I just watched the first of these that CBS showed on Sunday and I think the colorization was good! No surprise though since Carl Reiner oversaw it.

I agree, the colorizing was very smooth and nice. It was disappointing they had to use edited episodes though. I would guess they didn't even bother colorizing the removed scenes since CBS would only show the edited version anyway, which is bad news if people want to buy it on DVD or something.

It was somewhat jarring to see everything in color, but I do like these once-a-year specials. It's good the show is still getting exposure in primetime 50 years after ending.

Reminds me of the colorized Bewitched episodes. Lots of pastels. Not a lot of bright colors like Red or bright Yellow. Rosie Marie looks pretty in color, though.
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/data/753/dvd1_2_.jpg

Colorization is always a mixed bag. Faces never look right. Overall it has improved much over the years, but you can't help noticing that it doesn't look natural. Nice to see Dick Van Dyke can still be shown in prime time.

Colorization is always a mixed bag. Faces never look right. Overall it has improved much over the years, but you can't help noticing that it doesn't look natural. Nice to see Dick Van Dyke can still be shown in prime time.
I have to agree. No matter how precise and smooth the colorization is, it will always be unnatural. Like Ronny G said earlier, they relied heavily on pastels because after all, underneath all their colors is the black-and-white base and there's only so much brightness you can bring to that.

I still enjoy the colorizing but IMO it's the sort of thing that's good for once-a-year viewing and not all the time.

It is pretty cool when they colorize the old B&W shows or movies...and the results are getting better than when they first started doing this.

What I don't like is there always seems to be things that they don't bother colorizing, and they leave those in their original B&W form... to me, the aoove screen cap looks like they colorized the people and most of the furniture and knick knacks...but not the floor. To me, the living room floor looks like they never touched it, and it just doesn't look right with the rest of the coloring.

Did they even try to do anything with the carpet?

It's still an amazing process to me. I don't know how they get the furniture and clothing to look as good as they do, textures and everything.

I agree it looks fake and unnatural. Just compare with other three-camera shows from the era and you can see the difference. The colors just popped off the screen on the Lucy Show DVD's from Season 2 or 3 which aired the same time as these Dick Van Dyke episodes. Too many pastels and not enough 'true colors'.

I agree it looks fake and unnatural. Just compare with other three-camera shows from the era and you can see the difference. The colors just popped off the screen on the Lucy Show DVD's from Season 2 or 3 which aired the same time as these Dick Van Dyke episodes. Too many pastels and not enough 'true colors'.
I'm pretty sure the pastel colors were a deliberate choice to help the show maintain it's classic feel.

They should have had still photos or color movies to go by, and I never really did notice that still-B/W carpet. It's like they totally forgot to deal with it. What I had mentioned in another thread was that I had noticed the colors of (I think it was) the kitchen chairs were not probably what you'd see in the 60s. I agree with other comments that they've come a long way in improving the colorizing process.

Of course, since post #2 above, they've released the unedited episodes on DVD.

CBS will honor Mary Tyler Moore in newly colorized episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/tv/tv-guy/os-et-dick-van-dyke-special-salutes-mary-tyler-moore-20171109-story.html)
Creator Carl Reiner personally selected the Dec. 22 specials to showcase Moore, who died earlier this year. “I picked two of the funniest episodes we did, and I remember them fondly because they both showcased our wonderful Mary,” Reiner says. “I treasure her memory.”

I am thrilled (really I am) that there will be 2 new CZ episodes this year. BUT which 2 episodes will it be?? Will they show the Christmas episode? That one featured Mary's dancing, so if Reiner's considering shows showcasing Mary's talents (namely her legs) maybe they'll finally colorize the Christmas episode.;)

The new colorized episodes will be “My Blonde-Haired Brunette” from Season 1 and “October Eve” from Season 3.

I never really liked the Christmas one, I'd like to see a colorized version of "THE SAM POMERANTZ SCANDLES"