Well, I have mixed feelings. The acting was great, but this special tried to be 3 shows in one causing a strong start to finish weakly.

The first part (actual new episode) started off with promise but then got sidetracked with the second part (clips and remembrances). The third part (Dick and Mary out of character) was a throwaway.

I wish the entire show had been the new episode. I would have been interested in finding out what Rob did after leaving Alan in the mid 60s, etc.

Nothing too terribly offensive, but the line about the Rhinos was lame and seemed out of place.

I give the first half hour a 9 but the second half hour only gets a 5.

Any other thoughts????

I agree with you. They could have left out the "hell and damn" scene. It seemed like they were trying too hard to be hip. I found it mild and inoffensive, however. The hippo thing was stupid. Otherwise, I liked it. I liked the remembrances of Jerry and Mel. I LOVED the clips they showed. I can't wait to get season 5 so I can see my all-me favorite episode, "Coast-to-coast Big Mouth!" I wasn't surprised that Alan Brady had several ex-wives! I liked Millie and Stacy together. I thought they were cute. I thought Dick and Mary looked great. I taped it so I can watch it again tonight and really get a good look at it. I missed the first few minutes because my 5 year old wouldn't go to bed, so I want to go back and watch that part. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else thought. All in all, I liked it.

Lolac :wave:

Yeah, I agree. As much as I love Carl, I have to say I really expected better. They should have either done fewer flashbacks, or done it in 2 hours. I wanted to see more of Rob and Laura today. I already know what they were like in the 60's. Just my 2 cents.

Kristen

I would have preferred for there to have been no clips and although the acting was great, I do not think the story line was up to par. I, as posted before, would also have like all new show. We only got maybe 20 minutes of new story line and I would have preferred the entire hour to have been the story line.

It wasn't bad, but seeing the cast old and decrepit was kind of sad. I guess you really can't go back. It just wasn't the same without Buddy, either. And they shouldn't have used canned laughter and applause. I thought they were filming this in front of a live audience!? The best line was when Laura was on the phone with Alan and said "Rob still has his hair...every strand".

It was great to see Herman Glimpshire (SP?) again; he still looks the same. I was disappointed that Ritchie didn't have a bigger part. Millie played a great part and was funny as ever. Finally, watching Mary's performance seemed more to me like Mary Richards than Laura Petrie!

All in all it was fun seeing the cast together again. They should have done this 20 years ago.

This doesn't really rlate to the story line, but does anyone else think that Mary Tyler Moore looked too good for her age? I mean, it really did not seem that she fit in with everyone else there. Millie and Laura were best friends, yet it was obvious that they were very far apart in age, eventhough only about seven years in real life. It just seemed to me that she did not really fit in relating to age with everyone else.

Another thing, if this special were as successful as predicted, and everyone were offered another weekly series, do you think they should accept? I, personally, think that a new series would degrade the original.

sorry...i posted my thoughts on an entirely new thread cuz when i first got on...no one else had posted anything yet... and when i finished...BLAM! lol so if you want to see what i thought...just go to my thread "wow"...that should give you a bit of a hint! lol

Well, I expected to reluctantly
roast to show, but, I thought it
was sweet. I smiled throughout the
show. They did it for us. The fans.
It was gentle and nice. They were
all at slightly different levels
of being back in character. Ann
Gilbert looked, of course, older
but was right in character and
and funny and sharp. She was very
much still Millie. Rose was sharp
too. I was surprised. She was
good. Jerry Van Dyke added very
well too. The only thing I would
have tried to do was keep it in
the old house too. It was part
of the show. I still think the
eulogy thing was a swell idea. I
wish it might have lead to a more
serious moment about growing older
and it didn't matter as long as
they were together. I thought
Stacy's comment about looking
older was funny and good. And
Ray Romano's joke about Mary at
the end was laugh out loud funny.
("Mind your business...I've been dreaming of this since I was eight
years old.") And I notice in
watching it again Mary ended it
with "Oh, Raaay." That's funny.
Too many clips, but I thought the show was a nice, gentle gift to us. And it should just be taken that way.
It was nice of them to try again and
do it for us. I'm glad they did.

I expected more twists and turns in the script. I expected the Petries to attend Alan Brady’s funeral, only to see Alan in disguise; or maybe a science fiction twist like in the famous Walnut episode. It was if Buddy Sorrell wrote the script, with broad strokes but no subtleties. That’s the one thing about Carl Reiner; yes, he is the genius behind The Dick Van Dyke Show, but he was also the director of those broad Steve Martin movies, like The Jerk.

Why the canned laughter? Why didn’t they do this in front of a live audience? I also don’t understand why Alan dangling money would be so tempting to Rob and Laura.

But I do think it was worthwhile for this reunion to happen. I had a huge smile on my face as the characters reminisced, because their memories were my memories too. The hour left me wanting to see even more of Dick and Mary. Despite some awkward but inoffensive jokes that fell flat, there was more story flow once Ann Guilbert and Jerry Van Dyke came in. And I’m crossing my fingers that more than 20 million Americans tuned in, to at least get the show into the Top 10, and expose more people to The Dick Van Dyke Show.

I didn’t mind that Mary looked so young compared to the others. I did think, though, that in this performance, Mary seemed to be channelling Katharine Hepburn even more than usual, right down to the mannerisms and quivering voice.

Let's hope this is not the last Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore reunion. Whether it’s Dick Van Dyke and the Other Woman, their appearances on each others’ variety shows, various Biographies, award show presentations, or The Gin Game, Dick and Mary have such unique chemistry together that every time they get together, it is an event.

Short but sweet...

Great to see them all again, but it wasn't deserving of the quality of the show and the actors. Kudos for the attempt, but it wasn't good enough.

Sorry, just my two cents.

I had a lot of fun watching it! I really didn't have any expectations because I usually never watch reunion shows and I guess I just assume they'll be bad. Since TDVDS is one of my favorites though, I was actually really looking forward to it. For what it was, I thought it was funny and sweet. I thought Dick was great and right away he seemed like Rob! I thought Ann Morgan-Guilbert stole the show--she was just how I'd imagine an older, widowed Millie. I actually love the Stacey Petrie episodes and thought Jerry was really good too. Rose Marie didn't seem like she had much of a part, but she did still have the sass that Sally had. I think the weirdest for me was Mary, but really just because her voice is lower and she didn't sound as much like Laura to me. She's always good though, and she still had the "Oh, Rob!" down pat! All in all, a fun and fond tribute to some of the best tv characters ever!

Hey,

This is actually the first time I've ever posted here (or anywhere for that matter). I came across this site a week or so ago while looking for information about the reunion show and thought now that it has aired it would be a perfect time to make a post.

All in all I was extrememly pleased! Was the reunion as funny as the original series? Of course not. However, I thought that this was a far more interesting way of remembering the show and introducing it to a new generation of fans than a simple Mary-and-Dick-sit-around-talking-about-clips show.

I thought pretty much everyone fell back into character reasonably well. I agree with the person who said it should have been set in the old house, however, I thought it was clever to see Ritchie living there now. Millie and Stacey had most of the lines that had me laughing out loud though everyone did a good job.

My only criticism is with the clips. They were all, of course, very funny but we've all seen them before. After hearing interviews it sounded like they added them to pay homage to Morey Amsterdam, Richard Deacon, and Jerry Paris, if this is the case I would rather have had the show end a few minutes early and seen a montage of clips featuring those characters rather than have them inserted in the actual show. I would also have liked to see Rose Marie have a bigger part, it seemed like she kind of got the shaft, especially for as funny as she was in the series.

In the end I thought it was a great way to look back on a show that has played such an important part in my, and many others life. I found myself wanting it to go longer than the hour (minus commercials) that it was. It is just too bad that some members of the cast are no longer with us. It would have been great to see what Buddy and Pickles were up to.

P.S. I know this is my first post and I went a little long. I'll keep them shorter in the future. Normally I'm not so long-winded.

Originally posted by Lolac
I missed the first few minutes because my 5 year old wouldn't go to bed... Lolac :wave:
Too bad, Lolac,
But belive me, it doesn't get any better later. I missed the first 35 minutes because my 22 year-old couldn't figure out her income taxes, and needed help tonight. I know what I'll be doing tomorrow night; watching the tape!

Steve

Outstanding reunion show. Seems like everyone was back in form as their respective characters. It seemed as though Buddy, Jerry and Mel were all there in spirit. My heart was truly touched by the show. Wow Mary looked fabalous tonight. Millie was a scream. I love that character I only wish in the original she would had been more featured.

I was disappointed, but then again, I expected to be disappointed. In the old days, this storyline could have gone somewhere. Here it didn't, though you had to just know Rob wouldn't take money for writing a eulogy. Having Mille and Stacy get together was cute. The flashbacks were sort of nice, but were a tad overdone. But what really disappointed me was, as an earlier poster noted, the trying too hard to be hip. Herman watching the rhinos "copulate" was, at noted above, lame. Mary's line early-on about going blind if you do that was tacky. And the ending with Romano on top of Laura and "wanting to do this since I was eight," even though out of sight, was cheap and in very bad taste. Sure, it's mild by today's standards. But TDVDS set the standard for class on prime time TV. I'd never have expected something that classless. The trueism is you cannot go back. This reunion wasn't as awful as the Odd Couple Reunion or the Green Acres Reunion (two other shows I've loved, for different reasons, since I was a kid). But it wasn't really all that much better either. And I hate saying this because to say I loved the characters in this show is to dramatically understate the case. But if the greatest sitcom ever, and really the greatest regular TV series ever, can't come close to "revisiting," is it worth anyone else trying. History is history. It cannot be relived. It is a mistake to try.

I think that the reunion show had some positives and negatives (with the negatives outweighing the positives):

POSITIVES:

1. Having Rob be a "computer junkie". Programming various animation and compression programs gave Rob a creative outlet during his retirement. (And it was nice to see him so excited and proud of himself when he finished a new computer creation).

2. Having Jerry Van Dyke there as Stacey. Although he wasn't really a series regular, he and Millie gave the reunion it's funniest moments!


NEGATIVES:

1. Not having Larry Mathews interact with the rest of the cast. It would have been nice to see Richie in a scene with his parents.

2. Filming the show with canned laughter instead of a live studio audience. I think that this hurt the pacing of the show and kept the actors from really "getting into it".

3. Not sufficiently playing "catch up" with the characters....What did Rob do after "The Alan Brady Show" went off the air? Rob was still a relatively young man back then...Did he write for another TV series? Did he write scripts for films or plays? (It would have been nice if we could have found out that Rob had become another Neil Simon!).

4. As others here have mentioned, I really could have done without the sexually-oriented jokes. They weren't funny, and while they weren't THAT raunchy, we somehow expect a higher standard of comedy and "class" from these people.

I could go on, but the above were some things that really stood out after watching the special.

I thought the show was great, except for some of the reasons that a few of you listed, such as the canned laughter. It was great seeing everyone back together again, although I definitely did miss seeing Buddy, Mel and Jerry. I think it was great that they dedicated it to them and Sheldon Leonard and Danny Thomas at the end. While I was watching it, I could see all of the characters fall right back into place. It was so great seeing Dick and Mary back together again too. They were just like Rob and Laura all over again. Mary even got in an "Oh, Rob!" I liked the clips at the end the best. All in all, I think it was a nice way to see our favorite characters together again. :)

Overall I liked the special. Most everyone got the high points and low. I too think Dick and Ann Guilbert were wonderful but it was great seeing them all together. It would have been nice if they had explored more what the gang had been up to these past forty years and utilized the old set and Richie more. But still it was a sweet trip down memory lane and it makes me want more.

I feel they tried to hard to jam everything people loved about the show into an hour (actually less taking out Ray Ramano and the out of character scene).

I also thought the writing was not as strong as the original series. I guess trying to sum up 40 years would be quite hard to do. It seemed everyone was too far away from the characters to capture the original personalities. Except for Millie and Stacey. I Jerry Van Dyke pretty much has played the same character on Coach though.

Still I was excited to see Dick Van Dyke on TV again with most of his castmates. It was a kick to see Sally finally got Herman. I agree this should have been done quite a long time ago, but being that I am only 28, I probably would not have seen it.


Whatever the case, I will always be a big fan of the DVD Show. I watch it almost everyday since I TiVo the shows and have 3 seasons on DVD. :)

Krs

I was annoyed right off the bat. When you move into a home, you get a new phone number. Surely, Alan Brady would have access to DVD's phone number anyway. I thought it was a stupid way to get Richie into a scene.

One or two clips might have been nice. There were just too many of them. Fans know the scenes anyway, and non-fans probably weren't watching.

I thought the acting was good, except for MTM. She also looks fairly frightening with her face pulled back. Millie and Stacey almost stole the show.

The story had potential, but just ran out of gas. Much better than that insipid PG-13 cartoon, but still not nearly up to DVD standards.

Having watched the TV Land awards a couple of months ago and being stunned and a bit saddened by how ancient and infirm many of my favorite classic TV stars had become, a part of me was dreading this reunion show. I knew it couldn't match the high standard set by the original series, and I considered avoiding it completely in order to leave my memories and the comforting image of a young Rob and Laura and the others intact in glorious black and white.

But of course I had to watch. :) I think I'm glad I did. The writing was as sharp as ever, and it was good to see most of the old gang back together again. (And was that Frank Adamo playing Frank? I didn't see a credit for him at the end but, if that was him, it was good to see he's still around and still acting.) I wish there had been fewer clips -- I was particularly distracted by the ones that seemed to be forced in at random and had no setup within the context of the new story -- and I definitely could have done without Ray Romano altogether. His presence stood out as little more than a blatant plug for his own CBS show, and WHY did they have to end the show the way they did, leaving us with the mental image of Ray atop Mary and evidently loving it. Yuck!

Overall, it was a pleasant reminiscence, but I'm glad it was a one-time thing and not the pilot for a potential new series. Watching it (and all those clips) made me want to go and spend a few hours watching the DVDs of the old series, like catching up with old friends as they were, and will always be, in the memories of those of us who love them.

Here's something that bugged me, and I'm wondering if it bothered anyone else.....

WHY in heaven's name did the reunion special show clips from the "October Eve" episode? That show was before Carl Reiner's face was SEEN as Alan Brady (at that time just the back of his head was being shown), and Carl plays an eccentric painter in the "October Eve" episode.

Oh sure, he wore a beard and spoke with an accent, but you could easily tell that the painter was Carl Reiner...who was also playing Alan Brady in the reunion special! That business of "Twin Carls" REALLY ruined the "character illusion" for me!

Did it bother anyone else here?

It would have been nice to see more of Ritchie. Annoying Ray Romano was shown more than Ritchie was. Also, why wasn't Richard Deacon's name mentioned in the opening credits.

Originally posted by SawgrassSteve
Too bad, Lolac,
But belive me, it doesn't get any better later. I missed the first 35 minutes because my 22 year-old couldn't figure out her income taxes, and needed help tonight. I know what I'll be doing tomorrow night; watching the tape!

Steve



LOL!!!:lol: Lolac

Originally posted by hawaii five-o
Also, why wasn't Richard Deacon's name mentioned in the opening credits.

I was wondering that same thing. :(

I think the perfect ending would have been after seeing the clips, the camera went right back to the current Rob and Laura sharing a smooch to bring back the memories of the old Rob and Laura. :)

Hi all,
Immediately upon seeing "The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited," my first thoughts were:

1) That was a pretty weak story -- strange and weak.

2) They really tried to make up for the lack of quality new material by throwing old clips from the original series at us -- clips we've seen a thousand times before.

3) Did I just see a new episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" or did I just have a flashback of when my old high school choir and I used to go and sing at the senior citizens home? And, what a shame Mary Tyler Moore will never look like Laura Petrie again! And that Dick Van Dyke will never look like Rob again!

4) They really didn't do very much in the way of remembering Buddy, Jerry and Mel.

5) Rob, Laura and Ritchie Petrie, Sally Rogers and company don't belong in a world with personal computers, cell phones, etc. I was content with the notion that they had all died, or simply ceased to exist, in 1966.

HOWEVER, after rewinding the tape and watching the show again, a different set of thoughts took over.

1) That was really an unusual plot -- just unusual enough to have come from Carl Reiner's head. It centered around a nut job idea of Alan Brady's . . . who *was*, after all, a nut job.

2) My, that was funny! Just how funny some of the dialogue was, had failed to hit me the first time around. (More on that later . . .)

3) Wow! What a great bunch of actors! They were all good. Ann Guilbert (Millie) was especially good.

4) Who the hell looks like they did 40 years ago? I certainly don't.

5) I'm glad Sally eventually did get her "fella."

6) How can these people (Dick and Mary) still move like that at their ages?

7) That was a great collection of old clips, and they were perfectly placed! And, the characters Buddy, Jerry and Mel were well-represented in them. And, the musical numbers were excellent!

8) I like the way, after all the reminiscing was done, they brought the eulogy issue to a sensible conclusion.


9) The Dick and Mary out-of-character segment at the end was nice, and I especially enjoyed the "158 shows in 57 seconds" piece.



Some of the aforementioned dialogue which I found amusing:


Rob: "I'm dancing with myself!"
Laura: "Yeah, you can go blind from doing that."

Alan (to Sally on the phone): "I want you to help me write my eulogy."
Sally: "Are you serious?"
Alan: "Deadly."

Rob: "I've never done a heartfelt eulogy for someone with no heart."

Rob: "Everybody's gonna participate."
Millie: "In what?"
Laura: "Something bizarre."
Millie: "Oh, I love bazaars!"
Stacy: "I once won a live monkey at a church bazaar."
Millie: "Stacy, after dinner, can we go to Alan's bazaar?"

Alan: "Rob! When was the last time we saw each other?"
Rob: "Oh gosh, I think it was . . . ."
Alan (interrupting and shoving Rob aside): "I really don't have to know."

Alan: "Stacy! Stacy! Did you bring the banjo?"
Stacy: "No."
Alan (smiling): "Great."

Alan: "Frank, would you show these folks to the den . . . NOW?"

Alan: "Rob, I want you to capture the real me."
Rob: "The real you *should* be captured, Alan."

Sally: " 'Hell and 'damn'? When did you start talking dirty?"
Laura: "Soon after we got cable."

Millie: ". . . I, for one, am very happy to be here . . . even if Alan Brady didn't die."

And, then there was Alan Brady calling Sally "Mrs. Glunker" and his inability to get Millie's name right -- first referring to her as "Millie Felper" and then calling her "Millie Kleper."


So, over all, I was quite pleased with the special . . . the second time around.


Later,
Art

P.S. Someone complained here earlier about the "canned laughter." That was a little annoying. But, who cares? Oh, if that were only my biggest problem . . . .

I will definitely be watching the show again tonight. You know how you always see something new the second time you watch something? Those quotes were great! Thanks for posting them Artfiore1. :)

Well, I was not impressed. To be blunt, I feel like some of the other posters in this regard:

1) They did try to fit more than one type of special into this reunion. Between trying to update us on the characters, follow a strange storyline, show clips from past shows, and hearing Ray R., I thought this was too convoluted.

2) This will come as no suprise to the regulars on this board, but I'll say it anyway. WHY IN THE WORLD DID WE HAVE TO HAVE ANY PROFANITY OR SEXUAL INNUENDO?!! Call me a prude if you want, but I was very upset at the completely unnecessary use of these "devices" in the show.

What happened to the promise that Mr. Reiner was aware of our concerns in this area (as was reported here a couple of weeks ago)? Good thing he was concerned and toned that stuff down. :rolleyes:

3) While I loved the clips, I didn't feel they were as well placed or well paced as others.

4) I'm in agreement with those of you who pointed out the lack of Richard Deacon's name in the opening credits! Terrible oversight on someone's part there!!

5) I too thought there were too many scenes used from "October Eve" for no particular reason.

6) The canned laughter didn't work at all. In fact, it was terribly distracting for me right off the bat.

7) While no one can fault MTM for taking measures in her life to stay looking nice, it was strange to see such a stark contrast between Laura and Millie. Too strange for me, to be blunt.

8) Not enough info about what happened during those "in-between" years to satisfy me that this was a definitive Reunion.

Sorry, I don't mean to come off as being so negative. Any regular here can vouch for my commitment and love for the original series. But this didn't do anything to endear my memories of that great series that ran in the 60's.

B&W "I much preferred TVLand's DVDS Special from a few years ago to this" fan

Originally posted by B&W fan

2) This will come as no suprise to the regulars on this board, but I'll say it anyway. WHY IN THE WORLD DID WE HAVE TO HAVE ANY PROFANITY OR SEXUAL INNUENDO?!! Call me a prude if you want, but I was very upset at the completely unnecessary use of these "devices" in the show.


B&W Fan, I watched it again today and my thought about the profanity, etc. was that Carl Reiner did it to tweak US! He knew how unhappy we were with the garbage in the animated Alan Brady Show. I think that was just his little way of letting us know how he felt, because we know that Doug shared our concerns with him. Another thing that I noticed: Laura kept calling her husband "Rob" and I couldn't figure out why that sounded strange to me until today. In the original series, she usually called him "darling" or some other little term of endearment. Did anyone else notice that?
Just a couple of obversations.

Lolac

:wave:

Are you in your new house yet, B&W Fan?

My thoughts

1) All in all the acting was good. Rob was just how I imagined he would become as was Sally and Millie. Mary did seem a little more like Mary Richards but I did see Laura-isms... it's hard without the voice to see it as well. Carl Reiner and Jerry Van Dyke were good as well

2) The flashbacks were nice but dominated too much in the 2nd half.... I was enjoying the new storyline and it kinda fell off

3) Mary looked very young but remember Laura was much younger then!

4) The profanities were dumb and ill-conceived. I wouldn't necessarily have minded it if it wasn't so poorly written at that particular point

I wasn't amazed but I wasn't expecting to be because reunion shows are never great.... I was glad it wasn't disappointing.... it was kinda how I expected, which is good

First of all, I'm new to this board and am so glad I found it!!

Regarding last night's show, everybody has pretty much said what I would say. MTM seemed more like Mary Richards than Laura to me. I thought Stacy and Millie kept right in character. But Dickie (as I call him) was the absolute best!!

The writing just wasn't on the same par as the original shows. Could we ever expect it to be the same? The originals were timeless classics that no other show can ever be compared to.

But it did bring me to tears seeing them all. I only wish Buddy, Jerry and Mel were there. My 11 yr old daughter even said how much she missed Buddy.

Hope to keep checking in on these boards. It is nice to see other DVD fans!

I didn't see it but my sister started taping it but gave up after about the first 10 minutes. She knew that I wouldn't like it. She thought that if they had kept the Petrie's in the same house it would have been better. Personally, I hate these "remakes" They seldom ever work. The Mary and Rhoda movie that they did was just terrible! I'd rather remember them as they were thank you very much....................:rolleyes:

My only real comment is a question: how many people reminisce in black and white?

A few comments from me. Mary is still quite spy. Her character is about mid 60's She could dance and prance pretty well. I did think Laura and Millie were only a few ages apart. Here I saw young looking Laura and a much older looking Millie. I pictured Millie with not jet black hair but darker than grey. I think Ann was on the Nanny looking just like she did on this Dick Van Dyke reunion. I did think Rose Marie didn't look too bad> maybe I say this for I have seen more of Rose than of Ann.
I wonder how well this show did against Dateline. The Frazier actors talked about their show on Dateline. I flipped back and forth.

I rewatched this again today to see how it held up "the second time around".

I still think everything before the clips is quite good. I don't mind that Rob and Laura are no longer in their old house. That matches real life. Rob obviously made some money in his day and is now living in "the high rent district". Laura is doing something that seems quite natural for her to do in her later years.

There were some previous comments about the cast being infirm and decrepit. In my opinion, that is too harsh. Most of the cast is in their mid 70s on up. and I think they all look very good even if they are grey haired. Obviously Rosie isn't in the best of health, but God Bless Her for giving it her all!! I think she's an unheralded comedic genius.

There are some genuinely funny lines in this as a previous poster indicated. Another line I liked was Rob's response to Stacy's comment about why Laura looks so good. Paraphrasing, he said that she "had the good fortune to be born a lot of years after me".

I'm pretty conservative in my values, but I wasn't really offended by anything. The hippo line was more of a groaner than a shocker.

I still give the first part of the show a 9. I loved the writing, premise, and acting.

The second half did suffer because the clips seemed to bring the story to a screeching halt. However I will upgrade my previous rating to a 6.5 because of Rob stayed true to his values by refusing to take money and having the courage to tell Alan so.

If I were going to suggest an alternative way of doing this show, I would have had the "new episode" consume the first 40 minutes. During the last 20 minutes, the cast could come out of character and introduce the clips.

Originally posted by vze3t9q9
I did think Laura and Millie were only a few ages apart. I did think Rose Marie didn't look too bad> maybe I say this for I have seen more of Rose than of Ann.
I wonder how well this show did against Dateline. The Frazier actors talked about their show on Dateline. I flipped back and forth.

MTM is 67 while Ann is 75. Obviously Mary dyes her hair and has had "work" done.

By the way, for those who may have missed it, Ann gives a great performance as Sophia Loren's mom in "Grumpier Old Men". Burgess Meredith's character hits on her repeatedly and their scenes together are laugh out loud funny.

Rosie admits to being 80. She is not very ambulatory anymore, but still manages to give a great performance.

From what I understand, the reunion won its time slot, but didn't set any ratings records or anything like that.

My thoughts

It was very bittersweet. They all looked pretty good. Remember , most of them are pretty close to 80 years old.
Mary was always younger than the rest. ( I did laugh at the Botox joke) Is it better to remember things they way they were or is it a kind of closure to catch up with old friends.
A couple of minor thoughts about DVDR
1) Way too much Ray ROmano. That must have been a CBS demand :(

2) A little to choppy and couldnt get into rythym. Better would have been maybe to have the first half with the new show and the second half with them all sitting on a couch reminising as themselves.

3) I have to admit I was wondering what did they do after Alan Brady, When did sally get married? When did Mel, Buddy Jerry pass away etc.. I realize that they couldnt catch up 40 years in 20 minutes for everyone, Maybe another show
;) ;)

Hi! I'm new :wave:
This is a great site with a lot of really interesting posters... glad I found you!

I enjoyed everything about the reunion show, except for Mary Tyler Moore. She simply wasn't Laura! I didn't expect her to stay stuck in the 60's, but she wasn't even an "evolved" Laura. I felt there was a snottiness to her, a kind of sarcasm that wasn't consistent to the character. She no longer seemed to adore or even look up to Rob. And why didn't she let them make her up to look more believable as his wife? She's supposed to be an actor, so what's wrong with dressing down a bit? If she wants to show off her Cher-like physique, she can audition for Charlie's Angels III. But that Hollywood glamour looked wrong on our Laura!

Just my humble opinion...:crazy:

Annette

Hi again, all,
My goodness, did somebody pay you people to rack your brains and try *desperately* to come up with things that were wrong with this special?

There were too many clips from the original series. So, we loved this show so much, we *don't* want to see too much of it? Is that the problem?

The phone number in the old house was the same through another owner and Ritchie's moving back there. Could it possibly have *not* been the same number? Is it possible that Alan Brady no longer had Rob's number after 40 years, and had obtained, through Directory Assistance or something, the number of Petrie on Bonnie Meadow Drive in New Rochelle. And, Ritchie being the current resident, was whom he reached. Make too much sense?

There were clips from an episode showing Carl Reiner as a character other than Alan Brady. Was it supposed to be a big secret that he's not really Alan Brady? "October Eve" was a good episode, and the painter was a funny character.

Laura didn't call Rob "Darling" in the special. Could this have happened to be a day or two in their lives when she just didn't happen to call him that?

There was too much of Ray Romano in the special. A minute and how many seconds? Or was it a full two minutes? Man, I thought I knew what hardship was until I saw that!

Richard Deacon wasn't mentioned in the opening sequence. But if he had been, that would've meant we'd have had to hear as much as two more whole seconds of Ray Romano's voice. (Horrors!)

"Profanity" and "sexual innuendo." What did I miss? If it's what I think you're talking about, you must visit our planet some time. For that matter, there should never have been a character Ritchie in the series to begin with. For, his presence implies that at some point Rob and Laura had sex! If you think that's a ridiculous statement, it may be, but it fits right in with some of the other nonsense that's been posted here!

Can we possibly scrape together anymore idiotic complaints about this show? Probably not.

Later,
Art

Originally posted by Artfiore1
Can we possibly scrape together anymore idiotic complaints about this show? Probably not.
First, I'm glad so many watched, and 'welcome' to you newcommers.

Art,
You took the words right outta my mouth! Actually, you expressed it better than I would've.
I hadn't seen the show until tonight on tape, but I just don't get it. What's everyone complaining about?
Naturally, if each of us had written and produced the show, it would've been a different show. Different people create in different ways. That's what makes a Tim Burton movie so different from a Quintin Tarantino movie. That's a given, but sexual innuendo? (Granted, it was sort of 'stuck in') Remember, we're looking at 1960's risque through new millennium eyes and calling it conservative. I mean, I would never want to see Laura Petrie blatantly portrayed as a sex vixen, but wasn't the show originally sort of hip in that way? Weren't Capri pants, under-cupping, and all that kissing meant to point up the sexuality of the couple? And how would 22 year-old Mary dress today? Been to a college event lately? And didn't TDVDS take it to the hilt as far as the sponsor's comfort level?
I understand modesty, and even admire it when I encounter it. I just saw a beautiful and touching example of it on "America's Next Top Model." But I think there's a difference between it and an imposed asexuality.
By the way, the part at the end between Raymond and Mary was purposely done outside of the Laura character, I believe, for modesty's sake.
I think we should say thank you to those people who had nothing to gain and everything to lose by giving us one more look at the Petries & Friends. Remember when we all thought it would never happen?
Thank You, creative staff and talented people for doing us loyal fans one big favor, and giving us something we've wanted since 1966. I'll cherish it forever.

Steve
PS, And as for the cast aging, as my granny used to say, "Keep going, you're headed right for it."

Originally posted by Annette
Hi! I'm new :wave:
I enjoyed everything about the reunion show, except for Mary Tyler Moore. She simply wasn't Laura! I didn't expect her to stay stuck in the 60's, but she wasn't even an "evolved" Laura. I felt there was a snottiness to her, a kind of sarcasm that wasn't consistent to the character. She no longer seemed to adore or even look up to Rob. Annette

Well, I found THAT to be VERY believable....How many married couples who have been together for over 40 years still "adore" each other the way that they did when they were young?

Sure, they may still love each other (and probably DO), but the added years bring on a certain edginess to the marriage.

Most wives do not look forward to their husbands retiring and hanging around the house all day...in fact, most wives DREAD it!

Most older husbands don't have the tolerance for their wife's chattering and nagging the way that they did when they were younger.

Laura was a busy lady trying to run a dance studio, and having retired Rob always bugging her to look at his latest computer creation probably drove the poor woman NUTS!

Laura obviously still loved Rob...but that love can take on a different "tone" with the passing years!

I watched the show again last night and enjoyed it even more than I did the night before. Cheers to everyone who was a part of it. Thank you for bringing our favorite characters back together again and dedicating the show to the ones we've lost. :)

Originally posted by Artfiore1
My goodness, did somebody pay you people to rack your brains and try *desperately* to come up with things that were wrong with this special?

Uh, no Art. :rolleyes: Every single thing I listed came very naturally, and immediately as I watched the show live. I didn't come to the board, read some negative comments, and then decide to go back and watch the special again just so I could nitpick. In fact, it's insulting that you would suggest such a thing.

I won't dignify the majority of your over-the-top sarcasm and insults to those of us who obviously have a different world-view and set of values than you do with a response, except this one comment that should be replied to:

Originally posted by Artfiore1
"Profanity" and "sexual innuendo." What did I miss? If it's what I think you're talking about, you must visit our planet some time. For that matter, there should never have been a character Ritchie in the series to begin with. For, his presence implies that at some point Rob and Laura had sex! If you think that's a ridiculous statement, it may be, but it fits right in with some of the other nonsense that's been posted here!

Art, if you are so jaded that those type of comments don't bother you at all, then fine. But you need to understand that there are people that watch these older shows because they are sick and tired of sexual innuendo at every turn in today's Hollywood. And Art, believe it or not, there are people that don't care for their children to be exposed to even ONE SINGLE curse word. In fact, some adults (including myself) don't care to hear it ourselves! I don't care if it's only a "few words" sprinkled in for some kind of shock value effect. It was completely unnecessary to the story, and in that sense it was gratuituous!

As for living in your world, that's lame! We aren't talking about the real world! This is a make believe world we were watching! In other words, it was entertainment and the producers, writers, directors and actors can choose whether or not they will utter profanity and make sexual jokes! I had hoped that this Special would be done in the spirit of the original series when, THANK GOD, there were still some restrictions in Hollywood as to what was and was not acceptable behavior and language on broadcast tv. Those days are gone now, and most people are really struggling with their moral compasses. The debate about what is and isn't acceptable changes daily, but most everyone agrees that what happened on the show in it's original run was CLEAN! Not so anymore. And I for one and disappointed to hear Rob Petrie utter those words.

It didn't bother you. Wondeful for you! But don't disparage others that feel differently.

B&W "usually Steve and I agree on everything, but we will have to agree to disagree on this one too - but at least you were decent in your responses Steve - Thanks" fan

Two more things:

1) Let's all make sure when we talk about "living in the real world" that we distinguish between what we have to deal with in daily society and what we can choose to watch as entertainment.

The first I can do nothing about. If someone chooses to use profanity while I'm in the marketplace, sobeit. I have to just move on and shake my head and the stupidity of such action.

HOWEVER, when we are dealing with entertainment, the story changes. I don't have to be exposed to that. I make a choice in such matters. And in the instance of this special, I made a choice to watch it, in spite of my early concerns, because I was led to believe that it would be done in the spirit of the original show - i.e. sans profanity and sexual innuendo. That didn't happen, and I am disappointed.

Was it over the top stuff? Of course not! At least not when compared to the other garbage that is out there today. But then again, I don't compare this show with current trash, so the standard is naturally going to be set higher.

Which brings me to:

2) I was not shocked at the comments. I was disappointed. There's a big difference. My problem is that I had been duped into believing that this Special would be done in the "spirit" of the original. That didn't happen. Therefore I'm not doing proverbial cartwheels.

B&W "nuff said" fan

B&W fan: Thanks for your comments. They saved me from typing some things that I really didn't want to have to say, and you said it more calmly than I might have.

I do want to address something said by Steve regarding the final bit between Ray and Mary. I know it was done out of character. I still found it offensive and totally unnecessary. I'm not a prude by any means, but I don't see why, when tuning into a Dick Van Dyke reunion show, I should have to be left with the mental image of Ray Romano (who did not need to be there, even for a minute or two, and would not have been if he didn't have a show currently running on CBS) rolling around on top of Mary Tyler Moore. It was just a very bad and stupid ending to an otherwise sweet and funny show.

Yawn.... I didn't expect this reunion to be any different then the rest & I certainly wasn't disappointed. In fact it was pretty bleak in more ways than one, and I found that I had to force myself to continue after the first few minutes. Maybe I could prove myself wrong?

No, there just isn't anything fun about seeing TV characters of the 60's (from whatever program it might be) trying to relive the past no matter how much you liked them or the show. When the grim reaper has already visited two of the funnier characters, I'd suggest it might be a good reason to stop a turkey like this from even being considered. But morbid curiosity fuels these dreadful reunions, and the hype is a big draw during rating periods

Aside from giving us a chance to see how time has taken its toll, it was mainly a vehicle for flashbacks (what an original idea!) as there wasn't much else to go on script wise, along with an opportunity for the un-funny Ray Romano to yet again stick his big nose into my tv set.

Call me a kill joy, but this was about as gratifying as hearing Carol Burnett do her Tarzan call for the billionth time. This doesn’t help my memories of DVD at all.

Hi again,
My sincere apologies to anyone who may have been insulted by my "sarcasm." Considering what fine people you are with such high values, I think there's a good chance a moral lowlife like myself will be forgiven someday.

It's funny -- all this time, I thought I was a good and decent guy. Guess we all learned something this week.


Later,
Art

P.S. Thanks for the reply, Steve.

B&W fan,
For the record, I know nobody here was *paid* to come up with things that were wrong with this show. That was a figure of speech -- not meant to be taken literally -- to express my disappointment at the great number of petty complaints.

And if some of these posts *weren't* conscious attempts at "nitpicking," they sure did a great imitation of it. At least, it seems so to me. But, then again, what could be expected of someone like me who has no sense of right and wrong . . . and no values?


======================================

Pentimento,
It must've been awfully difficult to restrain yourself and resist the temptation to sink to the level of those beneath you. I'm quite impressed.

======================================

cemetery kid
I must say it's refreshing to see such negativitity in a world where so many fools are happy and positive about things.

========================================

To all the newcomers to the board,
Welcome! Nice to meet you!






Later,
Art

Originally posted by B&W fan
usually Steve and I agree on everything, but we will have to agree to disagree on this one too - but at least you were decent in your responses Steve - Thanks
No prob, B&WFan,
I enjoy our little forum here, and I enjoy keeping not only the memory of TDVDS alive and lively, but also the spirit of the show as well. Truth be told, I simply take no pleasure in throwing insults around.
Pentimento,
I forgot to mention in my previous post that the ending, with Raymond atop Mary, albeit off camera, did bother me - considerably. My girlfriend and I just looked at each other in wonder. No laughter. And I agree that it had no place in the show. It was gratuitous. What I was expressing was relief that it, if it had to be there at all, was at least done outside of the Laura Petrie character, which is poor consolation (There. I think I expressed it better that time).
Let's face it, Art,
None of the curse words, or sex stuff was innate to the plot. Had it not been there, it wouldn't have been missed by you and I or anyone, and many of us here would have felt better about later buying the dvd. Practical or not, we are sort of living in 1960s New Rochelle when we turn this show on, and we're comfortable there for the next 30 min. We expected the same comfort level from "Revisited." So I do understand the outright disappointment expressed here over some of the content in the show.
I guess I just feel that, above all, things could've been worse, and am thankful they weren't. And I'm extremely appreciative that an effort was made to placate us, the fans.
Did I straddle that fence well enough :) ?

Steve

Well Put, Steve!! You rank with some of the best fence straddlers I know of.
;) ;) ;)

Folks,
The off-camera bit with Mary and Ray Romano at the end of the show was, of course, not necessary, in part because it wasn't the funniest thing in the world. I'm sure lots of guys, like myself, who worshipped Laura Petrie as a kid, could identify with it and found it *mildly amusing*. I doubt it had anyone rolling on the floor in hysterics. It's not worthy of being such an issue, definitely not worthy of the attention it's received here.

Let me just also add that, with all this talk about "curse words" and "sex stuff," had I not seen this special and only read the posts in this discussion, I would be wondering, "My God, what kind of awful piece of pornographic trash did I miss?" And, I'd probably remain completely unaware of how many, many, many, many, many, many, many miles off the mark that description is. This is how some rumors get started. I wouldn't be surprised if right now there are poor, ignorant souls walking around in this country, saying things like, "I heard Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore put on a real *filthy* show the other night!"

How sad.





Later,
Art

Originally posted by SawgrassSteve

Pentimento,
I forgot to mention in my previous post that the ending, with Raymond atop Mary, albeit off camera, did bother me - considerably. My girlfriend and I just looked at each other in wonder. No laughter. And I agree that it had no place in the show. It was gratuitous. What I was expressing was relief that it, if it had to be there at all, was at least done outside of the Laura Petrie character, which is poor consolation (There. I think I expressed it better that time). Thanks for clarifying, Steve. :) And I agree -- it would have been much worse in character.

Still, it's good to know I'm not the only one who thinks the gag was out of place and not at all funny. I was only marginally bothered by the bits of sexual innuendo sprinkled throughout the show, and I don't feel that they necessarily corrupted the original chemistry between the characters. They were just jarring and distracting, at least for me. I think the show would have been better without the PG-13 language, but it didn't ruin it for me. That ending, though, and the fact that it was at the very end -- a parting shot, as it were -- just left me cold. I'm reminded of a line from the episode Punch Thy Neighbor: "One closing clinker can make a whole show clank!" :)

I'm going to have to admit that I laughed a little at the closing bit with Ramano. It was amusing but it also was very out of place, all things considered. It, like much of the reunion, seemed forced. The first half (as many have stated) was excellent but it went downhill from there. I seem to remember reading that Alan Brady only wrote 30 minutes of script or so, which leads me to believe that perhaps CBS wanted to run a full hour and therefore padded the broadcast with clips and some ill-thought out moments.

I enjoy Ray Romano and if there had to be a host from a current CBS sitcom, I'm glad it was him. I know he is a fan of TDVDS. I've even seen glimpses in his show of TDVDS plots.

I thought the off screen ending was cute and harmless. I did think the other couple of jokes "about going blind" and the hippos seemed out of place in the show.

Originally posted by SawgrassSteve
No prob, B&WFan,
I enjoy our little forum here, and I enjoy keeping not only the memory of TDVDS alive and lively, but also the spirit of the show as well. Truth be told, I simply take no pleasure in throwing insults around.


Steve,

Thanks for the reasoned and well worded reply. I'm in agreement with pretty much all you wrote, and I want to especially add my "AMEN" to your comments about keeping this board in the spirit of the show. We've pretty much had a great enviroment here, and I hope that continues.

******************************

Art,

I have no desire to trade insults with you. I just feel you came on pretty strong with those comments, especially when you imply that someone, or their opinion, is "idiotic."

I'd also like to go on the record and say I absolutely did not mean to imply that you were not a moral person. Only that society today does not have the same morals, as a whole, that it did in the days of Rob & Laura Petrie. And I watch the original show, not only because it's funny, but because it's CLEAN & funny. And I had hoped the special would follow suit.

As I said before, I realize it wasn't filthy! To imply that I or anyone else here will go around and say such is wrong. I simply said that the use of profanity and sexual inneundo - which we all agree was used - was not necessary to the plot and did disappoint me. Surely I'm entitled to that opinion without being lambasted and/or belittled.

*************************************

Pentimento,

Thanks for the comments. We agree on this issue fully.

*************************************

Lolac,

I've yet to move in. Looks to be another 4 weeks or so. Thanks for asking!


B&W "looking forward to the end of June when we will have all 5 seasons!!!" fan

I guess it's pretty clear we all
had different responses to the
show and that's natural. I just
always agree with Steve and Art
mainly because we might be the
biggest Laura admirers here on
top of loving the show. I wasn't
offended by anything on the show
and the bit at the end caught me
completely off guard and that's
why I laughed. I thought they
were going for a very romantic
ending. (And I would guess that
Ray Romano might have helped
write or suggest that twist.)
One thing I do know is that
the DVDS was probably the nicest
sitcom ever on TV and has the
nicest fans ever. It's been
proven time after time here. Everybody here basically is in
the spirit of the show. The only
thing that really worried me
about the show is I thought Carl
didn't look too well. I might be
wrong in thinking that. The other
is that Mary shouldn't have had
any cosmetic done. She doesn't
need that for anyone to still
find her appealing. TV Land is rerunning the TV Land awards bit where Carl brought up the reunion and she looked really nice and more herself and Laura. But, like things here, we all have different opinions and act on them in different ways.
That's the way it goes.

I thought the whole thing was pretty lame. There never has been, and there never will be, a great reunion show...

I wasn't really expecting anything good, so I wasn't disappointed at all.

I hate it when networks do a special on an old classic TV show, but they use their stars from today to tell the rest of us what was so special about the show.

Hey Raymond, I KNOW the show was great...and there's no "da**" way in "he**" that you remember watching the show in it's original run, you were only about 2 when it debuted. Yeah, I know you were around 6 or 7 when the show went off the air, but I'll bet it was on past your bedtime anyway...

The special itself was strange. It would have been interesting if they would have explored what Rob and Laura have been DOING for the last 40 years... when Laura mentioned to Rob that he hadn't worked for Alan Brady in 40 years, I'm thinking, "well, what HAVE they been doing all this time? Did they win the lottery or something? What happened?

They then went out of their way to show that Rob and Laura had a granddaughter (who was in Laura's dance class)...but no mention of Ritchie, other than the opening. I'd have liked to see some scenes in their old house too.

I thought that DVD's computer animation thing was pretty lame too...and don't get me wrong...DVD, as a younger man, was as good a dancer as has EVER been in Hollywod...my favorite dance sequence of all time is his "Old Bamboo" number in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"...it's the only thing I remember from that movie...that was an incredible number...those of you who've seen it, you know what I'm talkng about...

It looked to me as if Laura and Millie almost didn't recognize each other when Millie came into their apartment...they didn't act like they were best friends, merely old acquaintances.

I thought Jerry van Dyke did a great job as Stacey...he hasn't changed much...his delivery was the same as it's always been...excellent... there was a bit of superfluous dialogue when Stacey enters the apartment and Rob says to Millie "you're going out with my brother, Stacy?"...Carl, anyone who watched this show knows that Stacy is Rob's brother...it was written as an expository line to explain something the writer didn't think the audience was aware of...the real Rob would have said, "your're kidding? You're going out with HIM?" ... but that's very nit-picky on my part.

The canned laughter was stupid.


As a sidebar, I thought that it was going to be a two hour special, and was surprised when they wrapped things up when they did...I was expecting to watch from 9 to 11...but mercifully, it was only an hour...

I gotta say though, this is the ONLY show that I'd watch a reunion of. It'll probably be the last reunion show I ever watch..

For those of you who think the reunion might have been better with Buddy, Mel and Jerry...frankly, I doubt it...how old would Buddy and Mel be today? I'm guessing Jerry was younger, but Buddy would probably be around 90...

Mercifully, we're running out of 60s shows that can even have a reunion...and that's not necessarily a bad thing...we'll always have our reruns...

DVD reunion...good idea, bad execution

But thanks to ALL of the cast members and writers, for their contributions to a PERFECT T V show...you guys (and gals ) were truly the best!!!

And no, the reunion isn't going to spoil the legacy of the orignal show one bit!

Hello everybody,
I hope it's not too late to save myself from being painted as the "bad guy" of this message board -- you know, the one individual everyone thinks is nothing but trouble, the one about whom everybody thinks, "All he does is insult people," and about whom they tell other members, "Just ignore him." That is NOT me. Lord knows, there are more than enough of those kinds of characters populating the internet.

I'm just a long-time (since the '60s) fan of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" who happened to like this "Revisit." Other people did not like it or were "disappointed" by it. And, they let the reasons why be known.

What's happened here adds up this way:
My enormous love and respect for the creative process . . .

Plus my tendency to not be offended by anything . . .

Plus my *passionate* hatred for critics . . .

Plus my resentment of putdowns of what I consider to be pretty *DARN* good, quality works . . . .

Equals: An overreaction on my part to people's complaints about the special.

It's never my intention to "trade insults" with anyone -- not here or anywhere -- neither online nor in everyday "real" life.


Once again, my apologies to anyone who may have been insulted by my so-called "sarcasm." We're here because of something we all have in common. Can we, in that spirit of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" which I keep reading so much about, "make nice"?



Later,
Art

B&W fan,
And, I didn't meant to imply that you or anyone else here would go around saying the show was "filthy."

I was merely thinking of a family member who could be a "professional misinterpreter," were there such a thing. Not having seen the show, were this person to read this entire discussion, I think he would quite likely come away from it thinking "The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited" was practically a porno movie!


Later,
Art

Dropping by to add my $.02. I doubt many of you even remember me.

Anyway, I just have one thing to say. Why?

Why did they agree to do this? I have no idea what the concept was supposed to be. Was it to tell us what the Petries were doing now? Because it didn't. Was it to show us what the Petries did after 'The Alan Brady Show' went off the air? Because it didn't. Or was it just to reunite the living cast members of an amazing show into one hour of craptastic writing? I think so.
I don't have a problem with people using 'hell' and 'damn' but I thought it was really lame when they did it last night. They should have just held up a sign saying "Hey, viewers, we may be seniors but we're still hip!" I expected way more from Carl.

Probably the oddest thing about the reunion was the format. It started off as an update on the Petries. Then turned into a clip show. Then into a reunion between Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore.

In conclusion, I hated it.

Christine0089,
Well, you're certainly entitled to hate it.

I'm just wondering, however, why you say "update on the Petries", "clip show" and "reunion between Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore" as though each one of those is a *bad* thing. (??) And why, because it was all three of those three things, you "hated it." (??)





Later,
Art

I would have enjoyed a remake. I would have enjoyed a clip show, where the living cast members sit around and talk about the show. I would have enjoyed a simple reunion with Dick and Mary. I don't, however, enjoy all three rolled into one. It just didn't make sense. And even though they did all of those things, it still came across as hollow.

Originally posted by Christine0089
I would have enjoyed a remake. I would have enjoyed a clip show, where the living cast members sit around and talk about the show. I would have enjoyed a simple reunion with Dick and Mary. I don't, however, enjoy all three rolled into one. It just didn't make sense. And even though they did all of those things, it still came across as hollow.

I agree...I felt like I was eating a "sampler platter" in a restaurant.....a little of everything, but not enough of anything!

Christine0089 and pilotguy,
Well, that makes sense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I suppose.



Let's see:

Rob, Laura, Ritchie, Ritche, Sally, Alan, Millie and Stacey as they are today;

Way too many old clips;

Dick and Mary talking and dancing on the old set;


"But, but not enough of anything!"

I am so thankful to God that I don't understand that.


Later,
Art

Originally posted by Artfiore1
Christine0089 and pilotguy,
Well, that makes sense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I suppose.



Let's see:

Rob, Laura, Ritchie, Ritche, Sally, Alan, Millie and Stacey as they are today;

Way to many old clips;

Dick and Mary talking and dancing on the old set;


"But, but not enough of anything!"

I am so thankful to God that I don't understand that.


Later,
Art

Here's what I meant by that:

1. If the special was ALL "new story", then the characters could have been "updated" in greater detail, and we possibly could have had a "meatier" story.

2. If the special was ALL "old clip reminiscing", then the cast members could have relaxed as themselves and told interesting behind-the-scenes stories about the series...and the deceased cast members could have been remembered and saluted more formally.

However, by mixing the two concepts together (to say NOTHING of the "Dick and Mary as Themselves" bit at the end of the show), each concept was not explored or developed to it's fullest potential.

(Gee, I don't have these problems when I post on the "Wings" Message Board!). :wave:

Hi all,
Okay, it has finally happened -- I am now officially sorry that I am such a fan of these people and their work, that I cannot resist the temptation to defend it against the so-called "fans" who b***** mercilessly about it!



I think I *do* understand now, though, pilotguy. 'Cause, now that I think about it, a while back, I had dinner, talked about some old times and saw a movie with some family members. But, it was quite unfulfilling . . . because had we devoted the entire evening only to dinner, we could've had bigger one. Had we devoted the entire evening only to talking about old times, we could've talked about more things. And, had we devoted the entire evening only to seeing a movie, we could've seen a longer one. So, although it was a wonderful time for us all, and I had thought we had done a nice variety of things, it was "a little of everything, but not enough of anything!"

Later,
Art

Originally posted by Artfiore1


I think I *do* understand now, though, pilotguy. 'Cause, now that I think about it, a while back, I had dinner, talked about some old times and saw a movie with some family members. But, it was quite unfulfilling . . . because had we devoted the entire evening only to dinner, we could've had bigger one. Had we devoted the entire evening only to talking about old times, we could've talked about more things. And, had we devoted the entire evening only to seeing a movie, we could've seen a longer one. So, although it was a wonderful time for us all, and I had thought we had done a nice variety of things, it was "a little of everything, but not enough of anything!"

Later,
Art


Art, I understand how you spent a pleasant evening having dinner AND seeing a movie with your family members....BUT YOU DIDN'T TRY TO DO BOTH IN THE COURSE OF ONE LOUSY HOUR!!!!!

(Aw, this is too maddening....I'm going to quit watching old sitcoms and start watching people eat live bugs on reality shows!) :crazy:

pilotguy,
But -- and you'll probably never admit this -- had the special been only a new story featuring the aged actors, you would've complained about not seeing old clips from the original series.
Likewise, had the special been a 100% clips show, your complaint would've been that you didn't get to see what their lives are like today.

You'll never admit it because that would mean admitting that no matter what these people did, you would've been displeased.


So, the answer is what -- a "series* of Dick Van Dyke specials? The network schedule is already filled. Not only would network executives *not* want to keep pre-empting their present-day shows in favor of something which ended decades ago, but the general public would hate it, would start calling CBS the Dick Van Dyke Network, and stop watching it. That's not even considering the fact that, by the time the number of specials which would please you had been completed, Morey Amsterdam, Jerry Paris and Richard Deacon might not be the *only* ones who were dead.



Later,
Art

Originally posted by Artfiore1
...I hope it's not too late to save myself from being painted as the "bad guy" of this message board...
No, Art
That would be Kristen! j/k :lol:
But seriously, if I didn't get ostracized for posting a porn link (accidentally, of course), you won't either, I hope.
Steve

Originally posted by SawgrassSteve
No, Art
That would be Kristen! j/k :lol:
But seriously, if I didn't get ostracized for posting a porn link (accidentally, of course), you won't either, I hope.
Steve

Hey!! I resent that! j/k! I may not post as much as I used to, Steve, but I'm still here LOL.

Now, about the reunion, I thought it was OK, but I really expected better from Carl. It would've been a lot better if he had done it as a 2-hour movie and had more time for the present-day storyline. That's my 2 cents on the reunion, lol.

Originally posted by Artfiore1
pilotguy,
But -- and you'll probably never admit this -- had the special been only a new story featuring the aged actors, you would've complained about not seeing old clips from the original series.
Likewise, had the special been a 100% clips show, your complaint would've been that you didn't get to see what their lives are like today.

You'll never admit it because that would mean admitting that no matter what these people did, you would've been displeased.


So, the answer is what -- a "series* of Dick Van Dyke specials? The network schedule is already filled. Not only would network executives *not* want to keep pre-empting their present-day shows in favor of something which ended decades ago, but the general public would hate it, would start calling CBS the Dick Van Dyke Network, and stop watching it. That's not even considering the fact that, by the time the number of specials which would please you had been completed, Morey Amsterdam, Jerry Paris and Richard Deacon might not be the *only* ones who were dead.



Later,
Art


Art, please don't think that I'm some malcontent who is looking for reasons not to like the reunion special....on the contrary, you have NO idea how much I LOVE the original DVD series and how much I respect and admire the cast members.

I think what my BIG problem is that the reunion special simply was not long enough! An hour did not do this classic sitcom the justice that it deserves....especially when the "new story" and "old clips" formats were both being used.

In an ideal world, I would have liked to have seen a TWO hour special, with the first hour or 90 minutes being a new story, with the remainder of the special being an "out of character" retro discussion by the cast members and featuring classic clips.....now THAT would have been GREAT!

Alas, such a special did not air, so I'll stand back, take a deep breath and appreciate what WAS aired, even if I felt somewhat unsatisfied when it was over.....and I'll save my complaining for the "Friends" reunion special which will be airing in 40 years! (I don't even want to THINK about THAT one!).

You know, I sympathize with Televsion executives, and I honestly don't know why they even try. The whole point of this reunion special was to bring some joy to fans' lives, but it seems that no matter what they choose to do, someone would complain about it. This show was meant to bring joy to people's lives, not to be analyzed to death as though it were a court testimonial.

You know, I've loved The Dick Van Dyke Show for as long as I can remember. My first TV memories are of this show. I was happy when it aired on Nick at Nite and later on TV Land, upset when it got shoved to the wee hours and thrilled when it came out on DVD. I've seen every episode countless times and never tire of them. To me, it will always be the best sitcom that ever aired, and I know that nothing will ever come close to matching its timeless wit, warmth and style. I don't think there will ever be an ensemble cast to surpass Dick, Mary and the others (although the cast of The Mary Tyler Moore Show is in the same league).

So imagine my shock and chagrin to be informed that I'm only a "so-called fan", merely because there were a few aspects of the reunion show that I felt were not up to the standards set by the original. I came here to interact with people who love this show as much as I do, not to be labeled an idiot and told I'm not a real fan simply for expressing an honest opinion.

I probably have more to say, but I'm tired and I doubt that it would be worth incurring further ire from the one and only true fan of the show. I was naive enough to think I'd found a sort of home here, so I guess I am just an idiot after all.

Hi all!
I wish I could have posted sooner but I didn't get a chance to get on since the show aired. When I read some of the comments I was shocked at people's negative reaction towards the special. Overall, I thought it was very good--possibly the BEST reunion show I have EVER seen.

You guys have brought up several interesting points in this thread and I'm going to attempt to tackle them one by one. So, sit back and relax, cuz I'm afraid its going to be a long post!

Ray Romano:

Originally posted by Pentimento
...I definitely could have done without Ray Ramano altogether. His presence stood out little more than a blatant plug for his own CBS show...

Originally posted by Artfiore1
There was too much of Ray Ramano in the special. A minute and how many seconds? Or was it a full two minutes? Man, I thought I knew what hardship was until I saw that!

Personally, I don't think Ray's introductory monolgue to the special was that bad. Actually, I thought it was nice that a present-day sitcom actor was paying homage to and honoring a show that inspired him. I'll get to the ending of the show when he returned later.

Omitting Richard Deacon's name from the credits:

Originally posted by hawaii five-o
Also, why wasn't Richard Deacon's name mentioned in the opening credits?

Originally posted by B&W fan
I'm in agreement to those of you who pointed out the lack of Richard Deacon's name in the opening credits! Terrible oversight on someone's part there!!

Yes, Richard Deacon's name WAS left out of the credits at the beginning, but it was dedicated to him and the others who passed away at the end. I imagine this was just a *MISTAKE*, but it is certainly doesn't give anyone a reason to slam the show for!

Mary Tyler Moore's appearance:

Originally posted by algebra74
This doesn't really rlate to the story line, but does anyone else think that Mary Tyler Moore looked too good for her age? I mean, it really did not seem that she fit in with everyone else there. Millie and Laura were best friends, yet it was obvious that they were very far apart in age, eventhough only about seven years in real life. It just seemed to me that she did not really fit in relating to age with everyone else.

Originally posted by B&W fan
While no one can fault MTM for taking measures in her life to stay looking nice, it was strange to see such a stark contrast between Laura and Millie. Too strange for me, to be blunt.

Alright...so Mary looked younger than Ann! That's cuz...she IS! Mary is 67 and Ann is 75! That's 8 years difference! When they were filming the original series the difference wasn't as obvious because they were younger and their age didn't show as well. Now, they are in their "senior" years so naturally, they show their age more. True, a large part of the apparent age difference is Mary's plastic surgery, but it's not that big of a deal. Mary's looks were irreverant to the quality of the special, and should NOT be used as another excuse to put down the reunion!!

Also...it was mentioned on this thread that Laura seemed more like Mary Richards than Laura. Laura may have become more like Mary as she grew up after the series went off the air. I see where people get that from, but she still seemed like Laura to me! Especially when she said "Oh Rob!" CLASSIC Laura!! :lol:

Canned Laughter:

I'm not a fan of it and I would have preferred they film it in front of an audience but...it's not the end of the world that they used it. The canned laughter didn't ruin the special, in fact, for me, it faded into the background as the show progressed.

(I couldn't WAIT to get to this one!)
The Flashback Clips: Too many?

Originally posted by Joe F
One or two clips might have been nice. There were just too many of them. Fans know the scenes anyway, and non-fans probably weren't watching.

Originally posted by LATTML
The flashbacks were sort of nice, but were a tad overdone.

Originally posted by B&W fan
While I loved the clips, I didn't feel they were as well placed or well paced as others.

Originally posted by Pentimento
I wish there had been fewer clips -- I was particularly distracted by the ones that seemed to be forced in at random and had no setup within the context of the new story...

Originally posted by Artfiore1
That was a great collection of old clips, and they were perfectly placed! And, the characters Buddy, Jerry and Mel were well-represented in them. And, the musical numbers were excellent! ...I especially enjoyed the "158 shows in 57 seconds" piece.

Yes...there were A LOT of old clips! But then again the series relied hevily on flashbacks, and we wanted a special in the spirit of the series, did we not?

Even though there were a lot of flashbacks, I think they all were necessary. I love every single episode the showed and I laughed harder when I saw the clips this time than anytime before. Even though, the old clips are found in reruns, a true fan still loves to see them! I think Carl fit them in to the show perfectly! All of the clips...including the ones from October Eve.

I dont remember who said it, but someone said those clips were unnecessary. I disagree. That incident with the painter was probably one of the most memorable of their lives, which would make it fit to be in the reminising scenes.

The musical numbers have ALWAYS been one of my favorite parts of the show, so I loved seeing them again in the special. The only clips that were unnecessary, IMO, were the ones at the end of a segment, right before a commercial break. The "158 shows in 57 seconds was also a nice bit. I really enjoyed it.

So, yea, there were a lot of clips but....I they all were necessary and important to the show's plot. They certainly didn't ruin the show! I could watch TDVDS 24/7 and never get tired of it...maybe that's why I didn't think the clips were too much.:shrug:

Characters/Actors/Acting:

This is not a topic of controversy on the board, but I felt I had to applaud all the actors in the show. Only one word can describe it: PHENOMINAL! The chemistry was pracitcally back where it was 40 years ago!

Ann Guilbert and Rosie fell right back in to their characters. In fact those 2 got the most laughs out me during the special (excluding the old clips)! Sally always cracks me up in the series so it's no surprise she did the same Tuesday night! I'm so glad she got Herman. It mighta been neat for her to get married to him on the original series. Her part was a little small, but she was great with it anyway! I noticed she's still wearing her trademark bow!:)

Millie....what can I say about her? She was great, possibly even funnier now than in the series. She was really on the day they filmed the show!

Jerry....I was glad to see him join the reunion. He was also very funny and another show stealer along with Millie.

Alan....figures he has ex-wives! lol! It also sounds like something he would do to get Rob and Sally to write his eulogy BEFORE he dies. Great idea on Carl's part!

Rob and Laura....GREAT to see them again!:happyface It's nice to know they still can dance and that they love each other just as much as they did in the 60's. Van Dyke was amazing...but then again, when ISNT he amazing! He was Rob Petrie all over again! :)

Also, it was a really nice way to honor Jerry, Morey, and Richard with the clips of them from the series. It was also nice they brought up their funerals. I think it tied in nicely.

It was just really nice to see our friends from New Rochelle again....in color and in black and white!

(Another hot topic in this thread...)
Sexual innuendo jokes and Profanity:

Originally posted by B&W fan
WHY IN THE WORLD DID WE HAVE TO HAVE ANY PROFANITY OR SEXUAL INNUENDO?!! Call me a prude if you want, but I was very upset at the completely unnecessary use of these "devices" in the show.

Originally posted by Lolac
I watched it again today and my thought about the profanity, etc. was that Carl Reiner did it to tweak US! He knew how unhappy we were with the garbage in the animated Alan Brady Show. I think that was just his little way of letting us know how he felt, because we know that Doug shared our concerns with him.

Originally posted by SawgrassSteve
Remember, we're looking at 1960's risque through new millennium eyes and calling it conservative. Weren't Capri pants, under-cupping, and all that kissing meant to point up the sexuality of the couple? And didn't TDVDS take it to the hilt as far as the sponsor's comfort level?

Well, Lolac and Steve....you nailed it! My theory why there was sexual jokes and swearing is because....this series was somewhat risque for its time, right? So, in keeping with the SPIRIT OF THE SERIES, (After all, thats how WE wanted it done!) Carl made the revisited special somewhat risque for this time we live in. While sexual innuendos used weren’t very funny or very raunchy, they still were a little risque compared to the standards of most of the people who watched the special. What I’m trying to say is....odd as it may sound...I believe these sexual innuendos were subtly done in the spirit of the show. I’ve always thought of Carl as a genius, but I do now even more after he manipulated these bad jokes to honor the series! I hope you guys understand what I’m trying to say here--I am NOT supporting sexual humor in sitcoms. I never have and never will. I hope some day actors, writers, and audiences can get away from that type of humor.

Also, I think the d*** and h*** line was unnecessary, but they played off it nicely with the joke about cable. The hippo line was dumb, but when Herman said it was educational and then Sally said “Go get educated.” I laughed pretty hard. (I think it was her delivery more than the line itself.) In conclusion, I think they played off the bad jokes very well.

Storyline and the Ray/Mary Ending:

A few people mentioned earlier this storyline was akward and weak. Although, it was not written as well as the original series, the story was still well written IMO. There were many funny lines such as: "Are you serious?" "Deadly," or the hair line Laura said to Alan on the phone, and "What's the matter with Rob, did someone die?," the botox line was also amusing, the bizarre/bazaar bit was something only the DVDS characters could get the full potential out of, and the "Oh Alan!! Oh, Rob..."

It was also commented that the show was 3 different shows. I disagree. They were all one. I think of it more as a big play with three acts. I say its one story, because each "act" flowed rather smoothly into the next. The eulogy story, while it could have provided the opportunity for a more philosophical, "life is valueable" type of lesson, it also gave the characters the opportunity to reminisce about the "good ol'days" in the '60's.

Also, I liked how Dick and Mary ended the show as Dick and Mary, not Rob and Laura. That show was most likely the last time they will ever play Rob and Laura Petrie so it was a nice farewell, I thought. I liked how Mary did Dick's falling off the sofa bit and how they danced. I would have prefered Mary and Dick ended the whole show with Rob, while dancing, trips on the ottoman one last time and Mary helps him up and then they say that this show was some of the best years of their lives and they exit through the door hand in hand as Dick turns off the lights.

The ending with Ray on Mary was unnecessary. At least it wasnt seen on camera, but still uncalled for. Even though it was distasteful, and not a good ending, I dont think it ruined the show. It shouldn't have been in the show at all. That is my strongest critism of the show.

Conclusion:
(Yes, it's nearly over!)

Overall, I thought the show was good. For the most part, it maintained the show's integrity, but above all honored the show quite well. Did it meet the quality level of the series? No, of course not. No reunion ever has. The day that happens is the day Laura Petrie is no longer attractive! (AKA: never!;))

I apologize for writing a novel, but I was really disappointed at the number of people who did not like the special. My post was not meant to pursuade you to change your mind, I just wanted to point out the good parts of the show and tackle the parts with negative responses constructively. I really hope I didn't p*** off anyone by writing this post, I was trying hard not to!!

To those who didn't like the show, watch it again...I think you will appreciate it more the second time around! (I did! I even critiqued it, and the result of it is this post!)

To those who liked the show: thankyou for defending it and supporting it!!:)

Thanks for reading my ramblings,
Kurt

DickVanDykeMan,
What can I say but -- You're my hero! ? What an outstanding post! I guess I've been sort of subconsciously hoping someone would come along and post a reply like yours. Excellent work! And, thank you very much.

=====================================
Pentimento,
Assuming you were referring to me, I never really considered myself the "only true fan" of "The Dick Van Dyke Show," but if you insist, I accept and appreciate the title . . . although I now think I should relinquish it to DickVanDykeMan. And, by the way, don't be so hard on yourself -- chances are, you're not really the "idiot" you think you are.

======================================
SawgrassSteve,
Thanks a million! Much appreciated.




Later,
Art

How about instead of arguing with opinions, you just accept them? Geez, people love to make a mountain out of a zit.

Well said, DickVanDykeMan.

Steve

Originally posted by Christine0089
How about instead of arguing with opinions, you just accept them? Geez, people love to make a mountain out of a zit.

Thank you Christine for aptly summing up the problems in this thread!

You know, I've been posting here for quite some time now, and can't ever remember a more divisive thread than this one has become. On top of that, the rudeness level has gotten out of hand, at least for our community here. We never had these type of personal jabs before, at least to this extent.

This is my last post in this thread. I hope we can get back to being a little more sensible in the way we speak to one another, especially when we are dealing in personal opinions.

B&W "I will say that I resent any implication that I'm somehow less of a fan of the show because I didn't think the Reunion Special was all that wonderful" fan

There is certainly a wide range of opinions here, and I respect all of them. Certainly, we're all entitled to have our own. While I gave a thumbs up to this (at least the first half hour), I understand that some may have a different opinion, and that's ok. Some of the criticisms that have been brought forth are valid; it just boils down to personal preference.

The one thing that I think was a source of unanimous agreement was that the performances were outstanding. We may debate the quality of material that was being performed, but I think most of us agree that each actor was able to step back into character very well (I'll caveat this by recognizing that some took issue with the Laura Petrie character).

I hope we can all also agree that kudos should be given to all the participants, on and off camera, for giving it their best shot.

Let's face it, most of the cast didn't need the money and most don't have anything to prove at age 80. It would have been very easy to rest on their laurels and not put themselves through the physical stress of rehearsing and performing this. I think an "A" for effort is warranted here.

You know, I've loved The Dick Van Dyke Show for as long as I can remember. My first TV memories are of this show. I was happy when it aired on Nick at Nite and later on TV Land, upset when it got shoved to the wee hours and thrilled when it came out on DVD. I've seen every episode countless times and never tire of them. To me, it will always be the best sitcom that ever aired, and I know that nothing will ever come close to matching its timeless wit, warmth and style. I don't think there will ever be an ensemble cast to surpass Dick, Mary and the others (although the cast of The Mary Tyler Moore Show is in the same league).

I am sorry if I offended anyone. I did not intend in any way to be rude. The only point I am tring to make is that, as previously stated by Charlie Chan:
There is certainly a wide range of opinions here, and I respect all of them. Certainly, we're all entitled to have our own. While I gave a thumbs up to this (at least the first half hour), I understand that some may have a different opinion, and that's ok. Some of the criticisms that have been brought forth are valid; it just boils down to personal preference. is that people should give people credit where credit is due. The actors/actresses, producers, writers, and television executives all spent major time in this reunion special. I understand all the various opinions given here, and they are certainly welcome. The main thing I am trying to say, however, is that everyone cannot be pleased. Nothing is perfect, especially reunion specials. Reunion specials try to recreate history, which is impossible, and-so a reunion special will never meet the standards of the original series. Some people may want a three hour special, while others want a simple one-hour reunion. One person might want an all-clip show, while others feel that clips are unnecessary. Carl Reiner cannot please everyone.

Pentimento, if you were referring to me, I was NOT labeling you as an everyday "fan" of the show. I was just using the word as a collective noun, grouping all people whom love the show, whether they are minor "fans" or heavy "critics" of the show.

B&W fan, well said. We need to respect each others' different opinions and not be rude, whether we happen to agree with the opinions or not.

I'm sick and tired of everyone b****ing, whether its at the reunion show or at each other! They did this show for us---the fans---they had everything to lose by doing this show and I think they deserve a round of applause for doing the show and, IMO, for doing it quite well. If anyone who was involved in the making of the show saw this thread, I think they would be very hurt. Not so much by the complaints, but by people insulting each other and ripping one another apart over the show. To those who became mediators and tried to restore order, thank you. I appreciate it cuz I hate seeing people getting angry over a piece of art. Especially art created by amazing actors like Dick, Mary, Carl, and Rosie!

I'm done now.

Kurt

Hi all,
I recently posted the following on a different Sitcoms Online message board, in reference to another long-awaited show which also "disappointed." If any of you is offended by it, that says a lot about *you*:

". . . It's a fact of life: The lowest form of life on this planet is the critic -- the talentless, soulless moron who, couldn't write or produce a better movie or TV show than the one he or she is so mercilessly ripping apart . . . if someone held a gun to his or her head and told them they HAD TO!!


The easiest thing in the world is to sit around saying, "This was wrong, that was wrong . . . that's no good . . . ."

We all get more than enough of that with magazines, newspapers, TV news reports, etc., featuring unqualified, completely valueless idiots telling us what's good and what's bad on TV and in movies!

It's the same thing with politics -- people who could barely run their own lives are founts of criticism about how a president runs *an entire country* or how a governor runs *an entire state*. If they could do a better job, they WOULD BE. Yet, strangely, they never are. And, I'm not just talking about today -- it's traditional, been going on for as long as I can remember.

No matter what you do, there is and always will be *someone* who doesn't like it or disagrees . . . and who should just keep their mouth shut!"


=========================================

DickVanDykeMan,
Thanks for another great post!


=========================================

Charlie Chan,
Very nice!

=========================================

algebra74,
I don't think you offended anyone -- I think the only nameless individual here whose "rudeness" has been "out of hand" is me.



Later,
Art

Hello everyone!!! Here is my thoughts of the reunion:
1) I think it is a very good show. They did keep true to the original as close as possible.

2) The characters matured from the time the show went off in 1966 to this point. Many thought Laura was too much like Mary Richards. I do not agree with that. Laura matured more into a woman who does not result to crying jags at the least little incident. She has come into her own. It was great that Sally fianlly got her "fella." Rob seems more secure about himself than he did in the original show. Alan Brady is still as egocentric than ever and Millie is still wacky as ever. IMO Stacey and Millie had the funniest lines.

3) Poor Rose Marie. You can look at her on the show and tell there are some health issues there.

4) Great seeing Mary dance with her granddaughter in that scene.

Here is what I did not like about the reunion:
1) I wish there the storyline about Alan wanting his obituary written before he dies could had developed more. There was a lot of potential comedy coming out of that one.

2) I wish Dick and Mary could had done a song and dance bit. Those clips of the musical numbers they did displayed of them being the Fred and Ginger of sitcoms. They had such great chemistry together especially when they did their song and dance bit.

3) More Ritchie. I did not care for that small part he did.

4) The ending with Ray Romano and Mary doing the wild thing was tasteless and out of character for what was, IMO, an entertaining hour. I am glad we did not see that but it left one's imagination running wild.

Instead of attacking each other in this thread and/or picking apart let's be thankful that Dick, Mary, Carl, Rose, Ann and Jerry Van Dyke got together after 40 plus years. At one time they spoke against a reunion continously. They decided to do it since they know the public wanted Rob, Laura and the gang back.

It is rare to see a sitcom dual like Dick and Mary have such chemistry together and still maintain that whatever show they go on together since TDVDS.

I'm very disappointed in the people who are berating those of us who felt the reunion show wasn't nearly on a par with the original show.

Some of you are just bullies, and best off ignored entirely. If you can't handle dissenting opinion on a public forum, you shouldn't participate on one.

If you want to (synonym for a bodily function) all over people who don't share your opinion, start your own web site.

Hi all,
I'm sorry for not addressing this sooner. But, "better late than never," I always say:

Days ago, the artist known as "tvobscurities" suggested that, more than likely, Carl Reiner had written only about 30 minutes worth of a script, and so the network decided to fill the remaining half hour with clips and other apparently objectionable stuff. Well, writing doesn't work like that -- you have an idea where the story is going and usually know from the start how it's going to end up. It's unlikely that he was told in midstream, "Think of a reason to get reminiscing about old times into the plot." Neither does a writer, especially a writer of Carl Reiner's ability, get half-way through a story and then say,"Eh, they'll fill the rest of the time with clips."

In the event you were watching with only one eye and/or one ear open, one of the dilemmas faced by Rob and Sally -- apart from not believing in taking money to write someone's eulogy -- was that neither of them could think of a single good thing to say about Alan Brady, whom they had always thought was a crude and heartless man. They didn't have the affection for Alan that they'd had for Buddy and Mel. But then, talking about old times made them realize what great lives they'd had and what an important part of their lives Alan had been. The Christmas show in particular showed, as Rob said, how "secure and self-effacing" Alan had been in allowing them to make fun at his expense in the Alan Brady song . . . and what a "big man" he was. Therefore, the reminiscing segment was an intended *part of the plot*, and an important one, too, which ultimately led to Alan's showing his generosity in the end, and Laura getting the bigger dance studio she'd wanted so badly from the beginning of the story. Wonderful piece of writing.




Later,
Art

I watched the first 5 minutes of the reunion rerun tonight... I forgot, in my previous comments, one other thing that was really, really stupid about it...

In the scene in which Laura is dancing with her ballet class, she gets a phone call from Alan...and she's standing there talking to him, right next to the piano, where a piano player is fake-playing.

Anyway, he keeps right on fake-playing all during Laura's conversation and the class keeps on dancing. Don't you think he could have stopped his fake-playing at least while Laura was on the phone, right there next to him...how annoying...

I thought that was really a stupid thing to have happen in that scene...

Tweety,
Wow! I never even noticed that.

By the way, what was the "really, really stupid" part -- that somebody would make noise while somebody else is talking on the phone? If so, not everybody is bothered in that way. My sister, for instance. Whenever she and I are watching a TV show or movie, or listening to music, and she gets a call, I always try to stop or mute whatever it is, out of consideration. And, she always tells me, "Don't do that," no matter how loud the thing might be.




Later,
Art

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20040511/en_usatoday/dickvandykerevisitedstumblesoutofthepast

Here's a very negative review of the whole special from USA Today. I thought it was a fun show, certainly no masterpiece. This is just his opinion, but it may invite more comments:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20040511/en_usatoday/dickvandykerevisitedstumblesoutofthepast

Maybe this has already been mentioned here and I missed it but the piano player in the dance studio is Mary's real life personal assistant, Terry Sims. I didn't even notice that it was fake piano playing. :)

I found it annoying that TV Land did the split screen thing during the dance studio scene tonight, as well as several other times. I preferred watching it on CBS.

Here's another review...
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/reviews/review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000506979

:rolleyes:

jehobden and Annette,
Thanks for posting the reviews, or links to them. Wouldn't you know it? No sooner do I publicly state that "critics are the lowest form of life on the planet" than do a couple of them come along and prove it!

There I go again -- "arguing with opinion" . . . . . . by stating fact!






Later,
Art

Originally posted by Artfiore1
No sooner do I publicly state that "critics are the lowest form of life on the planet" than do a couple of them come along and prove it!

Very true Art! Those articles really proved how idiotic critics can be!!


Kurt

DickVanDykeMan


Thank you again.






Later,
Art

the really sad thing is that this is probably the last time we will see these wonderful actors playing these marvelous characters. While the ratings for DVD revisited were good, I think the reviews, not necessarily from us on this forum, but professional reviews will probably make them gun shy about doing this again. It is a pity becuz I've now watched the special three times and it only improves each time.

Any fan of The Dick Van Dyke Show cannot hate critics entirely.... because if it weren't for them, all we'd have is a one-year wonder.

barwars,
Ever hear the expression "Accidents happen"?


Well, once in a great while, the "experts" *accidentally* do get something right.



Later,
Art

P.S. Sorry -- I'm a fan of "The Dick Van Dyke Show", and I *still* HATE critics . . . a lot.

I thought it was great :)

Here's an interesting article on some of the behind-the-scenes work on the reunion show...
http://preview.millimeter.com/mag/video_memory_trip/

Thanks, Annette
There's plenty of tech talk to make one's head spin!
Good article, though.
Steve

Annette,
Interesting article. Thanks for sharing.







Later,
Art

I have to admit to being very disappointed. I was really hoping the revisisted episode would put the show back on television. They COULD have done so much better. "Rob" was wonderful, so was "Millie" but MTM was dreadful. She was NOT Laura. And the wonderful romantic spark between Rob and Laura just wasn't there. Of course, after so many years of marriage you'd expect there to be a familiarity that might reduce that ember a little...but nah...I don't want to believe that!! In any case, they could have done better and should have. Here's hoping they get another chance.