Snarky Oracle!
Telly Talk Supreme
Do we not have a DICK VAN DYKE SHOW thread?
I guess this is more appropriate for Hallowe'en:
I guess this is more appropriate for Hallowe'en:
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The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961 - 1966)
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Crimson
Telly Talk Star
Well it's been discussed, for sure; I don't recall if there's a DVD exclusive thread floating around or not.
I'm on record as stating my three favorite sitcoms are I LOVE LUCY, THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, and MARY TYLER MOORE. I think Lucy is the funniest of the three; DVD is the most consistent; and MTM has the best developed characters. The consistency of DVD is remarkable; the show's quality doesn't waver throughout its 5 year, 158 episode run. (Well, except maybe for that weird Western fantasy, second-to-last episode.)
As for the episode above, I'm a big fan of comics in a "haunted" house and the early 60s is the last time that particular tope really worked; spooky-funny just hasn't been done well since.
Jock Ewing Fan
Telly Talk Star
All classic sitcoms. Ted Knight was my favorite on the MTM show. TK was also an honorable man. Him and his wife (He had one wife) had three children, and he earned
five battle stars in the European theatre in WW2. The entertainment industry needs more people like Ted Knight
ClassyCo
Telly Talk Warrior
I don't believe THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW has its own thread. At least not to my memory anyway. I have the complete series of the show on DVD, and I have so for over a year, but I seldom watch it. Funnily enough, I often forgot I have it in my collection until I open my chest-type movie case and see it among the rest. I might have to dust it off and start from the beginning.
Snarky Oracle!
Telly Talk Supreme
A classic show. I wish it had been filmed in color. CBS wasn’t broadcasting color series when DVD started, so they wouldn’t pay for color. Carl Reiner, the producer, said he and his team weren’t willing to pay the $8000 per episode to film it in color and later greatly regretted this. I think it would have lasted even longer in syndication in color, since it went into reruns at a time when local stations were desperate for color programming.
ClassyCo
Telly Talk Warrior
They've colorized some episodes and aired them as special broadcasts over the years. But just like with I LOVE LUCY, the colorizing is neat, but it just somehow doesn't play the same.
Snarky Oracle!
Telly Talk Supreme
Oh, no. That's like having TWILIGHT ZONE or the five years of ANDY GRIFFITH in color -- it's just wrong... Besides DICK VAN DYKE has been in healthy syndicated circulation for56 years!
Crimson
Telly Talk Star
I must concur; DVD belonged in B&W. Every sitcom of the 60s that switched to color also took on that loud, garish tone that matched the garish color of the era. Even TAGS -- DVD's only real rival for quality among the sitcoms of the day -- went to pot when it switched to color (although, admittedly, there were behind-the-scenes changes as well). Maybe DVD could have maintained its tone in color, but all precedent suggests otherwise.
DallasFanForever
Telly Talk Supreme
I think I prefer these shows colorized for the most part. I’m really not a fan of black and white anymore. But I do understand why a lot of people feel differently. The black and white shows do have a certain charm to them but I just feel the color gives it more life.
Snarky Oracle!
Telly Talk Supreme
The colorization technology has certainly improved. But I still view it as satanic --especially for anything from the '40s or the early-'60s.
I’m not advocating for colorization. While I agree it’s cool, it still doesn’t look like true color.
If you have a chance, take a look at the Joey Bishop Show episodes from 1961-62 that were filmed in color (most of the season was in B&W but they did a handful of color episodes that year). Like TDVDS, it was also coproduced by Danny Thomas’ production company and the color is very subtle and looks very good. Don’t look at the other color seasons of that show; the prints are over 30 years old and the color is faded and awful.
Those shows that converted to color often did later in their runs, when they were running out of gas or had personnel changes. The act of switching to color didn’t lower the script quality (Petticoat Junction, Bewitched) , cause actors to leave the show (Don Knotts on the Andy Griffith Show) or producers to depart (Alan Armer on The Fugitive). Had TDVDS been filmed in color from the beginning, it wouldn’t have lessened the quality of the show.
If you have a chance, take a look at the Joey Bishop Show episodes from 1961-62 that were filmed in color (most of the season was in B&W but they did a handful of color episodes that year). Like TDVDS, it was also coproduced by Danny Thomas’ production company and the color is very subtle and looks very good. Don’t look at the other color seasons of that show; the prints are over 30 years old and the color is faded and awful.
Those shows that converted to color often did later in their runs, when they were running out of gas or had personnel changes. The act of switching to color didn’t lower the script quality (Petticoat Junction, Bewitched) , cause actors to leave the show (Don Knotts on the Andy Griffith Show) or producers to depart (Alan Armer on The Fugitive). Had TDVDS been filmed in color from the beginning, it wouldn’t have lessened the quality of the show.
Snarky Oracle!
Telly Talk Supreme
Not sure I agree. It would have lessened TWILIGHT ZONE.
DallasFanForever
Telly Talk Supreme
That’s one show where I think it works better in black and white. It adds to the mystery and suspense.
Snarky Oracle!
Telly Talk Supreme
But that's part of TDVDS's appeal as well as the first five seasons of TAGS, as well as the first year of BEWITCHED --- that Cold War, PSYCHO era mood, which works better in B&W, even for many sitcoms.
DallasFanForever
Telly Talk Supreme
You’re definitely not wrong. I feel colorizing did take something away from those shows yet for some reason I do enjoy seeing them in color more now than I used to. I’ve actually grown to like it.
ClassyCo
Telly Talk Warrior
Colorization is tricky and I'm not always on board for it -- in fact, I'm almost always against it.
The first five years of ANDY GRIFFITH wouldn't have worked -- at least for me -- if they were in color. I typically avoid the color seasons of the show out of strong preference for the earlier, warmer B&W seasons. And it speaks volumes that the B&W seasons are consistently more popular in syndication. Few channels have found success with airing the color seasons.
Colorizing something like THE TWILIGHT ZONE is practically unthinkable. The tone and atmosphere of that show would be completely altered if those beautiful B&W prints were colorized. That show was practically made for some stylized B&W camerawork.
The first two seasons of BEWITCHED are better in B&W as well, but that opinion might be drawn from the poor colorized prints I've seen over the years. Had I seen better colorized versions of those episodes, I might not be as much against it.
There are other shows from the same period that I wouldn't be so dogmatic about not having them colorized. Shows like GILLIGAN'S ISLAND and I DREAM OF JEANNIE really look quite lovely in color, and if colorized versions of their first seasons were done properly, I don't think I'd be too bothered by it. The DVD set I once had of JEANNIE had the colorized first season, but it was so sloppily done that I always turned off the color when I watched those episodes so they appeared to be in their original
And speaking of colorization done properly: I have seen some good colorized clips of THE ADDAMS FAMILY and THE MUNSTERS online. The little clips I've seen are very well done, but those two shows belonged in B&W as well. The dark, mundane humor that they tried to exploit was just lost in the conversion to color. Quite frankly, they weren't even as funny.
I'm much more forgiving of classic TV being colorized over classic film.
The first five years of ANDY GRIFFITH wouldn't have worked -- at least for me -- if they were in color. I typically avoid the color seasons of the show out of strong preference for the earlier, warmer B&W seasons. And it speaks volumes that the B&W seasons are consistently more popular in syndication. Few channels have found success with airing the color seasons.
Colorizing something like THE TWILIGHT ZONE is practically unthinkable. The tone and atmosphere of that show would be completely altered if those beautiful B&W prints were colorized. That show was practically made for some stylized B&W camerawork.
The first two seasons of BEWITCHED are better in B&W as well, but that opinion might be drawn from the poor colorized prints I've seen over the years. Had I seen better colorized versions of those episodes, I might not be as much against it.
There are other shows from the same period that I wouldn't be so dogmatic about not having them colorized. Shows like GILLIGAN'S ISLAND and I DREAM OF JEANNIE really look quite lovely in color, and if colorized versions of their first seasons were done properly, I don't think I'd be too bothered by it. The DVD set I once had of JEANNIE had the colorized first season, but it was so sloppily done that I always turned off the color when I watched those episodes so they appeared to be in their original
And speaking of colorization done properly: I have seen some good colorized clips of THE ADDAMS FAMILY and THE MUNSTERS online. The little clips I've seen are very well done, but those two shows belonged in B&W as well. The dark, mundane humor that they tried to exploit was just lost in the conversion to color. Quite frankly, they weren't even as funny.
I'm much more forgiving of classic TV being colorized over classic film.
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Snarky Oracle!
Telly Talk Supreme
Funnily enough, colorizing Season 1 if JEANNIE and Season 2 of BEWITCHED doesn't bother me nearly as much, because they're both from the 65-66 TV season, where series that were still shot in B&W start to look washed-out and drab --- as if this was the year the switch to color should have happened. (All American primetime shows not already in color had to make the switch by fall of 1966).
But Season 1 of BEWITCHED and GILLIGAN were the 64/65 season when the B&W still looked mysterious, soothing and almost hallowed.
Sure, the fifth and final year of TDVDS occurs in the 65/66 season, but colorizing just one season makes no sense (so don't do any of them!) And Laura Petrie was channeling Mary Richards by Season 5 anyway.
Speaking of Rose Marie, she correctly said if TDVDS had made the obligatory shift to color, it could have run another 3 or 4 years... I'm glad they didn't though.
NBC's programs had mostly been in color for years, starting with BONANZA because that network was owned by RCA which wanted to sell color television sets.
But Season 1 of BEWITCHED and GILLIGAN were the 64/65 season when the B&W still looked mysterious, soothing and almost hallowed.
Sure, the fifth and final year of TDVDS occurs in the 65/66 season, but colorizing just one season makes no sense (so don't do any of them!) And Laura Petrie was channeling Mary Richards by Season 5 anyway.
Speaking of Rose Marie, she correctly said if TDVDS had made the obligatory shift to color, it could have run another 3 or 4 years... I'm glad they didn't though.
NBC's programs had mostly been in color for years, starting with BONANZA because that network was owned by RCA which wanted to sell color television sets.
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ClassyCo
Telly Talk Warrior
THE LUCY SHOW began producing episodes in color in 1963, although they didn't start airing in color until 1965. The color seasons of that show -- especially the last three, star-stuffed seasons -- had a healthy second-life in syndication. Ironically enough, however, the first B&W season contains the best of the show and arguably the last truly "great" TV work Lucille Ball did.
Colorizing those seasons definitely make more sense, even if the B&W versions hold some nostalgia.
Tampering with a quality show such as DICK VAN DYKE doesn't make any sense. I watch the colorized episodes of I LOVE LUCY strictly for the novelty of it -- and I even have the DVDs of those colorized episodes -- but Lucy Ricardo never echoed so brightly as she did in those good-ole-B&W prints.
Running another three or four years -- especially in color -- would've morphed DICK VAN DYKE into ANDY GRIFFITH, where the later color seasons just simply fall short of the show's B&W heyday.
TZ and TDVDS are very different shows. I agree a color Twilight Zone in the 60s would have seemed strange. For TDVDS, Carl Reiner said, “During the course of the show, it was suggested that we do it in color, and they said it would cost $6,000 an episode, and my partners said, “Well, there goes our profit.” So we decided to leave it in black and white. It really lends itself to color.”
Rose Marie felt the show had more life in it and wanted to go on. And it would have had to transition to color for a sixth season, since all US primetime shows were in color by fall of 1966. I’m glad they didn’t; I agree with the Andy Griffith analogy.
Rose Marie felt the show had more life in it and wanted to go on. And it would have had to transition to color for a sixth season, since all US primetime shows were in color by fall of 1966. I’m glad they didn’t; I agree with the Andy Griffith analogy.
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