The Dick Van Dyke Show – The Complete Series
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Complete Series (Image Entertainment-2012)
To any self-respecting fan of pop culture/entertainment, just the sheer utterance of the show’s title, The Dick Van Dyke Show, conjures up a baby boomer television classic.
Airing only five seasons (1961-1966), The Dick Van Dyke Show, created by Carl Reiner, chronicles the home/work life of the fictional Alan Brady Show chief comedy writer Rob Petrie.
Boasting an extraordinarily talented cast numbering Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore (Laura Petrie), Rose Marie (Sally Rogers), Morey Amsterdam (Buddy Sorrell), Richard Deacon (Mel Cooley), Ann Morgan Guilbert (Millie Helper), Jerry Paris (Jerry Helper) and Carl Reiner (Alan Brady), the show’s impeccable writing, electrifying ensemble chemistry and rapid-fire comic timing are the stuff of legend and helped establish the series as one of television’s finest.
Now with the entire series newly available on Blu-ray, fans of classic TV, young and old, can revel in the comedic brilliance of The Dick Van Dyke Show. More than 50 years since it first premiered on CBS, the show is universally hailed among critics and the public as among the greatest television series ever created, garnering a whopping 15 Emmys during its five year run.
The writing is uniformly strong and inspired, thanks to brilliant wordsmiths like Carl Reiner, Bill Persky, Sam Denoff and Garry Marshall among others. Whether deftly examining family/social life or taking you behind-the-scenes of a working comedy TV show, the show eschews farcical buffoonery and thrives in its relative normalcy.
Take a gander at a classic episode like “It May Look Like a Walnut!” or “The Sleeping Brother” (guest starring Van Dyke’s brother, Jerry) for just two prime examples and you’ll discover that the show remains fresh, inventive, funny and timeless.
Looking and sounding better than ever, this Blu-ray edition contains all 158 episodes of the show and is packed with hours of bonus features. These include audio commentaries from Dick Van Dyke, Carl Reiner and others, rehearsal footage, interviews with cast and producers, original network promo spots and commercials. The set also has “Head of the Family,” the original series pilot episode, a TV Academy tribute to Carl Reiner, a 50th anniversary Q&A with Dick Van Dyke, Carl Reiner and Garry Marshall, “It May Look Like a Walnut!” color test, photo galleries and much more. Essential.
Ken Sharp
Copyright ©2012 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: November 20, 2012.