Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Three Excellent Early Lassie Episodes, January 21, 2004
The early LASSIE episodes were quite different in flavor from the later ones, as Lassie was more of a smart real dog rather than a canine angel in disguise. These are three good episodes, including the series premiere, "Inheritance," in which 9-year-old Jeff Miller is willed Lassie by a deceased neighbor. The nice part is that Lassie doesn't "take" to Jeff immediately and that he has to learn to let her love him, rather than trying to make her love him. "Lassie's Pups" is the dramatic story of Jeff's odyssey to get help when Lassie seems in danger while having puppies. "Transition" is the last episode the Miller family appeared in; an orphan named Timmy :-) that they have been fostering all summer runs away when the Millers have to give up the farm after Gramps' death and he thinks he must go back to his elderly guardians. Introduced are the original actors who played Timmy's parents, Cloris Leachman and Jon Shepodd.
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Where It Started, How It Ended, January 25, 2004
I was born twenty years after the three episodes you'll find on this DVD set. I grew up with the 'Timmy' episodes of LASSIE on Nickelodeon, but I longed to see the 'Jeff' episodes which I knew about via my parents' recollections of the show. I was finally able to catch JEFF'S COLLIE on Animal Planet in 1997. However, that network didn't run (to my knowledge) the pivotal episode, "The Transition"--included on this 3-episode set--in which the Jeff era gave way to the Timmy era. Jon Provost and Tommy Rettig together! I was finally able to see this milestone in the LASSIE TV universe thanks to this release. If you're into LASSIE, TV or otherwise, and especially the Tommy Rettig ('Jeff') era, this is an excellent set to start with, including the show's premiere episode from 1954, "The Inheritance." Sandwiched in the middle is "Lassie's Pups," famous for Jeff's harrowing nighttime journey to the vet's office, and "The Transition" rounds out the set. The quality of the transfer is as good as anything I've seen, even though the original copies of these shows were not in the best of wear when they were copied. These early episodes are a bit clunky at times, storywise, yet they're endearing too thanks to strong performances by Jan Clayton, George Cleveland, and especially Tommy Rettig, a truly gifted child actor fifty years ago or today. If you're going to collect LASSIE's TV adventures, here's where you want to start.
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best lassie tv shows., February 19, 2004
By A Customer
Why can't they write scripts like these anymore? Jeff's collie was orinally aired as "lassie" in the mid 1950's and was renamed when timmy took over after 3-4 years. It is easily the best lassie shows with very professional actors/actresses and well written scripts. This was one of the first shows produced for the newest invention of the 1950's - T.V.This DVD vaguely introduces the cast and then the final show together and a show with the pups. However, what they really need is to release all the shows on DVD (there are about 100 or so). Anyway, Jeff's collie is far superior to the timmy and lassie episodes although there were some good ones of timmy too. Jeff, Porky, Gramps seemed real. Jan Clayton is more sexy too.
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