The Dick Van Dyke Show - Season Two (5 Disc Box Set) (1961) Review

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(More customer reviews)These terrific DVDs are enhanced by vintage clips -- promos and commercials with the stars; a half-hour cast guest spot on "Stump the Stars"; Carl Reiner and company gleefully receiving some of their 15 Emmys. Hidden features show the cast selling cigarettes for Kent, a loyal sponsor.
Stars of the time such as Joey Bishop, Lucille Ball, Sebastian Cabot, Bob Crane and Jane Wyatt pop up, making the sets delightful time capsules.
Dick Van Dyke and Reiner do leisurely commentaries on a handful of key episodes, spending a lot of time on what happened to the cast and crew -- especially who is "still with us," and who is not. They swap a few great stories, and have vivid memories of making the episodes. "Stan Laurel should have sued me," Van Dyke says as he watches himself do a bit. "If only life could be so simple," Reiner sighs as one plot unfolds.
Co-star Rose Marie, ex-child actor Larry Mathews and "neighbor" Ann Morgan Guilbert chat over a few other shows. In one case, Rose Marie plows ahead with a hilarious story long after the episode has ended.
While the audio commentaries are new, other recollections come via footage from what must have been a terrific 1994 TV special about the show. Executive producer Sheldon Leonard and "human joke machine" Morey Amsterdam, both of whom have since passed away, have their say in these clips.
Images and sound are surprisingly good. The restored video has decent contrasts over a pleasing gray scale, with minor wear surfacing here and there. The look falls comfortably between flat and silvery. The 2.0 mono ably conveys dialog, canned laughter and Earle Hagan's bouncy theme music.
The first DVD set includes "Head of the Family," Reiner's flat, almost surreal 1960 pilot for the show, in which he played the lead against a different cast. No network was buying. "The reason Carl Reiner's show failed was Carl Reiner," hot-handed producer Leonard recalled in 1994.
The world-famous ottoman pratfall appears on season 1's cover, in one of those almost 3-D moving photos. Trivia comes in segments called "Ottoman Trippers."

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DICK VAN DYKE SHOW:SEASON 2 - DVD Movie

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The Dick Van Dyke Show - Season Five (1961) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have included a complete episode list for season five of "The Dick Van Dyke Show." Carl Reiner starred in several episodes as the hilariously conceited and egotistical Alan Brady, including the memorable "Coast-to-Coast Big Mouth" episode. This show is truly wonderful, and I eagerly anticipate the release of season five, even though the series' final episode was quite disappointing. It's still a great show!
128-"Coast-to-Coast Big Mouth" Laura blurts out a top secret on a national television game show: comedian Alan Brady wears a toupee.
129-"Uhny Uftz" Rob sees a flying saucer and tracks it to its lair: the office above his own.
130-"The Ugliest Dog in the World" Rob and Laura try to find a permanent home for an ugly little mutt from the dog pound.
131-"No Rice at My Wedding" Rob and Laura recall their courtship days, when Rob almost lost Laura to another man.
132-"Draw Me a Pear" Rob and Laura enroll in an art class, and the beautiful female instructor has designs on Rob.
133-"The Great Petrie Fortune" Rob's elderly uncle dies and leaves him an old desk and a riddle that supposedly contains the key to a fortune.
134-"Odd But True" The freckles on Rob's back are shaped like the Liberty Bell.
135-"Viva Petrie" Rob and Laura have an unusual houseguest, a bullfighter named Manuel who installs himself as a handyman. 136-"Go Tell the Birds and the Bees" When Richie spins a few fantastic stories for his friends, his parents wind up in the school psychologist's office.
137-"Body and Sol" Rob recalls the time he defended his title as middleweight champion of the Army camp.
138-"See Rob Write--Write, Rob, Write" Rob and Laura become rivals when each writes a story for children.
139-"You're Under Arrest" Rob goes out to cool off after a quarrel with Laura and winds up in trouble with the law.
140-"Fifty-two Forty-five or Work" Rob recalls the time he was out of work with a new home, no furniture, and a pregnant wife.
141-"Who Stole My Watch?" Rob loses his friends as well as his watch when the friends learn they're all under suspicion.
142-"Bad Reception in Albany" While out of town for a cousin's wedding, Rob has to locate a television set to watch a special show, creating confusingly hilarious results.
143-"I Do Not Choose to Run" Rob can't make up his mind when asked to be a candidate for the city council.
144-"The Making of a Councilman" Rob agrees to run for office but realizes he'd prefer to vote for his brainy opponent.
145-"The Curse of the Petrie People" Rob's parents give a family heirloom of hideous jewelry to Laura, who accidentally drops it in the garbage disposal.
146-"The Bottom of Mel Cooley's Heart" When Mel Cooley takes Rob's advice and stands up to Alan Brady, he is promptly fired.
147-"Remember the Alimony" Rob and Laura recall the time they filled in an application for a $10 divorce.
148-"Dear Sally Rogers" Sally advertises for a husband on a national television show as a gag and is flooded with fan mail.
149-"Buddy Sorrell--Man and Boy" Symptoms and evidence indicate that Buddy is either seeing a psychiatrist or having an affair, when in fact he is merely preparing for his belated Bar Mitzvah.
150-"Long Night's Journey Into Day" Laura spends a harrowing night alone in the house when the rest of the family goes off on a fishing trip.
151-"Talk to the Snail" Believing that comedian Alan Brady plans to cut down his writing staff, Rob applies for a job with a ventriloquist.
152-"A Day in the Life of Alan Brady" The Petries' anniversary party for the Helpers turns into a television documentary for Alan Brady.
153-"Obnoxious, Offensive, Egomaniac, Etc." Rob and his writers are in big trouble for adding insults to an Alan Brady script that is accidentally delivered to Alan's office.
154-"The Man From My Uncle" The Petrie home becomes a command post when government agents put a neighbor's home under surveillance.
155-"You Ought to Be in Pictures" Rob is cast opposite a gorgeous Italian actress in a low-budget film and turns out to be the screen's worst lover.
156-"Love Thy Other Neighbor" Rob and Laura are dismayed by Millie Helper's jealousy of their new neighbors.
157-"The Last Chapter" Rob's autobiography conjures up scenes from the past and leads Alan Brady to buy the book for a television series.
158-"The Gunslinger" The Petries and their friends are transported to the Wild West when Rob dreams he is a frontier sheriff.
Note: These episode descriptions and more for the other four seasons can be found on www.dickvandykeshow.com.

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Pratfall-prone Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke) and his plucky wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), along with wisecracking co-workers Sally (Rose Marie) and Buddy (Morey Amsterdam), captured America's hearts in this TV favorite that irresistibly combined wit and slapstick. Each Episode Fully Restored for Unsurpassed Quality! Episodes include: Coast-to-Coast Big Mouth, Uhny Uftz, The Ugliest Dog in the World, No Rice at My Wedding, Draw Me a Pear, The Great Petrie Fortune, Odd But True, Viva Petrie, Go Tell the Birds and the Bees, Body and Sol, See Rob Write -- Write, Rob, Write, You're Under Arrest, Fifty-Two Forty-Five or Work, Who Stole My Watch, Bad Reception in Albany, I Do Not Choose to Run, The Making of a Councilman, The Curse of the Petrie People, The Bottom of Mel Cooley's Heart, Remember the Alimony, Dear Sally Rogers, Buddy Sorrell: Man and Boy, Long Night's Journey into Day, Talk to the Snail, A Day in the Life of Alan Brady, Obnoxious, Offensive, Egomaniac, Etc., The Man from My Uncle, You Ought to Be in Pictures, Love Thy Other Neighbor, The Last Chapter, The Gunslinger.

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The Dick Van Dyke Show - Season Four (1961) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Season-Four boxed set of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" from Image Entertainment lives up to the excellence of its siblings -- smart and stylish in every respect.
There are 32 splendiferous episodes on tap in this 5-Disc DVD set (all of the shows being presented "uncut", as originally aired in 1964 and 1965). Some of the many funny-bone-tickling episodes that await you in Season #4 include: "The Ghost Of A. Chantz", "4-And-A-Half", "Pink Pills And Purple Parents", "The Impractical Joke", "The Case Of The Pillow", and the hilarious "Never Bathe On Saturday", which features Laura Petrie getting her toe stuck in a bath spout.
This DVD set comes handsomely boxed in comparable eye-appealing packaging to that of the previous entries in the series from Image. The outer box looks like an old 1960s television set, with a 3D "motion" type insert card placed inside the "TV" on the box.
Season 4's slipcase picture shows Laura Petrie (Mary Tyler Moore) struggling with the inflatable fishing boat that's contained in a package she "accidentally" opens in "The Curious Thing About Women" (which is an episode from Season #1).
Individual slim-type ("ThinPak") plastic cases are used to hold each of the set's five discs (with each disc's label displaying unique and attractive artwork). Ample episode information is provided on the cover of each case (episode numbers and titles, synopses, air dates, film dates, and chapter selections). Very nice photos adorn the case covers as well. The discs are "Region Free" (i.e., Region "Zero").
VIDEO .... Like the Dick Van Dyke season sets before it, Season 4 boasts of A-1, Grade-A type digital transfers. These black-and-white programs never looked so fine. You'll still run into an occasional bit of dirt and/or grainy image, but overall these shows look terrific on these DVDs!
The very good video detail within these shows is the result of the remastering and clean-up that was undertaken here, with imagery exhibiting a sharpness that you'll never see on any VHS release of this TV series. These shows are a joy to watch on DVD, again and again.
AUDIO .... The sound comes through clean and clear via each disc's quite acceptable Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono soundtrack.
MENUS .... An easy-to-navigate Menu system is employed here. The Main Menu allows access to any of that disc's six or seven different episodes, with separate Sub-Menus offered for each program. Each Sub-Menu displays that program's Chapter Selection, plus an "Extras" area, which will take you to any applicable "Bonus" features for the episode in question. A "Play All" feature is also included from the Main Menu. Unfortunately (for many people), no subtitles or captions of any kind have been included here (or on any of the other Dick Van Dyke Show sets issued by Image).
BONUS FEATURES....................
>> Two episodes have Audio Commentary Tracks attached to them. Dick Van Dyke and Carl Reiner gab and reminisce during their commentaries for the episodes "Baby Fat" and "Never Bathe On Saturday". Good stuff here with Dick & Carl.
"Baby Fat" actually has two separate Commentary Tracks, in fact -- one by Dick and Carl; plus another audio track featuring the voice of writer Garry Marshall.
>> The complete, uncut CBS-TV documentary "The Dick Van Dyke Show Remembered" (made in 1994). Many clips from this same program are used throughout the different Van Dyke Show boxed sets that Image has released. But here you can see the whole documentary all at once. A darn good program too. Running time -- 46:35.
>> Video clip from TV-Land's animated program, "The Alan Brady Show" (length -- 1:15).
>> Cast Photos and "Proofs", taken by actor Roddy McDowall (length -- 0:48).
>> Clip from the "DVD Exclusive Awards" (2003), where Image's boxed set of "The Dick Van Dyke Show Season One" took home the award for "Best Overall DVD for a TV Program". This clips lasts 3:13, and features Dick Van Dyke and disc producer Paul Brownstein accepting the award. Dick provides some funny ad-libbed comments during this entertaining video bonus.
>> Dick Van Dyke sings the Van Dyke Show's theme song at The Hollywood Bowl (in August 2001). Mary Tyler Moore also appears in this video clip, which lasts 2:26. Dick (and the other singers who join him to belt out this cute tune) sound pretty good too.
BTW, if you've got the Season-Three Image boxed set of "The Dick Van Dyke Show", you can hear Dick (solo) singing this very same ditty at the end of one of the Commentary Tracks for a third-season episode.
>> Clip from the TV series "Diagnosis Murder", in which Dr. Sloan (Dick Van Dyke) encounters "Rob Petrie". This inventive 35-second video snippet features "Rob" as a disc jockey in the episode "One Hundred Terrible Hours" as "Dr. Sloan" passes by him in the hallway. It's a cleverly-conceived way of putting both Sloan and Petrie in the scene at the same time.
>> Photo Galleries for 29 of the 32 episodes.
>> One Emmy Awards clip (length -- 2:58).
>> Two "Tune In To Part 2 Next Week" CBS-TV Network Promos (integrated into the episodes themselves).
>> 4-Page Booklet with info about the show's 4th season. This pamphlet also contains photos, trivia, and a bio on Morey Amsterdam.
>> Easter Eggs .... There are six total "Eggs" to be found amongst these five discs (one per DVD, except Disc #5, which has two). Like the third-season DVD-on-DVD set, all of these Easter Eggs contain short "Nick At Nite" ads featuring "spokesman" Dick Van Dyke. You can find them in the "Chapter" Sub-Menus by "Left-Clicking" on a chapter title (usually the "Opening Titles" chapter, but not always). If there's an "Egg" there, the cursor will move to the upper-right corner of the screen, highlighting the picture (drawing) of Mr. Van Dyke. Pressing "Play" or "Enter" at this point will access the ads.
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Below is a complete Episode Guide for the 32 programs that can be found inside this sleek-looking, 5-Disc set of "The Dick Van Dyke Show: Season Four". This episode list reflects the order in which the programs are presented within this DVD collection (with one minor exception -- four of the seven eps. on Disc #2 are laid out slightly out of order on the disc).
The episodes are arranged in sequence by "Production Date" (the date of filming the show), which does not always necessarily match the "Air Date" chronology. The original CBS-TV air dates are listed in parenthesis. In addition, some episode details and humorous quotes have been sprinkled into the guide too......
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THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW -- SEASON #4 (1964-1965):
96. My Mother Can Beat Up My Father (First Aired: 9/23/1964) .... The Season-Four opener has Rob tangling with a stuffed monkey -- and losing the battle. .... "Boy, you're really dying to let me have it, aren't you Rob?!"
97. The Ghost Of A. Chantz (9/30/1964) .... This hilarious episode has the gang staying at a "haunted" cabin and having the collective daylights scared out of them. .... "A live ember in a dead bulb?!"
98. The Lady And The Baby Sitter (10/7/1964)
99. A Vigilante Ripped My Sports Coat (10/14/1964)
100. The Man From 'Emperor' (10/21/1964)
101. Romance, Roses And Rye Bread (10/28/1964)
102. 4-And-A-Half (11/4/1964) ** .... Don Rickles puts in a very funny appearance as "Lyle Francis Delp", a rather inept hold-up man, who robs the Petries in an elevator. .... "You mean you've held up people in elevators before?" --> "No, I held 'em up in front of a police station, dum-dum!" :)
103. The Alan Brady Show Goes To Jail (11/11/1964) **
104. Three Letters From One Wife (11/18/1964)
105. It Wouldn't Hurt Them To Give Us A Raise (12/2/1964) .... "Did you know that Alan Brady's mother-in-law pays the band?"
106. Pink Pills And Purple Parents (11/25/1964) .... This is one of the best shows from Season #4, as a few pink pills have Laura acting very strangely when she meets Rob's parents for the very first time. MTM is a riot in this one. .... "I think there's something wrong with that girl." --> "Well, could be. But she's worth straightening out." .... "One for moo-moo!" .... "Vivian Fogel is a fink!" :-) .... "Pink Pills" Footnote: This episode is mis-titled on the DVD (on both the packaging and the on-screen menus). For some reason, the makers of these discs seem to think the episode is called "Pink Pills FOR Purple PATIENTS". Strange.
107. The Death Of The Party (12/9/1964) .... Dick Van Dyke's considerable talents in physical comedy are on full display in this funny episode. Rob tries his best to hide the fact he's very sick the same night Laura is giving a family dinner party. .... "Al Jolson, the Jazz Singer!!!"
108. Stretch Petrie vs. Kid Schenk (12/30/1964)
109. The Impractical Joke (1/13/1965) .... Buddy enlists a friend (played perfectly by Lennie Weinrib) to play a funny phone gag on Rob. In the days that follow, Buddy is worried sick that a whopper of a joke is about to come his way in retaliation. He's right too -- but not from the person he expected. A great episode. .... "Sometimes the lead and terminal wires become unhooked, or 'loose', as we say." .... "Now there may be a little dust on your 'loud-soft'." :)
110. Brother, Can You Spare $2500? (1/6/1965) .... "Excuse me, is that the 'Louie Wexler' water fountain?" --> "I don't know; but ANYBODY can drink from it."
111. Stacey Petrie - Part 1 (1/20/1965) **
112...Read more›

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Pratfall-prone Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke) and his plucky wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), along with wisecracking co-workers Sally (Rose Marie) and Buddy (Morey Amsterdam), captured America's hearts in this TV favorite that irresistibly combined wit and slapstick. EPISODES: My Two Showoffs and Me / My Mother Can Beat Up My Father / Ghost of A. Chantz / The Lady and the Babysitter / The Vigilante Ripped My Sports Coat / The Man from Emperor / Romance, Roses and Rye Bread / 4 ½ / The Alan Brady Show Goes to Jail / Three Letters from One Wife / It Wouldn't Hurt Them to Give Us a Raise / Pink Pills for Purple Patients / The Death of the Party / Stretch Petrie vs. Kid Schenk / The Impractical Joke / Brother, Can You Spare $2500? / Stacey Petrie # Part I / Stacey Petrie # Part II / The Redcoats Are Coming / Boy #1 Versus Boy #2 / The Case of the Pillow / Young Man with a Shoehorn / Girls Will Be Boys / Bupkiss / Your Home Sweet Home Is My Home / Not Now, Anthony Stone / Never Bathe on Saturday / 100 Terrible Hours / A Show of Hands / Baby fat / Br-room, Br-room / There's No Sale Like Wholesale

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