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Que Sera, Sera: The Magic of Doris Day Through Television: Special Interviews with Doris Day and Friends

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"QUE SERA SERA: The Magic of Doris Day Through Television" is published by Bear Manor Media (USA). It features close to 200 B/W photographs and benefits from the penmanship of acclaimed Iowa-born writer Garry McGee (the man behind 2005's "Doris Day: Sentimental Journey"). There are also interviews with many of Doris's sitcom co-stars including a cute foreword from Jackie Joseph. Oh, and did I mention even Doris gives an exclusive interview for the project!

Pierre's book is an "ultimate companion" of amazing facts and trivia on her sitcom and the other significant television appearances she made. At the same time it also gives a good appreciation for the other strings to her bow, touching on her classic films and albums etc. etc.

I've read and enjoyed this book and would certainly say that if you are loving Doris's sitcom DVDs you will definitely adore this book!

QUE SERA SERA THE MAGIC OF DORIS DAY THROUGH TELEVISION is a enjoyable book saluting one of the least heralded triumphs of the lovely, legendary star Doris Day. Doris Day's amazing movie career is well-remembered for the twenty years she reigned as one of the biggest movie stars in the world starring in many classic films, as is her standing as a peerless pop female vocalist with scores of vintage recordings currently on the market on compact disc yet her five-year run as one of the most popular stars on television in THE DORIS DAY SHOW (1968-1973) has long been something of a footnote despite the great success of the series at the time. Perhaps the tremendous success of her movies on DVD and her music on CD in recent years opened the door to THE DORIS DAY SHOW finding it's way onto the market in seasonal DVD sets and they too have become best sellers, certainly there are very television series of the 60s/70s which have every one of it's television seasons on the market like TDDS (season five has not been released yet but is pictured in the book). Now on the heels of those DVD sets comes a book dedicated to the history of the program with detailed episodic guides, exclusive interviews with most of the surviving cast members (including Doris Day herself!), tons of trivia, photographs, even a reproduction of a MAD magazine article spoof on the series (fortunately one of the milder satires published in that magazine).

This is clearly a labor of love by two devoted Doris Day fans who are clear-eyed enough not to overstate the excellence of the program while finding much to admire. THE DORIS DAY SHOW was a fun, sweet show but it wasn't one of the alltime great sitcoms, it actually wasn't even that funny (as the authors note, it was more of a light drama with comedy.) The scripts weren't that great but Doris' devoted public tuned in for years and the star was always charming and appealing and giving 100 percent, supported by a very good if too quickly-changing supporting cast (the series had three major overhauls during it's run, most infamously in the final two seasons when not only Doris' office staff at Today's World magazine completely changed but her two children vanished as if they never existed!) It's a great tribute to Doris as a woman that the whole cast has happy memories of working with her, one can easily imagine others being bitter in similar situations on other shows. Interview chapters are sprinkled throughout the book. It's also nice to see director and writer credits in the book for the individual episodes, very few books on TV series give this much information. And kudos to the authors for spotting all the episodes featuring excerpts and riffs from Doris' recordings, I had no idea her music was used this extensively on the show.

The book also features a episode guide to Doris' one-season dog-oriented program DORIS DAY'S BEST FRIENDS from 1985 (how about a boxed set on that series, MPI Home Video?), as well as a listing of her 1950's radio program and a section on ads from her movies. The book concludes with chapters by the authors detailing the history of their affection for the star. Certainly most of the readers of this book could well write their own chapter because there have been very few stars as beloved as Doris Day and the one of the happiest conclusions one can draw from this book is it is love well placed, for as all her coworkers testify, this is a truly wonderful, giving, caring lady just like we always knew.

Any consideration of Doris Day's movie and recording career makes it so easy to overlook her later foray into television. The fact that Hollywood's popular acting elite of the 50's and 60's were reluctant to involve themselves with the small screen was due to the very realistic fear such activity would diminish their cinema box-office appeal. That relevant factor combined with obvious time constraints was no doubt the reason Doris made few television appearances during her movie career.

Voted top female box-office movie star at the beginning of the 60's, she must have been knocked sideways on discovering near its end the existence of an iron-clad contract signed without her knowledge to appear in a television sitcom. This coincided with the untimely death of husband/agent/manager/producer, Marty Melcher and the subsequent discovery her entire earned fortune had disappeared due to unscrupulous dealings. In such circumstances, having to switch gears and enter the fast and furious production requirements of small-screen-media must have been a bitter pill to swallow. However, Doris soon knuckled down and THE DORIS DAY SHOW was launched by CBS in 1968 for a five year run ending in 1973 with the Day personality enabling the show's family-friendly cheerfulness combined with frequently changing plot formulae which moved its initial static rural setting to the more plot inspiring environs of San Francisco and the world of publishing which allowed Doris to benefit from sophisticated glamour and romantic attachments reminiscent of her Universal screen comedies. Overcoming her obvious early reluctance, Doris gradually took control of the Show with son, Terry, and growing annual ratings were due in no small measure to their hands-on involvement in ensuring all those participating before and behind camera worked as happy team.

After its showing on US television THE DORIS DAY SHOW virtually disappeared until the recent release of DVD box-sets which finally allow appraisal with four currently available and the final due for release later this year.

It's therefore opportune that QUE SERA, SERA: THE MAGIC OF DORIS DAY THROUGH TELEVISION should be written and published with its emphasis on chronicling THE DORIS DAY SHOW - a synopsis of each episode; descriptions of the actors involved, plus production values and behind-the-scenes detail. The book's Forward has been written by Jackie Joseph, a friend of Doris, who appeared in Season's four and five. Producer Don Genson is on hand to give a general view of the Show.

The book fully describes two musical "Specials" THE DORIS MARY KAPPELHOFF SPECIAL (1971) - with guest Perry Como - now also available on DVD and DORIS DAY TODAY (1975) with John Denver and Rich Little as guests. A magazine format series DORIS DAY'S BEST FRIENDS ran on US cable 1985/86, putting the spotlight on animal welfare issues within its mix of interviews and music and attracting such guests as Rock Hudson, Les Brown, Tony Bennett and Howard Keel. DORIS DAY: A SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY (1991), a PBS documentary is also featured.

Additionally, the authors turn the clock back to list (incomplete) the other early 50's DORIS DAY SHOW - a syndicated half-hour radio series in the USA - which was also partially adapted and broadcast by the BBC Light Programme in the UK. Adding to nearly 200 black and white photographs and film posters, thumbnail descriptions of the Day movies and significant recordings are adequately covered, whilst authors, Pierre Patrick and Garry McGee individually reflect on the Day career etc. Most important of all is an interview with the lady herself.

Whilst there are no obvious errors in the facts, I wish someone had decided on the form and correction of "Kapplehoff" or "Kappelhoff" but that is a minor gripe. To sum up, the authors must be congratulated on the outcome of their research for this book is a veritable reference delight for Day fans with its detailed information. Others will also appreciate and learn about this neglected element of the Day career.

A WONDERFUL BOOK WITH LOTS OF INFORMATION ON THE DORIS DAY TV SHOW, AND ALSO LOTS OF PICTURES. A REALLY GREAT BOOK ..I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.

I just finished reading this book, and I truly enjoyed it :)
I loved the photos; and I especially enjoyed the interview with the Great Lady herself!
This book was obviously written by two people who love and admire Miss Day the way we the rest of us do!
What a lovely tribute to a Wonderful Lady--our beloved Doris Day!

I am a BIG Doris Day fan, and really enjoyed reading this book about
her TV show and the people involved, etc. All the people who were
interviewed, and their experiences with Doris were really vry
insightful and fascinating to me.
If you are a real Doris Day fan, you will enjoy this book.