Customer Reviews

Mister Peepers - The TV Series

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is an absolutely delightful, subtle, and twee comedy from the year 1952. It will prove odd to many juveniles; there are no car chases, explosions, four letter words, or sex scenes. You have to pay attention to the dialogue, which is spoken not shouted. Mr. Peepers is a gentle and kind junior high science teacher, and the world seems to get the better of him...but not for long. Wally Cox is one of a kind, and so is Marion Lorne, who plays the principal's wife. Tony Randall and Jack Warden make guest appearances in these live performances, and they are entertaining. But in every episode, Cox is the focus, and his low-key humor can't be matched by anyone...at any time. This is wonderful television from a much kinder and quieter era.

The previous reviewer, Bennet Pomerantz, is mixed up about early TV time shifting techniques. In the early 1950s the only method available for recording live TV was the Kinescope process, in which a 16mm or 35mm film camera was mounted in front of a television monitor and the program was recorded on film, not tape. Although Bing Crosby Enterprizes experimented with a crude form of video tape as early as 1951, the picture quality was unacceptable. Usable video tape didn't become available until 1956 when Ampex introduced the first video tape recorders. Desilu Productions early on decided to film the I Love Lucy shows instead of airing them live, because non networked TV outlets complained about the poor quality of the Kinescope filmed copies that other live shows gave them to air. Thus directly filming shows instead of presenting them live while simultaneously recording them on Kinescope film for immediate rebroadcast became popular. Some artists, such as Jackie Gleason, insisted that all their Kinescopes be saved for use many years in the future. That's why all the Gleason shows, and aparently these Peepers Kinescopes too, are still with us. Many of the Kinescopes that were "bicycled" to outlying affiliates survived, but most were either trashed or just plain lost. The shows that were directly filmed instead of broadcast live and Kinescoped had a much better chance of survival, and the picture quality is vastly better. Just how good these Mister Peepers DVDs will look and sound is yet to be discovered when they are released. I hope the studio did a good job on them, because I recall watching this show with my dad in the early '50s and we really enjoyed it. I hope they include the vintage commercials too.

I bought this as a gift for my husband, from his wish list, so I didn't know what to expect. The first one, or two of the shows from the series was damaged due to poor storage, and the sound isn't very good. But you can still understand what's going on. After that, the quality improves and the shows are as funny as I remember them. What a treat to have this piece of television history at our disposal. If you're a Baby Boomer and ever watched TV as a kid, this is truly a walk down memory lane. I hadn't remembered that Tony Randall was a regular on the show, and a bit of interesting trivia is that Wally Cox (Mr. Peepers), was close and personal friend of Marlon Brando. And I must add that Marion Lorne is perfect as the dottering school marm. She had perfected her routine to a science and a signature (or perhaps she was just dotty). At any rate, I recommend this set very highly.

The 100 black and white half-hour episodes of the early situation comedy "Mr. Peepers" were originally broadcast from 1952-55 on NBC. Like a lot of baby boomers this and "Ding Dong School" are my earliest memories of television. Since both ran later in syndication it is hard to tell how many of these memories are actually tied to the original broadcasts.

"Mr. Peepers" is worth checking out for more than its nostalgia value. It represents a very different style of situation comedy than shows like "The Honeymooners" and "I Love Lucy". The genre could have gone in two different directions in those days and ended up taking the loud abrasive path of those two shows; which is probably why they still seem somewhat contemporary.

"Mr. Peepers", which was differentiated by its intelligent restrained tone, may appear slow and dull in comparison. But it's really more a matter of adjusting to the different style. Once you get into the characters it should hold the interest of intelligent viewers. Credit should be give to the show's producer, Fred Coe, a key figure in early television whose dramatic anthologies are also worth checking out ("Philco Television Playhouse", "Lights Out", "Playhouse 90", "Producers Showcase", "Playwrights 56", "Fireside Theatre", etc.) even on kinescope.

"Mr. Peepers" offered a much more gentle style with Wally Cox (to be the voice of "Underdog" a few years later) in the title role, Robinson Peepers, a mild-mannered high school science teacher. His glasses were his trademark and a symbolic link to his name and role as a passive observer.

The series provided Cox with an outstanding supporting cast. Tony Randall played his brash best friend, history teacher Harvey Weskit. Jack Warden played Frank Whip, the loud gym teacher whose mild bullying gave the show most of its conflict elements.

There is some love interest competition involving the school's nurse, Nancy Remington (Patricia Benoit), with viewers quickly aligning with Mr. Peepers who seems a much better match for the gentle Nancy. Their on-screen marriage near the end 1953-54 season captured national attention, an early version of the "Who Shot J.R.?" frenzy.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

This DVD set is really fun to watch. Wally Cox is utterly charming as Mr. Peepers, and his comedic timing is perfection. The hilarious predicaments he gets into are slightly offbeat and entertaining. The rest of the cast is excellent, too, particularly the dithering Marion Lorne and the great actors Walter Matthau and Tony Randall. I intended to just watch the first couple of shows and then save the rest for later, but I couldn't stop watching. Now I've watched them all twice, and I've only had the set for two days. This set was recorded from the original kinescopes, which were all that was available, and in the first show and a couple of subsequent ones, there is some difficulty hearing the words in a place or two. The series is also in black and white, of course, but these drawbacks are minimal compared to the quality of the acting. I can't get enough of Mr. Peepers, and now I'm going to be waiting for the second boxed set to come out so that we can see him get married.

I have had more fun watching this DVD from 1952, it is very simple, funny, true to life and a great cast starting with Wally Cox one of my all time favorites. Just lay your head back sometime and think back of growing up and going to High School then this is the DVD you want to watch. I believe I have already watched it twice. Mr. Peepers as the high School teacher being harassed and made fun of every day and how he wiggles his way out of every situation you will love it. I have`already started to watch Season 2 and it is just as fun. Buy it have fun with it.

J.K.

The 1950's precursor to videotape, Kinescope, was employed recording this show, and that's unfortunate because there are profound soundtrack and image quality issues throughout. It's another reminder how wise Lucy and Desi were to actually film I Love Lucy.. don't expect the quality seen on reruns of that show here. In fact, the sound was completely out of synch throughout every show in the set. To even watch it I had to avoid looking directly at the players' faces as they spoke.

Cox's Peepers is a sweet, gentle, amusing character -likeable from the start. When there's physical comedy the show is best, but the unfamiliarity of television makes for some awkward moments for otherwise seasoned actors. I am glad I got a taste of what the show had to offer but the quality is so poor I cannot recommend it, nor will I buy season 2. PS: One particularly bright spot is the addition of cast member Tony Randall whose polish and class way outdistance his costars.

I was in high school when my family got its first TV set. Mister Peepers was my favorite program. It is wonderful to be able to watch it again.

Being familiar with kinescopes and having read the earlier reviews, I was concerned that the technical quality of these DVD's might not be very good. After watching the "Bonus" pilot and the first broadcast episode, however, I must say that for a kinescope (or, as the original NBC credit identified the process, "KinePhoto"), the picture quality is actually very nice. The sound quality, while generally tolerable, is less admirable (with the epilogue of Episode 1 having hardly any sound at all), so I am glad to read that this will improve in subsequent episodes.

The pilot is a rough draft of Episode 1, which is clearly more polished. I do think, though, that the pilot's stronger emphasis on a particular quirk of one of the characters made the outcome seem more appropriate. Like MissPammy, Hubby and I enjoyed Walter Matthau's performance as the coach in the pilot. (A different actor is credited, but Internet Movie Database verifies that it really was Matthau.) And if anyone else is trying to place the tune used several times in the pilot, it's "Our Boys Will Shine," a popular song at high-school pep rallies for the past hundred years.

"Mr. Peepers" will not appeal to everyone. As has been noted by others, those who prefer slapstick humor, burlesque characters, and loud dialog will be happier with "I Love Lucy." This very low-key series could be considered a somewhat primitive forerunner of more character-oriented sitcoms like "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

Mr. Peepers was a favorite of my family. My sister loved Wally Cox and all the characters in this show, so I gave it to her as a gift. She enthusiastically relates to me characters, situations and phrases which live on through this video. I'm looking forward to giving her the second season for her birthday.