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The Dick Van Dyke Show - Season One (5 Disc Box Set)

The Dick Van Dyke Show - Season One (5 Disc Box Set)

List Price: $69.99
Your Price: $62.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Danville to Hollywood!!
Review: A short but descriptive review for those who don't need a synopsis of the show is in order here. A wonderful package and very good linticular printing on the front of both seasons' boxes. Nice extras, although it did seem as if the quality of the Emmy awards footage was a bit off with the vertical hold or something. One word of warning however, the "documentary" of the episode "It May Look Like a Walnut" is nothing more than recollections of the storyline and does not offer much at all of behind the scenes info. Editing on this was rather sloppily done. I am surprised that it was ok'd by the quality control department at Image entertainment. As for the episodes...they are pristine and very nicely transferred. Let's hope the remaining seasons don't take too long to be released!!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Warning: Portions of some episodes are distorted.
Review: Although it looks like digital distortion, Image Entertainment blames the periodic distortion on "warped film" and claims that there's nothing they can do about it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Warning: Portions of some episodes are distorted.
Review: Although it looks like digital distortion, Image Entertainment blames the periodic distortion on "warped film" and claims that there's nothing they can do about it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Finally...Something besides mundane television
Review: As someone who DESPISES today's lame excuse for television shows, I'm glad they released this set for everyone to enjoy. Although I am a child of the 80s, I would much rather watch these classic episodes.
This show centers around Rob Petrie (a comedy writer who works for the Alan Brady Show), his wife Laura, son Ritchie and co-workers Buddy and Sally. They each have their own style and they each have a way of getting themselves into crazy and hilarious situations.
This show seems to fit with the classic greatness of I Love Lucy and Andy Griffith. It is sincerely funny. There is no violence or profanity. If you've never seen this show, watch it. If you have seen it, just relax and take yourself back to the time when television was worth watching.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Yes, there are extras
Review: At this time, there are no extras listed on this page but there ARE some planned. These include:

* Bonus "Head of the Family" Pilot Episode Starring Carl Reiner
* Cast Retrospective Interviews and Featurettes with Carl Reiner, Dick Van Dyke, Morey Amsterdam and Rose Marie
* CBS Promo Spots
* Excerpt from the 1961-1962 Emmy Awards Footage
* Cheer Commercial Spots
* Commentaries by Carl Reiner and Dick Van Dyke for 2 Episodes
* Still Galleries and Cast Bios

Also, the episodes are uncut for the first time since their original broadcast.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The true King of Comedy
Review: Dick Van Dyke's season one box-set is absolutley wonderful. The extra's are few BUT, it doesn't matter because he doesn't need extras at all. The commercials are a fun extra, which when included in an episode seem even better.
I do have to say that I'm certainly glad that this show turned into what we know as Dick Van Dyke's Show because that original pilot, boy....Wheewwwww. That wouldn't have lasted long.
I can't think of a cast where I have thoroughly enjoyed EVERY single cast member as much as I do this show, but it's true, there's not a stinker in the bunch. Buy this set and relive the classic memories or just discover this show for the first time, which I did, and I guarantee you'll be hooked too!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: About Time!
Review: Great package is finally available. Episodes are in sequence. Picture quality is very good. Looking forward to seasons 3-5.
I hope it's not too long before we see The Andy Griffith Show officially released on DVD also. The ones that are currently available are just not that good. C'mon viacom and CBS let's get with it!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: 5 star show in it's own unique retro way.
Review: Great show. Don't know the quality of the menu and episodes. But the price is more than Donny will pay.
Fair market value is about $20-$23 for 20-23 24 minute episodes. About $30-$35 for mid 30s to 39 episodes. Look at the price for Seasons 1 of Whats Happening and Kung-Fu. The jeanie has been let out of the bottle, times have changed. The days of $15 for 1 episode on VHS and
about 10 episodes available are over. At least if you want to make good money. We will not let companies like Rhin$o screw us with collections like Gumby and Laugh-In with 6 (count-em) 6 episodes for $50 with no promise of more to come. And I wouldn't buy unless it was a new set with about
22 episodes for $22 volume 1 Best of. I am not a sucker.
Don't be one yourself and bang your DVD makers until you get satisfaction- including a normal good DVD menu (see Honeymooners for the standard) and good restored quality.
Again The Genie has been let out of the bottle. The one episode rip-off days are Gone With The Wind. There are more and more DVD sets coming out so you have good alternatives. 24 is at the high end before rip-off but the episodes look great and it's about 20 hours. For Retro Gilligan's Island season one looks very promising. See them in order one a week. And shame for shame on anyone who tries to put the genie back. The days of $85 80 minute VHS movies are over.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 1st-Season Episode Guide ... Plus Fun Van Dyke Show Facts...
Review: Here's a complete Episode Guide for Season One of "The Dick Van Dyke Show", which consists of 30 programs, all of which are showcased in this picture-perfect, five-disc DVD boxed set. (There's also a bonus 31st program in this collection -- that being the original "Pilot" episode, "Head Of The Family".)

This episode list reflects the order in which the programs are presented within this DVD collection, 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:

-------------------------------------------------

"HEAD OF THE FAMILY" (PILOT) --- Starring Carl Reiner in the role of Rob Petrie. Featuring Barbara Britton as Laura, Morty Gunty as Buddy Sorrell, and Sylvia Miles as Sally Rogers.

The "Pilot" episode ultimately evolved, more than a year later, into what would become "The Dick Van Dyke Show". "Head Of The Family" was filmed in early December of 1958, but it didn't receive its one (and only) network TV airing until more than a year-and-a-half later, when CBS aired it on July 19, 1960.

---------------------------------------------------

THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW -- SEASON #1 (1961-1962):

1. The Sick Boy And The Sitter (First Aired: 10/3/1961)
2. The Meerschatz Pipe (11/28/1961)
3. Jealousy! (11/7/1961)
4. Sally And The Lab Technician (10/17/1961)
5. Washington vs. The Bunny (10/24/1961)
6. Oh How We Met The Night That We Danced (10/31/1961)
7. The Unwelcome House Guest (11/21/1961)
8. Harrison B. Harding Of Camp Crowder, Mo. (11/6/1961)
9. My Blonde-Haired Brunette (10/10/1961)
10. Forty-Four Tickets (12/5/1961)
11. To Tell Or Not To Tell (11/14/1961)
12. Sally Is A Girl (12/19/1961)
13. Empress Carlotta's Necklace (12/12/1961)
14. Buddy, Can You Spare A Job? (12/26/1961)
15. Who Owes Who What? (1/24/1962)
16. Sol And The Sponsor (4/11/1962)
17. The Curious Thing About Women (1/10/1962)
18. Punch Thy Neighbor (1/17/1962)
19. Where Did I Come From? (1/3/1962)
20. The Boarder Incident (2/14/1962)
21. A Word A Day (2/7/1962)
22. The Talented Neighborhood (1/31/1962)
23. Father Of The Week (2/21/1962)
24. The Twizzle (2/28/1962)
25. One Angry Man (3/7/1962)
26. Where You Been, Fassbinder? (3/14/1962)
27. The Bad Old Days (4/4/1962)
28. I Am My Brother's Keeper (3/21/1962) **
29. The Sleeping Brother (3/28/1962) **
30. The Return Of Happy Spangler (4/18/1962)

** = Two-Part Episode

---------------------------------------------------------------

It's a fine batch of episodes for the show's rookie season. And they look better than ever on this set of DVDs from Image Entertainment, with each program being remastered and restored.

A wealth of bonus material also awaits the purchaser of this deluxe, snappy-looking DVD package .... including: audio commentaries, cast interview snippets, original TV commercials, promotional ads, Emmy Award clips, and photo galleries. A first-rate package in every respect!

Intriguing "Dick Van Dyke Show Season 1" Notes & Trivia ...........

>> Many people have labeled Rob & Laura Petrie as "America's First Couple of TV", likening the attractive and photogenic TV husband-and-wife duo to that of the real-life "First Couple" of the day, John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. In addition to this purely sentimental and cosmetic "connection" made between the two couples, there are also two other very interesting pieces of information that closely tie the Kennedys to the fictional Petrie clan. .... Many fans of the show might not realize that both of these "First Couples" made their debuts on the exact same date. On January 20, 1961, JFK was inaugurated as the nation's 35th President; while later that very same day, the premiere episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" ("The Sick Boy And The Sitter") was filmed before a live studio audience in Hollywood. (The show wouldn't be aired, however, until more than eight months later.)

>> Another Kennedy/Van Dyke Show tie-in occurred in 1958, when actor Peter Lawford, JFK's brother-in-law, forked over the cash to finance the filming of Carl Reiner's pilot, "Head Of The Family". With another interesting Kennedy twist being the fact that in order for the project to go forward, it appears that the Kennedy patriarch himself, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., had to green-light Carl Reiner's script with a positive review of the material. The elder Kennedy evidently did indeed give a thumbs-up to the pilot script, because just days after reading it, Lawford issued the funds to support its production. So, I suppose one could argue that if it weren't for the backing of the Kennedy clan, we might *not* have ever seen "The Dick Van Dyke Show" make it into production. (Although, even without the aid of the powerful Kennedy family's financial assistance, it's doubtful whether the writing talents of Mr. Reiner would have remained hidden under a bushel for very long.)

>> Each first-season episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" cost about $40,000 to produce. This is practically pocket change by today's TV production-cost standards. Many programs nowadays cost more than two million dollars PER EPISODE! Yikes!

>> The original January 1961 Desilu Studios Production Schedule listed the premiere episode of the Van Dyke series as "Carl Reiner Show: All In A Day's Work--Pilot", a title that was never used. The "official" title of the show had not yet been finalized at the time of the first show's filming.

>> This Season-One DVD treasure chest contains one of the very best Mary Tyler Moore/Laura Petrie "crying jags" of the whole series -- in the episode "My Blonde-Haired Brunette", which features a nifty-looking "half-blonde / half-brunette" Laura Petrie, who was attempting to spice up her marriage by bleaching her hair. This is the episode which solidified the comedic acting talents of Mary Tyler Moore in the eyes of Carl Reiner (and everybody else who worked on the show). It didn't take Mary very long to go from "That Girl With Three Names" (just before she was cast in the part, when nobody could remember what her name was) to an acting force to be reckoned with. The rest, as they say .... is history. :)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 1st-Season Episode Guide ... Plus Fun Van Dyke Show Facts...
Review: Here's a complete Episode Guide for Season One of "The Dick Van Dyke Show", which consists of 30 programs, all of which are showcased in this picture-perfect, five-disc DVD boxed set. (There's also a bonus 31st program in this collection -- that being the original "Pilot" episode, "Head Of The Family".)

This episode list reflects the order in which the programs are presented within this DVD collection, 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:

-------------------------------------------------

"HEAD OF THE FAMILY" (PILOT) --- Starring Carl Reiner in the role of Rob Petrie. Featuring Barbara Britton as Laura, Morty Gunty as Buddy Sorrell, and Sylvia Miles as Sally Rogers.

The "Pilot" episode ultimately evolved, more than a year later, into what would become "The Dick Van Dyke Show". "Head Of The Family" was filmed in early December of 1958, but it didn't receive its one (and only) network TV airing until more than a year-and-a-half later, when CBS aired it on July 19, 1960.

---------------------------------------------------

THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW -- SEASON #1 (1961-1962):

1. The Sick Boy And The Sitter (First Aired: 10/3/1961)
2. The Meerschatz Pipe (11/28/1961)
3. Jealousy! (11/7/1961)
4. Sally And The Lab Technician (10/17/1961)
5. Washington vs. The Bunny (10/24/1961)
6. Oh How We Met The Night That We Danced (10/31/1961)
7. The Unwelcome House Guest (11/21/1961)
8. Harrison B. Harding Of Camp Crowder, Mo. (11/6/1961)
9. My Blonde-Haired Brunette (10/10/1961)
10. Forty-Four Tickets (12/5/1961)
11. To Tell Or Not To Tell (11/14/1961)
12. Sally Is A Girl (12/19/1961)
13. Empress Carlotta's Necklace (12/12/1961)
14. Buddy, Can You Spare A Job? (12/26/1961)
15. Who Owes Who What? (1/24/1962)
16. Sol And The Sponsor (4/11/1962)
17. The Curious Thing About Women (1/10/1962)
18. Punch Thy Neighbor (1/17/1962)
19. Where Did I Come From? (1/3/1962)
20. The Boarder Incident (2/14/1962)
21. A Word A Day (2/7/1962)
22. The Talented Neighborhood (1/31/1962)
23. Father Of The Week (2/21/1962)
24. The Twizzle (2/28/1962)
25. One Angry Man (3/7/1962)
26. Where You Been, Fassbinder? (3/14/1962)
27. The Bad Old Days (4/4/1962)
28. I Am My Brother's Keeper (3/21/1962) **
29. The Sleeping Brother (3/28/1962) **
30. The Return Of Happy Spangler (4/18/1962)

** = Two-Part Episode

---------------------------------------------------------------

It's a fine batch of episodes for the show's rookie season. And they look better than ever on this set of DVDs from Image Entertainment, with each program being remastered and restored.

A wealth of bonus material also awaits the purchaser of this deluxe, snappy-looking DVD package .... including: audio commentaries, cast interview snippets, original TV commercials, promotional ads, Emmy Award clips, and photo galleries. A first-rate package in every respect!

Intriguing "Dick Van Dyke Show Season 1" Notes & Trivia ...........

>> Many people have labeled Rob & Laura Petrie as "America's First Couple of TV", likening the attractive and photogenic TV husband-and-wife duo to that of the real-life "First Couple" of the day, John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. In addition to this purely sentimental and cosmetic "connection" made between the two couples, there are also two other very interesting pieces of information that closely tie the Kennedys to the fictional Petrie clan. .... Many fans of the show might not realize that both of these "First Couples" made their debuts on the exact same date. On January 20, 1961, JFK was inaugurated as the nation's 35th President; while later that very same day, the premiere episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" ("The Sick Boy And The Sitter") was filmed before a live studio audience in Hollywood. (The show wouldn't be aired, however, until more than eight months later.)

>> Another Kennedy/Van Dyke Show tie-in occurred in 1958, when actor Peter Lawford, JFK's brother-in-law, forked over the cash to finance the filming of Carl Reiner's pilot, "Head Of The Family". With another interesting Kennedy twist being the fact that in order for the project to go forward, it appears that the Kennedy patriarch himself, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., had to green-light Carl Reiner's script with a positive review of the material. The elder Kennedy evidently did indeed give a thumbs-up to the pilot script, because just days after reading it, Lawford issued the funds to support its production. So, I suppose one could argue that if it weren't for the backing of the Kennedy clan, we might *not* have ever seen "The Dick Van Dyke Show" make it into production. (Although, even without the aid of the powerful Kennedy family's financial assistance, it's doubtful whether the writing talents of Mr. Reiner would have remained hidden under a bushel for very long.)

>> Each first-season episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" cost about $40,000 to produce. This is practically pocket change by today's TV production-cost standards. Many programs nowadays cost more than two million dollars PER EPISODE! Yikes!

>> The original January 1961 Desilu Studios Production Schedule listed the premiere episode of the Van Dyke series as "Carl Reiner Show: All In A Day's Work--Pilot", a title that was never used. The "official" title of the show had not yet been finalized at the time of the first show's filming.

>> This Season-One DVD treasure chest contains one of the very best Mary Tyler Moore/Laura Petrie "crying jags" of the whole series -- in the episode "My Blonde-Haired Brunette", which features a nifty-looking half-blonde/half-brunette Laura Petrie, who was attempting to spice up her marriage by bleaching her hair. This is the episode which solidified the comedic acting talents of Mary Tyler Moore in the eyes of Carl Reiner (and everybody else who worked on the show). It didn't take Mary very long to go from "That Girl With Three Names" (just before she was cast in the part, when nobody could remember what her name was) to an acting force to be reckoned with. The rest, as they say .... is history. :)


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