5.0 out of 5 stars
An Instant and Timeless Classic, January 10, 2012
This review is from: The Dick Van Dyke Show: Season 4 (Amazon Instant Video)
After re-watching a dozen episodes from The Dick Van Dyke Show, I changed my mind and decided that I should, after all, write an Amazon review for the series. Not because I think too many people will see my review, which will undoubtedly be hidden beneath multiple pages of previously-posted reviews. Not because I think Amazon readers need any more recommendations to get this set after reading the scores of such recommendations already present. Not even because it would be fun to reminisce as I wrote the review about everything I liked about the show over the years. No, I decided to write this review because, after re-watching these classic episodes again, I realized afresh that The Dick Van Dyke Show is one of the best, perhaps THE best, comedy series I've ever seen, and if even a single person watches this show for the first time because of this review, the effort would be entirely justified.
There are lots of funny TV shows, but I can't think of any that have affected me like The Dick Van Dyke Show has. My childhood is filled with the memories of watching the show with my father as I grew up. We sat there together, laughing out loud, over and over again, day after day, and felt like we were special guests to be asked into Rob and Laura Petrie's family each week. But were these childhood memories just a figment of my passing childhood, laughs that would disappear with time and a new social context? Not one bit. As I watch these shows in sparkling, crystal-clear DVD format (the "DVD" being no relation to "Dick Van Dyke"!), I find myself laughing - and enjoying - these episodes as if I never saw them before. And even when I have the jokes and the sequences memorized - and for many of them, I do - I can find no other reaction other than to laugh out loud as I did when I was kid. This is a downright, flat-out funny, witty, enjoyable, and entertaining program.
Can comedy be funny without resort to off-color language? Can shtick and physical humour actually be supremely hilarious? Can an element of sophistication be woven into comedy so that the audience can laugh at itself without being insulted? Can timeless themes be woven into stories that actually entertain? One needs watch only a handful of Dick Van Dyke Show episodes easily to quickly affirm each of these questions. And perhaps more impressively, its easily apparent that the cast and crew pull this off silky ease, belaying the true work that was put into the show. There's no question about it: the writing, the plot lines, the acting, and the personal charm of those involved in The Dick Van Show set a standard apart from others, a standard that sees no wear from the ravages of time. It doesn't matter that we are watching black-and-white in a clearly post-1950's suburban home and work setting: we see color and modernity even as we look right through these unimportant backdrops. The themes and talent that pours out of nearly every episode is unaffected by time, setting, and costume.
I once heard Carl Reiner say that Dick Van Dyke was the most talented entertainer he had ever known. It's hard to disagree with him once we've seen the show. Van Dyke is like Rowan Atkinson, but in spades, and with an inner charm that endears the watcher. He can sing, he can dance, he can tell jokes with precision timing, he can use understatement as a weapon, and he can make us totally sympathetic to his plights without appearing whiny. Rob Petrie, but more importantly, Dick Van Dyke, strikes us as an intensely decent person imbued with a joy of life that pervades everything he does. Actually, we are CONVINCED he is an intensely decent person, and we are just there for the ride as we watch him move through life with all its comic ups and downs. He could have never done it without Morey Amsterdam, Rose Marie, and Mary Tyler Moore (not to mention all the others who worked on the show before the camera), but Van Dyke stands out as that supremely gifted individual, a talent amongst a group of talents, Holland's gift to America. That so many gifted individuals could work together without stepping on each other's toes is a miracle in itself. It's an assemblage of people rarely seen, and I fear, not to be seen again for a long time.
Season One gets off to a rocky start. In retrospect, we can see the show is trying to figure out itself, trying to understand how all the pieces work together, trying to determine how stories are to be assembled for best impact. The show was slated for cancellation twice that year, and only after Sheldon Leonard stepped in to rescue it - and a change of time slot for Season Two right after the successful Beverly Hillbillies - did the show take off.
But in Season Two, the show takes off like no rocket you've ever seen before. Season One has some strong episodes and great plot ideas, but it's Season Two that sees the cast working in a seamless, slick, and sophisticated manner that turns the show into a timeless classic. It's almost as if everyone involved realized they were given a second chance, and with that, the gloves came off, the worries were put aside, and everyone just got "into the groove." The show knocked out one outstanding episode after another, and by the time Season Five occurred, everyone knew that this might likely be the highlight of their careers. The show was ended at the height of it's popularity because of Reiner's insistence - he said he did not want to show to die slowly, but go out while at the top of form - and we can only wonder what a "Season Six" might have held for us. But it's no matter. These are comedic masterpieces at the top of form, a goal for others to try and match, and a standard by which all others are measured.
If you've never seen The Dick Van Dyke Show and wonder what it is about, I'll tell you. It's about a somewhat charmed life of a regular group of people who are talented, happy, and good natured and who face the normal problems, irritation, and strange events that are a part of nearly everyone's life. That's all you need to know. Start with Season Two and work forward from there. When you are done, go back to Season One and see how they figured it all out in those early months. But by then, you'll already be won over by the many wonderful episodes, and will doubtless be re-watching these over and over again. Millions of people of have done so over the years. To watch these episodes is to easily understand why.
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