Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best available book on the subject, January 26, 2003
I've had my copy of this book for almost a decade now and I absolutely love it. The authors Weissman and Saunders have covered their subject well and brought together a fabulous treasure trove of information about one of television's most loved golden oldies. You won't find much gossip or other unsavory "warts and all" type material in this compendium, but you will find everything worth knowing about the show and it's stars. You get a good feel for the warmth and personal friendship that the cast has shared with each other since they began working together; each of the regular cast members as well as some of the show's writers and directors were interviewed and they add immeasurably to the book's enjoyment.Contained inside the pages of this tome is a detailed but concisely written history of how the show came about, beginning with Carl Reiner's original idea for a television show titled 'Head Of The Family' with himself in the lead; his redesign and recasting of the show; his working relationship with Sheldon Leonard, Dick Van Dyke and the rest of the cast members and beyond. Also included within is a complete synopsis of all 158 episodes including guest star appearances, a complete script from one of the shows, over 100 photos, an excellent trivia test with answers in the back and a list of all the awards that the show won during it's initial network run. Long after it first aired in the early 60's 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' still continues to enjoy phenomenal -but not surprising - success as one of the shows currently seen on TV Land as of this writing. I know people ranging from preteen to senior citizens who list it among their favorite TV shows to watch, even favoring it far above contemporary television programming. Nearly all of them are able to recount the series' most popular episodes to any one who will listen as well as recite the memorable lines of dialogue from each one. If you know someone who truly appreciates this show then this book would make an excellent gift; or if you're a fan don't go another day without it!
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lighthearted & Fun Volume! Heaps Of Excellent Pics!, December 19, 2004
This 172-page volume isn't as detailed as Vince Waldron's "Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book", but it serves as a very nice companion piece to both that Waldron book and to the 5 full-season DVD boxed sets of the Van Dyke Show that were released via Image Entertainment, Inc., in 2003 and 2004 (all five of which sparkle brightly in every respect). Placing those DVDs next to this publication (and the book by Mr. Waldron as well) would certainly serve as an unsurpassable batch of Van Dyke Show video and printed material, providing the owner of said products with just about all he/she could ever need with regard to this never-tiresome CBS-TV sitcom.
The 8.5" x 11.0" paperback book (which was originally released in 1983 and revised in 1993) is crammed with many, many top-notch black-and-white photographs; and the colorful front cover (featuring five main members of the show's cast) perfectly captures the fun and spirit of this classic sitcom.
Plenty of quotes from the show's cast and crew members are on tap here too, as they reflect back on the making of the series. An abundant amount of behind-the-camera information is mixed in amongst the wealth of photographs on these pages.
Synopses of all 158 Dick Van Dyke Show episodes are also included in a separate chapter. Plus there's a chapter entitled "That's My Boy?? -- A Milestone In Television History", which includes the entire script of the 64th filmed episode in the series ("That's My Boy??"), which is one of the funniest of all the Van Dyke scripts (which is really saying something, because they're all pretty darn good). That episode, which was expertly written by Bill Persky and Sam Denoff on May 22, 1963, has Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke) practically beside himself with worry in the days following his son Ritchie's birth, as he thinks the hospital gave him the wrong baby. A great episode indeed!
This book also contains a 4-page "Awards" section, which details all of the various awards (mostly "Emmys") that "The Dick Van Dyke Show" won, and was nominated for, during its successful five-year tenure on network TV.
There's also "The Dick Van Dyke 500" -- which is a 500-question trivia quiz. Some real brain-busters here, including Question #41: "How much money had Laura put away in her secret bank account (in the episode 'Bank Book 6565696')?" .... Was it: A.) $294.12; B.) $451.02; C.) $378.16; or D.) $398.26? .... Now THAT'S what I call "trivia"! Can you guess the answer? (I knew the answer to that one right off the bat, which probably makes me a certifiable "Van Dyke Show Geek" of the first order. LOL!) :)
This entire volume is very fun to glance through, with the ultimate prize in the package (in my estimation) being the oodles of great pictures (many of which depict "behind-the-scenes" shots of the cast and crew).
Looking through this book again prompted me to type up the following list of some of my all-time favorite "Dick Van Dyke Show" episodes (every single one of which can be purchased on DVD in the previously-mentioned Image Entertainment seasonal boxed sets of the series). .............
My Top 20 "Most Watched Episodes" list would look like this (what would your own personal list look like?):
1.) "All About Eavesdropping" (Season 2 boxed set).
2.) "Harrison B. Harding Of Camp Crowder, Mo." (S.1).
3.) "The Curious Thing About Women" (S.1).
4.) "My Husband Is A Check-Grabber" (S.2).
5.) "Empress Carlotta's Necklace" (S.1).
6.) "Never Bathe On Saturday" (S.4).
7.) "A Nice, Friendly Game Of Cards" (S.3).
8.) "Punch Thy Neighbor" (S.1).
9.) "Ray Murdock's X-Ray" (S.2).
10.) "The Sick Boy And The Sitter" (S.1).
11.) "The Night The Roof Fell In" (S.2).
12.) "The Ghost Of A. Chantz" (S.4).
13.) "A Man's Teeth Are Not His Own" (S.2).
14.) "The Case Of The Pillow" (S.4).
15.) "The Two Faces Of Rob" (S.2).
16.) "Pink Pills And Purple Parents" (S.4).
17.) "That's My Boy??" (S.3).
18.) "The Impractical Joke" (S.4).
19.) "Coast-To-Coast Big Mouth" (S.5).
20.) "My Blonde-Haired Brunette" (S.1).
Overall Favorite Seasons -- Season 1 and Season 2. (Although all 5 seasons are excellent, as all Van Dyke Show fans can attest.) :)
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Post-Script ..............
Something I thought of recently while watching the "Vic Damone"/"Ric Vallone" episode (titled "Like A Sister") --- during the entire course of the Dick Van Dyke Show series, creator/writer/producer Carl Reiner (plus the other top execs, Danny Thomas and Sheldon Leonard) never once exploited the "showbiz" angle of the Van Dyke series. What I mean by that is -- Carl & Company never felt the urge to cave in to the "Lucy Show Syndrome", and therefore very seldom brought in major movie stars of the day as guest stars to play off of the rest of the cast.
The "Let's get a big-name guest star on the show every week" scenario could have easily been done (and with a built-in "realism" as well, due to main character Robert Petrie working in show business on a popular variety show). From what I've read regarding the series, many big stars would drop by the show's soundstages to shoot the breeze. It seemed to be the "in" place to be in Hollywood. Well, at least one of the "in" places at any rate.
And I'm guessing that if he would have wanted to bow down to such ratings pressures, Mr. Reiner (et al) would have had no trouble at all garnering many major movie stars as guests on "TDVDS".
I'm very glad, however, that Reiner decided not to go the "Lucy Show" route for bigger ratings or for prestige value (or whatever) -- because relying on the great regular cast was a much better plan, IMHO.
And I find it interesting, too, to note that even when "TDVDS" *did* occasionally include a guest star to sing or dance on the fictional "Alan Brady Show", you'll note that the guest actor was always of a somewhat lesser-known stature, with character names created for them -- such as the aforementioned "Ric Vallone" used instead of Vic Damone's real name. ... And "Jacques Savon", and "Tracy Rattigan", and "Paula Marshall".
I often wonder how good the show would have been if Carl Reiner *had* decided to include huge-name guest stars each week (playing themselves), like on Lucille Ball's shows -- with people like John Wayne, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Sammy Davis, and Jerry Lewis popping in every week to make an "Alan Brady Show" appearance.
I, for one, am just as content and satisfied with the likes of "Janie Layton", "Henry Walden", "Jim Darling", "Valerie Blake", "Max Calvada", "Randolph Eisenbauer", and "Harper Worthington Yates". Plus, of course, the first-rate regular cast members, who didn't need to play second banana to anybody, IMO. :)
In closing, let me just state --- "I haven't had this many laughs since the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre!" ** :)
** = Dialogue from the episode "All About Eavesdropping".
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The inside story on the classic television situation comedy, May 28, 2003
I knew that the executives who run the television networks are almost always shortsighted pea-brained idiots, but I did not know originally "The Dick Van Dyke Show" was cancelled at the end of its first season. Granted, the show finished in 80th place in the Nielsen ratings and during that first season Carl Reiner was clearly writing more for himself than Dick Van Dyke (which made sense since Reiner wrote and filmed the original pilot "Head of the Family" for himself), but we are talking about coming "that" close to losing what is one of the classic situation comedies in the history of television. After that first season "The Dick Van Dyke Show" finished 9th, 3rd, 7th, and 16th in the Nielsens and won the Emmy for best show in its category all four years (it was just that the category changed from Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Humor, to the Field of Comedy, then in Entertainment, and finally as Outstanding Comedy Series). Ginny Weissman and Coyne Stevens Sanders bring the sensibilities of both fans and television historians to this look at "The Dick Van Dyke Show." They benefited from writing with the complete cooperation of every member of the cast, who heartily endorse the end product. This revised and expanded version contains over 130 photographs, synopses of all 158 episodes, and a 500 question trivia section that tax your knowledge of the show. You will also find lists of all the awards won by the show and its cast during its five-year fun, an update on where everyone was as of 1993, the revival of the show on "Nick at Night," and the complete script of "That's My Boy??," the episode always cited as receiving the longest laugh in the history of sitcom taped before a studio audience when Rob opens the door for the couple he is convinced has taken Richie home from the hospital (if you do not know why the audience explodes long and loud in laughter, then you are completely unfamiliar with the show and have no business reading this far into the review). This book is written for the fans, which explains why the synopses of each episode is provided "in brief," which means a single sentence. The point is clearly not to describe the episode, but rather to remind you which one it is in the grand scheme of things. Given that the cast list for each episode always includes all of the principles every single time, I admit I would have rather had the descriptions of the episodes include choice moments. I would rather know what songs the cast sang on "'The Alan Brady Show' Presents" or be reminded about the big diamond (next to the glass doorknob) Rob and Laura found in Hezekiah's desk in "The Great Petrie Fortune," instead of knowing what episodes did not have Buddy and/or Sally or featured Millie and/or Jerry Helper. I especially liked the details about the original pilot and how Van Dyke and the rest of the stellar cast were eventually assembled for the show. In fact, Weissman and Sanders repeatedly provide insights into some of the most famous episodes on the show. Finally, what makes it clear this book knows what it is doing, Richard Deacon is included on the front cover along with Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Morey Amsterdam, and Rose Marie. Case closed.
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by Vince Waldron
DVD ~ Dick Van Dyke
DVD ~ Dick Van Dyke
DVD ~ Dick Van Dyke
DVD ~ Dick Van Dyke
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