and only the first 10 episodes.  I'll stick to the DVD's.

[MacGyver]

Hmm- it pulls up the entire series for both for me. I've been able to stream them both. (And the entire series for both Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys is available.) Of course, I have the DVD sets for both, so it doesn't really matter for me. Since those DVDs are out of print now though, I thought some other fans might like to know about this streaming option though.

[MacGyver]

I think this might be the first tribute video to The Hardy Boys 1995 show that I've seen on Youtube! I guess there are some fans out there anyway.

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

I just noticed the other day that both the 1995 The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series are available to stream for free on Tubi! :-)
https://tubitv.com/search/Hardy%20Boys

This series isn't bad. Very short though.

[MacGyver]

Yeah- I like both of them pretty well myself. They're just not my favourite versions. Is this your first time seeing either one?

[Raven]

I actually like the interaction between characters in both series, e.g. the friendship between Nancy, Bess and George. 

[MacGyver]

I would agree with that. I think that aspect was done well.

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

Yeah- I like both of them pretty well myself. They're just not my favourite versions. Is this your first time seeing either one?

Yes, I have it on DVD, but it's not subtitled. On Tubi it is.

[MacGyver]

Good to know. There is so much going on in that little span of time so that subtitles can be very helpful. Missing even one line of dialogue can leave you lost at some point of the plot.

[VLoneWolf]

The show is also on  YouTube