ALL SCI-FI

[Eadie]

I have been recording and enjoying the The Dick Van Dyke Show (October 3, 1961, to June 1, 1966) on MeTV.

Did you know there were lyrics to the theme? Listen to Dick Vnd Dyke & Mary Tyler Moore Sing them at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMkLiW5TDCI and see the lyrics at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFudYxk7uYM

The words:



Richie's middle names:



The living room painting:



Several of the episodes were colorized (and using the latest technology. very well at that) using color reference stills and stills taken during production as well as art department notes.



You can find a large number of them on Google images by typing "The Dick Van Dyke Show color" (including color BTS stills).
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Art Should Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.

[Bud Brewster]

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What a magnificent post, Eadie! Thank you.

My wonderful new DISH receiver (with a voice activated remote) allows me to find the episodes on YouTune that have been colorized. Unlike METV, these are commercial free and absolutely complete!

And I was amazed at how great they looked!

Eadie is absolutely right when she said the colorized episodes were done well. I would have sworn they'd been filmed in color! In fact, the only giveaway is that (a) they're just as sharp as black & white photography, which was sharper than the color shows back then, and (b) the color is actually MORE rich and vibrant than shows from that era!

Folks, the technology used to colorize black & white film has reached the point where — if done by people who know how to use it — can produce stunning results that are absolutely gorgeous!

_______ The Dick Van Dyke Show - That's My Boy?


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The Dick Van Dyke Show - Coast to Coast Big Mouth


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____________ The Dick Van Dyke Show in color


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____________ The Dick Van Dyke Show in color


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This last video is a portion of the only Sci-Fi episode of the series, a parody of Invasion of the Body Snatchers called "It May Look Like a Walnut". Back when it first aired, I was thrilled to see this great comedy show pay homage to a science fiction classic.

__________ The Dick Van Dyke Show Color Test


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Here's the complete episode in black & white.

_ The Dick Van Dyke Show - It May Look Like a Walnut


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Hungry for more episodes of The Dick Van Dkye Show? Well, here's your one-stop-shopping source! This YouTube site seems to have all 158 episodes, along with other related videos!

Ignore the message that appears which says the video has been removed. Scroll down a little and all the videos I mentioned above are directly below.

_______Popular Videos - The Dick Van Dyke Show


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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This might be the funniest episode in the entire series!

When I watched it today I laughed so hard I blew snot bubbles and spotted my underwear! Not only is it hysterical, it involves several of the show's characters we don't see too often — Richie (their son), along with Jerry and Millie (their neighbors).

The scene in the writer's room when Rob brilliantly presents the comic concept to Buddy and Sally for an Alan Brady Show sketch is hysterical!

Equally brilliant is the scene in which Laura ends up in her living room, caught in the same comic situation presented in the Alan Brady Show sketch! Mary Tyler Moore proved that she could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Dick Van Dyke in presenting a solo performance of this kind!

Watch the episode and you'll agree!

_Dick Van Dyke Show - The Curious Thing About Women


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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IMDB has 78 trivia items for this movie. Here’s a few of the ones I found the most interesting, in the blue text.
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~ Carl Reiner would often ask cast and crew members about funny things that had happened to them, then he would write whole episodes about these occurrences. As a result, a majority of the episodes over the course of the show's five season run were based on actual events that really occurred.

Note from me: This is pretty interesting, because many of the episodes included a sketch which was based on something that happened to the characters, so the show even emulated the inspiration for the sketches.

~ Reportedly Mary Tyler Moore told the producers she was older than she really was in order to get the role of Laura. This fact was later incorporated in episode The Dick Van Dyke Show: Laura's Little Lie (1963) in which Rob and Laura have to get re-married in The Dick Van Dyke Show: Very Old Shoes, Very Old Rice (1963) because Laura had lied about her age, telling Rob she was 19. In reality, she was only a 17 year young damsel. Mary Tyler Moore was born in December 1936, which would make her 24 when the show first aired in 1961.

Note from me: This is a good example of the trivia item above.

~ Carl Reiner and the other writers were very careful not to use any 1960s slang in the show's scripts. In fact, references to any time period or current events were rare.

Note from me: This was wise, because the show isn't dated by the inclusion of slang and current events from the era in which is was made.

~ Dick Van Dyke originally objected to having Mary Tyler Moore on the series, because he felt that she was too young to convincingly play his wife. He changed his mind once their remarkable onscreen chemistry became apparent, especially after The Dick Van Dyke Show: Oh, How We Met on the Night That We Danced (1961), successfully filmed and with extreme humor.

Note from me: I read somewhere that the first time Dick had to kiss Mary, he was very nervous.

~ Laura usually wore Capri pants on the show. The network was against this at first, and said that she had to be in a skirt for a certain number of scenes per episode. To fight this, they filmed a scene where Laura walked into the kitchen in Capri pants and came out a second later in a skirt. The network finally relented.

Note from me: The early 1960s was a time of change in America. It's just a coincidence of course, but the first episode was filmed on the day John F. Kennedy was inaugurated. Yes, indeed, the times they were a'changin'.

~ Three episodes were filmed without a live audience. First, was The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Bad Old Days (1962) originally televised on Wednesday, April 4th, 1962. It used extra sped-up filmed inserts during Rob's dream of a 1920s lifestyle, which made shooting in front of an audience impractical. Second was The Dick Van Dyke Show: Happy Birthday and Too Many More (1964), because the cast were grieving after the assassination of President, John F. Kennedy, in Dallas Texas, on Friday, November 22nd, 1963. The third one was The Gunslinger (1966), which was filmed on location without a live audience.

Note from me: This one surprised me, because I had no idea the audience noises on this show were not just a laugh track! I thought the whole "taped in front a live audience" thing started in the earlier 1970s with shows like All in the Family.

Wikipedia has this interesting statement, which explains why I was under the impression that ALL shows used laugh tracks.
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By the mid-1960s, nearly every U.S. sitcom was shot single-camera and was fitted with a laughter track. Only a handful of programs, such as The Joey Bishop Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Lucy Show used studio audiences and turned to Douglass to edit or augment the real laughter via sweetening.
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~ Rose Marie was meant to be the female star of the show, but Mary Tyler Moore surprised everyone by becoming the breakout star, some might say bigger even than Dick Van Dyke.

Note from me: As wonderful as Rose Marie was, I think the decision to make her sort of a "second banana" was the right choice.

~ In The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Last Chapter (1966), the series' last episode, Rob writes his autobiography and shows it to everyone. At the end of the episode, Alan decides to buy the rights to the manuscript and turn it into a TV series with him as the star, after he finishes the variety series.

Note from me: What a great way to end the series! Rob Reiner starred in the unaired pilot, playing Rob Petrie before the show was retooled and recast with the folks we all know and love.

This YouTube video presents the finale episode, as well as what appears to be a portions of the same episode after it.

_The Dick Van Dyke Show S05E32 The Last Chapter


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On a related note, several years ago I had an idea for a follow-up series for this show. It would be about three fictional versions of the actual writers of The Dick Van Dyke Show (as opposed to The Alan Brady Show).

In some ways it would be like The Dick Van Dyke Show, but in other ways it would be different. The Dick Van Dyke Show had three main writers (just like the three fictional writers) — Carl Reiner, Sam Denoff, and Bill Persky.

But Wikipedia list nine more writers who worked on the series, so this new show I'm proposing presents three fictional characters as the writers who represent the twelve writers who worked on the series.

The producer of The Dick Van Dyke Show was Carl Reiner as Alan Brady, whose face we never saw during the first three seasons. However, in this show an actor playing Carl Reiner (whose face is never shown) is the feared tyrant in the big office, the man whom the writers are desperate to please — just like Alan Brady was in The Dick Van Dyke Show!

Consider the irony; The Dick Van Dyke Show was about three fictional writers working on an imaginary series whose star/producer was Alan Brady, played by Carl Reiner . . . and his face was never shown (until the 4th season).

In my imaginary series, three fictional writers are working on a real series which was produced by Carl Reiner, even though his face is never shown!

At the end of several episodes we'd see the three writers standing in the dimly lit area behind the camera crew who are filming the episode which the writers just created — and there are reasonable facsimiles of Dick and Laura on the brightly lit set in the far background.

During this closing scene we hear Rob's and Laura's voices delivering the lines written by the writers, taken from the sound track of an actual show!

We could alternate this with closing shots of the three writers in their office, watching the episode on a B&W television. For those scenes we'd use an actual clip from the episode which aired.

I think this would be a fun series which mimics the fictional / factual aspects of The Dick Van Dyke Show!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

The reason you never saw Alan Brady's face during the first few seasons, is that they were looking for an actor to play him. Carl Reiner never intended to play the character, he just filled in when they needed Alan Brady in the show. They just couldn't find an actor they would like for the part. Finally, they convinced Carl Reiner that he was the best choice, and he should play the part.

I believe that the first episode where you saw Alan Brady's face, was the hilarious episode, where Laura spills the beans about him wearing a toupee. "Well boys, you're all out of a Job"!

David.

[Bud Brewster]

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You're right, it's hysterical. And Carl is magnificent in this episode.

The Dick Van Dyke Show - Coast to Coast Big Mouth


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Was Allan Brady supposed to be actually based upon anyone that Carl knew and/or worked for?

[Bud Brewster]

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One IMDB trivia item says the character of Alan Brady was based on Sid Caesar.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

So Sid doesn't come off so well if he's the basis for the Brady character who was as funny as he was mercurial.

[Bud Brewster]

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I can't figure out just how many episodes of this great show are actually on YouTube! I keep finding more and more of them by changing the way I search.

Recently I discovered that by using my DISH voice remote and saying the name of the show, along with the season and episode number, I can often get the exact one I'm looking for.

For example, today I wanted to watch the very first episode, so I said, "Find The Dick Van Dyke Show, season 1 episode 1 on YouTube" — and I instantly got the video of the first show!

I got the same results when I asked for episode 2 — although I had to pump up the low volume on that one because it was both low and it was obviously slowed down significantly, and therefore muffled!

I found another version that sounded just fine by using the episode name. Dick Van Dyke My Blonde haired Brunette

I was amazed at the picture quality of both episodes, along with all the others I've watched on YouTube.

Folks, Mary Tyler Moore is to die for!

By the way, I noticed a few things about the first episode that differed from the later ones. For example, I read on IMDB that Mary Tyler Moore's character was called "Laurie" in this episode, but her name is "Laura" for the rest of the series. And I did indeed hear Dick call Mary "Laurie" several times.

Also, I could be wrong, but I think Mary Tyler Moore was just a bit fuller in chest area in this first episode than she was in the rest of the series. I suspect the lovely lady wore what I've heard called an enhanced foundational garment in the first episode, but she doesn't seem to wear one during the rest of the series.

I suspect Miss Moore objected to the garment and requested not to wear it in later episodes, similar to the controversy over her being asked to wear skirts instead of her famous Capri pants.

The first episode is hysterical from start to finish, so this series hit the ground running and never slowed down! And you won't believe the wonderfully sexy (but deliciously subtle) scene that ends the episode. I watched it three times in a row!

Like I said, Mary Tyler Moore is to die for . . .

__The Dick Van Dyke Show S1E01 The Sick Boy and the Sitter


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

As Carl Reiner had been both a writer and performer on those old shows, Alan Brady was probably a combination of those he had worked for.

Sid Caesar was unique. According to Mel Brooks, he hung out with the writers while they were working on the show, giving imput. He had personal problems, because he couldn't accept that the audience was laughing with him, not at him. He would be putting on his makeup before the show, saying to himself: "Well Sid, are you ready to go make a fool out of yourself before the public". He didn't start out as a comedian, but rather as a musician that moved into comedy.

Jackie Gleason used to stay in his office, and they would slip the script pages under the door. If he didn't like them, then he would tear the pages in-half and slide them back under the door.

Milton Berle would go through the script, and take all of the good lines for himself.

Jack Benny would have all the funny lines given to other performers, he said it was funnier that way. He was a comedian that was also the straight-man, and he excelled at both. He took people that were not comics and made them look good. That's how good he was.

David

[Bud Brewster]

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Sir, that is an amazing look into the lives of the performers you named in your wonderful post!

Thanks for sharing that with us.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Great info Krel, thank you.

"My Favorite Year" is a hilarious film from 1982 which deals with the working-behind-the-scenes of a live comedy variety television show from the 50's era.

The lead of that show is King Kaiser who is clearly based upon Sid Caesar. The guest on Comedy Cavalcade that week is a former big screen swashbuckler Alan Swan who is based on Errol Flynn.

If you have not seen this movie I highly recommend you check it out.

Playhouse 90 did a show called "The Comedian" in 1957.

It also deals with the lead comic of his own TV show but unlike MFY it ain't funny. It is intense, brutal, and compelling to watch as the comedian Sammy Hogarth's egomaniac & savage personality clash with and hurt everyone he knows.

Mickey Rooney is brilliant in the role that is reputed to be based upon one of the following: Arthur Godfrey, Milton Berle, or Red Buttons.

Again, I highly recommend this wonderful TV production based upon the book by Ernest Lehman and adapted for TV by Rod Serling.

[Krel.]

Something else about Sid Caesar, is that despite his slim build, he was phenomenally strong.

Mel Brooks said that he had a large, heavy desk. One day Sid Caesar came into his office, bent over the desk, stretched his arms out to the sides of the desk, then picked the desk up. He then said, without any strain in his voice, that he didn't like the script. He then slowly lowered the desk to the floor, straightened up, and walked out. Mel Brooks fixed the script.

He also once picked up a Volkswagen Beetle and moved it onto the sidewalk, so he could have the parking space.

Once while drunk, he held a guy out of a 6th (or 9th, I don't remember exactly) floor window by the man's ankle, with one hand, held out straight-armed. They were able to talk him into bringing the poor sole back into the room.

Sid Caesar was also a clothes horse (does anyone else remember what that means?). He would come into the writer's room, take his suit off, put on an overcoat, and send the suit out to be cleaned and pressed. Then before he would sit on a chair, he would first lay an opened handkerchief on the chair seat. By his own admission, he was a clean freak.

But to bring it back on topic, well a bit back on topic. Carl Reiner said that his time as a writer on those shows was an influence for TDVD show.

David.