Mister Peepers now available on DVD - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TJ · 11-03-2005, 10:25 PM

Journey back to Jefferson Junior High with Mr. Peepers (Wally Cox) that shy, quiet, slow-moving science teacher whose efforts to do the right thing always seemed to backfire. Robinson Peepers' antics with his best friend and fellow teacher, Harvey Weskitt (Tony Randall) and the school nurse, Nancy Remington (Patricia Benoit) made this classic 50s TV series a hit with the nation. One of the reasons we loved him was that although Mr. Peepers appeared laughable, easily bullied, baffled and befuddled by the other teachers and life in general, he quietly displayed the strength and conviction
that ensured his life was fulfilled and that at the end of every episode he prevailed. An every-day hero in a crazy world, he displayed the virtues of putting the interests of others before his own, genuinely caring about his students and those around him, including his sister (Jenny Egan) and mother (Ruth McDevitt). In Mister Peepers, good guys finish first; in the last season of the show, he even marries Nurse Remington, the girl of his dreams. Your favorite episodes of this Emmy Award winning series, from 1952 to 1953, are compiled in this classic collection. Created in conjunction with the UCLA Film & Television Archives.

Read our review here:
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/misterp...dvdreview.html

tv star collector · 11-04-2005, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TJ

Journey back to Jefferson Junior High with Mr. Peepers (Wally Cox) that shy, quiet, slow-moving science teacher whose efforts to do the right thing always seemed to backfire. Robinson Peepers' antics with his best friend and fellow teacher, Harvey Weskitt (Tony Randall) and the school nurse, Nancy Remington (Patricia Benoit) made this classic 50s TV series a hit with the nation. One of the reasons we loved him was that although Mr. Peepers appeared laughable, easily bullied, baffled and befuddled by the other teachers and life in general, he quietly displayed the strength and conviction
that ensured his life was fulfilled and that at the end of every episode he prevailed. An every-day hero in a crazy world, he displayed the virtues of putting the interests of others before his own, genuinely caring about his students and those around him, including his sister (Jenny Egan) and mother (Ruth McDevitt). In Mister Peepers, good guys finish first; in the last season of the show, he even marries Nurse Remington, the girl of his dreams. Your favorite episodes of this Emmy Award winning series, from 1952 to 1953, are compiled in this classic collection. Created in conjunction with the UCLA Film & Television Archives.

Read our review here:
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/misterp...dvdreview.html

Yes, I remember this show from my childhood in the fifties. But, since it was
done live, I thought only a few fuzzy kinescopes still existed. (I did manage
to find a videotape of one episode.)

Bob's TV Treasures · 12-07-2005, 04:22 AM

I have 3 episodes on VHS, and luckily NONE of these are on the DVD box set.
By the way, I'd STILL like to see the wedding episode. I'm surprised it was NOT included in the box set.

bencasey · 12-22-2005, 03:54 AM

If all goes well they will be doing more sets and they will get to the wedding episode when it comes up to that season.

chatsworth · 01-16-2006, 10:58 PM

I too have only the vaguest recollection of this show. Anyone here have any opinion of how well it holds up today? Some typical themes of the episodes?

bubba2000 · 01-23-2006, 05:52 PM

just dicovered this show, i got it for my father on dvd for xmas, he is always talking about it. we love it. a little slow for todays standards, but very good. true humor is timeless.

bencasey · 02-04-2006, 03:06 AM

I've been watching them and it never fails to make me laugh. A true 50s classic. Very funny but in a way very different from modern shows.

Tweety · 02-13-2006, 11:47 PM

The following is from "The Great TV Sitcom Book" (470 pages) by Rick Metz, 1983 edition:

Page 58:

"Because the show was live, you'll probably never see it again. Back in the fifties, in order for Mr. Peepers to play on the West Coast as well as the East Coast, where it was shot, kinescopes (actual films made of a TV screen while the show was aired) had to be shipped out. The scenery on the show was flimsy, the lighting was crude, and the actors had to run from set to set, changing their clothes behind the scenery in a mad dash to make it to the next scene. Plus, the writers had to make sure that the show ran exactly on time when an audience and its laughs were added. So cuts always had to be made. Cox couldn't handle cuts because, Tony Randall has said, he didn't know his lines that well anyway. Marion Lorne - "dear old Marion Lorne," Randall called her - couldn't be given cuts because they'd ruin her timing. And so, Randall said, it was always HIS lines and business that was dropped...
Mr Peepers lives on - not, unfortunately, on tape or film as other sitcoms do - but in the minds and hearts of those who remember it. It was one of the last live shows - and this show was ALIVE - that, like so many other experiences we have, will just have to be rewound and played back in our heads."

(on Feb 15, 1973, Wally Cox died of a heart attack at the age of forty-eight).

I'm glad that they found the kinescopes of this show... do the 26 or so episodes in the DVD set constitute the entire first season, anyone know?

I can't wait to get this one and see it for the first time.

TV Knowledge Fan · 04-03-2006, 03:38 PM

....because I'm satisfied that SOMEONE has finally put the kinescopes that David Swift saved, to good use. He tried to repackage and syndicate them in the '80s, but there was no interest in the show then. This is why he donated his 100+ episode library to UCLA Fim & TV Archive upon his death. As creator and owner of the series, Swift was the ONLY one who virtually saved "MISTER PEEPERS" from extinction--NBC disposed of their copies a LONG time ago!!! {And never mind what Rick Mitz wrote...he didn't know what he was talking about! I always considered "The Great TV Sitcom Book"
a second-hand book of information- especially when he swiped information from Vincent Terrace's and Brooks & Marsh's books and was forced to delete those pages he plagarized in later editions of the book. It was the PICTURES
that sold his!!}

I wonder if the original Ford and Reynolds Wrap commericals are included in those episodes on DVd?

Tweety · 04-03-2006, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TV Knowledge Fan

...And never mind what Rick Mitz wrote...he didn't know what he was talking about! I always considered "The Great TV Sitcom Book" a second-hand book of information- especially when he swiped information from Vincent Terrace's and Brooks & Marsh's books and was forced to delete those pages he plagarized in later editions of the book. It was the PICTURES
that sold his!!}...

Do you remember the titles of the Vincent Terrace and Brooks & Marsh books? I wouldn't mind checking them out as well...

Pavan · 05-05-2006, 06:09 PM

If you bought the set and got two same discs, you can get a replacement disc:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/blog/20...for-smore.html

C Ingram · 06-25-2006, 01:02 AM

"Because the show was live, you'll probably never see it again."

I am very glad this statement has turned out to be false. They once said that the original "Honeymooners" sketches from the DuMont network (with Pert Kelton as Alice) were lost forever, and it later turned out that one of Jackie Gleason's associates had kept copies of the kinescopes, which were eventually donated to the Museum of TV & Radio.

Kudos to David Swift, who not only donated the shows, but the rights, to the UCLA archive, allowing the shows to be released.

Now, when do we get to see The Goldbergs on DVD? Yoo-hoo, Mrs. Bloom!

C Ingram · 06-25-2006, 01:04 AM

By the way, in response to an earlier post, the commercials appear to be deleted on the DVD's (although I have not watched every episode).

They were also deleted on the "Milton Berle Buick Show" tapes (which is a shame - I really wanted to see lots of footage of the 1953 Buick models).

Probably an issue of rights, clearances, fees, and brand-name usage.

Tweety · 06-25-2006, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by C Ingram

"Because the show was live, you'll probably never see it again."

I am very glad this statement has turned out to be false. They once said that the original "Honeymooners" sketches from the DuMont network..Now, when do we get to see The Goldbergs on DVD? Yoo-hoo, Mrs. Bloom!

You're exactly right... the Honeymooners ran for so long on late night TV when I was a kid, that I found it hard to believe that we were only watching 39 episodes, just being rerun over and over...

Then we heard that there were several hundred episodes that were made, but never re-broadcast, and that these eps were lost and would never be seen again... then in the early 80s, rumors started going around that copies of the eps did exist, and soon we found out that they'd been kept in a vault somewhere (did Jackie himself have these tapes?).

The original Hollywood Squares was thought to be lost forever, as rumors went around that NBC destroyed the original tapes (along with the original Jeopardy - which still hasn't shown up, I don't believe)... but a few years ago, they found out that several hundred episodes were found... GSN ran some of them, but now they run their own crappy game shows...man, the 'celebrity' panel on the new "What's My Line" is disgusting!

So maybe somewhere out there, in some vault someplace, or in some private collections, there exist copies of those great early 50s sitcoms... Let's hope that these can be unearthed (even the shows that weren't considered to be so great...I'd love a chance to see them as well!).

11-03-2005, 10:25 PM	#1
TJ Site Owner Administrator Forum Star Join Date: Feb 03, 2000 Location: Marietta, GA Posts: 10,651	Mister Peepers now available on DVD Journey back to Jefferson Junior High with Mr. Peepers (Wally Cox) that shy, quiet, slow-moving science teacher whose efforts to do the right thing always seemed to backfire. Robinson Peepers' antics with his best friend and fellow teacher, Harvey Weskitt (Tony Randall) and the school nurse, Nancy Remington (Patricia Benoit) made this classic 50s TV series a hit with the nation. One of the reasons we loved him was that although Mr. Peepers appeared laughable, easily bullied, baffled and befuddled by the other teachers and life in general, he quietly displayed the strength and conviction that ensured his life was fulfilled and that at the end of every episode he prevailed. An every-day hero in a crazy world, he displayed the virtues of putting the interests of others before his own, genuinely caring about his students and those around him, including his sister (Jenny Egan) and mother (Ruth McDevitt). In Mister Peepers, good guys finish first; in the last season of the show, he even marries Nurse Remington, the girl of his dreams. Your favorite episodes of this Emmy Award winning series, from 1952 to 1953, are compiled in this classic collection. Created in conjunction with the UCLA Film & Television Archives. Read our review here: http://www.sitcomsonline.com/misterp...dvdreview.html

12-07-2005, 04:22 AM	#3
Bob's TV Treasures Member Forum Regular Join Date: Aug 12, 2004 Location: california Posts: 529	Mr. Peepers I have 3 episodes on VHS, and luckily NONE of these are on the DVD box set. By the way, I'd STILL like to see the wedding episode. I'm surprised it was NOT included in the box set.

04-03-2006, 03:38 PM	#9
TV Knowledge Fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 29, 2006 Location: Long Branch, N.J. Posts: 2,577	I'd like to see the "MSITER PEEPERS" box set... ....because I'm satisfied that SOMEONE has finally put the kinescopes that David Swift saved, to good use. He tried to repackage and syndicate them in the '80s, but there was no interest in the show then. This is why he donated his 100+ episode library to UCLA Fim & TV Archive upon his death. As creator and owner of the series, Swift was the ONLY one who virtually saved "MISTER PEEPERS" from extinction--NBC disposed of their copies a LONG time ago!!! {And never mind what Rick Mitz wrote...he didn't know what he was talking about! I always considered "The Great TV Sitcom Book" a second-hand book of information- especially when he swiped information from Vincent Terrace's and Brooks & Marsh's books and was forced to delete those pages he plagarized in later editions of the book. It was the PICTURES that sold his!!} I wonder if the original Ford and Reynolds Wrap commericals are included in those episodes on DVd?

05-05-2006, 06:09 PM	#11
Pavan SO News/Reviews Director Administrator Forum Superstar Join Date: Feb 17, 2000 Location: Linden, NJ (Where Hal Linden got his last name from!) Posts: 26,814	If you bought the set and got two same discs, you can get a replacement disc: http://www.sitcomsonline.com/blog/20...for-smore.html
	__________________ SitcomsOnline.com News Blog -- The best news out there! SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews -- We are #1 in reviews!

12-22-2005, 03:54 AM	#4
bencasey Member Senior Member Join Date: Dec 29, 2001 Location: Long Beach Posts: 1,692	If all goes well they will be doing more sets and they will get to the wedding episode when it comes up to that season.

01-16-2006, 10:58 PM	#5
chatsworth Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jan 01, 2006 Posts: 9	I too have only the vaguest recollection of this show. Anyone here have any opinion of how well it holds up today? Some typical themes of the episodes?

01-23-2006, 05:52 PM	#6
bubba2000 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Nov 11, 2004 Location: ma. Posts: 45	just dicovered this show, i got it for my father on dvd for xmas, he is always talking about it. we love it. a little slow for todays standards, but very good. true humor is timeless.

02-04-2006, 03:06 AM	#7
bencasey Member Senior Member Join Date: Dec 29, 2001 Location: Long Beach Posts: 1,692	I've been watching them and it never fails to make me laugh. A true 50s classic. Very funny but in a way very different from modern shows.

02-13-2006, 11:47 PM	#8
Tweety Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Jan 18, 2002 Location: Florida Posts: 6,804	The following is from "The Great TV Sitcom Book" (470 pages) by Rick Metz, 1983 edition: Page 58: "Because the show was live, you'll probably never see it again. Back in the fifties, in order for Mr. Peepers to play on the West Coast as well as the East Coast, where it was shot, kinescopes (actual films made of a TV screen while the show was aired) had to be shipped out. The scenery on the show was flimsy, the lighting was crude, and the actors had to run from set to set, changing their clothes behind the scenery in a mad dash to make it to the next scene. Plus, the writers had to make sure that the show ran exactly on time when an audience and its laughs were added. So cuts always had to be made. Cox couldn't handle cuts because, Tony Randall has said, he didn't know his lines that well anyway. Marion Lorne - "dear old Marion Lorne," Randall called her - couldn't be given cuts because they'd ruin her timing. And so, Randall said, it was always HIS lines and business that was dropped... Mr Peepers lives on - not, unfortunately, on tape or film as other sitcoms do - but in the minds and hearts of those who remember it. It was one of the last live shows - and this show was ALIVE - that, like so many other experiences we have, will just have to be rewound and played back in our heads." (on Feb 15, 1973, Wally Cox died of a heart attack at the age of forty-eight). I'm glad that they found the kinescopes of this show... do the 26 or so episodes in the DVD set constitute the entire first season, anyone know? I can't wait to get this one and see it for the first time.

06-25-2006, 01:02 AM	#12
C Ingram Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 04, 2006 Posts: 35	"Because the show was live, you'll probably never see it again." I am very glad this statement has turned out to be false. They once said that the original "Honeymooners" sketches from the DuMont network (with Pert Kelton as Alice) were lost forever, and it later turned out that one of Jackie Gleason's associates had kept copies of the kinescopes, which were eventually donated to the Museum of TV & Radio. Kudos to David Swift, who not only donated the shows, but the rights, to the UCLA archive, allowing the shows to be released. Now, when do we get to see The Goldbergs on DVD? Yoo-hoo, Mrs. Bloom!

06-25-2006, 01:04 AM	#13
C Ingram Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 04, 2006 Posts: 35	By the way, in response to an earlier post, the commercials appear to be deleted on the DVD's (although I have not watched every episode). They were also deleted on the "Milton Berle Buick Show" tapes (which is a shame - I really wanted to see lots of footage of the 1953 Buick models). Probably an issue of rights, clearances, fees, and brand-name usage.