I had watched "Hazel" when it originally ran, but I'm sure I never saw the last season. So these episodes I'm watching now are a first for me.
Just finished the 6th one. I've read that Shirley Booth's health wasn't so great the final year of 1965-66. What I've noticed is there is less smiling, less cheerfulness, less joking around. That's my perception anyways. I even went back and watched the first couple episodes from season 1. Yes, as soon as they start, she's smiling, singing, it just kind of confirmed for me there was a change.
And who doesn't like Don Defore? I miss the Crazy Johnsons'. I miss looking at Whitney Blake. It's just different, this last season. I know it's just me, because the last season had good ratings. It probably would have been picked up again, had Shirley been feeling better.
So for me, I hold dear those first four seasons. It doesn't look like I'm going to care much for this last one. Not so far anyways, and I've got 23 more episodes to watch.
Then I'll start back on the first four years again.

Yea the last season is a mixed bag, some good episodes and some not so good. And it's visible to see Shirley Booth isn't quite as chipper like she was in seasons 1-4, due most likely to her health situation at the time. What I like best about the last season is the presence of Lynn Borden. She's really pretty, I think Lynn Borden and Barbara Eden are two of the most attractive actresses from the mid 1960's era.

Not to mention a very young Ann Jillian (It's A Living) appeared as a semi-regular in the last season....I recorded the 5th and final season as even though there are rumors that Shout Factory is releasing season 2, I doubt we will ever see a season 5 release. With the different cast and switch to NBC, there are many reasons season 5 is special.

Actually, the series switched from NBC to CBS for the final season. Don DeFore was missed in the last season, but Lynn Borden more than adequately made up for the absence of Whitney Blake. And I agree, a young Ann Jillian as Steve Baxter's secretary provided extra candy for the eye.

I'm not sure why Don DeFore and Whitney Blake were not in the last season, I imagine it had something to do with the switch in networks. Maybe CBS decided retaining the services of DeFore and Blake would have been too costly, so Ray Fulmer and Lynn Borden were hired for less money.

I've also recorded the shows from Antenna TV, outside of a couple exeptions the shows are edited but it's better than nothing. I'm also skeptical about the entire series having a DVD release, a lot will depend on how good sales are for the 2nd season release from Shout Factory.

I think we will see Seasons 2 & 3 fairly quickly. If we see Seasons 4 & 5, I'm sure it will be through Shout Select. So I wouldn't rule out a Season 5 release altogether. I just think it would be a Shout Exclusive if we do see it.

has anyone said that season 2 won't be a shout exclusive already? The news has been very quiet since it was announced shout would even continue the series from Sony. Shout has even abandoned exclusives...room 222, small wonder, my two dads, and where's more blossom?

My guess is that Season 2 will be commercially-available at all online stores. Usually, they don't license out a show strictly for Shout Select. This is only a last resort to get the show out to die-hard fans.

But I must say I'm a bit worried at no news as well. I've tried to get any bits of news from Shout by posting at their forum and asking Mr. Ward. But so far, the last I heard was they were swamped with other releases and hadn't started work on "Hazel" yet. So it looks more like it's going to be an end-of-year release. Shout seems to have slowed down in their classic tv-on-dvd department with only a sprinkle of releases in the past few months.

...in fact, it went off NBC after the Ford Motor Company dropped their option to sponsor a fifth season (the alternate sponsor during the 1964-'65 season, Bristol-Myers, also passed on sustaining another season as well). Fortunately, CBS had a 9:30pm(et) "hole" in their Monday night schedule for 1965-'66: they were supposed to fill that time period with a Polly Bergen mystery series, "SELENA MEAD", but Jim Aubrey, the CBS executive who had tentatively "pencilled it in", was fired at the end of February, and the network decided to erase as much of his influence upon their upcoming fall schedule as much as possible . The new president of the network, John Schneider, discovered that "HAZEL" was available, and decided it would be a perfect combination with "THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW" that fall. The network found new co-sponsors for it- Phillip Morris and Procter & Gamble- and the fifth season appeared on CBS.

However, because of tighter production budgets at Screen Gems {and they were always cheap- they wouldn't allow Sidney Sheldon to film the first season of "I DREAM OF JEANNIE" in color primarily because the special effects cost too much money....in fact, Screen Gems wouldn't have bothered to film "HAZEL" in color if Ford hadn't been their sponsor; they wanted their commercials to be seen in color, and [I]they put out the extra money for color filming, when very few color programs were on network TV in 1962}, Don DeFore & Whitney Blake's contracts weren't renewed- and that's why Ray Fulmer and Lynn Borden (on Shirley's suggestion) became the new "Baxters". That's also why Donald Foster & Norma Varden no longer appeared as the "Johnsons" after the move to CBS. And if you take a good look at certain episodes....well, did you notice that "Tony Nelson's" living room from 'I DREAM OF JEANNIE" was redressed as an empty living room in a home waiting to be sold, in one episode?

:tv:

...in fact, it went off NBC after the Ford Motor Company dropped their option to sponsor a fifth season (the alternate sponsor during the 1964-'65 season, Bristol-Myers, also passed on sustaining another season as well). Fortunately, CBS had a 9:30pm(et) "hole" in their Monday night schedule for 1965-'66: they were supposed to fill that time period with a Polly Bergen mystery series, "SELENA MEAD", but Jim Aubrey, the CBS executive who had tentatively "pencilled it in", was fired at the end of February, and the network decided to erase as much of his influence upon their upcoming fall schedule as much as possible . The new president of the network, John Schneider, discovered that "HAZEL" was available, and decided it would be a perfect combination with "THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW" that fall. The network found new co-sponsors for it- Phillip Morris and Procter & Gamble- and the fifth season appeared on CBS.

However, because of tighter production budgets at Screen Gems {and they were always cheap- they wouldn't allow Sidney Sheldon to film the first season of "I DREAM OF JEANNIE" in color primarily because the special effects cost too much money....in fact, Screen Gems wouldn't have bothered to film "HAZEL" in color if Ford hadn't been their sponsor; they wanted their commercials to be seen in color, and [I]they put out the extra money for color filming, when very few color programs were on network TV in 1962}, Don DeFore & Whitney Blake's contracts weren't renewed- and that's why Ray Fulmer and Lynn Borden (on Shirley's suggestion) became the new "Baxters". That's also why Donald Foster & Norma Varden no longer appeared as the "Johnsons" after the move to CBS. And if you take a good look at certain episodes....well, did you notice that "Tony Nelson's" living room from 'I DREAM OF JEANNIE" was redressed as an empty living room in a home waiting to be sold, in one episode?

:tv:

Knowledge, as I have said many times to you, your name is exactly what you are...you would definetly be my "phone a friend"....lol....everything you always say is so well researched, well thought and expressed so perfectly.

I made the error (my bad) and wrote it went from cbs to nbc, I knew I was wrong when corrected by the other poster, but felt going back and changing my original post mistake was "just not playing fair", so I proudly left my mistake for everyone to see!

BTW...Yes I actually noticed the jeannie house redressed in several episodes, so much fun! I was extremely fortuate to visit the Columbia Ranch studio in the 80's.....at the time I visted the facades of "Life Goes On" and attended a taping of "Growing Pains". Afterwards (not bragging) I was a VIP so got to wander around...it is my favorite studio lot.....I love that winding road shot across from the park area seen in so many series, then the bewitched, jeannie house, dennis the menace, so many going back to the "Blondie" movie series. for triva fans...The "Life Goes On" facade was where The Partridges also lived. How I wish I could return, not sure how much the lot has changed....knowledge if you are reading.....I turn it over to you for that answer!

To be fair, Brian himself said he was jumping the gun when he leaked the news that Shout had aquired Hazel, and that an actual release date was way, way off in the future.

Like "Dennis the Menace", I bet S3 will come shortly after S2, but it all boils down to sales whether or not S4 and S5 will be released quickly, if at all.

Still, it's better than what Sony would have left us with.

...in fact, it went off NBC after the Ford Motor Company dropped their option to sponsor a fifth season (the alternate sponsor during the 1964-'65 season, Bristol-Myers, also passed on sustaining another season as well). Fortunately, CBS had a 9:30pm(et) "hole" in their Monday night schedule for 1965-'66: they were supposed to fill that time period with a Polly Bergen mystery series, "SELENA MEAD", but Jim Aubrey, the CBS executive who had tentatively "pencilled it in", was fired at the end of February, and the network decided to erase as much of his influence upon their upcoming fall schedule as much as possible . The new president of the network, John Schneider, discovered that "HAZEL" was available, and decided it would be a perfect combination with "THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW" that fall. The network found new co-sponsors for it- Phillip Morris and Procter & Gamble- and the fifth season appeared on CBS.

However, because of tighter production budgets at Screen Gems {and they were always cheap- they wouldn't allow Sidney Sheldon to film the first season of "I DREAM OF JEANNIE" in color primarily because the special effects cost too much money....in fact, Screen Gems wouldn't have bothered to film "HAZEL" in color if Ford hadn't been their sponsor; they wanted their commercials to be seen in color, and [I]they put out the extra money for color filming, when very few color programs were on network TV in 1962}, Don DeFore & Whitney Blake's contracts weren't renewed- and that's why Ray Fulmer and Lynn Borden (on Shirley's suggestion) became the new "Baxters". That's also why Donald Foster & Norma Varden no longer appeared as the "Johnsons" after the move to CBS. And if you take a good look at certain episodes....well, did you notice that "Tony Nelson's" living room from 'I DREAM OF JEANNIE" was redressed as an empty living room in a home waiting to be sold, in one episode?

:tv:


That is simply an amazing piece of History you informed us of. I am floored by your knowledge of details. Very impressed! Thank you for sharing...

I think both Hazel and Dennis the Menace will be released completely, and commercially. Just like The Patty Duke Show and Leave it to Beaver. I'm sure they have a bigger fan base than some of those shows that ended up Shout! Exclusives.

I think we will see Seasons 2 & 3 fairly quickly. If we see Seasons 4 & 5, I'm sure it will be through Shout Select. So I wouldn't rule out a Season 5 release altogether. I just think it would be a Shout Exclusive if we do see it.

I agree, seasons 2 and perhaps 3 will likely be retail. Seasons 4 and 5 if released may be sold exclusively through Shout's website depending on sales for seasons 2 and 3. Father Knows Best has a bigger fan base than Hazel, and look what happened with FKB, seasons 5 and 6 were sold as Shout exclusives only. So I can easily see Hazel seasons being released as Shout exclusives also. Hazel season 1 wasn't a big seller for Sony, so further releases were cancelled. If season 2 for Shout Factory also results in low sales, the series will get abandoned again or best case scenario it may get shifted to the Shout exclusives.

Shout Factory was clever to release Dennis The Menace soon after releasing Leave It To Beaver. "Dennis" isn't that good a show, but DVD sales of it's 1st season got momentum from DVD sales of Leave It To Beaver, a similar type family sitcom from that era. The main difference between LITB and DTM is the writing in LITB is far superior to the writing in DTM.

I can't let the subject of Hazel's last season go without commenting on this episode, which was an embarrassment to TV in general.

I'd consider it a middle-aged conservative TV writer's fantasy fulfillment episode. Young Harold and his friends form a rock band. (And despite their ages, they aren't technically bad. By necessity their sound is a rather generic boogie-- show can't or won't spring for quality, original music.)

But the adults are appalled. They say totally trite and ignorant things like, "It's all noise!" and "They look like girls!" [NOTE: Outside of prominent bangs, their hair is NOT long.]

Finally they come up with a scheme: they start dressing and acting like beatniks (!), hoping to shock the boys back to their senses. And it works. At the cusp of success, with gigs coming in and peer approval, they rather abruptly give up on their dreams and announce with an odd eagerness they're going right to the barbershop. Boring normality is restored. Huzzah ...

I can't let the subject of Hazel's last season go without commenting on this episode, which was an embarrassment to TV in general.

I'd consider it a middle-aged conservative TV writer's fantasy fulfillment episode. Young Harold and his friends form a rock band. (And despite their ages, they aren't technically bad. By necessity their sound is a rather generic boogie-- show can't or won't spring for quality, original music.)

But the adults are appalled. They say totally trite and ignorant things like, "It's all noise!" and "They look like girls!" [NOTE: Outside of prominent bangs, their hair is NOT long.]

Finally they come up with a scheme: they start dressing and acting like beatniks (!), hoping to shock the boys back to their senses. And it works. At the cusp of success, with gigs coming in and peer approval, they rather abruptly give up on their dreams and announce with an odd eagerness they're going right to the barbershop. Boring normality is restored. Huzzah ...

I actually enjoy this episode rather well. This was 1966, I imagine many parents might have reacted this way if their kids tried to form a rock band. The use of reverse psychology is amusing with the way they dress themselves up, especially Hazel! :lol:

I actually enjoy this episode rather well. This was 1966, I imagine many parents might have reacted this way if their kids tried to form a rock band. The use of reverse psychology is amusing with the way they dress themselves up, especially Hazel! :lol:
I agree. I always found this episode a riot, especially for (as retroTVfan4ever mentioned) Hazel's outfit. But it totally wouldn't hold up for today's audience unless you keep it in perspective with the sign of the times.

Keep in mind, this is a TV show. I remember as a kid in the '60's everytime a prime time TV show tried to portray rock music, it was always lousy and goofball sounding, I remember thinking, this is the adult's version of what rock is. Same way when "hippies" were portrayed, always unrealistic and stupid. But these shows were written by adults at the time, who grew up with big band music or even tin pan alley '20's music, these shows weren't written by teenagers. To these narrow minded writers Tommy Dorsey was still the "bee's knees", & this is how they thought of rock music "it's just a fad" was the most common heard statement at the time.

Even the fact that they have all the adults in this Hazel episode dressing like beatnicks which to the apparently elderly writers is the same thing as hippies shows how out of touch the writers are in relating to any true culture of the then present day. Beatnicks and hippies are 2 completely different things, but to these stodgy writers with views from the '20's to '40's, they're the same. So I always excuse these type shows as being products of narrow minded out of touch writers and don't blame my favorite shows for these depictions.

Also this twist in the story (the straights dressing the way they think the "kids" are dressing to make them change to "normal") was a common storyline trick. Almost as common as the evil twin stroryline. I believe even I Love Lucy did a variation of this storytrick Lucy & Ethel acting sloppy to show Ricky & Fred how they look to them, the Flintstones did it, Father Knows Best, My 3 Sons did it to a degree and to the nth degree when it comes to an examples of really bad generic sounding "rock" that was supposed to be real rock. I think this was just a storyline trick that other shows shared.

And to whether Harold's hair and his "Leaping Lizards" buddies hair was long? I can remember quite well in 1968 my hair was a 1/4 of an inch over my ear and I was called a long haired hippie. Most boys had either crew cuts or very short hair at the time. So Harold's hair in 1966 could have been considered very long for the time. The funny thing is I also remember a year later the other boys hair was a lot longer than mine and these were the same jerks that called me a long hair.

While we're on the subject of Harold's "hippie" hair, I thought it looked odd that one side of his "bangs" was longer than the other side. I guess he grew one side longer for when he had it combed over and parted to the side.

It reminded me of those older, balding men who grow one side of their hair longer and comb it over their bald spot to cover it up.

Keep in mind, this is a TV show. I remember as a kid in the '60's everytime a prime time TV show tried to portray rock music, it was always lousy and goofball sounding, I remember thinking, this is the adult's version of what rock is. Same way when "hippies" were portrayed, always unrealistic and stupid. But these shows were written by adults at the time, who grew up with big band music or even tin pan alley '20's music, these shows weren't written by teenagers. To these narrow minded writers Tommy Dorsey was still the "bee's knees", & this is how they thought of rock music "it's just a fad" was the most common heard statement at the time.

Even the fact that they have all the adults in this Hazel episode dressing like beatnicks which to the apparently elderly writers is the same thing as hippies shows how out of touch the writers are in relating to any true culture of the then present day. Beatnicks and hippies are 2 completely different things, but to these stodgy writers with views from the '20's to '40's, they're the same. So I always excuse these type shows as being products of narrow minded out of touch writers and don't blame my favorite shows for these depictions.

Also this twist in the story (the straights dressing the way they think the "kids" are dressing to make them change to "normal") was a common storyline trick. Almost as common as the evil twin stroryline. I believe even I Love Lucy did a variation of this storytrick Lucy & Ethel acting sloppy to show Ricky & Fred how they look to them, the Flintstones did it, Father Knows Best, My 3 Sons did it to a degree and to the nth degree when it comes to an examples of really bad generic sounding "rock" that was supposed to be real rock. I think this was just a storyline trick that other shows shared.

And to whether Harold's hair and his "Leaping Lizards" buddies hair was long? I can remember quite well in 1968 my hair was a 1/4 of an inch over my ear and I was called a long haired hippie. Most boys had either crew cuts or very short hair at the time. So Harold's hair in 1966 could have been considered very long for the time. The funny thing is I also remember a year later the other boys hair was a lot longer than mine and these were the same jerks that called me a long hair.

from someone from the same generation and the same love of these series, VERY WELL SAID...I applaud your well thought out educated words...not a knock to the original poster.

BTW... spending most of the entire Memorial Day 2011 weekend transferring Hazel, Season 5 to DVD from my recent Antenna TV recordings.

Thinking back (I was a teenager at the time), I think I recall that CBS wanted to get rid of DeFore and Blake (and the Johnsons) and bring in a younger couple in order to improve the demographics of HAZEL. "Improving" always meant attracting a younger audience. You know, most advertisers really only want the 18-49 age group to see their commercials.

I don't think they achieved their goal. The next season, HAZEL was replaced with FAMILY AFFAIR.

Thinking back (I was a teenager at the time), I think I recall that CBS wanted to get rid of DeFore and Blake (and the Johnsons) and bring in a younger couple in order to improve the demographics of HAZEL. "Improving" always meant attracting a younger audience. You know, most advertisers really only want the 18-49 age group to see their commercials.

I don't think they achieved their goal. The next season, HAZEL was replaced with FAMILY AFFAIR.

I think the primary reason DeFore and Blake were let go was to save money. Itr was cheaper to produce the series going with two unknowns in the roles of Mr. and Mrs Baxter. I think you are correct to suggest with the first piece of business out of the way (Defore and Blake not being renewed), the second piece of business was to take the show in a new direction by getting younger.

I actually enjoy this episode rather well. This was 1966, I imagine many parents might have reacted this way if their kids tried to form a rock band. The use of reverse psychology is amusing with the way they dress themselves up, especially Hazel! :lol:
I believe that the "inspiration" for this episode came from an episode of December Bride where Lily (Spring Byington) did a similar "beatnik" impersonation. She even read a similar type of poetry: "Bless-ed are the depress-ed. Caress-ed are the depress-ed. Surpress-ed are the Depress-ed. For they sleep on a bed of nails." The title to this show may have been "The Beat Generation" and it came late in the series. You haven't lived until you've seen Verna Felton in beatnik drag!

The episode "My Son the Sheepdog" is also notable for Lynn Borden's outfit: A miniskirt with knee-high boots. It's easy to see why this lady was Miss Arizona 1957 who went on to compete well in the Miss America pageant. Here she is in her early '30s, 1972:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/evansrc/Picture274.png
http://www.antiquetrader.com/wp-content/uploads/Lynn-in-Frogs.jpg

Those pictures of Lynn Borden must be from Frogs, the 1972 movie she was in. She's a lovely looking lady, that's for sure.

Getting back to the My Son The Sheepdog episode, I can understand why the episodes ending can be seen as contrived, but I just figure that's how the writers wanted it. They wanted the boys to go back to being themselves and give up the idea of having a rock band. Considering their ages at the time, they were a bit too young to be in a band anyway. A few years older and it would have been more believeable.

I did think the episode had some nice touches. For example, it's fun to see Julia Benjamin's character rocking out. This ep in general was one of the most animated of the series.

Did Ray Fulmer ever appear in anything else?

I can't let the subject of Hazel's last season go without commenting on this episode, which was an embarrassment to TV in general.

I'd consider it a middle-aged conservative TV writer's fantasy fulfillment episode. Young Harold and his friends form a rock band. (And despite their ages, they aren't technically bad. By necessity their sound is a rather generic boogie-- show can't or won't spring for quality, original music.)

But the adults are appalled. They say totally trite and ignorant things like, "It's all noise!" and "They look like girls!" [NOTE: Outside of prominent bangs, their hair is NOT long.]

Finally they come up with a scheme: they start dressing and acting like beatniks (!), hoping to shock the boys back to their senses. And it works. At the cusp of success, with gigs coming in and peer approval, they rather abruptly give up on their dreams and announce with an odd eagerness they're going right to the barbershop. Boring normality is restored. Huzzah ...

Looks like one of those have to see to be believed episodes.

I believe that the "inspiration" for this episode came from an episode of December Bride where Lily (Spring Byington) did a similar "beatnik" impersonation. She even read a similar type of poetry: "Bless-ed are the depress-ed. Caress-ed are the depress-ed. Surpress-ed are the Depress-ed. For they sleep on a bed of nails." The title to this show may have been "The Beat Generation" and it came late in the series. You haven't lived until you've seen Verna Felton in beatnik drag!

There should be a compilation of 1960s sitcom Beat Poetry!

I've seen some pretty interesting examples on (of course) Doby Gillis, The Munsters, Petticoat Junction (recited by a young Dennis Hopper) and one of the all-time greatest, The Beverly Hillbillies, as quoted by my friend, poet George Dance:

----------------------------------------

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.arts.poetry.comments/rC7Zi-4gClw/7ulFJi8zoXkJ

George Dance wrote:
> > My daughter asked me to share this poem (author unknown to either of
> > us):
>
> > Haiku are quite easy
> > though sometimes they make no sense;
> > refrigerator.
>
> San Francisco haiku.
>
Hmm. Remind me of the first poem I ever memorized. It was from a
Beverley Hillbillies episode in which (for some reason connected with
the Drysdales) a Beat Poet from San Francisco was staying with the
Clampetts.

One day Granny found the poet standing on his head against a wall. He
told her he was meditating; when she asked why he told her (more or
less), "When I meditate, my brains soar." So she explained that it
was sore because all his blood was rushing to it, and pulled him
down.

He was a bit upset, and told her that was how he wrote his poetry.
She asked if he'd written a poem; he told her he had, and recited it
(and this part I've committed to memory):

Blue cheesecake
A silver spoon in the sand
The seaweed barks at me.

So she turned him upside down again, and left him there to write a
better one.
------------------------

Of course, Maynard G. Krebs and his fellow television versions of The Beat Generation were mostly ignorant satire of Kerouac, Ginsberg et al, but they are still a hoot as surrealistic commentary of the pretentious avant garde types that were, as Jack Kerouac put it, "After me, the Deluge", as he drank himself to death in Florida, a victim of his own fame.

I believe that the "inspiration" for this episode came from an episode of December Bride where Lily (Spring Byington) did a similar "beatnik" impersonation. She even read a similar type of poetry: "Bless-ed are the depress-ed. Caress-ed are the depress-ed. Surpress-ed are the Depress-ed. For they sleep on a bed of nails." The title to this show may have been "The Beat Generation" and it came late in the series. You haven't lived until you've seen Verna Felton in beatnik drag!

Ah... I see the "Beat" poetry from the Hazel episode isn't quoted yet in the thread, anyone remember it or care to get it from the episode?

Did Hazel recite the poem?

I have a feeling that scene could be a classic...

I just saw a "Farmer's Daughter" episode today where the mis-understood all gathered in a book store to recite their meaningless beat poetry.

I don't understand the fuss being made over "My Son, the Sheepdog." The problem is we've had 47 years between its airing and today's date--and considering I was not quite 14 when this show originally aired, that's the bigger problem than corny writing.

If this episode were to be remade today, you'd have Harold and Jeff wearing tattoos, hair-color stripes and ripped jeans, and the music would probably garner a TV-PG or TV-14 rating. Remember that in 1966 hair only a half-inch longer than a typical barber-shop cut it back then was greeted with all the paranoia once reserved for Russians during the Cold War.

I remember in my senior year (1969-70) one of my classmates wore hair that just hung over his ears--and a mustache--and he wasn't even allowed to attend graduation because his hair violated the dress code. Now, you'd be looked upon strangely if you were as clean-shaven as Harold and Jeff were in 1966!

Just enjoy the episode as an example of how simpler--and sillier--things were way back then.

And for my part, Ray Fulmer and Lynn Borden never replaced Don DeFore and Whitney Blake...:rolleyes:

I had watched "Hazel" when it originally ran, but I'm sure I never saw the last season. So these episodes I'm watching now are a first for me.
Just finished the 6th one. I've read that Shirley Booth's health wasn't so great the final year of 1965-66. What I've noticed is there is less smiling, less cheerfulness, less joking around. That's my perception anyways. I even went back and watched the first couple episodes from season 1. Yes, as soon as they start, she's smiling, singing, it just kind of confirmed for me there was a change.
And who doesn't like Don Defore? I miss the Crazy Johnsons'. I miss looking at Whitney Blake. It's just different, this last season. I know it's just me, because the last season had good ratings. It probably would have been picked up again, had Shirley been feeling better.
So for me, I hold dear those first four seasons. It doesn't look like I'm going to care much for this last one. Not so far anyways, and I've got 23 more episodes to watch.
Then I'll start back on the first four years again.

Why exactly did DeFore and Blake not stay with the series? Was it their choice to leave? This has probably been covered here somewhere I'm sure, but I think the departure of DeFore and Blake is what killed the show. The chemistry between Booth and DeFore was necessary. Fulmer and Borden just seemed to not have good "comedy chops". They were rather stiff and phony in their performance. My guess is that Shirley Booth saw the quality of the show go down significantly in the final season and elected not to return, health issues or not.

Why exactly did DeFore and Blake not stay with the series? Was it their choice to leave? This has probably been covered here somewhere I'm sure, but I think the departure of DeFore and Blake is what killed the show. The chemistry between Booth and DeFore was necessary. Fulmer and Borden just seemed to not have good "comedy chops". They were rather stiff and phony in their performance. My guess is that Shirley Booth saw the quality of the show go down significantly in the final season and elected not to return, health issues or not.

I read both DeFore and Blake wanted to do other things. Then I read they had wanted more money.
The chemistry between them and Shirley is what made the show for me.

Yes, I like seasons 1-4 more but I've never understood all the hate for season 5. Season 5 was still good, in my opinion---it had its moments.

I agree. Hazel was still Hazel in Season 5 and Harold was still there not to mention Deidra & Rosie. I think most people are just too cheap to buy and use "it's so bad" as an excuse to keep the change in their pockets.

Of course, given a choice I too would rather have the original Mr. B & the hot Dorothy and I'd also love further visits from Mr. Griffin. But all that is still not reason enough to abandon the series like an old car.

I don't understand all the hate for Steve and Barbara either (one comment somewhere else referred to them as "those two a**h*l*s" which was childish and unnecessary). Ray Fulmer and Lynn Borden were fine in their roles and if it meant a fifth season or nothing, I would definitely have green-lighted the new format. Hazel wasn't able to chide Mr B. about his weight any longer since Steve was trim, but that was getting stale anyway so it wasn't missed.

Did Ray Fulmer do anything else?

He was also a soap opera actor in the 1970s.

Today I saw that first episode of season 5 again. Every time I see Hazel counting those 1000 vitamins and then showing up at the real estate office, in front of clients, and telling Steve to take his vitamins, it makes my blood boil! He should have taken her in his office and fired her on the spot!!

And the above should never have happened because there were times when George should have fired her, too. Like when she blabbed all over town about him becoming a judge. Or when she stuck her nose in and plotted to keep him occupied, even going so far as to have Rosie fake a lawsuit for him to work on.

Stevea, oh no, you're sounding like me now when I started going into a rage everytime Hazel opened her big buttinski mouth and worse ignored Mr. B's commands and orders. I used to eat breakfast as I watched Hazel and it got to the point that I couldn't hardly swallow my Raisin Bran as I wretched in convulsions over Hazel's deplorable behavior. Here is exactly what I would yell every time Hazel acted up, "YOU'RE FIRED!!!"

Mind you I was watching Hazel for 30 years straight till she finally turned me into a raving lunatic the last couple years. Hazel's actions never bothered me for all those years, don't know why, but suddenly I couldn't stand her interfering and refusing to follow orders.

So I had to quit watching Hazel as of about 2 years ago (maybe 3?) and since then my breakfasts have been a lot easier on my digestive system. I will, I'm sure, one day return to Hazel watching, but not yet, I still have not recovered. Like the fathead liars in the media who all suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome I suppose you could say I suffer from HDS, Hazel Derangement Syndrome.:crazy:

Really clear you needed a break from Hazel. No biggie - so many other great shows out there to see instead - too many to watch. And Hazel really did JTS in Season Five. Hazel never bothered me too much - except when she was portrayed as a dummy in that S5 weight loss ep. My to-die-for shows are The Adv. Of O & H, WINGS and Eight Is Enough. I NEVER tire of those three gems.

I really envy that you can still eat Raisin Bran & milk. A regular serving sends my blood sugar over 200. I do miss cereal, but now more than ever, it’s important trying to keep my blood sugar as close to normal as I can get it, which really isn’t all that close.

You're right, there are lots of shows to watch and that's what I've been doing, right now I watch about 16 different sitcoms a week. An episode a week from each. The Lucy Show I've been watching is about to run out of episodes, (thankfully, I am not enjoying her endless singing and dancing numbers she does in the last season. An old lady showing off her legs like a 20 year old Rockette does not excite me.). So I'm looking forward to starting up Bewitched in about a month or so when Lucy Show finally ends. I still have another 20 episodes of Joey Bishop SHow to slog thru. I couldn't stand Joey's shows when he was supposed to be a big time star with a bunch of kiss-butts all around him but I must admit I am really enjoying the first season of Joey now (Antenna TV showed them all out of order and the last 1st run Joey shows they put on were the ones I'm watching now, the 1st season shows.) I esp. like seeing the early Joey shows with That GIrl and Mrs. Mondello in COLOR!! So glad to see these Joey shows now that he's not a "superstar".

Oh, forgot to say. When I have Raisin Bran I make it myself. I don't buy the ready made raisin bran boxes, there's way too much sugar added to them. What I do is buy Bran Flakes alone (they're not "sugar coated") and then add about 20-23 normal raisins to it along with a dash of cinnamon then add in some almond milk (which has a lot of nutrients and vitamins normal milk doesn't have, not to mention no cholesterol). Cinnamon is good for fighting against diabetes too, so I've read.

Oh, forgot to say. When I have Raisin Bran I make it myself. I don't buy the ready made raisin bran boxes, there's way too much sugar added to them. What I do is buy Bran Flakes alone (they're not "sugar coated") and then add about 20-23 normal raisins to it along with a dash of cinnamon then add in some almond milk (which has a lot of nutrients and vitamins normal milk doesn't have, not to mention no cholesterol). Cinnamon is good for fighting against diabetes too, so I've read.

I’ve hear that about cinnamon too. And the way you do your cereal and milk, definitely greatly reduces the carb
Bs, would probably clock me in between 170-180.

You're right, there are lots of shows to watch and that's what I've been doing, right now I watch about 16 different sitcoms a week. An episode a week from each. The Lucy Show I've been watching is about to run out of episodes, (thankfully, I am not enjoying her endless singing and dancing numbers she does in the last season. An old lady showing off her legs like a 20 year old Rockette does not excite me.). So I'm looking forward to starting up Bewitched in about a month or so when Lucy Show finally ends. I still have another 20 episodes of Joey Bishop SHow to slog thru. I couldn't stand Joey's shows when he was supposed to be a big time star with a bunch of kiss-butts all around him but I must admit I am really enjoying the first season of Joey now (Antenna TV showed them all out of order and the last 1st run Joey shows they put on were the ones I'm watching now, the 1st season shows.) I esp. like seeing the early Joey shows with That GIrl and Mrs. Mondello in COLOR!! So glad to see these Joey shows now that he's not a "superstar".

Well like they always say “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. I thought Lucy was hot up to 1970. She looked great in Yours, Mine and Ours. I think she had great legs, she was a chorus girl at one point.

But it was probably after the mid 1970s she aged like s#it. Heard she was a heavy smoker and drinker, which would do it. But in her day, up to 1972, she looked great to me. Always thought Desi was nuts to cheat on her, but that’s another topic.

Hazel has her buttinsky ways, however it doesn't bother me because that's how she's supposed to be, that's how her character was written for the TV show. She's the lead character of the show and she needed to have a boisterous/snoopy personality. If she had been written as a quiet, obedient servant to Mr. B. and family, that would have been dull, I imagine few viewers would have watched and the show probably wouldn't have made it past the 1st season.

Season 5 is not a bad season, not quite as good as seasons 1-4 with Mr. B. and Missy but I still enjoy season 5 with Mr. Steve and Barbara. I've always liked Lynn Borden anyway, she was a cute looking lady. :eyes:

On the subject of the season 5 DVD from Shout Factory, does anyone notice the video quality of those episodes looks a little dark? Seasons 1-4 are fine but the season 5 episodes have a darker/tinted look to them, it just looks like the picture should be brighter. On the plus side at least the episodes are uncut.

In reference to The Joey Bishop Show, I don't care all that much for the 1st season. Some episodes are good but I prefer seasons 2-4 where Joey is a married man with wife Ellie/Abby Dalton. Joe Besser adds a lot to the show with his zaniness, this series needed someone like him as a contrast from Joey's style which is more subdued. I also prefer Corbett Monica over Guy Marks as Joey's writer/manager, whatever he is. I think seasons 2 and 3 are the best ones with season 3 being my overall favorite.

I agree, Season 5 is not so bad at all. It's different, for sure, but it's not terrible. Of course, I liked the George & Dorothy shows more but the Steve & Barbara shows are also enjoyable to me. But like Oh Nuts, the only Season 5 Hazel show I really didn't like was when they turned Hazel into a total helpless moron who breaks down in idiotic tears when she joins an exercise club run by Barnaby Jones' secretary. Seeing Hazel act like a simpleton was really an insult to the show and I'm surprised Shirley Booth didn't object to this script.

The season 5 weight loss episode is titled How To Lose 30 Pounds In 30 Minutes. It's true this isn't the greatest episode with Hazel out of character and not her usual self.

Interesting recipe. I never thought of Raisin Bran as being loaded with sugar. Cinnamon would add a nice flavor to it.

I agree, Season 5 is not so bad at all. It's different, for sure, but it's not terrible. Of course, I liked the George & Dorothy shows more but the Steve & Barbara shows are also enjoyable to me. But like Oh Nuts, the only Season 5 Hazel show I really didn't like was when they turned Hazel into a total helpless moron who breaks down in idiotic tears when she joins an exercise club run by Barnaby Jones' secretary. Seeing Hazel act like a simpleton was really an insult to the show and I'm surprised Shirley Booth didn't object to this script.

Hazel portrayed as a simpleton was disappointment to me too. S5 was a disappointment overall and that early S5 ep is where it really JTS for me.

Glad they kept character of Diedre on. She was fun and always loved seeing her get taken down a notch.

Yeah, Raisin Bran when bought just like "Raisin Bran" by Post or Kellogg or any store brand has the raisins "sugar coated" that come with the cereal. As if raisins aren't sweet already. But when you buy the raisins separate straight from the box or bag and add to just Bran Flakes there's no additional sugar added. There is still some sugar in the Bran Flakes too, baked in, but at least they're not coating the raisins with sugar when you just buy raisins alone and add to bran flakes. I'm not as good as Oh Nuts in calculating carbs and the like the main thing I pay attention to is sugar content. Anything over 5 grams is a no-no. My brother pays attention to sodium content the way I do for sugar. I don't care about sodium.

On other days I like bacon, egg, cheese frozen biscuits or flatbread (not as good but less calories) along with 1/2 of a Hash Brown frozen patty that I cook up and add garlic and onion and parsley to. Other days I'll have frozen waffles and a fake Morning Star sausage. On Fridays, as long as you're asking, I have a nice bowl of hot gruel. Well it's really oatmeal I add cinnamon and raisins to that too. Then on rare occasions when I feel like really cooking I'll pour some fake eggs made with red and green peppers into a pan add slice of cheese on top along with garlic and onion powder and parsley and 2 slices of either real or fake Morning Star bacon. That's it, those are all my different choices I use for breakfast. Except Fridays is always oatmeal day as I then watch Bachelor Father as I eat.

Mmm, that's cookin'.:wave:

Hazel has her buttinsky ways, however it doesn't bother me because that's how she's supposed to be, that's how her character was written for the TV show. She's the lead character of the show and she needed to have a boisterous/snoopy personality. If she had been written as a quiet, obedient servant to Mr. B. and family, that would have been dull, I imagine few viewers would have watched and the show probably wouldn't have made it past the 1st season.

Season 5 is not a bad season, not quite as good as seasons 1-4 with Mr. B. and Missy but I still enjoy season 5 with Mr. Steve and Barbara. I've always liked Lynn Borden anyway, she was a cute looking lady. :eyes:

On the subject of the season 5 DVD from Shout Factory, does anyone notice the video quality of those episodes looks a little dark? Seasons 1-4 are fine but the season 5 episodes have a darker/tinted look to them, it just looks like the picture should be brighter. On the plus side at least the episodes are uncut.

"Hazel has her buttinsky ways, however it doesn't bother me because that's how she's supposed to be, that's how her character was written for the TV show".

Yeah, I agree with you. To me it's like saying the only bad thing about Green Acres is the fact that it takes place in the country.

Season 5 is not a bad season, not quite as good as seasons 1-4 with Mr. B. and Missy but I still enjoy season 5 with Mr. Steve and Barbara. I've always liked Lynn Borden anyway, she was a cute looking lady.

I agree with you on this also. I think many fans of the series are disappointed because of the exit of DeFore and Blake, but there really was no choice. Booth put in some of her own money to produce the series an additional season. For Booth this was as they say in showbiz her winter, her nuts and berries. She knew this would be her last big project and the residuals and the extra season were very important to her. She had to squeeze the budget as much as she could get away with. Fulmer and Borden were not as experienced as the two performers they replaced, but they both did a good job.

...in fact, it went off NBC after the Ford Motor Company dropped their option to sponsor a fifth season (the alternate sponsor during the 1964-'65 season, Bristol-Myers, also passed on sustaining another season as well). Fortunately, CBS had a 9:30pm(et) "hole" in their Monday night schedule for 1965-'66: they were supposed to fill that time period with a Polly Bergen mystery series, "SELENA MEAD", but Jim Aubrey, the CBS executive who had tentatively "pencilled it in", was fired at the end of February, and the network decided to erase as much of his influence upon their upcoming fall schedule as much as possible . The new president of the network, John Schneider, discovered that "HAZEL" was available, and decided it would be a perfect combination with "THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW" that fall. The network found new co-sponsors for it- Phillip Morris and Procter & Gamble- and the fifth season appeared on CBS.

However, because of tighter production budgets at Screen Gems {and they were always cheap- they wouldn't allow Sidney Sheldon to film the first season of "I DREAM OF JEANNIE" in color primarily because the special effects cost too much money....in fact, Screen Gems wouldn't have bothered to film "HAZEL" in color if Ford hadn't been their sponsor; they wanted their commercials to be seen in color, and [I]they put out the extra money for color filming, when very few color programs were on network TV in 1962}, Don DeFore & Whitney Blake's contracts weren't renewed- and that's why Ray Fulmer and Lynn Borden (on Shirley's suggestion) became the new "Baxters". That's also why Donald Foster & Norma Varden no longer appeared as the "Johnsons" after the move to CBS. And if you take a good look at certain episodes....well, did you notice that "Tony Nelson's" living room from 'I DREAM OF JEANNIE" was redressed as an empty living room in a home waiting to be sold, in one episode?

:tv:

In a sort of reversal on your last comment, anyone here who's seen the IDoJ S1 episode "What House Across the Street?" would recognize the house that Jeannie blinked across the street to be Steve & Barbara Baxter's house. Also the living room where Roger met Jeannie & her phony "parents" was the Baxter living room w/ the curved staircase & all.

...in fact, it went off NBC after the Ford Motor Company dropped their option to sponsor a fifth season (the alternate sponsor during the 1964-'65 season, Bristol-Myers, also passed on sustaining another season as well). Fortunately, CBS had a 9:30pm(et) "hole" in their Monday night schedule for 1965-'66: they were supposed to fill that time period with a Polly Bergen mystery series, "SELENA MEAD", but Jim Aubrey, the CBS executive who had tentatively "pencilled it in", was fired at the end of February, and the network decided to erase as much of his influence upon their upcoming fall schedule as much as possible . The new president of the network, John Schneider, discovered that "HAZEL" was available, and decided it would be a perfect combination with "THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW" that fall. The network found new co-sponsors for it- Phillip Morris and Procter & Gamble- and the fifth season appeared on CBS.

However, because of tighter production budgets at Screen Gems {and they were always cheap- they wouldn't allow Sidney Sheldon to film the first season of "I DREAM OF JEANNIE" in color primarily because the special effects cost too much money....in fact, Screen Gems wouldn't have bothered to film "HAZEL" in color if Ford hadn't been their sponsor; they wanted their commercials to be seen in color, and [I]they put out the extra money for color filming, when very few color programs were on network TV in 1962}, Don DeFore & Whitney Blake's contracts weren't renewed- and that's why Ray Fulmer and Lynn Borden (on Shirley's suggestion) became the new "Baxters". That's also why Donald Foster & Norma Varden no longer appeared as the "Johnsons" after the move to CBS. And if you take a good look at certain episodes....well, did you notice that "Tony Nelson's" living room from 'I DREAM OF JEANNIE" was redressed as an empty living room in a home waiting to be sold, in one episode?

:tv:

Fascinating explanation as to why the show moved to CBS. Another season 5 episode also used the redressed Donna Reed Show LR. Interesting to see it in color.

Also interesting that they had Hazel move. If they were looking to save more money they could have had Steve and Barbara house-sit while George and Dorothy were "away."

One explanation might be that the sets had been disassembled--at the beginning of the first season 5 episode they were using different camera shots of the kitchen, making one think that the full original set was at least partially gone.

Well, a couple of comments. The reason they couldn't have had Steve & Barbara living in Hazel's old house was that the old Hazel house in 1965-66 was now being used as Gidget's house, the living room slightly changed but the kitched remaining almost exactly as it was in Hazel. The house itself was the same Hazel house used as Gidget's in '65-66.

Also that Gidget/Hazel house was right next door to the Bewitched house used in seasons 2 thru 8. And that house was the same house used as the Hazel next door neighbor's house with Elliott Reid the father and his 3 kids, the teen girl who was hot and the dopey teen boy who had a crush on Missy in the first season.

Also the house zapped up by Jeanie mentioned previously was also the same Steve & Barbara house zapped up by Endora now supposedly across the street from Sam's house in Bewitched when she & Uncle Arthur were feuding.

Also the I Dream of Jeanie Tony Nelson house & living room is the same house & living room used in season 1 of Bewitched as Sam & Darrin's 1st house. This was supposed to be their first house before they moved away in season 2. Season one of Bewitched came a year before Jeanie started. Probably why Darrin "moved" away in season 2 as that house was then the house for Jeanie in her season 1.

Also just watched a Hazel a couple days ago "New Man In Town" s2.12 and in that show Hazel walks over to Rosie's house and you see Hazel walking in front of a white house which is next door to Mr. Wilson's house which is now supposed to be where Rosie lives. Hazel then goes to the Wilson house to see Rosie. By the way the "New Man" is played by Robert Lowery (a sort of Clark Gable lookalike) and he played Batman in the 1940's serials.

ALSO I just saw a 3 Stooges episode with Curly "A Bird In The Head" and in it you see Barney Hatfield the mailman in Hazel and in Dennis The Menace playing a guy who hires the Stooges to wallpaper a room. "You'll never recognize the place." In the Stooges short Barney has slicked black hair on top of his head. I've seen him in western movies and he is actually bald, he never had hair when he was doing Hazel either.

Also Gus, Hazel's cab driving boyfriend, was actually toothless and looked like a real old man without his choppers. He was also the real life father of "Newly" on Gunsmoke. Come to think of it I don't think Barney had teeth either as I've seen him playing old men in westerns toothless.

Also, never mind that's enough illusion popping for today.;)

Screen Gems had a lot to keep track of with houses. Mr. Wilson's house in Dennis the Menace--which started in 1959--was also the Father Knows Best house--which didn't end until 1960. The interior sets on both shows were totally different.

I think the Mitchells' DTM house was also the Stones' house on Donna Reed (which was on until 1966) but I'm not totally sure on that. Again, different interior sets, but SG made heavy use of the Donna Reed LR set, mostly for one-time uses--the poor Kravitzes lived there once, and probably on other sets in other episodes. Their song could have been Ain't Got No Home. The Bellowses also lived in different house sets. The scene where Mrs. Bellows yelled, "Alfred, DO something about this!" was edited out.

Thanks for the analysis! As I've mentioned several times, Gidget's closet was Donna Reed's bedroom closet, though I don't know anything other than the distinctive doors were clearly the same.

I don't think I've mentioned before that the Bewitched house, both exterior and interior entrance area, appears in the 1971 Screen Gems ABC made-for-TV movie "Brian's Song," the story of NFL Chicago Bears Brian Piccolo. Of course they redecorated some, but it's still very obvious. Shelley Fabares played Brian's wife.

Thanks for the analysis! As I've mentioned several times, Gidget's closet was Donna Reed's bedroom closet, though I don't know anything other than the distinctive doors were clearly the same.

I don't think I've mentioned before that the Bewitched house, both exterior and interior entrance area, appears in the 1971 Screen Gems ABC made-for-TV movie "Brian's Song," the story of NFL Chicago Bears Brian Piccolo. Of course they redecorated some, but it's still very obvious. Shelley Fabares played Brian's wife.

The Bewitched interior set was one of the Bellows' homes on IDOJ. The exterior shows on a lot of on-location shots on Screen Gems shows.

I had watched "Hazel" when it originally ran, but I'm sure I never saw the last season. So these episodes I'm watching now are a first for me.
Just finished the 6th one. I've read that Shirley Booth's health wasn't so great the final year of 1965-66. What I've noticed is there is less smiling, less cheerfulness, less joking around. That's my perception anyways. I even went back and watched the first couple episodes from season 1. Yes, as soon as they start, she's smiling, singing, it just kind of confirmed for me there was a change.
And who doesn't like Don Defore? I miss the Crazy Johnsons'. I miss looking at Whitney Blake. It's just different, this last season. I know it's just me, because the last season had good ratings. It probably would have been picked up again, had Shirley been feeling better.
So for me, I hold dear those first four seasons. It doesn't look like I'm going to care much for this last one. Not so far anyways, and I've got 23 more episodes to watch.
Then I'll start back on the first four years again.

I'll watch the final season in a similar way I watch most color episodes of Andy Griffith.

The talk here of a less enthusiastic Shirley Booth reminds me of how dour Andy Griffith often was in later episodes... burnout?

Well, a couple of comments. The reason they couldn't have had Steve & Barbara living in Hazel's old house was that the old Hazel house in 1965-66 was now being used as Gidget's house, the living room slightly changed but the kitched remaining almost exactly as it was in Hazel. The house itself was the same Hazel house used as Gidget's in '65-66.

Also that Gidget/Hazel house was right next door to the Bewitched house used in seasons 2 thru 8. And that house was the same house used as the Hazel next door neighbor's house with Elliott Reid the father and his 3 kids, the teen girl who was hot and the dopey teen boy who had a crush on Missy in the first season.

Also the house zapped up by Jeanie mentioned previously was also the same Steve & Barbara house zapped up by Endora now supposedly across the street from Sam's house in Bewitched when she & Uncle Arthur were feuding.

Also the I Dream of Jeanie Tony Nelson house & living room is the same house & living room used in season 1 of Bewitched as Sam & Darrin's 1st house. This was supposed to be their first house before they moved away in season 2. Season one of Bewitched came a year before Jeanie started. Probably why Darrin "moved" away in season 2 as that house was then the house for Jeanie in her season 1.

Also just watched a Hazel a couple days ago "New Man In Town" s2.12 and in that show Hazel walks over to Rosie's house and you see Hazel walking in front of a white house which is next door to Mr. Wilson's house which is now supposed to be where Rosie lives. Hazel then goes to the Wilson house to see Rosie. By the way the "New Man" is played by Robert Lowery (a sort of Clark Gable lookalike) and he played Batman in the 1940's serials.

ALSO I just saw a 3 Stooges episode with Curly "A Bird In The Head" and in it you see Barney Hatfield the mailman in Hazel and in Dennis The Menace playing a guy who hires the Stooges to wallpaper a room. "You'll never recognize the place." In the Stooges short Barney has slicked black hair on top of his head. I've seen him in western movies and he is actually bald, he never had hair when he was doing Hazel either.

Also Gus, Hazel's cab driving boyfriend, was actually toothless and looked like a real old man without his choppers. He was also the real life father of "Newly" on Gunsmoke. Come to think of it I don't think Barney had teeth either as I've seen him playing old men in westerns toothless.

Also, never mind that's enough illusion popping for today.;)

Was the move to the new house actually mentioned in Bewitched?

Also, what about the Kravitz house across the street, did they move, as well?

The Kravitz house was always the same, as far as I can remember. It was supposed to be across the street from Samantha's. You may also have noticed once in a great while Sam out in the park walking Tabitha and there she is by a water fountain. NOW, that water fountain was the same water fountain often seen in Dennis the Menace & also in Hazel too. All Columbia shows. I even remember seeing that same water fountain in some TV show from the '70's. I wonder if it still exists?

As for mentioning the new house in the 2nd season of Bewitched, I'm really not sure, I think it was mentioned as an aside comment in the first or second season of Bewitched, but I'd have to watch it again to be certain.

Also something funny, in one of the Hazel color shows she goes to town and is seen standing out in front of stores in the background you see "Quigley's Market" from Dennis The Menace including the signs he had in the window announcing the "Blizzard of Sales". Store still had the "Quigley's Market" name too, wouldn't it have been great if Willard Waterman (Quigley & also the Great Gildersleeve in the Sounds Like Radio shows) had come outside the store in the background of Hazel. Willard Waterman is one of my favorite actors hear him weekly on Sounds Like Radio as The Great Gildersleeve along with some great songs to go with the theme of the Gildersleeve show. It's here, it's free and no annoying ads either:

https://open.spotify.com/show/2MN8ST8m2eI1MwO1cpUVEN

Or search for "Sounds Like Radio with Your Humble Host" and it's everywhere podcasts are.:)

The Kravitz house was always the same, as far as I can remember. It was supposed to be across the street from Samantha's. You may also have noticed once in a great while Sam out in the park walking Tabitha and there she is by a water fountain. NOW, that water fountain was the same water fountain often seen in Dennis the Menace & also in Hazel too. All Columbia shows. I even remember seeing that same water fountain in some TV show from the '70's. I wonder if it still exists?

As for mentioning the new house in the 2nd season of Bewitched, I'm really not sure, I think it was mentioned as an aside comment in the first or second season of Bewitched, but I'd have to watch it again to be certain.

Also something funny, in one of the Hazel color shows she goes to town and is seen standing out in front of stores in the background you see "Quigley's Market" from Dennis The Menace including the signs he had in the window announcing the "Blizzard of Sales". Store still had the "Quigley's Market" name too, wouldn't it have been great if Willard Waterman (Quigley & also the Great Gildersleeve in the Sounds Like Radio shows) had come outside the store in the background of Hazel. Willard Waterman is one of my favorite actors hear him weekly on Sounds Like Radio as The Great Gildersleeve along with some great songs to go with the theme of the Gildersleeve show. It's here, it's free and no annoying ads either:

https://open.spotify.com/show/2MN8ST8m2eI1MwO1cpUVEN

Or search for "Sounds Like Radio with Your Humble Host" and it's everywhere podcasts are.:)

With both Hazel and Dennis The Menace based on comic strips, interesting that they sort of share the same "universe", in a way.

I've never checked, but is there any creator cross over from the two shows, writers, directors, producers?

Yes, there are definitely some writers and directors shared, since they were both Screen Gems shows. Producers shared by both were James Fonda and Harry Ackerman.

Yes, there are definitely some writers and directors shared, since they were both Screen Gems shows. Producers shared by both were James Fonda and Harry Ackerman.

Yes, there seems to be a similar, breezy, and far from the then-popular genre of "rural" sitcoms.

Hazel and Dennis The Menace ensembles were definitely city folk, and not a trace of a cornpone accent like the Mayberry and Hooterville faction.

...in fact, it went off NBC after the Ford Motor Company dropped their option to sponsor a fifth season (the alternate sponsor during the 1964-'65 season, Bristol-Myers, also passed on sustaining another season as well). Fortunately, CBS had a 9:30pm(et) "hole" in their Monday night schedule for 1965-'66: they were supposed to fill that time period with a Polly Bergen mystery series, "SELENA MEAD", but Jim Aubrey, the CBS executive who had tentatively "pencilled it in", was fired at the end of February, and the network decided to erase as much of his influence upon their upcoming fall schedule as much as possible . The new president of the network, John Schneider, discovered that "HAZEL" was available, and decided it would be a perfect combination with "THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW" that fall. The network found new co-sponsors for it- Phillip Morris and Procter & Gamble- and the fifth season appeared on CBS.

However, because of tighter production budgets at Screen Gems {and they were always cheap- they wouldn't allow Sidney Sheldon to film the first season of "I DREAM OF JEANNIE" in color primarily because the special effects cost too much money....in fact, Screen Gems wouldn't have bothered to film "HAZEL" in color if Ford hadn't been their sponsor; they wanted their commercials to be seen in color, and [I]they put out the extra money for color filming, when very few color programs were on network TV in 1962}, Don DeFore & Whitney Blake's contracts weren't renewed- and that's why Ray Fulmer and Lynn Borden (on Shirley's suggestion) became the new "Baxters". That's also why Donald Foster & Norma Varden no longer appeared as the "Johnsons" after the move to CBS. And if you take a good look at certain episodes....well, did you notice that "Tony Nelson's" living room from 'I DREAM OF JEANNIE" was redressed as an empty living room in a home waiting to be sold, in one episode?

:tv:

Steve & Barbara's house appeared in both BEWITCHED & I DREAM OF JEANNIE as unoccupied houses, and the new Baxter living room was used as Jeannie's phony parents' living room. Also Tony Nelson's attic appeared in at least 2 different HAZEL Season 5 episodes, as Steve & Barbara's attic where Suzie was found w/ her black cat in "Kindly Advise" and as the artist's studio in "But Is It Art".

The Donna Reed Show interior downstairs set also appeared in a season 5 episode, as a house Steve was selling.

I've always enjoyed reruns of Hazel when I was a kid, but now, I'm buying each season once at a time, and discovering them all over again with great glee.

I never saw any episodes from season 5, and had no idea the Baxters moved to the Middle East and left behind their son. I mean....WHO DOES THAT???

It doesn't sound like this final season is up to par as the previous seasons before it, so I might just skip it and consider season 4 as my personal finale.

Yes, there seems to be a similar, breezy, and far from the then-popular genre of "rural" sitcoms.

Hazel and Dennis The Menace ensembles were definitely city folk, and not a trace of a cornpone accent like the Mayberry and Hooterville faction.

I haven't checked into it yet, but recent viewings of Dennis the Menace have mentioned the Civil War at least once, apparently relatives of Dennis Mitchell and his father fought on the Confederate side


Has it been established where in the United States Dennis the Menace takes place?