Customer Reviews

The Best of the Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A lot of the shows I have seen on bootleg copies. Here is the line up
DVD CONTENTS : DISC ONE
The Fall Guy - Season One, 10/24/1952
Oz advises David to stand up for his rights and not to let people take advantage of him, but the advice backfires.

David's Birthday - Season Two, 10/23/1953
David Nelson has an unexpected visitor at his seventeenth birthday party.
Optional Audio Commentary with David & Sam Nelson

David's Engagement - Season Three, 9/23/1955
David has matrimonial plans with his steady. Ozzie and Harriet realize that David will get married someday, but think that he is too young to tie the knot.

A Ball Of Tinfoil - Season Four, 11/25/1955
Harriet decides there is too much junk accumulated in the Nelson garage, attic and cellar. Ozzie rents a trailer to haul the stuff away to the junkyard but discovers this is only the beginning of his problem.

Captain Salty And The Submarine - Season Five, 10/10/1956
Ozzie finds out that a kiddie program, Captain Salty and the Submarine, holds a great deal of interest for adults as well. It is not at all surprising that several other fathers in the neighborhood share his enthusiasm.

Ricky, The Drummer - Season Five, 4/10/1957
This is Ricky's night. He gets to play drums in a name band, do a bop dance with a party girl, and sing a rhythm and blues recording to an enthusiastic audience. Ricky performs for his first time on the show.

Featurette:The Ozzie & Harriet Story - The Journey Into Television
Ricky Sings:"I'm Walkin'"

DVD CONTENTS : DISC TWO

Tutti Frutti Ice Cream - Season Six, 12/11/1957
Recollections of Ozzie's high school days bring a sudden rage for tutti frutti ice cream. There is a happy scene in an old fashioned parlor where Ozzie, Harriet, David and Rick sing to the accompaniment of Ozzie's banjo and Harriet's dancing.
Optional Audio Commentary with David & Sam Nelson

The Trophy - Season Six, 1/1/1958
The Nelsons enter the family decathlon at the annual Men's Club picnic. The deciding event is the cross-country obstacle race, which Ozzie must win if he is to uphold the honor of the family and win the coveted trophy. In this episode Rick also sings, plays guitar and does a sensational dance.

Ricky Sings:"Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"

Closed Circuit - Season Six, 3/26/1958
Ricky sets up a closed circuit television studio in the basement.

Top Gun - Season Six, 4/2/1958
Ozzie regales the neighborhood kids with his story of his great-grandfather "Six-Gun Nelson." They corner Ozzie into a shoot-out with TV Western star "Tex Barton" at a supermarket opening.

Rick's Riding Lesson - Season Seven, 11/19/1958
When Ricky meets a beautiful riding instructor (Venetia Stevenson) at the local stables, he decides to take some riding lessons. He makes a deal with her -- he'll teach her how to play guitar if she'll teach him how to ride. There is much fun at the Chuck Wagon party where the gang sings "Cindy."

David, The Law Clerk - Season Eight, 10/21/1959
David applies for the position of clerk in a law office. However, when Ozzie, Harriet and Ricky try to be helpful, they almost cost Dave the job. In a dream-filled night, David vividly pictures a hilarious courtroom scene in which he plays all the characters.

Ricky Sings: "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"
"I Believe What You Say"
"Trying To Get To You"
"Cindy"

DVD CONTENTS : DISC THREE
The Circus - Season Eight, 1/27/1960
David's duties as a law clerk take him down to the circus where he becomes more than slightly interested in one of the circus glamour girls. In the flying trapeze act presented by David and Ricky, they don't use doubles but actually perform their own stunts.
Optional Audio Commentary with David & Sam Nelson

His Brother's Girl - Season Eight, 10/19/1960
Fraternal bonds between David and Ricky are suddenly threatened when Dave finds himself attracted to his brother's girl. The situation is further complicated when the young lady in question shows her true feelings and the eternal triangle takes shape.

Rick Counts The Ballots - Season Nine, 12/28/1960
Rick's ability to keep a secret is put to the test when he finds himself in charge of counting the ballots for the "Campus Queen Contest" -- especially since his girlfriend, one of the leading contestants, is determined to learn the results.
Optional Audio Commentary with David & Sam Nelson

Ricky Sings:"You Are The Only One" (duet with Linda Bennett)
"I'm Not Afraid"

The Newlyweds Get Settled - Season Ten, 10/12/1961
While David and his new bride June (played by his real-life new bride June Blair) are away on their honeymoon, Harriet, with Ozzie's assistance, decides to fix up their apartment for them. However, with the return of the newlyweds, Harriet suddenly becomes worried that she has overstepped her rights as mother-in-law.

The Fraternity Rents Out A Room - Season Ten, 10/19/1961
When the best room in Rick and Wally's fraternity is vacated, they vote to rent out the room to take in funds for their fast-dwindling treasury. Wally Cox guest stars as the professor who disrupts the easy-going fraternity life.

Making Wally Study - Season Ten, 2/22/1962
Rick and his friends decide to enforce good study habits on Wally when they realize his grades are a threat to the scholastic standing of their fraternity. However, matters become complicated when Wally hits the books and Rick is elected to take charge of Wally's girlfriend, Ginger.
Featurette: Original Promo for "The Circus"
Home Movies: David & Rick practice trapeze
Ricky Sings: "You Are The Only One" (duet with Linda Bennett) "I'm Not Afraid"

DVD CONTENTS : DISC FOUR
Publicity For The Fraternity - Season Eleven, 3/28/1963
Rick and his friends decide their fraternity is sadly in need of publicity go on a campaign to gain some campus recognition. When all their antics are ignored by the school press, they decide to take some drastic measures, which pay off a little differently that they had expected. Directed by David Nelson.
Optional Audio Commentary with David & Sam Nelson

The Swami - Season Twelve, 1/8/1964
When Rick successfully enlivens a fraternity party by disguising himself as a swami and telling fortunes, Ozzie and his friend Joe decide that the same act would prove a huge success at the Women's Club dance. However, even a swami couldn't predict the hilarious results arising from Ozzie in disguise... especially when Harriet and Clara decide to get in on the act.

Rick And Kris Go To The Mountains - Season Thirteen, 10/7/1964
When Rick, Wally and some of the fraternity members decide to hold a poker party at Kris's (Kristen Harmon, Rick's real-life wife) folks' mountain cabin over the weekend, Kris assumes the wives and girlfriends are also included -- the resulting situation is a hilarious mix-up with Rick right in the middle. Directed by David Nelson.

The Ballerina - Season Thirteen, 11/4/1964
Rick and some of his fraternity brothers consent to put on a comedy ballet act for the Women's Club Annual Children's Show. However, when the fellows get discouraged, Kris comes to the rescue by volunteering to perform the real thing. She shows her delightful capabilities as a true ballerina. In a dream sequence, she and Rick present an expertly performed excerpt from "Swan Lake."

The Prowler - Season Fourteen, 10/13/1965 (color)
When Ozzie tries to get out of playing bridge with his neighbors, Joe and Clara Randolph, by pretending to go on a fishing trip, his scheme backfires and an embarrassing and hilarious situation is the result.

The Game Room - Season Fourteen, 3/26/1966 (color)
When Ozzie decides to buy a new pool table and convert David and Rick's old bedroom into a game room, he meets with some opposition from Harriet. To get his way, Oz and his pal Joe come up with some sneaky strategies, including taking the girls to the Billiards-A-Go-Go. This was the last episode made in the series.

Featurette: Nelson Family Trivia Quiz

Ricky Sings: "Just A Little Bit Sweet"

What a mess....truncated episodes...I can't believe we've waited all this time for the "official" release to get these chopped up episodes with the same syndication opening instead of the correct one per season/show. That was the first clue that there was something wrong...the next one was that the classic Tutti Frutti episode wasn't as long as the bloody VHS available decades ago...they even cut Ricky's singing on that one...ridiculous.
Perhaps this is why Gunnar and Matthew and Tracy aren't involved? A huge disappointment and from a company that normally does better. Still worth owning (at half the price) for what's there...but a shame to represent such a legendary series with such a half *@#sed production.

After numerous poor quality released public domain copies of Ozzie and Harriet we have an authorized release from Shout!Factory. The picture and sound quality are excellent! Providing a compilation of episodes from all 14 years the show excelled in good family entertainment. Ozzie and Harriet never really gave "big belly laughs" but good gentle chuckles and smiles.
The 4 DVD's in this compiliation provide some nice features including "The Story Of Ozzie and Harriet, plus home movies of David and Rick on the trapeze. At the time Rick was second only to Elvis and was "Flying Through The Air With The Greatest Of Ease." I don't think you'll see Justin Timberlake doing that today. Also commentaries by David and Sam Nelson on selected episodes.

The reason for a Four Star and not a Five Star is simple. Songs that Rick performed on several of these episodes have been eliminated. We are getting the syndicated versions of the show. Especially missing is "My Bucket's Got A Hole In It" (My favorite Rick Nelson song)from the "Closed Circuit" episode.

Goldmine magazine had it right in their current issue announcing this release. When will we get a Two Hour DVD of Rick performing with James Burton from the show on DVD?

The "Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet." Even now - a full 41 years after the last episode aired on national television, people know at least a little something about the show. Some see it as pure pabulum - an unattainable fantasy all-American family that never had problems that couldn't be solved in 30 minutes (including commercials!) Others will say " . . . that's the way it used to be in America - slow and easy - and kids respected their elders!" While the rational people (like me and probably you) will say it was both of the above - plus something more. To praise or blame this show for the success or failure of the generation that followed is akin to suggesting that all families were like the Brady's in the 1970's, the Cosby's in the 1980's, the Tanner's in the 1990's, or the family in "7th Heaven" of this decade.

What "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" represent is simple. Entertainment. That's it. Were there lessons to be learned? Sure. Were times simpler "back then?" Maybe. But how many people reading this held a potato sack race to settle an argument in the family after watching the Brady's doing it and successfully thwarting a problem while having mindless fun? I'm betting not many.

Ozzie (Oswald), Harriet (Peggy), David, and Ricky (Eric) were characters on a television show that were also real people with problems just like the rest of us. Sometimes a sitcom is just a sitcom. I don't watch O&H to learn about what it was like to grow up in a big house in California or how it was to raise a family in the 1950's any more than I'd watch an episode of 7th Heaven to get advice on how to talk to my children today. Just sit back and allow yourself to be a friend of the Nelson's. What's the matter with that? Simplistic? Yep - but sometimes that's all you need.

Ozzie and Harriet Nelson did wonderful things for radio and television. David became an actor and director separate from the O&H show. He made a great film about his brother called "Easy to be free" . . . when are we going to see that on legitimate DVD Dave? Rick became one of the giants of Rock & Roll. He wasn't a founder - but he sure didn't miss it by much. His music is a vibrant today as it was when he recorded it. It's a shame he isn't given the recognition he deserves for being a founding father of the Southern Rock movement of the late 1960's. The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, and others get far more credit for what Rick really pioneered. If you want to know more about Rick's music, you should buy his CD's released after 1963. "Garden Party," "Rick sings Nelson," "Windfall," and "Rudy the fifth" are a great place to start.

This television show remains the longest running sitcom of all time. It aired for 14 years on television - racking up a total of 435 episodes. The Simpsons have been on the air longer now, but are still 36 episodes shy of beating the O&H record. Since O&H started on radio six years before television, a total of 22 years of the Nelson's lives were committed to tape or film.

I never saw a full episode of the show until my daughter bought me one of those "dollar store" DVD we're all familiar with. It took me awhile to get around to watching it, but when I did I really loved most of the episodes - and all were entertaining. With this "official" release we get to hear some of David's thoughts and recollections. We hear Sam (Rick's youngest son) ask some pretty interesting questions and tell a good story or two. The prints are very good compared to the junk we've all seen before this release.

There are disappointing aspects to this set as well. There are only 24 episodes out of the 435 produced. Some of the episodes are cut. One song is missing from the "Closed circuit TV" show (I think this is due to copyright problems." The shows jump from Rick and David being little boys to married men in very short order. But let's face it - this is a starter set. I'm sure if sales have been strong, they'll consider re-releasing more episodes. We can hope they'll put all 14 seasons out - uncut and complete with Rick's songs. Will this happen? Who knows? I'm still waiting for the 3rd season of "The Commish!"

On the plus side - some are episodes you cannot find on the budget DVDs. The prints are very good and the sound is excellent. I've read that Ozzie was a perfectionist and insisted on having the best cameramen, etc. I'm guessing there are even better prints in existence, but perhaps it is cost prohibitive to restore all of the episodes for digital transfer. Another plus are the extras you'll find. Are they too short? Well, for fans of Rick or Dave or the show, yes. However, we didn't have these before this set.

PLEASE: David or whoever has the rights to these wonderful shows, will you consider giving the public every episode in chronological order? It would be perfect if all of Rick's musical numbers could be included and the shows in their full, uncut glory.

What more can be said? It was a great show. It was not a time capsule of how America really was in the 1950's and 1960's; rather it was a place viewers could tune into to get away from their problems for a while. It became an icon because so many people identified with situations or the characters they saw. THEIR memories became one with the show. You can still do that thanks to the Nelson estate and the miracle of film.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch "The Shield" to get away from my problems. Vic is in much more trouble than I am . . . or is he?

God bless America and God bless The Nelson Family. Thank you for the laughs - the music - and the memories.

While I have all these episodes on VHS, I can't wait to see them on DVD with the optional commentaries. I do wish David had included a few more of the earlier episodes, but will take what I can get since till now you could only find the public domain copies on DVD. I wonder if the set will include A BROTHER REMEMBERS...David's tribute to his brother Rick.

The more I watch OZZIE and Harriet , the more I appreciate what a talent Ozzie was in keeping this all together. They were on radio and then on tv for FOURTEEN years!!!!! I love this show.

I know many Ozzie and Harriet purist will argue with me over this but I think this is a great DVD set even if it is a little overpriced. But we have to remember first that the show is over 50 years old and the fact that an episodes from that era survived is a good thing. Secondly the seasons during that time were over 30 episodes long and alot of them(sadly to say) we'ren't that great and have no business on any DVD. This set contains quality episodes with Ricky's Songs and even rare color episode which are never shown in syndication. I do realize a few of the songs and episodes have been cut for time and royalties reasons but most of the cuts aren't even noticeable and all you're really missing is a sponsor ad or two. If you really want all of the Ricky Nelson songs from the TV show but the "Ricky Sings" DVD also by Shout entertainment.So all in all a great product and a great set and let's face it Ozzie and Harriet fans this about the best we're going to get so we might as well take it was a coke and a smile and if not that at least a bowl of Tutti Frutti Ice Cream.

The color episodes that Harriet Nelson introduced during a retrospective on The Disney Channel in the late 1980's were very clear and vivid. Unfortunately, the two Shout Factory has included on this DVD set are blurry and faded, and the sound is weak. Hopefully future (season) sets will be remastered and uncut.

This set is enjoyable. Yes, some of the episodes are cut from commercial TV viewing, but the overall feel and family-friendly episodes are a joy to watch. Ricky in his prime is always a delight, just don't expect too much from David's commentaries -- either he doesn't like talking, has memory gaps or just didn't have good direction. In any case, they don't provide what you'd hope as a viewer you want him to say and touch on.

The production quality is fine and not to be confused with some old-TV packages where the show is no easily viewed.

All-in-all a wonderful series, and a great piece of history and nostalgia.

Growing up in the 50s and 60s had its ordeals. Turn on the TV to escape! I wanted to be Ricky Nelson. He was 3 years older than I, but in my fantasy world I was getting the same adulation that was coming his way. Not too realistic for a chubby, pimply-faced kid like me. There were other family shows on back then, like Father Knows Best and Leave it to Beaver, with the same kind of hokey plot lines as Ozzie & Harriet. But the one thing the Nelsons had over the others was that although yes, they were acting, underneath it all they WERE a real family. Kudos to the producers of this DVD set. Watching David and Ricky grow up again was well worth the price of admission. Thanks for a wonderful trip to yesteryear!

Let me start by saying THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! to Shout and the Nelsons for releasing this wonderful collection of shows from the Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet. I have loved this show for years but have been stuck watching cheap public domain copies since the show never airs on TV in our area. When I first saw this collection for sale at Amazon I just figured it was going to be another cheap version and I passed it by. But while I was searching Amazon again one night I came upon this release again and this time I read the description. After learning it was going to be an authorized edition by the Nelson family I ordered it right away. My set arrived two days ago when bad news was coming at me from left to right and I was really feeling down in the dumps. When I was able to sit down and put in the first DVD all my troubles went away for a short time. The transfers are wonderful as is the sound. The only thing that disappointed me is that some of the songs have been deleted. I enjoyed Ricks song in the episode "Tutti Frutti Ice Cream" but it's been cut. However, this is very minor as far as I'm concerned. Fans of this wonderful collection will appreciate that fact that we finally have some crystal clear shows to watch. My only hope is that many more shows will be released very soon. Thank you again to Shout and the Nelson family for giving fans this wonderful collection. I highly recommend it to all who love Ozzie, Harriet, David and Ricky.