yeah, i treated myself to the entire five-year run of the dick van dyke show--every original, uncut, digitally-remastered episode of (with the one obvious exception*) the best situation-comedy ever to appear on television, complete with all kinds of cool extras.
and tell you the truth, i dunno why i waited so long--god knows i can probably count on one hand the things in this world i love completely and without reservation, and this show is one of 'em.
so v came over tonight, we cracked it open, and my intention to watch a few a week in chronological order went out the window pretty much as soon as he told me he had never seen the show before (ah, to be that young).
to give him the proper flavor, i decided to hit him with a couple hand-picked episodes (starting out with my all time favorite--the one with laura and the raft), but then two turned into four and then seven, and they were all as fresh and smart and funny as i remembered--and it was great experiencing them through the eyes of someone for whom they were brand-new.
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* and, as an extra-added bonus (and because there is no more dangerous and volatile combination known to man than an impulsive drunk and amazon's helpful "buy with one click" feature), i somehow ended up with the complete i love lucy as well--they were out, but they tell me it'll be here next week.
7 comments:
LOL.**
Tripping down memory lane at Walfart the other day I wound up taking home two 'double features':
Purple Rain and Fame
My Bloody Valentine and April Fool's Day
The justification was 'but it works out to about five bucks a disc, and who the hell would *ever* have thought that April Fool's Day would come out on DVD?*
*AFD is the sole reason I wear tube socks with the colored stripes at the top.
**not the world's biggest Lucy fan, but The Dick Van Dyke Show was one of my favorites. In re-runs, natch.
*sigh* i dunno what it is with you young'uns and i love lucy these days--i figured that show would always transcend all generations (thank god v loves it as much as me).
and if you're into cheesy horror flicks (which i'm generally not, but i know i'm pretty much alone there), make sure and check out the town that dreaded sundown--mid-70s and very low-budget, but fun and scary as hell. trust me, watch it and you'll never think about trombones and cornfields and mary ann from gilligan's island the same way ever again.
Well....The I Love Lucy show was never subtle...but it was usually clever, sometimes very much so.
My view of the Dick Van Dyke Show is colored by my own love of Mary Tyler Moore and how I think she was just apprenticing on the earlier show before she got her own. So Mary makes me smile every time.
The thing the Dick Van Dyke show always had going for it was that it too was usually clever, sometimes very clever.
Guttermorality, I guess subtle humor isn't your fave.
Judi:
MY BLOODY VALENTINE!!!!
~one of the greatest, and most underrated slasher films of all time!!!!.. you rock, ma'am..
MKF:
THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN!!!!
~a wrongfully unsung masterpiece of horror, as well as suspense.. just when i thought my boner was deflating, you gotta pump it back up by mentioning that title.... sigh..
(cue inflated hearts hovering around my head.. both of them!!)
noblesavage: i think it's probably impossible to separate my critical appreciation for these two shows from my emotional attachment to them--they were both touchstones of a happy childhood for me.
but having said that, there are literally dozens of shows i watched and enjoyed during my formative years for which, other than their nostalgic value, i have little appreciation as a grownup; somehow, these two (and a small handful of others) have never lost their appeal for me, and probably never will--probably because today i can appreciate them critically as well as emotionally.
i would disagree with you about dick van dyke--its virtues went far beyond superficial cleverness. and while you could never call i love lucy subtle, when i think of how talented those four actors were (along with the three writers who managed to crank out 39 episodes of top-notch television a year for nine solid seasons), i can't help but be in awe every time i watch one of those shows today.
as for the mtm show, i loved it as well--it was as evolutionary in its own way and time as were the other two in theirs--and if they ever put out the complete series (they've stalled after season five, for some reason), i'll probably pop for it too.
yhm: did we ever talk about that movie? i don't remember....
Unfortunately 'The Town that Dreaded Sundown' is only available (and for a premium, I might add) on VHS.
Not that I don't have a VHS player, but I can't fathom spending that kind of money on a movie I'm not sure I've seen.
Unless one of my favorite boys has it and would like to send it to me...
judi: sorry, babe--haven't seen that movie since i was about your age ;)
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