The Dick Van Dyke Show - General Discussion

[shapeshifter]

I just saw the first of the 2 colorized episodes that CBS aired as a tribute to Carl Reiner (tvline.com/2020/07/01/carl-reiner-dead-dick-van-dyke-show-episodes-cbs).

Quote

Airing Friday, July 3 at 8/7c, the special — titled The Dick Van Dyke Show — Now in Living Color! A Special Tribute to Carl Reiner — will feature two episodes of the classic sitcom in which Reiner appears.

First up is the Season 5 premiere, “Coast to Coast Big Mouth,” in which Mary Tyler Moore’s Laura Petrie blurts out a big secret on a nationally televised quiz show: that comedian Alan Brady (played by Reiner) wears a toupee. (The episode won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 1966.)

It was very funny, even today, generously giving Mary Tyler Moore a lot of screen time to show off her comedic chops, and making Reiner out to be a terrible boss —although in the end he was not so bad. 
At one point Reiner has to feign covering his face with his hand to not say anything too terrible —but really he did it to not crack up laughing. Then he made an “anguished” face —this time using a grimace to cover his smile. He never did break character. Wonderful timing with MTM, and so self-effacing for the sake of amusing the audience —while also telling us all not to take ourselves too seriously through his example. 

Truly “one of the great ones.”

[MollyMelrose]

One of the best Carl Reiner moment's from the show. From the episode "I'm No Henry Walden":

 

[freddi]

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I just saw the first of the 2 colorized episodes that CBS aired as a tribute to Carl Reiner (tvline.com/2020/07/01/carl-reiner-dead-dick-van-dyke-show-episodes-cbs).  [snip] 

Truly “one of the great ones.”

My favorite part of this tribute was the surprise in the opening -- with Dick Van Dyke providing his own tribute to Carl Reiner.  It was so good to see him.  

I saw that Carl Reiner had overseen or consulted on the colorization -- it just seems weird to see the colors.  Were ovens in the 1960s pale blue?  I do remember avocado and harvest gold appliances from the 1970s!  

My favorite scene in the whole series is the confrontation of Laura and Alan with all the toupees in his office.  So this was a real treat! "Needy bald people". 

[Maverick]

 While I unfortunately remember harvest gold and avacado (and burnt orange!) appliances, I seem to remember someone in my family having a blue stove.  I think flamingo pink and teal were common in the fifties.  It's late me they tried the whole rainbow before deciding appliances can't have any color.  

 I thought the colors they used here were better than what they used for ILL ( the Ricardo's apartment is so grey and drab) and especially better than some of the choices they made in the couple of Andy Griffith shows that were colorized. 

[Harry24]

13 hours ago, freddi said:

My favorite scene in the whole series is the confrontation of Laura and Alan with all the toupees in his office.  So this was a real treat! "Needy bald people". 

As I mentioned a few months ago, one of my favorite moments in the whole brilliant series, is in that scene, when Alan turns to the lineup of toupees, and addresses them, “Fellas ..."

It makes me unbearably sad to think that DVD is the only one of the remaining core still living.

[freddi]

3 hours ago, Harry24 said:

It makes me unbearably sad to think that DVD is the only one of the remaining core still living.

Yes, Dick Van Dyke is the last witness of what you describe so well as the "core" of the series.  One of those who was part of creating it, bringing it to life, and making it human and brilliant; and then moving on when the time was right.  But that core, including Reiner, lived long lives*, and got to see the lasting impact and freshness of that series over time.   (*Several into their nineties, and the rest into their eighties, even MTM with her chronic illness.)   

[rmontro]

On 7/1/2020 at 1:47 PM, Gemma Violet said:

The Dick Van Dyke Show is my all time favorite comedy show as well.  

I'm sure I said earlier in the thread The Dick Van Dyke Show is my favorite comedy, in fact my pick for best TV show ever.  It's so well done.  I thought maybe Game of Thrones might beat it out, but the ending ruined it.  I've always thought that, even as a kid, when I used to take such matters very seriously  🙂

 

22 hours ago, freddi said:

Were ovens in the 1960s pale blue?  I do remember avocado and harvest gold appliances from the 1970s!  

I Googled "blue stoves 60s" and some came up (and refrigerators), they looked the same shade as the Petrie's.  There were also some dark blue ones.  We had the avocado green stove and fridge back in the 70s.

[rmontro]

Continuing with the appliances theme, I saw an old black and white clip from the Dick Van Dyke show yesterday.  And there, plain as day on the refrigerator, was the Westinghouse label.  Oddly enough, I immediately thought of this thread.  So....  that answers that.  I'm guessing Westinghouse sponsored the show.  I'm pretty sure they also sponsored I Love Lucy.

[Driad]

After the flashback episode about how Rob & Laura bought the house with the giant rock in the basement, do we ever see the rock again?  There is an episode in which Rob plays pool with someone in the basement but I don't recall seeing  the rock in that one.

[Gemma Violet]

9 hours ago, Driad said:

After the flashback episode about how Rob & Laura bought the house with the giant rock in the basement, do we ever see the rock again?  There is an episode in which Rob plays pool with someone in the basement but I don't recall seeing  the rock in that one.

Ha, I thought about that very thing when watching the rock episode.  It was definitely not there in the pool hustler episode. 

Maybe they had someone come in with a jackhammer. 🙂

[Driad]

MeTV showed the rock episode Sunday.  I haven't seen the pool table episode in years.  Handwave: maybe in the pool table episode, the camera was pointing away from the rock, so we didn't see the rock.

[rmontro]

7 minutes ago, Driad said:

MeTV showed the rock episode Sunday.  I haven't seen the pool table episode in years.  Handwave: maybe in the pool table episode, the camera was pointing away from the rock, so we didn't see the rock.

Ha, I saw the rock episode on Sunday also.  As for the pool episode, it doesn't even look like the same basement.  Also missing was the bar that Rob seemed so excited about when he saw it. 

The rock was just to the left (as you enter) of the staircase.  And there's a staircase in the pool episode, but it's completely different, it's along a wall.  Here's my handwave:  Maybe they put up a wall to hide the rock, although the dimensions of the room are also different.  Maybe there are two staircases  🙂

[HyeChaps]

IIRC, they traded houses with Millie and Jerry.  Every year Rob made a payment to Jerry for some kind of drainage issue having to do with the rock.

[rmontro]

46 minutes ago, HyeChaps said:

IIRC, they traded houses with Millie and Jerry.  Every year Rob made a payment to Jerry for some kind of drainage issue having to do with the rock.

That episode was just on Sunday.  They didn't really trade houses.  Rob and Laura were looking at the house but didn't like the rock.  Then Jerry and Millie bought the house because they liked it.  Rob and Laura got mad about it, so they decided no one would get the house.  But then the neighboring house came up for sale, and they bought both houses.  Rob and Laura ended up with the rock house, but water from the rock drained into Jerry's basement.  So Rob paid half of a $75 sealing treatment every year to keep the peace.

[TheLastKidPicked]

On 8/11/2020 at 7:59 PM, rmontro said:

Rob and Laura ended up with the rock house, but water from the rock drained into Jerry's basement.  So Rob paid half of a $75 sealing treatment every year to keep the peace.

The writers did a great job of using Jerry and Millie exactly the right amount.  They came around just sparingly enough that you looked forward to seeing them.

 

[Starleigh]

Very true. Some of my favorite bits were when Jerry and Millie showed up, but that's probably because they weren't overdone.

 

[TheLastKidPicked]

On 8/10/2020 at 11:21 PM, rmontro said:

Continuing with the appliances theme, I saw an old black and white clip from the Dick Van Dyke show yesterday.  And there, plain as day on the refrigerator, was the Westinghouse label.  Oddly enough, I immediately thought of this thread.  So....  that answers that.  I'm guessing Westinghouse sponsored the show.  I'm pretty sure they also sponsored I Love Lucy.

You're right!

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez did a commercial for a Westinghouse refrigerator that had a drawer in the middle that slides out.  Lucy pulls out the drawer and Desi exclaims, "You broke it!  Let's get out of here!" and they run into each other trying to get away from the refrigerator.  A model walks over and explains that they didn't break it-- the middle drawer is a feature on Westinghouse refriderators.

 

Have you ever seen the videos of the actors doing a "live" advertisement during an episode where today's commercials would go?  They make it almost appear as if it is part of the episode.  For example, a Dick Van Dyke show commercial for Kent Cigarettes:

Laura sees Rob relaxing and smoking in the living room:  "Well, you're in a good mood!"

Rob:  And why wouldn't I be?  I have the two things that would make any man happy.  A gorgeous wife and a Kent cigarette. 

Laura:  And which do you like the best?  

Rob:   That's a tough one.  (Looks thoughtfully at his cigarette as we hear chuckles from the live studio audience)  Let me see, for cooking and dancing and kissing, you satisfy best.  For filtered taste, Kent cigarettes satisfy best.

Laura:  I'll accept that.  (And she takes a puff from her Kent Cigarette)

. . . . . .

I wish they would sometimes leave these in.  They are fun to watch!

 

 

Edited October 8, 2020 by TheLastKidPicked

[TheLastKidPicked]

And here's a fun one from the office:

 

The scene starts with Rob and Buddy building a pyramid out of cigarette packs.

Mel walks in:   Where's the script?  (Sees the pyramid of cigarettes)  What are you two doing, playing games?

Rob:  Let's try it on Mel

Mel:  Try what?

Rob:  Of the top ten filter brands, which one should you smoke?

Mel:  Kent!  The one with the micro light filter.

Buddy:  No fair!  You must have told him, Rob

Rob:  No!  He got it on his own, Buddy.

Mel:  Kent has the best balance of filtration and satisfying taste.

Mel makes a grand gesture of taking the pack of Kents and walks toward the door.

Rob:  Wait a minute, Mel!  Don't you want the script?

Mel:  No thank you I smoke Kents.

Laughter as the scene fades out.

 

 

 

Edited October 8, 2020 by TheLastKidPicked

[Driad]

To get away from cigarettes (yecch) -- I mostly like Mel.  He saved the writers' jobs a few times, e.g. when Millie wrote the fan letters. Buddy's insults were often so obnoxious that they put me on Mel's side.

[TheLastKidPicked]

2 hours ago, Driad said:

To get away from cigarettes (yecch) -- I mostly like Mel. 

Driad, have you heard that in real life, Richard Deacon and Morey Amsterdam (Buddy) were good friends?  They used to work out the gags and the insults between takes.  I wish somebody could have filmed that.  It would be fun to watch.

 

 

Edited October 8, 2020 by TheLastKidPicked

[rmontro]

On 10/8/2020 at 4:06 PM, Driad said:

To get away from cigarettes (yecch) -- I mostly like Mel.  He saved the writers' jobs a few times, e.g. when Millie wrote the fan letters. Buddy's insults were often so obnoxious that they put me on Mel's side.

I didn't dislike anyone on the show, but I admit I did feel a little sorry for Mel at times, Buddy was pretty relentless with him.

[Loandbehold]

13 hours ago, rmontro said:

I didn't dislike anyone on the show, but I admit I did feel a little sorry for Mel at times, Buddy was pretty relentless with him.

Although obviously not as often, Alan also was mean to Mel in most of the scenes they were both in.

[rmontro]

3 hours ago, Loandbehold said:

Although obviously not as often, Alan also was mean to Mel in most of the scenes they were both in.

True, wonder what the point of all that was?  The lack of respect for Mel seemed to come from the fact that he was Alan's nephew, so there seemed to be some suggestion that he didn't deserve the job.  Although I don't remember there being a situation where he was demonstrably incapable.  I guess he could be seen as a weak person, because of the way he acted as a toad and yes man to Alan, but most people were fearful of Alan.

[Gemma Violet]

5 hours ago, rmontro said:

True, wonder what the point of all that was?  The lack of respect for Mel seemed to come from the fact that he was Alan's nephew, so there seemed to be some suggestion that he didn't deserve the job.  Although I don't remember there being a situation where he was demonstrably incapable.  I guess he could be seen as a weak person, because of the way he acted as a toad and yes man to Alan, but most people were fearful of Alan.

 

Alan's brother-in-law. 

I always felt bad for Mel.  He was such a hard worker and received so much abuse.  Today, he probably would have sued for harassment.  

[rmontro]

47 minutes ago, Gemma Violet said:

Alan's brother-in-law. 

You're right, my bad.

[Loandbehold]

11 hours ago, Gemma Violet said:

Alan's brother-in-law. 

I knew he was related to Alan, but couldn't remember how. My guess is that Alan's sister asked that Alan hire Mel and he resented the nepotism but felt compelled to it. So, he took out his resentment by treating Mel like crap. He might have felt that he had to hire him, but that didn't mean he had to treat him nicely.

 

[rmontro]

4 hours ago, Loandbehold said:

I knew he was related to Alan, but couldn't remember how.

I should have remembered, brother in law is funnier than nephew.

Really, with Mel's track record, it wouldn't surprise me if his sister treated him badly too.

[chessiegal]

Richard Deacon (Mel) plays the annoying co-worker of Ward Cleaver and father of loser son Clarence/Lumpy, friend of Wally Cleaver, on Leave it to Beaver. Every time I see the actor I think of his role on Leave it to Beaver. 

[Nordly Beaumont]

I love "That's My Boy?" not only because it's one of the best episodes, but also because Mel is at Rob and Laura's (with Millie and Jerry) and no Buddy. It's nice to see Mel just enjoy an evening with friends!

[Harry24]

41 minutes ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

I love "That's My Boy?" not only because it's one of the best episodes, but also because Mel is at Rob and Laura's (with Millie and Jerry) and no Buddy. It's nice to see Mel just enjoy an evening with friends!

I’m so surprised anyone else noticed it, but I too really enjoy how animated, charming and relaxed Mel is there.

And that episode is also a reminder that Greg Morris (who also appeared as an army acquaintance of Rob’s in another episode) was just as charming, attractive and charismatic as DVD (although I suspect he didn’t have his gift for physical comedy), but times were different and he didn’t have the opportunity to be the big star his gifts should have made him.

Edited October 14, 2020 by Harry24

[TheLastKidPicked]

On 10/13/2020 at 8:36 PM, Nordly Beaumont said:

I love "That's My Boy?" not only because it's one of the best episodes, but also because Mel is at Rob and Laura's (with Millie and Jerry) and no Buddy. It's nice to see Mel just enjoy an evening with friends!

It was great to see Mel enjoying himself, and he just seemed so genuine and happy.

There is a flashback episode where they had Mel wearing a toupee in order to look younger for the flashback.  Believe it or not, he was actually quite handsome!

On 10/13/2020 at 9:18 PM, Harry24 said:

The That's My Boy episode is also a reminder that Greg Morris (who also appeared as an army acquaintance of Rob’s in another episode) was just as charming, attractive and charismatic as DVD (although I suspect he didn’t have his gift for physical comedy), but times were different and he didn’t have the opportunity to be the big star his gifts should have made him.

What's great is they presented him and his wife as a wonderful suburban couple.  Intelligent and charming.  The kind of family you would want as neighbors.  

People smarter than me have commented that this moved our country noticeably closer to acceptance and inclusion.  I'm very grateful they did it.  

The fact that it was HILARIOUS was just icing on the cake!

 

 

Edited October 20, 2020 by TheLastKidPicked

[TheLastKidPicked]

On 10/9/2020 at 9:28 PM, rmontro said:

I didn't dislike anyone on the show, but I admit I did feel a little sorry for Mel at times, Buddy was pretty relentless with him.

 

On 10/8/2020 at 2:06 PM, Driad said:

I mostly like Mel.  He saved the writers' jobs a few times, e.g. when Millie wrote the fan letters. Buddy's insults were often so obnoxious that they put me on Mel's side

 

On 10/10/2020 at 11:11 AM, Loandbehold said:

Although obviously not as often, Alan also was mean to Mel in most of the scenes they were both in.

 

On 10/10/2020 at 8:46 PM, Gemma Violet said:

I always felt bad for Mel.  He was such a hard worker and received so much abuse.  Today, he probably would have sued for harassment. 

I thought of you all last night because Mel FINALLY got to be the one to shine!

The episode is Rob, Sally, and Buddy accidentally turn in the script where they had written a bunch of terrible things about Alan Brady.  They needed to break into his office, and then his HOUSE in order to keep him from seeing the script and firing everybody.   Alan is asleep in his home office and when the gang tries to slide the script out of his hands he starts to wake up.  When Alan starts to wake up he says,  "Lilian?  Give me a kiss, Lilian."  And the funny part is that Rob gives him a quick peck on the forehead in hopes that he will be satisfied with that and keep sleeping.

Alan DOES wake up, and everybody is caught.   As he leaves the room, Alan announces that he will fire everybody the next day.

And here is Mel's turn to shine.  He gets a nice, confident smile and says,  "Alan isn't going to fire anybody."  Mel sits down in Alan's chair and leans back like a supervillain.   "Remember what Alan said when he was asleep?" 

 

Rob answers,  "He said, 'Kiss me, Lillian.'"

Mel agrees.  "He said, 'Kiss me Lilian. . .  His wife's name is Margaret."

Sally and the gang are shocked, but also impressed.  "Mel!  You wouldn't blackmail your own brother in law?!"

And Mel does a great job of mugging it up, silently letting then all know that he holds the upper hand in this case.

Good for Mel!  He deserves his moment in the sun.

 

Edited November 24, 2020 by TheLastKidPicked

[chessiegal]

I never liked the actor who played Richie. There's something off about him. Seeing the 2 episodes he was on the recent MeTV reruns reminded me again. He seems to shout his lines. Surely they could have found a better actor.

[rmontro]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

He seems to shout his lines.

He would have been good on The Goldbergs  🙂

[WinnieWinkle]

15 minutes ago, rmontro said:

He would have been good on The Goldbergs  🙂

Came here to share the love for the wonderful Dick Van Dyke Show but I have to second this comment!  I really want to like The Goldbergs but the kids, especially the shouty main kid, just put me off and I can't do it.

Anyway did anyone else think about The Redcoats  episode with the recent passing of Chad Stuart?  I loved that episode when I first saw it when I was 6 and I still love it.  The Twizzle?  Not so much :).

Edited January 4, 2021 by WinnieWinkle

[rmontro]

58 minutes ago, WinnieWinkle said:

Anyway did anyone else think about The Redcoats  episode with the recent passing of Chad Stuart?  I loved that episode when I first saw it when I was 6 and I still love it.  The Twizzle?  Not so much :).

The Twizzle?  Lol, now that's a pop culture deep cut.

I remember hearing about Chad Stuart passing not that long ago, but I didn't think about The Dick Van Dyke Show.  I had forgotten about Chad and Jeremy playing the Redcoats. 

[Gemma Violet]

On 1/4/2021 at 11:37 AM, chessiegal said:

I never liked the actor who played Richie. There's something off about him. Seeing the 2 episodes he was on the recent MeTV reruns reminded me again. He seems to shout his lines. Surely they could have found a better actor.

And he often smiles as he's delivering his lines.  I agree--I've often wondered why they didn't get a more professional young actor, one who could keep a serious face.  Also, why not pick an actor who at least looked like his parents--maybe long and lanky like DVD, with a longer face.  I guess Richie got his build from one of the grandparents.  

I thought about the DVD show when Chad passed.  Funny thing, I always used to mix up Chad and Jeremy with Peter and Gordon, but I did know Chad and Jeremy were the Redcoats.

Edited January 11, 2021 by Gemma Violet

[Driad]

https://www.upworthy.com/95-year-old-mary-poppins-star-dick-van-dyke-caught-handing-out-cash-to-struggling-job-seekers

[shapeshifter]

11 hours ago, Driad said:

https://www.upworthy.com/95-year-old-mary-poppins-star-dick-van-dyke-caught-handing-out-cash-to-struggling-job-seekers

Awww! 

Edited April 1, 2021 by shapeshifter

[rmontro]

They're showing more colorized episodes.  Friday they had "From the Bottom of Mel Cooley's Heart", where Mel gets fired, one of the best episodes IMO.  They're showing a couple more this coming Friday.

I'm curious about the colorizing process used for these, I think they look fantastic.  And they really take me back to particular shades and colors that were used back in the 60s, especially the greens and blues.  Very nostalgic.  I wonder how accurate they are.  I know the stove and refrigerator colors are accurate because I've seen pictures of those models.  I wonder if they work from pictures of the sets, or if somehow the computer "knows" the colors somehow?

[chessiegal]

 

2 hours ago, rmontro said:

They're showing more colorized episodes.  Friday they had "From the Bottom of Mel Cooley's Heart",

What channel are you watching Dick Van Dyke on Fridays? The only channel I get the show on is MeTV on Sunday nights.

[chitowngirl]

3 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

 

What channel are you watching Dick Van Dyke on Fridays? The only channel I get the show on is MeTV on Sunday nights.

CBS

[rmontro]

3 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

CBS

What he said.  As far as I know, they are only showing the colorized episodes this coming Friday, in addition to the two episodes they aired last Friday.  They show them every now and then, they usually show a few around Christmas.  They tend to air two episodes back to back.

[shapeshifter]

For this next Friday, May 28, 2021, 8/7C on CBS :

Quote

Featuring colorized presentations of "Where Did I Come From" and "Never Bathe on Saturday," a young Richie ponders the source of his existence and the Petries' second honeymoon quickly goes awry when Laura gets her toe stuck in a bath spout.

 

[Egg McMuffin]

They look better than the colorized I Love Lucys CBS has shown over the years. The color in those ILL episodes are way too bright - and Lucy’s hair is orange.

I understand that Carl Reiner was consulted when they first started colorizing DVD.

I wonder what happened to the colorized Lucys, anyway.

[rmontro]

25 minutes ago, Kyle said:

They look better than the colorized I Love Lucys CBS has shown over the years. The

I definitely agree with that.  I always figured the film quality was better on the Dick Van Dyke show since it was slightly more modern (I Love Lucy is from the 50s, The Dick Van Dyke Show is from the 60s), and that was why the color looks more iffy on the older show.  I think the colorized Dick Van Dyke shows look fantastic.

[Egg McMuffin]

I think the lighting has something to do with it. Lucy was the first filmed show done in front of an audience, and I think they were still figuring out how to light it in those early days of TV. It looks fantastic compared to its peers, but it sometimes looks a little overlit and washed out. You can tell that by the 60s, TV filming had progressed. DVD was actually filmed at Desilu, btw.

I’d like to see if the results would be different if they colorized one of the Lucy-Desi hours from the late 50s.

[Gemma Violet]

On 5/23/2021 at 5:27 PM, rmontro said:

And they really take me back to particular shades and colors that were used back in the 60s, especially the greens and blues.  Very nostalgic.  I wonder how accurate they are.  I know the stove and refrigerator colors are accurate because I've seen pictures of those models.  I wonder if they work from pictures of the sets, or if somehow the computer "knows" the colors somehow?

On the two episodes this week, I paid attention to the color and I was struck at how much gold color there was, not only in the Petrie home, but also at the office.  My mom bought a house in 1980 that had been built in 1977 and it had a gold stove and fridge, and so I always thought it was a 70s thing, but I guess it was a 60s thing.  I was born in 1956 and I don't remember the color schemes of the 60s.  I guess having a black-and-white TV then didn't help. 😄  

[rmontro]

1 hour ago, Gemma Violet said:

I was born in 1956 and I don't remember the color schemes of the 60s.  I guess having a black-and-white TV then didn't help. 😄  

We had a black and white TV also.  I remember when we got our first color TV, what a huge deal it was.  Must have been in the late 60s or early 70s.  

They used to have these old rotary phones in different colors, for some reason the baby blue and sea foam green ones always stood out to me, and those colors remind me of the 60s.

[shapeshifter]

Did anyone else thing this week's 2 episodes ("Never Bathe on Saturday" and "Where Did I Come From?") were lighter than last week's (“Baby Fat” and “The Bottom of Mel Cooley’s Heart”)?