Oh, yes! The inflatable boat! When MTM was on Larry King, she says she liked this episode because it let her be the nut instead of the rational one. And it works out so PERFECTLY, so INEVITABLY, like a Greek tragedy, but HILARIOUS! Laura’s horror as she realizes she really is just like the nosy wife in the TV sketch! Rob trying not to laugh when he says, “Honey–did a package come for me?” Jerry and Millie’s speechless laughter when they see the boat!
I liked her in the hypnosis episode. “Put me in a trance! Put me in a trance!”
“All About Eavesdropping” (with the kids’ intercom to the Helpers) had some really excellent parts. The charade for “On The Street Where You Live”! The way they sit down in unison and cross their legs identically. Rob having the last line as he plays some Bach on the piano: “I’m no Albert Schweitzer, huh?”
Another funny episode was the practical joke episode, where Buddy’s accountant calls Rob at home and pretends to be a telephone repairman.
I mentioned in another thread a few months ago, whatever happened to Nick at Nite? I want The DVD Show and the MTM show and the Bob Newhart Show.
All Nick at Nite has anymore is The Nanny, George Lopez, Family Matters. TVLand is * Roseanne,* and Everybody Loves Raymond with some other shows thrown in. GAG
I want a Classic TVLand channel. No shows from after 1985 allowed.
I’ve always thought this was the ultimate example of what can happen when you have the rare convergence of great writing and directing with the perfect cast. There is not a bad or dull episode to be found in this series. I also think it helps that they had the sense to stop while they were still on top of their game. I remember being shocked when I first realized they only made five seasons and called it quits. To this day it is the only show I am guaranteed to stop and watch if I come across it while channel surfing. Given that I have all of the eps on DVD I think that says something about how much I love this show.
The episode I most want to see again is the R.O.S.E.B.U.D. one. Heck, forever I thought the Citizen Kaine references were from that episode. I wondered what a sled had to do with it.
Buddy had a fight with Pickles and stayed with the Petries. He ended up annoying them, of course, with his gargling, his cello (not violin) playing, making a mess of the kitchen, etc.
mmm
I think The Dick Van Dyke Show should be in the Mount Rushmore of TV comedies, but any TV show that would pee “The Twizzle” all over an unsuspecting audience must atone like a madman before it gets there.
Sorry for the confusion. When I said the weepy violins, I meant the music the show used. If you watch the episode with Sally and the deli guy, there’s this annoying, cloying “Oh, this part is supposed to be touching!” music that overpowers much of the second half. I think I remember a few episodes from late in the show’s run that used this sappy sort of technique.
Just to put this in context, I am only 29 and I was born in 1981. My recollections of The Dick Van Dyke show are from Nick at Nite in the early 90’s and further reruns on TVLand. And this show is still very funny and very watchable. I’m not sure I’d call it the “funniest ever”, (It’s duking it out with The Simpsons, The Office, and Cheers), but it’s right up there. I don’t know who deserves the credit not being familiar with its production, but that’s still quite an achievement since I can’t think of anything else started before the 70’s that I can still say that about.
Yes, I’m a whippersnapper. Don’t whip me too harshly.
ETA: On second thought, I still like Get Smart as well, so two programs…
Yes, Buddy plays the cello to get his dog to sleep.
The one you’re probably thinking of is Divorce, where Buddy left Pickles (because he found checks she was writing to her first husband). But Buddy didn’t stay at the Petries’.
Without consulting Laura, Rob brought Buddy’s dog home while the Sorrells were out of town in The Unwelcome Houseguest.
That episode is from Season 4, Episode 6: “Romance, Roses, and Rye Bread”. From season 1 we get related episodes such as “Sally Is a Girl” and “Where You Been, Fassbinder?” Not my favorites, either.
Another favorite of mine is Vito Scotti’s tour de force: “Give Me Your Walls!”
after all these years is the episode where Rob tries to break a record for continuous on-air broadcasting at the local radio station, which gave Van Dyke an opportunity to ‘play drunk’. That poor little kitty cat…
