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24 out of 24 people found the following review useful: An era in the history of television, 5 September 2001 Author: Jerry Ables from Tennessee
I used to love watching reruns of this show when I was younger but now that I've seen it on TV Land, I have absolutely fallen in love with it. This precious gem of a classic is full of laughs and awesome characters. It was certainly different from many other situation comedies of its time and that, in my opinion, is tremendous enjoyment in itself. Hands down, one of the greatest shows ever to grace television.
11 out of 11 people found the following review useful: "Oh, Rob!", 2 July 2004 Author: grendelkhan from Xanadu
The Dick Van Dyke Show has always been one of my favorites; from the first time I saw it in syndicated reruns, to the recent dvd releases. Despite the passage of time, it still holds up. The reason? It had the best writing and performances of any show and it presented real characters in believable situations. You can argue about other classic shows, like I Love Lucy, All in The Family, MASH, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Seinfeld, or Cheers; but, in my opinion this was the finest comedy show on television.Carl Reiner is a comedy genius who turned his own life into a comedy goldmine. After starring in an unsold pilot, he was faced with the fact he was wrong to portray his own life. With the help of Sheldon Leonard and Danny Thomas, he was able to bring Rob Petrie to life, via Dick Van Dyke. He filled the series with great actors and the best writing on television. It was a perfect format, a show about a writer for a top variety show. It lent itself to logical guest appearances and a host of unusual and amusing situations. It was filled with a cast of great characters: lovable, if klutzy Rob Petrie, beautiful and talented wife Laura, joke machine Buddy Sorrell, sarcastic and love-starved Sally Rogers, pompous, but exploited producer Mel Cooley, demanding egomaniac boss Alan Brady, neighbors Jerry and Milly Helper, and cute son Richie Petrie. Everyone had their moments.So many of the shows were classics that it is hard to pick favorites. There are the wonderful dream stories, such as "The Gunslinger", "It May Look Like A Walnut", and "The Bad Old Days". There are the performance shows, like "The Alan Brady Show Presents", "The Sam Pomerantz Scandals", and "The Alan Brady Show Goes to Jail". There are the flashbacks to Rob and Laura's courtship and early days of marriage, as well as Rob's beginnings with the Alan Bady Show. Then there are the ones that are just plain fun, like "A Ghost of A. Chantz", "Never Bathe on Saturday", and numerous others. The shows could also be quite touching, like "Buddy Sorrel, Man and Boy". Even weaker shows had great moments.One of the reasons the show holds up well is that it lasted only 5 seasons and didn't get a chance to wear out its welcome. Everyone was at the top of their game when they called it quits.When the show first came to "Nick at Night," I was ecstatic. I hadn't seen the show in several years and proceeded to tape the entire premiere marathon (which meant getting up early in the morning to change tapes). Those tapes quickly became worn out. Now, I have them on dvd, complete with promos, commentaries, features and other extras. This show will continue to live on as testament to the best of television comedy. Too bad they don't make shows like this anymore.
11 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Great comedy,great chemistry, 15 October 2002 Author: SmileyVision from United States
I am too young to remember the show's original run,but I have gotten to know it through the years through it's reruns.What we have here is a great comedy through all aspects,physical(especially on the part of Dick Van Dyke),as well as spoken.The jokes are well timed and well delivered, giving this series a well deserved labeling of classic television comedy series.The cast is filled with comedic geniuses and legends.Hats off to Mary Tyler Moore(she looked great even then),who cut her teeth well on this series,more than preparing her for the series that bared her name in later years.Also worthy of note is the fact that they played it smart and called it quits with the series while still on top of their game,and before the show ran dry as many good shows unfortunately have done over the decades.To Dick and all the gang,I salute you!
9 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Going Nuts!!! Walnuts!!!, 12 June 2007 Author: dataconflossmoor from United States
This is one of the all time classic sitcoms in the history of television!!! "The Dick Van Dyke Show" was pioneer as a sitcom revelation which implemented many different forms of comedic conversation!! Because "The Dick Van Dyke Show" used so many dead pan dialog techniques, and one liner diatribes of amusement, it left a positively impressionable trademark on the television audience!! For an extended period in prime-time during this era , it effortlessly became the most popular T.V. Show on television!!! The talent was there, on and off the screen!! Dick Van Dyke, RoseMarie, Morey Amsterdam, Jerry Paris, Richard Deacon, and of course, MTM Productions mogul, Mary Tyler Moore!! Off the screen, you had Bill Persky, Sam Denoff, John Rich, and the creator of the show, Carl Reiner!! This show exuded a plethora of talent!! Comical situations persistently amused the small screen viewer by illustrating predicaments of precarious identifiability, and aspects of utterly human quirkiness that were never depicted on television shows before!! "The Dick Van Dyke Show" was the inventor of the triple!! What is the triple? When two statements follow a pattern, and the third statement breaks the pattern which sparks a laughter!!! Examples of the triple are:Does this restaurant serve anything flaming?1) Saganaki2) Bananas Foster3) Richard Simmons?Another one: You need something that breathes a lot:1) A Full Bodied Bordeaux2) A Summer Linen3) A Raunchy PervertAnother one: Did something go down the wrong way?1) Something You Ate2) Something You Drank3) Your Last Property Tax Bill!!Suffice it to say, the element of the triple is a lot of fun, not to mention, very effective!! The above triples are mere examples, "The Dick Van Dyke Show" had their own, and popularized the use of the triple tremendously!! The triple has been a sitcom staple ever since!! This show discusses a lot of real life experiences with the characters on the show, as well as many typical proclivities which are indicative of many New Yorkers!! This show was an excellent portrayal of a polite comedy writer who displays his latent tendencies through a lot of physical humor (Dick Van Dyke)!! Razor sharp sarcasm was replaced with succinct accuracy!! The Madison Ave boys who are writing the show can be the ones who are acrimonious, they are better at it anyway!!! When the show went off the air in '1966, it left an indelible mark on small screen entertainment!! The episode with Laura falling out of the hallway closet with a bunch of walnuts is considered THE!! classic episode of all time!! My favorite episode is the one with the Spanish dancer who was auditioning for a benefit show that Rob was in charge of!! Her dancing redefined sensuality for suburban Connecticut (New Rochelle). Her sex appeal was the genuine article, as opposed to someone like Laura, who just looks sophisticated in worsted wool!! A lot a people may recognize this episode in which I am talking about!! This series, in my opinion, is one of the best sitcoms ever!! Many critics rank it third, putting it only behind "The Honeymooners" and "M*A*S*H". This series was totally outstanding!! The "Dick Van Dyke Show" was a definite diamond in the rough!!
8 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Still Funny After All These Years, 1 April 2003 Author: Brian Washington (Sargebri@att.net) from Los Angeles, California
This was the sitcom that broke the mold when it came to the head of the household actually having a profession and showing him at work. For many years before this show premiered, you would always here about "dad" being at work but you would never hear what kind of work he did. In some cases you would even see them at home all the time (eg. Ozzie Nelson). This was the first show where you got to see the main character interact with his co-workers as well as his family at home. And very often the two would meet, especially in the classic episode "Coast to Coast Blabbermouth" when Laura almost cost Rob his job by revealing that Alan Brady wore a toupee. This show is just as funny today as it was when it first premiered in 1961.
7 out of 7 people found the following review useful: The Best Written Show In TV History, 10 April 2001 Author: Thor2000 from Collinsport, Maine
Carl Reiner made one of the most best written shows with this series by creating all of the scripts by himself. The man has an innate talent for comedy, timing and characters as the first show known where the characters spend half of the time hurling funny insults at their boss, and the other half showing the life of a happily married couple very much in love with each other. This is probably the first show to show the husband at work where so many other tv husbands vanished to "the job;" for all we know, Ward Cleaver and Ozzie Nelson could of been embezzlers or secret agents. This show went one more level further by showing the scenes behind the writing of a comedy-variety show. Dick Van Dyke is an eternally likeable talent and Mary Tyler Moore was demurely sexy and wonderfully irresistible before her looklike cousin got a job in that Minneapolis news office. That role was a far distant cry to this one. Forget the Bradys, they were the parents I wanted; they were both wonderful, fair and funny, but who wants to have a crush on their mom ? Larry Matthews was every model son as he played the "low-maintenance kid" missing from shows on end. Morey Amsterdam and Richard Deacon were perfect comedy foils for each other as was Rose Marie who played eternally optimistic bachelorette Sally Rogers. Jerry Paris and Ann Morgan Guilbert were everyone's favorite neighbors. All this and appearances by Reiner himself as oft seen Alan Brady, the star of the show within the show, made this series a comedy classic even above The Cosby Show or the Brady Bunch.
5 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Can you imagine being these characters and experiencing this wackiness? It would be great., 28 March 2005 Author: Lee Eisenberg (eisenberg.lee@gmail.com) from Portland, Oregon, USA
The crazy tales of comedy writer Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke), his wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), son Ritchie (Larry Matthews) and co-workers Buddy Sorrell (Morey Amsterdam) and Sally Rogers (Rose Marie). Usually, some mishap starts out small, but spreads and ends up involving everyone. As a side note, whenever Rob, Buddy and Sally's producer Mel Cooley (Richard Deacon) enters the office, Buddy always makes unfriendly remarks about his bald head.I watch "The Dick Van Dyke Show" every chance I get. From the moment that Rob trips over the ottoman in the opening sequence, you know that something loony is fast approaching. Whether Rob and Laura accidentally eavesdrop on their neighbors Jerry and Millie Helper (Jerry Paris and Ann Morgan Guilbert), or Sally's relationships remain in limbo, TDVDS never disappoints me.While of course Rob is the main character, my favorite character is Buddy. I nearly die laughing at his comments about Cooley's bald head. It's just wickedly funny. The sort of material that could only come from Carl Reiner (who occasionally appeared on the show as Rob, Buddy and Sally's boss, the tyrannical Alan Brady).All in all, TDVDS is definitely one of the funniest shows in TV history. I hope that it never stops rerunning!
5 out of 5 people found the following review useful: A sophisticated masterpiece, 13 February 2003 Author: edmundmuskie from America
Dick van Dyke was a truly remarkable comedian. In this show he was in his prime and he never seemed to match the level of critical acclaim popularity and overall quality of his performances he did here. The sitcom is without a doubt one of the classic shows of all time. In the show Dick van Dyke played Robert Petrie a writer for the Alan Brady Show. His wife was Laura Petrie and his two co-workers were Sally Rogers and Buddy Sorell. His boss was Mel Cooley.The show had a lot of slapstick, a lot of wordplay and a lot of singing and dancing. It was a great five-year run. My favorite character on the show was Mel Cooley. He was played excellently by Richard Deacon. He was sophisticated and had perfect Mary Tyler Moore became very famous as a result of this show. She was very funny here and will continue to impress audiences for generations.I think this is one of those shows where there was not a bad show. Every episode of the Dick Van Dyke show has it's own unique little charm. There are some great episodes. Perhaps the Twizzle episode and the walnut episode are some of the best. The show did end too early. They were on top of the game and Dick van Dyke and Carl Reiner both just wanted to quit. Perhaps they wanted to do other things.Dick van Dyke as I said never seemed to achieve such high status since. Perhaps his alcoholism didn't help. He was the reason they never did a sequel to Mary Poppins because they couldn't do the movie without him. Mary Tyler Moore would of course go on to do the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rose Marie would be on the Hollywood Squares for a long time after this. Morey Amsterdam and Richard Deacon would continue to make cameos and appear on talk shows for years to come.This was one of the first truly sophisticated comedies. The writing was excellent and witty, the acting was perfect and the show just had it together. The show overall probably could have been on for fifteen years if it really wanted to be. Still it is on TV Land sometime you will probably get a laugh out of it.
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Even with the twin beds, it's still the best sitcom ever!, 5 April 2005 Author: ebrennem from United States
I guess the most dated item on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" are those silly twin beds in Rob and Laura's bedroom. This had to be one of the last sitcoms to feature such absurdities.Regardless, "The Dick Van Dyke Show" is the best sitcom ever! The writing, characterizations, and timing are flawless. Few sitcoms since the mid '60's have measured up to the quality of this series. None have surpassed it.Be thankful for the incredible 5-season DVD set. This set has been a long time coming, but the wait has been worth it. The DVDs will help preserve the greatness of this show into the 21st century.
4 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Wow!, 4 December 2005 Author: scinatfilm from United States
I have to say, even knowing enough about TV history to have respect for this show didn't prepare me AT ALL for how ridiculously funny it is. As a long time fan of "Mad About You," which is clearly a tribute, I can see the setup here, but it's amazing to see how one of the truly landmark television shows still stands up after all this time. I'm just finishing Season 2 on DVD, and I have to say kudos to whoever put these together.As to the show itself, if you've never seen it, you're seriously missing out. Some of the best laughs I've ever had watching television have come from watching this show. In fact, watching this, I can see many early glimpses of popular sitcom characters from later years.A real treat!
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