AVS Discussions
Movie and TV Discussion => TV series => Topic started by: Barry on July 30, 2026, 02:35:30 PM
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The Dick Van Dyke Show: Complete Series on Blu Ray
Recently, I mentioned that Desilu studios produced great technical results when they produced or filmed a series. The Dick Van Dyke Show is a great example of how good a show can look after 60 years. The picture quality, shot on 35mm is outstanding. It is hard to believe it looks so good after much time. In fact, it’s looks better on disc than broadcast and occasionally you can see some cheap props. And it is so much better than what is being streamed. The sound is a good reproduction of that era, nothing fancy. The show ran five seasons.
The show began as a pilot by and starring Carl Reiner, reflecting his time writing on the Cid Ceaser show. It was called, “Head of the Family” and it is included on this set. It wasn’t very good and Reiner left it behind. However, producer Sheldon Leonard saw it and also saw the possibilities and wanted to produce another pilot. Reiner wanted to know how it could be improved.Sheldon Leonard said, “We’re going to get a better you!” They did.
What a cast!!!! Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Baby Rose Marie, and Morey Amsterdam to start. The crew didn’t just act, but often performed song and dance numbers which were memorable. Soon Carl Reiner often appeared and he was so funny.
It’s fun to watch “newcomer” Moore get funny…and open a raft. Or a closet full or walnuts.
The show was valuable and has dated very well, but not perfectly. That Rob and Laura slept in separate beds reminds you of the era this was made. But there are other items that are forgotten now, but was innovative then.
First, Mary Tyler Moore who Capri pants. Believe it or not, women were not allowed to wear pants on TV in the early 1960s. Until the show was a big hit, this was a big deal.
Rose Marie played a working woman, equal to her male co-workers. This was not seen on TV back then.
Their young son Ritchie was not a major player and did not have clever lines as if he was ten years older than he really was.
I liked it because it was funny and clever and not stupid. The show ran five seasons, they knew when to quit.
Chuck Lorre, producer of The Big Bang Theory wrote,
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 extras on the discs are enjoyable and numerous: There are interviews, outtakes, award shows, trailers, commentaries and so much more I can’t list them.
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This was a great show and I'm sure that "Sheldon Leonard" was the inspiration for Sheldon and Leonard on The Big Bang Theory. When I saw the name, that was the first thing that popped into my mind.
So I do a quick Google search and it turns out I was right:
(https://i.imgur.com/of8YImK.png)