The Dick Van Dyke Show - Season Two (1961)

Entertainment as it was meant to be.

This is an excellent and funny program done by Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. The skits are clever, very funny and certainly not our of date. I recommend t.v. programs as they were meant to be - entertaining and "clean". October 14, 2008

This Is A Well Crafted Show

This show really knew what they were doing when it came on the air. It stood by itself by not using one liners but when they realized what Mary Tyler Moore was wearing (those slacks) everyone stood up and took notice and it was before the Liberation movement came in effect. So this show had a little bit of everything from sketches, to living at home with your wife, and the shows they would perform. This is a top-notch show. April 10, 2008

Dick Van Dyke, Simply the BEST!

I've loved the Dick Van Dyke Show for as long as I can remember. Back when I was a child it was a staple for us at home. Considering the show began the year I was born it means that I primarily remember the reruns but that doesn't matter. This TV show remains as funny now as it was then. It just goes to show creative genius lives on no matter what.

As far as the dvds in this collection, they're brilliantly done, clean and clear. I watched all 30+ episodes of season one over a weekend and will begin season 2 next weekend. I purchased all five seasons and so far it is turning out to be a wonderful experience. Don't miss out, these are terrific! March 10, 2008

The best year ever!

Our family voted this season as the best! The episodes had us laughing even after we had watched it a time or two. Rob and Laura are bickering less and loving more. The situations are great! February 24, 2008

Outstanding!!!

I own only three DVD sets; Dick Van Dyke, The Waltons and Touched by An Angel. That's all I *want* to own for I feel that contemporary television programs can not hold a candle to these older shows.

This collection of Dick Van Dyke on DVD is a real treasure. The second season is fantastic, as you can feel how relaxed the cast was with one another. Rob and Laura look and act like an old married couple and seem genuinely comfortable with one another. The special features on the DVD are invaluable for baby boomers such as myself. The predominant "bonus feature" for the second season are the Kent Cigarette commercials which are a stitch.

But back to what I love about the second season of Dick Van Dyke: There is a simplicity to this show that I thoroughly enjoy. The set is simple, the directing is simple and the acting isn't polished, polished and polished some more. And that is its charm.

Watch closely and you'll both hear and see Rob, Laura, Sally and Buddy make a few foibles and missteps and mispronounciations. The fact that these scenes were not redone (again and again) is the beauty part of the show and gave each episode a down-to-earth reality that I love and enjoy.

The other interesting aspect are the camera shots. Watch modern TV and you'll see that the camera shots never last more than six seconds before it's switched to another camera from another angle. It creates television programs that are so frenetic and frenzied, yet it's also the very thing that holds your attention (and not in a good way).

The Dick Van Dyke program had single camera shots lasting for 30 seconds at a time. This must have been challenging for the actors, as they had to remember more dialogue and keep it going and keep everything flowing smoothly.

And the other amazing thing is Dick Van Dyke himself. Whether he's tripping over an ottoman or hurdling over an overstuffed chair in a single bound or tripping over one of Richie's toy trucks, it's Mr. Van Dyke doing all his own stunts. I've watched many of these trips and falls and hurdles on slow-motion and it's phenomenal to watch Mr. Van Dyke as he sails through the air. And the dancing! As Carl Reiner said in one of the bonus feature documentaries, "Dick doesn't have any bones in his body."

Dick Van Dyke did his own dancing and and soft shoe routines and when he sang, it was his own voice and this was true for Mary Tyler Moore, too.

I believe that all the above are the reasons that The Dick Van Dyke Show was (and is) considered to be the gold standard for sitcoms by which all other sitcoms are judged. The talent - the amazing, raw, funny talent of the whole staff - and the energy and the joy that emanates from each episode is something that no modern sitcom has yet to replicate.

(In the second season, there's an insert that explains that the actors - most notably Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam and Dick Van Dyke - had a heck of a time remembering to call each other by their stage names. All three got their start as stand-up comics and knew each other before the show went into production. That warm familiarity and friendship is what made this show so delightful.)

I can't say enough good things about this program and I'm unspeakably delighted to see it's been preserved on DVD (and enhanced!). There will never be another sitcom that can measure up to the shirtwaist of The Dick Van Dyke Show.

I recommend buying all of five years of this program. You won't regret it. February 21, 2008

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