First Thoughts & the 2 Funniest Moments

[Hazel Anyday]

I've been watching Ozzie & Harriet anew since the old RTV days and now I'm watching them from Z Living or something like that, it's also Folk TV whenever they show old shows, weird channel, but least they play O&H.

I am no expert on this show, in fact I never saw it until RTV 10 years ago and not seen it since till Z Living now.

OK, that all to preface my admitted ignorance and expertise on episode names and familiarity. Most of what I see today are 1st time views for me.

But I thought I'd write about 2 very funny moments I've experienced with this show recently. Now this show to me is pleasant to watch, sometimes a bit maddening the way Ozzie is such a wimp most of the time not standing up for himself and letting people run all over him but that's just the way the show is. (Mind you once in a while Oz actually does take a stand and stick to it)

Now I don't think this show is the funniest show ever, it's practically always about just one subject which they all then talk to death and everyone they come across then talks on and on about it. It's actually so about nothing that it somehow is kind of fun to watch. The stupider it gets the more fascinating it is to me. I really don't find the show funny but mildly amusing and almost like watching a very well painted wall dry.

Now there were 2 exceptions where I actually for the first in these 2 instances found myself laughing out loud. Now I don't know the names of these 2 episodes I have an episode guide and I keep track of the shows and iding them as I record them. But I did not make a mental note of the names of those shows, so I'll just describe the 2 moments where I laughed out loud.

The first happens when David is trying to get Ricky to take out this girl who needs a date so that David can go out with this other girl. They're sitting at the dinner table and David asks Ricky again won't you take her out? Ricky answers, "Coax me." That was so unexpected I laughed out loud then later Rick needs a favor and David says, "Coax me." Now I found this laugh out loud funny something I really don't do watching this show normally.

The other very funny moment to me comes in another episode when Ozzie is supposed to be in a bad mood, he's walking around complaining and Harriet says what's wrong you're in such a bad mood. Ozzie says, "OK how about I put on a lampshade and dance the Charleston?" Now this response I found laugh out loud, just picturing Oz doing this made me laugh.

Z Living likes to keep repeating and repeating the same episodes even to the point of showing the exact same episodes they showed Monday they show them again Wednesday, I'm now talking about their weekday 11 am hour block, BUT once in a while they slip in a new show, you never know when its going to pop up, so I keep recording with my RW disc everything they show and I just erase them if they're more repeats. But I'll transfer the occasional new show to my permanent disc.

OK, that's my thoughts for now, Ozzie will be on for 3 hours straight tonight starting at midnight and every Friday night at midnight, so I'm standing by again with the RW disc.

[OH Nuts!]

WOW. So many great reflections in your post.


1. Ozzie’s wimpy personna and ditziness on the show was THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE of Ozzie in real life: A CONTROLLING PERSONALITY and astute businessman. He was studying law and would have probably been a lawyer had his band not taken off.

2. I agree that the show isn’t the funniest ever. It’s at it’s best when Rick and/or Harriet have center stage.
At time it can be very corny; but in a weird way I find that endearing. I loved Harriet: she could be very witty and had a SUPERB sense of timing.

3. Definitely one of the earliest reality shows. And so fun to watch the boys through the ages.

4. Have to look up those two eps you found funny. Even though I’ve easily seen 2/3 of the eps, I’m sure I’ve missed a few.

5. The eps with the little boys (The Tigers) are my least favorite. And also because Ozzie is usually more prominent in those eps-he was good at production and negotiating the contracts for the show, but not so hot in front of the camera at least IMO.

6. Ricky was not only a great singer but also a great actor. Love the way he was always sweeping some girl off her feet. He was this way in real life too. In one of his bios, it said women would get on the elevator with him naked or scantily clothed, and give him their hotel key.

******Just curious-what are your favorite eps?***********

[stevea]

I have a fairly good collection of the shows. Unfortunately a lot of it is on VHS and I haven't transferred them to DVD yet. I don't get ZLiving, so unfortunately no source to collect more of them. I really like Harriet and the zingers on Ozzie, and as time goes on, Kris and her zingers on Rick. June, OK but not as much. The Rick episode that stands out to me is the one where he's doing a fraternity stunt (or maybe one for the dean, I can't remember) by being in bed for a record amount of time.

I agree about the little kids. They really don't add anything. Ozzie gives a kid some ice cream. It's a kid's birthday. Ho hum. Stick with the adventures of the Nelsons.

[OH Nuts!]

Originally Posted by stevea

I have a fairly good collection of the shows. Unfortunately a lot of it is on VHS and I haven't transferred them to DVD yet. I don't get ZLiving, so unfortunately no source to collect more of them. I really like Harriet and the zingers on Ozzie, and as time goes on, Kris and her zingers on Rick. June, OK but not as much. The Rick episode that stands out to me is the one where he's doing a fraternity stunt (or maybe one for the dean, I can't remember) by being in bed for a record amount of time.

I agree about the little kids. They really don't add anything. Ozzie gives a kid some ice cream. It's a kid's birthday. Ho hum. Stick with the adventures of the Nelsons.

I got a VHS/DVD combo recording unit about 9 years ago and was able to transfer 98% of my VHS to DVD. But many of my favorite eps were on VHS collections by Madacy= full-cut commercials and all. Thankfully, they all could be transferred to DVD.

Yeah, I agree with you on Kris, June & Harriet. Harriet really could have been a movie star but changed directions once she met Ozzie.

Also agree about the Tigers; could have lived without them too.

Yes that ep where Ricky has to stay in bed for a week was great. Poor Rick had to take the place of Wally, who was supposed to do it. That Wally-so unreliable-I would have liked some of the other fraternity brothers to have had a more visible role. Instead of Wally 90-95% of the time.

And BTW, there are tons of Adv. of O & H episodes on You Tube. Most are cut eps, but still good. I’ll have to check to see if this ep is there. I think it’s called Bedtime Story but I can’t swear to it.

Happy viewing!

[1960'sTVfan]

I don't think I get the Z living channel either, at least as far as I know my cable service doesn't offer it.

It's too bad Ozzie & Harriet hasn't had any decent, full season DVD releases, some DVD's have been issued but they all contain selected episodes, not full seasons. And many episodes are edited and not the full length versions. I don't have any O & H DVD's so my viewing has been limited to You Tube, I'll watch an episode there occasionally. If Antenna TV or MeTV would run O & H episodes I could watch them because I receive those channels.

[MA]

I have ZLiving and Hapa, who both air the show.

[stevea]

When you have so much in the public domain, possibly all of it, there is no money to be gained by official releases, probably. Also with public domain there aren't many good sources, but I agree with statements that much of what has been released is viewable quality.
Even the public domain issues can't issue Rick's songs, unfortunately. Those were such memorable parts of the original show. I can remember that part of the show as a kid. And I probably relate to the later seasons better, since I was a toddler for the early seasons.

My VHS tapes are all from someone who converted 16mm films to tape, Admiral Nelson at Video Unlimited. Long gone. While my VCR is still working I really need to convert those to DVD.

Out of 435 episodes there are several of them that appear to be totally out of circulation. I doubt Hapa and ZLiving have the missing episodes either.

[MA]

A correction:

Hapa is now back to Folk TV again

[Hazel Anyday]

I think the episode where Ozzie is in a bad mood is "A Beautiful Day". Z Living just showed it again, it starts out with Ozzie getting new shoes, turns out at the end the salesman gave him one shoe that didn't fit and one that did. So his bad mood came from having a sore foot and Ozzie didn't know it. Guess he wasn't the brightest bulb. And coincidence of coincidences Thorny had the other shoe as he just happened to buy shoes that day too. This show is really not reality based, but it's just as reality as any other sitcom I suppose, only with the barest of bare "plots". I find this one subject per show kind of convenient though, this way I can easier identify the episode title by looking over the guide. Or if that fails I read the credits and look up one of the actors that usually doesn't appear and from IMDB I can see which episode of Ozzie he/she was in. Good way to ID hard to figure title's of episodes.

Today on ZLiving they showed 2 that they don't often show, both from season 7, one about "Rick Takes Horse Riding Lessons" from this hottie and the other was "Ozzie's Daughters". Now one I had from RTV a decade ago but the other Z has shown once before. So nothing to add to my collection, but seeing the Rick horse riding show was good as I haven't seen it in 10 years or more.

Yes, that Hapa channel also runs Oz but I find them unreliable, what the cable box guide says for them and what they put on are usually 2 different things. ZLiving when running old time TV shows like OZ or My Little Margie or others they show will sometimes have the FOLK TV ID, I guess both HAPA and ZLiving share somehow FOLK TV shows. ZLiving usually has health "lifestyle" (I hate that word) shows but then they sober up and put on Life With Father or in my interest Ozzie or Little Margie.

[OH Nuts!]

Originally Posted by Hazel Anyday

I think the episode where Ozzie is in a bad mood is "A Beautiful Day". Z Living just showed it again, it starts out with Ozzie getting new shoes, turns out at the end the salesman gave him one shoe that didn't fit and one that did. So his bad mood came from having a sore foot and Ozzie didn't know it. Guess he wasn't the brightest bulb. And coincidence of coincidences Thorny had the other shoe as he just happened to buy shoes that day too. This show is really not reality based, but it's just as reality as any other sitcom I suppose, only with the barest of bare "plots". I find this one subject per show kind of convenient though, this way I can easier identify the episode title by looking over the guide. Or if that fails I read the credits and look up one of the actors that usually doesn't appear and from IMDB I can see which episode of Ozzie he/she was in. Good way to ID hard to figure title's of episodes.

Today on ZLiving they showed 2 that they don't often show, both from season 7, one about "Rick Takes Horse Riding Lessons" from this hottie and the other was "Ozzie's Daughters". Now one I had from RTV a decade ago but the other Z has shown once before. So nothing to add to my collection, but seeing the Rick horse riding show was good as I haven't seen it in 10 years or more.

Yes, that Hapa channel also runs Oz but I find them unreliable, what the cable box guide says for them and what they put on are usually 2 different things. ZLiving when running old time TV shows like OZ or My Little Margie or others they show will sometimes have the FOLK TV ID, I guess both HAPA and ZLiving share somehow FOLK TV shows. ZLiving usually has health "lifestyle" (I hate that word) shows but then they sober up and put on Life With Father or in my interest Ozzie or Little Margie.

I agree many of the O & H eps weren’t realistic, especially the earlier seasons, but that’s TV for you. If you can make a series around a horse that talks or a mother that comes back reincarnated as a car...anything goes!

Yes I remember that horse riding ep where Rick plays dumb about horse back riding and the gal he’s crushing on plays dumb about playing the guitar. A cute ep. I’ll have to go back and watch it again.

Sadly I don’t get the channels you list, but You Tube has a few hundred of the eps....

[OH Nuts!]

Originally Posted by retroTVfan4ever

I don't think I get the Z living channel either, at least as far as I know my cable service doesn't offer it.

It's too bad Ozzie & Harriet hasn't had any decent, full season DVD releases, some DVD's have been issued but they all contain selected episodes, not full seasons. And many episodes are edited and not the full length versions. I don't have any O & H DVD's so my viewing has been limited to You Tube, I'll watch an episode there occasionally. If Antenna TV or MeTV would run O & H episodes I could watch them because I receive those channels.

Yeah Sam Nelson was trying to get an uncut entire series together, but the project turned out to be MUCH bigger than he realized. Hope I get to meet Sam one day though. He looks so much like Rick that it’s kind of spooky. I’ve met the twins twice and they’re super nice!

[1960'sTVfan]

Originally Posted by OH Nuts!

Yeah Sam Nelson was trying to get an uncut entire series together, but the project turned out to be MUCH bigger than he realized. Hope I get to meet Sam one dates though. He looks so much like Rick that it’s kind of spooky. I’ve met the twins twice and they’re super nice!

I had hopes for Sam's project when first announced but it seems to have been too daunting a task to become reality.

Here's a DVD set for sale on ebay, it's said to have 387 episodes, many of them complete/uncut. Seller is asking $55 for the set which seems reasonable. Does anyone know about this set? Is it good and worth buying?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/THE-ADVENTU...8AAOSwAERaBJ0o

[OH Nuts!]

Originally Posted by retroTVfan4ever

I had hopes for Sam's project when first announced but it seems to have been too daunting a task to become reality.

Here's a DVD set for sale on ebay, it's said to have 387 episodes, many of them complete/uncut. Seller is asking $55 for the set which seems reasonable. Does anyone know about this set? Is it good and worth buying?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/THE-ADVENTU...8AAOSwAERaBJ0o

FWIW, there are a few hundred eps on You Tube. I don’t know anything about the 387-ep set.

[stevea]

Back to the original post, yes, most episodes involve some strange situation, for example, Rick grows a beard, so Ozzie tells Harriet it would be fun for him to put on a fake beard and see Rick's reaction. So on this goes, Wally borrows the beard for a masquerade party and Ozzie needs it back because he won a contest, since a paper took a picture of him with it on and he won a prize. He finally gets it back and puts it back on to collect the prize, and Dave takes it because a client is coming back, and saw him with it on, and liked it. On it goes.

Many times a situation happens, and much time is taken for Ozzie to tell Harriet, then more for Harriet to tell June, Ozzie to tell Dave or Rick, etc. But somehow with all the twists and turns, it's entertaining.

Every once in awhile there is an LOL episode. The Tangled Web is a final-season episode, where some twists and turns cause Harriet and Clara to hastily hatch a plan to pass Ozzie off as Clara's husband, Joe. I don't often have extended laughs-out-loud at a sitcom, but this one did it. For fans, it's a must-see, IMO.

Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9vGrfKLXqo

[Hazel Anyday]

Been watching still the Z Living channel's Ozzie's for weeks now and sorry to say I've seen only 2 (one of them just today) new to Z Living episodes. They just constantly show the same episodes over and over and over. But today, finally one new one, "Rick Gets Even" 8.11. It was one of the more enjoyable episodes I've seen so far. Not hilarious, but interesting. One main reason it was so good was TUESDAY WELD!!! Wow, what a beauty she was. She danced with every one of the Nelson men folk too! Tuesday made this episode a memorable one.