Rating summary
Movie | | 5.0 |
Video | | 4.5 |
Audio | | 3.0 |
Extras | | 4.5 |
Overall | | 4.5 |
The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review
The Ottoman Empire
Reviewed by Michael Reuben November 21, 2012
Whether or not you have ever watched The Dick Van Dyke Show (or "DVDS" for short),
you live
in a sitcom world that DVDS helped to invent. The show's impact goes beyond mere influence.
Its DNA is embedded in today's comedy in much the same way that our ancestors' genes
determine our cellular composition. But don't take my word for it. A roster of influential comics,
many of them featured in the TV Academy tribute included on this Blu-ray set, can attest to
DVDS's influence. Among them are Paul Reiser, who based Mad About You on DVDS, and Ray
Romano, who drew on DVDS for inspiration to create Everybody Loves Raymond.
No less an authority than Chuck Lorre, co-creator of The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half
Men and Roseanne, has testified to the centrality of DVDS in American comedy. In one of the "vanity
cards" appearing at the end of each of his shows, Lorre offered "The Sitcom Writers' Prayer" (no.
285; May 3, 2010):
Lord, if it be thy will, give unto us a story that has lots of
comic potential while simultaneously exploring and
defining our characters and their relationships (preferably something that hasn't been done on Dick Van Dyke
or Friends).
The prayer isn't Lorre's only nod to
DVDS. He also pays tribute at every opportunity to the
prolific TV producer, Sheldon Leonard, who saw the potential in
DVDS when everyone, even its
creator, Carl Reiner, was ready to abandon it. It was Leonard who pushed the show onto CBS,
directed the initial episodes and remained a creative force behind the camera throughout the next
five years. If the name "Sheldon Leonard" sounds familiar, it's because Chuck Lorre gave his late
boss two namesakes in
The Big Bang Theory's physicist roommates, Drs. Sheldon Cooper and
Leonard Hofstadter.
Like much of the great comedy of the latter 20th Century,
DVDS was spawned from the writers'
room of Sid Cesar's
Your Show of Shows. The same school of laughter that produced Mel
Brooks, Woody Allen, Neil Simon and Larry Gelbart also left a young writer named Carl Reiner
looking for a job when Cesar's show ended. He quickly penned thirteen scripts for a half-hour
sitcom about a family man like himself who worked as a writer on a variety show ruled by a
temperamental host. With himself in the leading role, Reiner raised enough money to film a pilot
episode under the title
Head of the Family—and it bombed. No one wanted it. (Reiner's pilot is
included in the extras.)
Actor-turned-producer Leonard spotted the problem, which was that Reiner was no good at
playing himself. (Leonard's disciple, Chuck Lorre, would later codify this as the "landfill"
principle, which holds that, without the right casting, even the best material might as well be
landfill.) Leonard told Reiner, you should produce the show, but get someone else to play you.
Then Leonard suggested Dick Van Dyke. It may or may not be true, but many people interviewed
for the DVD and Blu-ray extras claim that their first reaction upon hearing that name was:
What's a "Dick Van Dyke"?
In 1961, when the show that would ultimately bear his name was being developed, Dick Van
Dyke was a newly minted star on Broadway in the original production of
Bye Bye Birdie. Having
auditioned for a small part, Van Dyke was astonished to find himself cast in the lead by veteran
director and choreographer Gower Champion, who liked the way Van Dyke moved. Van Dyke
protested that he couldn't dance. "We'll teach you", replied Champion, who knew that steps
could be learned, but innate physical grace was a gift. Van Dyke went on to win a Tony award for
Bye Bye Birdie and star in the 1963 movie.
If he had been born in an earlier era, Van Dyke could have joined the ranks of Buster Keaton,
Charlie Chaplin or his idol, Stan Laurel. Instead, he grew up watching these great physical
clowns of the silent screen and spent hours practicing their moves. Blessed with a string bean
body, rubbery features and, as Carl Reiner would later say, apparently no bones to break, Van
Dyke had an infinite capacity for taking pratfalls, rearranging his features and performing
expressive pantomime. But Van Dyke's gifts weren't limited to gestures; his physical feats were
amplified by a dramatic talent that made him an ideal performer for TV. He could tumble over
the furniture onto the ground, then lift his head off the floor and exchange dialogue with other
actors in the scene—and remain engaged and credible throughout.
In Van Dyke, Reiner found the ideal partner with whom to create the character of Rob Petrie, a
suburban husband and father who, like other husbands and fathers, got up, got dressed, had
breakfast, kissed his wife and son goodbye and went into the city to an office with a
desk—except that Rob's desk job wasn't like any other, because Rob wrote
comedy. Just under
the surface, he was also a performer himself, and throughout the show's first season, the
brilliance of Reiner's initial conception became evident as the scripts shifted fluidly between
Rob's two identities. The comic looney would often burst out at home, while the strait-laced
suburbanite would just as often have to take the stage in the writers' room at work to corral the
chaos. (Note that it's primarily in the first season that co-worker Buddy Sorrell ribs Rob about
his college education. In later seasons, they behave more as equals.)
The theme of dual personalities became explicit in the two-part episode that Reiner wrote for
Van Dyke's brother, Jerry, who appeared as Rob's brother, Stacy. In the show, Stacy really
did
suffer from a split identity manifested through sleepwalking (episodes 26 and 27). When awake,
Stacy was shy and retiring; when asleep, he was the life of the party. Rob's own "secret identity"
became a delicate subject in episode 22, where Rob had to visit his son's school and explain
what he did for a living. His son, Ritchie, was embarrassed, because his dad's job was boring.
Sure enough, Rob stumbled before the class, as he tried to explain how to write a comedy sketch.
Then he stumbled
for real, the kids laughed, and Rob instantly began clowning like a pro (which,
in fact, he was). The season's conclusion (episode 30) featured Rob's co-authoring a wild
slapstick sketch with the retired writer who gave him his first job. To persuade his co-workers
that it was a good idea, he had to perform the whole thing, and by the end you wondered why it
was called "The Alan Brady Show" and not "The Rob Petrie Show".
(Of course, it really
was Rob's show. For the first few seasons, Alan Brady was seen only from
behind, though he eventually emerged in full figure in the person of Carl Reiner himself, joyfully
out-Cesar-ing Cesar in the department of megalomania. Revenge is a dish best served cold and
on national TV.)
Though Reiner's concept of a comedy writer's home life provided
DVDS's initial inspiration, its
longevity resulted from the rich material provided by its ensemble cast, whom Reiner was not
shy about tapping for script ideas. The show's single biggest discovery was Mary Tyler Moore,
who was a 23-year-old unknown when she was cast as Laura Petrie (pronounced "Laurie" for the
show's first season). Previously seen primarily as the legs of the answering service on
Richard
Diamond, Private Detective, Moore was suggested by Danny Thomas, a co-producer of
DVDS,
who had almost hired her several years earlier to play his daughter on
Make Room for Daddy.
(Thomas decided against her, he later said, because no one would believe that a woman with
Moore's petite nose could have a father with Thomas' legendary schnoz.) Reiner claims that, as
soon as Moore walked into his office and spoke one word, he grabbed her and walked her down
to Sheldon Leonard's office, exclaiming, "I found her!"
Moore and Van Dyke had instant chemistry. The production code of the era mandated that the
Petries sleep in twin beds, but Moore and Van Dyke played a married couple so credibly that
much of the public believed they
were married. (They were, but not to each other.) Moore was
more than a romantic partner, though. She quickly established herself as the most gifted
comedienne on TV since Lucille Ball. Van Dyke has said repeatedly that he has never seen
anyone pick up comic timing so quickly. In Moore's hands, Laura Petrie became an unexpectedly
multi-dimensional character who was every bit her husband's equal in all aspects of their
marriage, both good and bad. She could be just as devious, just as needy, just as foolish and,
when necessary, just as resourceful and intelligent.
Moore also revealed her own gift for physical comedy, as exemplified by her famous struggle
with an inflating life raft in episode 16. It's the kind of scene Lucy might have done, except that
Moore managed to look gorgeously unmussed at the end. And her verbal acrobatics that began
with Reiner's direction to "Cry funny!" and were eventually distilled into the signature plea, "Oh,
Robbb!" became as famous as her TV husband's tripping over the ottoman during the opening
credits that ran from season 2 onward (which he didn't always do and bookmakers gave odds on
whether he would each week). Both Moore and the writers insist that no one ever set out to make
Laura's recurring line a catchphrase. It became one, because Moore made it funny—and
different—every time.
The Petrie household was completed by Larry Mathews, six years old when the show began, who
won the part of Ritchie Petrie by being the best one at the audition who had no prior experience.
Mathews' direct and unforced delivery immediately won over audiences. Casting the rest of the
office was a different matter. Rose Marie, who shared a birthday with Mathews but little else,
had toured in vaudeville and worked in night clubs. She was a comic, a singer, and had a brassy
style that made her ideal for staff writer Sally Rogers, the first female character in TV comedy to
be independent and self-supporting. So what that she joked constantly about finding a husband?
The very fact that she did so was like announcing to the world that she never would. It would be
tantamount to giving up her identity.
Rose Marie suggested casting her friend Morey Amsterdam as staff writer Buddy Sorrell, for
whom Reiner had originally imagined someone younger. A fixture in nightclubs under the
nickname "The Human Joke Machine", Amsterdam was known for his ability to recall a joke on
any subject. He gave Buddy that same quality, making him both the Alan Brady Show's and
DVDS's resident king of the one-liners. To ensure a steady flow of jokes, Reiner gave Buddy an
archenemy in the show's producer, Mel Cooley, played by veteran actor Richard Deacon, who
was still appearing on
Leave It to Beaver when he started on
DVDS. The war of insults between
Buddy and Mel became
DVDS's longest running joke.
DVDS's scripts, whether by Reiner or by writers like Garry Marshall who learned at his feet,
could be built from a minor incident like a tiff with the Petries' neighbors and friends, Jerry and
Millie Helper (Jerry Paris and Ann Morgan Guilbert), after Jerry mocked the most recent
installment of the Alan Brady Show (episode 17). They could involve elaborate flashbacks, like
the famous episode that opened Season 3 dealing with Rob's anxieties immediately after Ritchie
was born (episode 64), or the account of the disaster that was Rob's and Laura's honeymoon
(episode 85). But some of the show's most inspired episodes were sheer acts of lunacy, including
Rob's poor choice to seek treatment for hair loss from a barber friend of Buddy's (episode 93)
and Reiner's inventive tribute to
The Twilight Zone entitled
It May Look Like a Walnut (episode
51). The latter had the distinction of being the only episode that Sheldon Leonard ever opposed
making, but to his credit the producer admitted he was wrong when he saw the result. It's
probably the single most famous episode of
DVDS, and not just because it features Danny
Thomas as an extraterrestrial named Kolak.
Reiner's favorite episodes, however, were the ones where he could get the cast singing and
dancing, and for a very simple reason: He didn't have to write as many lines for them to speak. In
the pilot episode, Rob, Buddy and Sally are called upon to entertain at a party at Alan Brady's
penthouse. (Their boss is conveniently out of the room.) In later years, Reiner and his writers
became ever more inventive in creating opportunities to use the vaudeville, night club and
Broadway pasts of their cast members. In one episode they had to substitute for an injured comic
to provide the evening entertainment at a fancy resort (episode 54). In another, they put on a
show in prison (episode 103). And on one occasion, Alan Brady (played by Reiner) simply
declared that his staff should perform the Alan Brady Show for Christmas (episode 76). Even
Ritchie sang for that one.
Dick Van Dyke has repeatedly said that he would have happily continued doing
DVDS forever.
CBS, which almost canceled the show after its first season, would have just as happily kept it on
the air. But now that the show was successful, various participants were getting offers they
couldn't resist. Reiner himself was absent for much of the fifth season to act in a film (
The
Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming). After 158 episodes, he decided it was time to
do something else.
The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
When The Dick Van Dyke Show was first announced for Blu-ray, some questioned whether a
black-and-white television show from the 1960s would reveal anything new in high definition.
The screenshots accompanying this review should answer the question, but there's additional
explanation. DVDS was shot on 35mm film, and the cinematographer for all five seasons was
Robert De Grasse, A.S.C., who had been shooting films in Hollywood since the days of silents.
De Grasse's feature film credits included Stage Door with Katherine Hepburn, The Bachelor and
the Bobbysoxer with Cary Grant and Shirley Temple, and The Miracle of the Bells with Fred
MacMurray and Frank Sinatra.
By the 1950s, De Grasse had made the switch to TV, where he worked on such programs as
Amos 'n' Andy, Our Miss Brooks, I Love Lucy and The Bill Dana Show. The last was a Sheldon
Leonard production, which is presumably how De Grasse ended up on DVDS. It turned out to be
an ideal match. As the show's producer, Carl Reiner was notorious for his refusal to compromise
on quality; the stories are legion throughout the extras on this Blu-ray set. As a cameraman, De
Grasse couldn't help but light TV as if it were a feature film, even though the results would be
viewed on 19" screens at a fraction of their resolution. (De Grasse would no doubt sympathize
with today's cinematographers who see their work being consumed on tiny handhelds.) When he
died in 1971, De Grasse couldn't have imagined that he'd miraculously "future-proofed" his
work for the day when, fifty years after the fact, an enterprising Blu-ray producer and publisher
could finally present it as De Grasse shot it.
Based on new scans from the camera negatives, the five seasons of DVDS are presented on
fifteen 1080p, VC-1-encoded Blu-rays that are nothing short of spectacular. The source elements
have been exceptionally well-preserved, with only minor and occasional damage to betray their
age. When the rare flaw does occur, it's a shock, precisely because it is so rare. An example can
be found just after time mark 14:00 of episode 14 (Buddy, Can You Spare a Job?), where
scratches at the left of the frame make it momentarily appear that a waterfall has suddenly
materialized in front of Mary Tyler Moore. (It quickly disappears.)
As in the very best theatrical b&w photography, shades of black, gray and white are finely
differentiated to create a sense of depth and delineate minute details. Never before, even on
Image's otherwise excellent DVD set of DVDS, could one make out the details of the pictures
and posters stuck on the writers' room walls at the Alan Brady Show. The wardrobe and hairstyle
details can also be seen with precision, and it's fascinating to compare them with those on Mad
Men, where the same time period is being recreated, but through a prism of nostalgia. And, of
course, the intensely personal, even intimate, comedy of relationships that is an essential element
of DVDS plays even more effectively when the tiniest flicker of expression registers with perfect
clarity.
On occasion, the enhanced resolution isn't the show's friend. Some of the make-up gags were
limited by time and money, and they worked then, because the audience at home couldn't see
how cheap they were. But we can see it now, and we have to make allowances. A good example
is episode 93 (I'd Rather Be Bald Than Have No Head at All), which is still hilarious. Salad,
anyone?
Video noise is rare and minor, but it does occur, and it's always in the same place: wardrobe.
Rob Petrie's clothing in particular favors fine checks and stripes that, in close-up, seem to pose a
challenge even for Blu-ray's resolution. At DVD resolution, the noise disappears, along with the
details of the patterns. Without examining the source material, it's hard to know for certain, but
this appears to be one of those situations where the limitations of 2K resolution are exposed and
the (still) superior abilities of 35mm film become apparent. Somewhere, Robert De Grasse is
holding his light meter and smiling.
As noted, this is a new scan. The difference is obvious in direct comparison to Image's DVD
edition, which shows less at the left and right of the frame. To allow readers to compare both the
difference in aspect ratios and the improvement in detail, the last two images included under the
"Screenshots" tab present the same frame from the Blu-ray and the DVD; the latter has been
upconverted to 1080p by the same hardware used to capture the Blu-ray image.
The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
There's not much to say about The Dick Van Dyke Show's DTS-HD MA 1.0 soundtrack, except
that it's generally in excellent shape. The mono mix followed (and arguably solidified) a pattern
familiar from almost every major sitcom since that time, with voices clearly rendered, simple
sound effects, music reserved for fade-in, fade-outs and major transitions and, of course, the
laugh track. The dynamic range is somewhat limited, as one would expect from this era of
broadcast television, but not so much that the track ever sounds harsh or fatiguing.
Most episodes were taped with a studio audience, and post-production ADR is obvious and
noticeable when it occurs. That's one of the very few downsides of Blu-ray's increased sonic and
visual resolution; during the original broadcasts, small screens, tiny speakers and NTSC
resolution successfully hid the seams. Also, on occasion the volume will suddenly drop, then
bounce back to its previous level after a second or two; these appear to be flaws in the source
material, but they're sufficiently infrequent to be only a minor distraction.
The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
For ease of reference, the extras are listed below in two groups: (1) new extras exclusive to Blu-ray, as listed by the set's producers; and (2) "legacy"
extras ported over from the DVD sets
previously released by Image in 2003 and 2004. The latter were differently organized on DVD,
and I have not attempted to compare them item by item. However, if anyone wants to know
whether a particular DVD feature has been included, please check the list below.
Blu-ray exclusive features
Season 1
- TV Academy Tribute to Carl Reiner—Paul Reiser (disc 3) (480i; 1.33:1; 10:21): On
October 13, 2011, Reiner was honored for lifetime achievement by The Academy of
Television Arts and Sciences. Excerpts from the event have been included throughout the
Blu-ray set. The quality is standard definition, because the event was shown by webcast.
In this section, Paul Reiser describes Reiner's Emmy-winning guest appearance on Mad
About You, where he reprised the Alan Brady character.
- 50th Anniversary Q&A (disc 3) (480i; 1.85:1, non-enhanced; 29:14): This, too, appears
to be a webcast. It opens with Van Dyke and a group of backing vocalists performing the
lyrics written by Morey Amsterdam for Earle Hagen's theme song. Then the star settles
into a panel discussion with Reiner and Garry Marshall, who joined the show as a writer
in 1964. With Marshall acting as informal moderator, they range broadly over the show's
history and take questions from the audience. The best stories are from Reiner about his
early days performing Shakespeare.
Season 2
- "Kick the Habit" Anti-Smoking PSA Radio Spot Featuring Dick Van Dyke (disc 1)
(0:58): This short announcement plays at the start-up of disc 1 over a disclaimer noting
that smoking depicted in the show should be considered in historical context. A major
sponsor of Season 2 was Lorillard Tobacco, maker of Kent Cigarettes, and the cast
performed numerous ads for Kent, which heavily promoted the benefits of its "Micronite"
filter. Behind the fancy name was the reality that "Micronite" was made of asbestos.
- It May Look Like a Walnut Color Test (disc 2, episode 51) (480i, 1.33:1, windowboxed;
3:46): This appears to be a colorization trial on a portion of one of the show's most
famous episodes. In the 50th Anniversary Q&A listed above, Reiner refers to proposals to
colorize the show, which he rejected.
- Safety Council Reel (disc 3) (480i; 1.33:1; 1:47): A series of brief PSAs taped by Dick
Van Dyke for the National Safety Council to encourage safe driving. If all PSAs were this
entertaining, compact and effective, they'd work better.
- Dick on The Danny Kaye Show (disc 3) (480i; 1.33:1; 16:41): In an extended sketch,
Van Dyke plays a less-than-encouraging best man to Kaye's nervous groom. Be sure to
watch to the end.
Season 3
- Mary on The Danny Kaye Show (disc 3) (480i; 1.33:1; 10:17): Moore joins Kaye for a
sitcom parody with sufficient political incorrectness that no one would do it today. The
quality of the source material is much poorer than that for the appearance by Dick Van
Dyke.
- TV Academy Tribute to Carl—Steve Martin and George Clooney (disc 3) (480i;
1.33:1; 5:58): Martin offers a pre-recorded tribute in his customary facetious style, and
Clooney presents the actual award and tells a story of his early job chauffering Rose
Marie, Martha Raye and Rosemary Clooney to and from performances.
Season 4
- Mary on The Danny Thomas Show (disc 1) (480i; 1.33:1; 2:32): A comic rendition of
the (more or less) true story of how Moore came to be cast as Laura Petrie.
- TV Academy Tribute to Carl—Dick Van Dyke (disc 1) (480i; 1.33:1; 11:14): Reiner
tells DVDS's origin story one more time, Van Dyke describes how he became involved,
and the two of them re-tell stories that will be familiar to anyone who has already listened
to the episode commentaries.
- TV Academy Tribute to Carl—Ray Romano and Brad Garrett (disc 1) (480i; 1.33:1;
1:53): A brief, pre-recorded tribute.
- TV Academy Tribute to Carl—Rose Marie, Larry Matthews, Bill Persky (disc 2)
(480i; 1.33:1; 13:04): In what may be the best of the TV Academy Tribute segments,
writer Bill Persky, who, with his partner Sam Denoff, took over showrunning duties for
Reiner during much of season 5, recalls what he learned from his mentor—and Persky is
a great storyteller.
Season 5
- TV Academy Tribute to Carl—Garry Shandling (disc 1) (480i; 1.33:1; 2:29): In
typical Shandling fashion, he never completely articulates a thought. But he gets the point
across.
- Me-TV Promo—My Blonde-Haired Brunette (Season 1) (disc 1) (480i; 1.33:1; 0:34):
Reiner explains about "crying funny".
- Me-TV Promo—Package 1 (disc 1) (480i; 1.33:1; 1:50): A great collection of memories
for fans; an accurate preview for those who want to sample.
- Me-TV Promo—Package 2 (disc 2) (480i; 1.33:1; 2:05): The opening promo, which
features Reiner as Alan Brady, past and present, is the best, but they're all enjoyable.
(Note: A few additional Me-TV promos are scattered throughout the individual episodes.
Although not listed as Blu-ray exclusives, they are new to this set, because Me-TV did not begin
broadcasting DVDS until 2010.)
DVD carryover features
Season 1
- Commentaries
- Disc 2
- Commentary on Episode 19 (Where Did I Come From?) by Carl Reiner
and Dick Van Dyke
- Disc 3
- Commentary on Episode 29 (The Sleeping Brother) by Dick Van Dyke
and Carl Reiner
- Episode Photos
- Disc 1: Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10
- Disc 2: Episodes 11, 12
- Disc 3: Episodes 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30
- Play with Promo: The following episodes can be played with or without an ad for Cheer
laundry detergent:
- Disc 1: Episodes 2, 10, 19, 20
- Disc 2: Episodes 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20
- Disc 3: Episodes 21, 22, 23, 24 (also Me-TV promo), 26, 27, 28 (also Dick Van
Dyke promo)
- Miscellaneous
- Disc 1
- CBS Promo (aired during Password, January 26, 1962)
- Head of the Family Pilot
- Carl Remembers Pilot
- Carl & Sheldon Remember Pilot
- The Cast Remembers My Blonde-Haired Brunette (episode 9)
- Disc 2
- The Cast Remembers Buddy
- Remembering Where Did I Come From? (episode 19)
- Disc 3
- Carl, Rose and Morey Remember Dick's Physical Comedy
- Emmy Awards® (1961-1962) Outstanding Writing Achievement in
Comedy
Season 2
- Commentaries
- Disc 1
- Commentary on Episode 34 (The Attempted Marriage) by Carl Reiner and
Dick Van Dyke
- Commentary on Episode 37 (My Husband Is Not a Drunk) by Carl Reiner
and Dick Van Dyke
- Commentary on Episode 41 (A Bird in the Head Hurts) by Rose Marie,
Larry Mathews and Ann Morgan Guilbert
- Disc 3
- Commentary on Episode 53 (All About Eavesdropping) by Rose Marie,
Larry Mathews and Ann Morgan Guilbert
- Episode Photos
- Disc 1: Episodes 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39
- Disc 2: Episodes 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52
- Disc 3: Episodes 53, 54, 55, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63
- Play with Promo: The following episodes can be played with or without ads. The most
common ad in season 2 was for Kent cigarettes:
- Disc 1: Episodes 31 (also Me-TV), 32 (Dash), 33 (Joy), 34, 35, 36, 37 (Joy), 38
(Joy), 39, 40 (Joy), 41
- Disc 2: Episodes 43, 45, 47, 49, 50
- Disc 3: Episodes 53, 55, 58, 60, 62 (also Family Cavalcade)
- Miscellaneous
- Disc 1
- Remembering the Ottoman
- Remembering Rob and Laura
- Remembering Buddy and Sally
- Emmy Awards® (1962-1963) Outstanding Directorial and Program
Achievements in Comedy
- Remembering the Bank Book (episode 33)
- Remembering the Woodpecker (episode 41)
- Disc 2
- Emmy Awards® (1962-1963) Outstanding Writing Achievement in
Comedy
- Remembering Dick's Sneezing (episode 42)
- Remembering Jerry Paris (episode 43)
- CBS Promo (episode 51)
- Making It May Look Like a Walnut (episode 51)
- Disc 3
Season 3
- Commentaries
- Disc 1
- Commentary on Episode 64 (That's My Boy??) by Carl Reiner and Dick
Van Dyke
- Disc 3
- Commentary on Episode 90 (October Eve) by Carl Reiner and Dick Van
Dyke
- Episode Photos
- Disc 1: Episodes 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, ,70, 71, 72, 73
- Disc 2: Episodes 76, 78, 82
- Disc 3: Episodes 89, 90, 91, 93, 94, 95
- Miscellaneous
- Disc 1
- Remembering Sheldon Leonard
- Sheldon on the Role of Executive Producer
- The Danny Thomas Show (10/21/1963)
- Remembering That's My Boy?? (episode 64)
- Me-TV Promo (episode 64)
- Dick Van Dyke Promo (episode 66)
- Remembering the Betty Lou (episode 72)
- Disc 2
- Rehearsal footage from A Day in the Life of Sheldon Leonard
- The Cast Plays Stump the Stars
- Emmy Awards® (1963-1964) Outstanding Writing and Direcing
Achievements in Comedy
- Remembering Joe Coogan (episode 80)
- Me-TV Promo (episode 80)
- Disc 3
- Dick and Mary on Van Dyke & Company
- Emmy Awards® (1963-1964) Outstanding Continued Performance by
Actor/Actress in a Series
- Nick at Nite Promos
- Remembering Alan Brady (episode 86)
- Remembering October Eve (episode 90)
Season 4
- Commentaries
- Disc 3
- Commentary on Episode 121 (Never Bathe on Saturday) by Carl Reiner and
Dick Van Dyke
- Commentary on Episode 124 (Baby Fat) by Carl Reiner and Dick Van
Dyke
- Commentary on Episode 124 (Baby Fat) by Garry Marshall
- Episode Photos
- Disc 1: Episodes 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106
- Disc 2: Episodes 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116
- Disc 3: Episodes 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 125, 126, 127
- Miscellaneous
- Disc 1
- Remembering Don Rickles (episode 102)
- Clip from the Animated Program The Alan Brady Show (episode 103)
- Remembering the Pink Pills (episode 106)
- Disc 2
- DVD Exclusive Awards: The Dick Van Dyke Show: Season One (Best
Overall DVD, TV Program)
- Diagnosis Murder: Dr. Mark Sloan Meets Rob Petrie
- Dick Sings the Theme Song at the Hollywood Bowl (2001)
- Disc 3
- The Dick Van Dyke Show Remembered
- Emmy Awards® (1964-1965) Outstanding Program Achievement in
Entertainment
- Nick at Nite Promos
- Remembering Never Bathe on Saturday (episode 121)
- Remembering Baby Fat (episode 124)
- Remembering the Motorcyle (episode 125)
Season 5
- Commentaries
- Disc 1
- Commentary on Episode 128 (Coast-to-Coast Big Mouth) by Carl Reiner
and Dick Van Dyke
- Disc 2
- Commentary on Episode 148 (Dear Sally Rogers) by Rose Marie, Larry
Matthew and Bill Idelson
- Disc 3
- Commentary on Episode 158 (The Gunslinger) by Carl Reiner and Dick
Van Dyke
- Episode Photos
- Disc 1: Episodes 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138
- Disc 2: Episodes 139, 140, 141, 142, 143
- Disc 3: Episodes 152, 158
- Miscellaneous
- Disc 1
- Emmy Awards® (1965-1966) Outstanding Comedy Series
- Remembering 4½ and The Alan Brady Show Goes to Jail
- Remembering Coast-to-Coast Big Mouth (episode 128)
- Me-TV Promo (episode 128)
- Disc 2
- Emmy Awards® (1965-1966) Outstanding Continued Performance by an
Actor/Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series
- Comic Relief (1992)
- TV Land Awards (2003)
- Nick at Nite Promos
- "Keep Your Fingers Crossed" (theme from The Dick Van Dyke Show)
(episode 145)
- Remembering Richard Deacon (episode 146)
- Remembering Sally (episode 148)
- Disc 3
- Dick Van Dyke and the Other Woman: If Men Could Cry
- TV Land Promo for The Dick Van Dyke Show
- Theatrical Trailer: The Art of Love
- The New Dick Van Dyke Show Preview
- Remembering Buddy's Bar Mitzvah (episode 149)
- Remembering The Gunslinger (episode 158)
The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
DVDS is frequently and justly remembered for its signature routines and the stars it created,
especially Mary Tyler Moore. A less oft-noted influence is its introduction of the workplace into
the American sitcom. Sitcoms were born in the home, starting in the apartments occupied by the
likes of Molly Goldberg, Lucy Ricardo and Ralph Kramden, and ultimately relocating to the
suburban environs of the Andersons, Nelsons and Cleavers. Dad's workplace sometimes figured
into the picture, but that was the exception; the rule was that everything revolved around the
household and its issues. On DVDS, though, the workplace became an integral element of the
show, and sometimes it was even the focus of the "A" storyline. Thus began a trend that would
eventually lead to such stalwarts as Taxi, Barney Miller, Cheers and, yes, The Mary Tyler Moore
Show. Even today, though, DVDS's peculiar blend of home and workplace can be easily spotted in the
very place where producer Chuck Lorre posted his "Sitcom Writers' Prayer". Whenever The Big
Bang Theory's gang of physicists sits around a Cal Tech cafeteria table trading quips about their
lives, the echo of Carl Reiner's original formula is unmistakable. The writers' prayer has been answered.
As for this new Blu-ray presentation of DVDS, the price is steep, but the presentation is excellent,
and the show remains one of the best comedies ever broadcast. Even if you decide to wait for a
sale, highly recommended.