Who Remembers the *Original* Run?

[Etrulia63]

Hi there everyone! This is my first post at SO, after lurking around for more than a year.. I think I'm ready!

Because the Dick Van Dyke Show is probably my favorite television show ever, I'm always trying to find new information about it. I thought it would be interesting to see things from your guys's point-of-view. So, my question is: how many of you remember watching TDVDS in its original run? I'm much too young to have even been around back then, but I loved hearing stories from my dad, who was kind of like a preteen back then. Back when I first started watching the show (a year ago) my dad and I would watch it together and sometimes he made comments like "oh yeah, I remember seeing this!" and stuff like that.

I know the show hasn't been in production for nearly forty-five years, but I figure there must be some people out there who saw it back then!

[JudgeGarth]

It started out on Tuesday nights and nobody (myself included) watched it. When it moved to Wednesday nights in midseason, they had a big ad campaign promoting the move (something about "Lord Wednesday" (?) was going to be there to greet them on their move, but he died (??)). I didn't start watching it until the next year and that's apparently when it caught on with everybody else, too.

[Benno123]

While I was not alive yet when the show first aired, one story that my mom mentions quite a bit was that when the show aired on Wednesdays, it was the same night that my grandfather bowled. When she would go with him to the bowling alley, they would have to wait until DVD was over so that they could 1) watch the show; and 2) find out if Rob tripped that week or not!

[McGillicuddy]

The earliest I remember of TDVDS was it airing in syndication in the daytime.

[treky]

I was alive when it was on, but I never watched it, I never even HEARD of it until CBS started reruning it on weekday mornings.

[Marvo301]

I was born part way through the original run (Nov. 10, 1964) so I didn't watch the original airings. I discovered the show in reruns at it is my favorite show too!

[Larry Surrell]

It looks like I'm the old guy here! I was born in 1957 and remember watching the show in prime time. In fact, I had my first crush on Mary Tyler Moore because of the show.

I mentioned this in another post long ago. The Dick Van Dyke Show was my third memory of watching television. The other two were watching Dinah Shore singing and watching The Lucy Desi Comedy Hour when they were driving in the desert in Nevada. The DVD episode I specifically remember watching is "The Curious Thing About Women" where Laura accidentally inflates Rob's boat.

[Etrulia63]

Thanks for the great responses everyone! it sure was fun to read through them.

One thing I don't understand is how a well-written, sophisticated show like TDVDS took so long to catch on with viewers, while other shows (such as the Beverly Hillbillies) became instantly popular.. I know the first season wasn't its best, but even so, it must have been different from everything else on TV at the time. In any case, I'm just glad the show got a second chance and was able to go on four more years.. otherwise, who knows what other shows might not have come along later because of TDVDS?

[HistoryBuff]

I just joined SO and had to jump into this discussion of one of my all-time favorite sitcoms. At the risk of being mistaken for a geezer, I'll confess that I was in high school when the show started, and my family never missed an episode from day one. And when I went away to college I made sure I was in the dorm TV room every week to watch.

Etrulia63, when you asked:
"One thing I don't understand is how a well-written, sophisticated show like TDVDS took so long to catch on with viewers, while other shows (such as the Beverly Hillbillies) became instantly popular.. "

I think you answered your own question. Well-written & sophisticated shows were not what viewers looked for in those days. Simplistic shows like "I Love Lucy", "Father Knows Best", and the countless Westerns of that day were what ruled the air waves. Added to that were the unknown (at that time) actors. Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore had no name value back then, so they didn't attract viewers. The audience built slowly, and fortunately the network didn't give up on the show after its first season.

Really looking forward to meeting everyone here!

[Marvo301]

Originally Posted by Etrulia63

Thanks for the great responses everyone! it sure was fun to read through them.

One thing I don't understand is how a well-written, sophisticated show like TDVDS took so long to catch on with viewers, while other shows (such as the Beverly Hillbillies) became instantly popular.. I know the first season wasn't its best, but even so, it must have been different from everything else on TV at the time. In any case, I'm just glad the show got a second chance and was able to go on four more years.. otherwise, who knows what other shows might not have come along later because of TDVDS?

One problem TDVDS had in it's first season was it's time slot. The show was meant for an adult audience but the network placed it in an 8 PM time slot when many children and families were watching. The show was later moved to a 9:30 PM time slot which was more appropriate for reaching the target audience.

[treky]

Originally Posted by HistoryBuff

I just joined SO and had to jump into this discussion of one of my all-time favorite sitcoms. At the risk of being mistaken for a geezer, I'll confess that I was in high school when the show started, and my family never missed an episode from day one. And when I went away to college I made sure I was in the dorm TV room every week to watch.

Etrulia63, when you asked:
"One thing I don't understand is how a well-written, sophisticated show like TDVDS took so long to catch on with viewers, while other shows (such as the Beverly Hillbillies) became instantly popular.. "

I think you answered your own question. Well-written & sophisticated shows were not what viewers looked for in those days. Simplistic shows like "I Love Lucy", "Father Knows Best", and the countless Westerns of that day were what ruled the air waves. Added to that were the unknown (at that time) actors. Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore had no name value back then, so they didn't attract viewers. The audience built slowly, and fortunately the network didn't give up on the show after its first season.

Really looking forward to meeting everyone here!

CBS didn't "give up" on it after the first season but PROCTER & GAMBLE-the sponsor-did. In fact they canncelled it (sponsors could do that back then-BUICK did it to "THE HONEYMOONERS") but Sheldon Lenard went to them and begged them to reconsider. They said they would renew it, but only if they got another sponser. So they got the parent company of Kent ciggaretes-I forget their name.

(allrigh TV KNOWLEDGE FAN now tell me where I'm wrong in all that! )

[Samme]

I was around during it's original run and knew of the show, but didn't watch it much as a kid. It was possibly on at a bad time fro me, but more that there wasn't anything to latch onto for a kid. (And that's not a bad thing.) DVD was funny but I just felt it was too adult for me. It didn't center on kids or a gimmick that made me search it out. I have read that the show really started to catch on when it put after the Beverly Hillbillies (I think, in summer reruns) and that seems logical. I really started to watch and love the show when I was about thirteen (just after the show's original run) and saw the daily reruns that were shown at 11:30 weekday mornings on CBS.
I loved everything about the show, but what really kicked in for me was Mary Tyler Moore's appeal as Laura. Seeing her made missing school even more fun! I think she was the show's gimmick. I think the show has always tended to appeal to people with a slightly better taste in comedy and frankly that limits its appeal just a little more than other shows. But also helps it endure.

[jehobden]

I was born during summer reruns of Season 4. In fact TV Guide from the week I was born had a Close-Up of the episode rerun that week, "The Impractical Joker". I don't remember CBS daytime reruns of this show either, but I do remember syndicated reruns later on. If I am correct, from finding my city's old newspaper listings on Google News, the local CBS (at the time) affiliate reran DVD Show at 6 PM instead of local news.

Originally Posted by treky

CBS didn't "give up" on it after the first season but PROCTER & GAMBLE-the sponsor-did. In fact they canncelled it (sponsors could do that back then-BUICK did it to "THE HONEYMOONERS") but Sheldon Lenard went to them and begged them to reconsider. They said they would renew it, but only if they got another sponser. So they got the parent company of Kent ciggaretes-I forget their name.

(allrigh TV KNOWLEDGE FAN now tell me where I'm wrong in all that! )

From what I read in The Official DVD Show Book, Lorillard was (and likely still is) the parent company of Kent Cigarettes.

[Etrulia63]

One problem TDVDS had in it's first season was it's time slot. The show was meant for an adult audience but the network placed it in an 8 PM time slot when many children and families were watching. The show was later moved to a 9:30 PM time slot which was more appropriate for reaching the target audience.

That makes sense-- even today, in syndication, I still feel like 7:30 (CT) is too early for MeTV to show TDVDS. I liked it better before when it used to be on from 10-11-- it just seemed different, watching it later at night.

And welcome to the boards, HistoryBuff! Aren't they great?? You also make a really good point about the general public's taste in shows.. it seems like that hasn't gone away, with people still tuning in to reality shows and trash TV, although of course there doesn't seem to be much of an alternative (besides classic TV )

I loved everything about the show, but what really kicked in for me was Mary Tyler Moore's appeal as Laura. Seeing her made missing school even more fun! I think she was the show's gimmick.

I totally agree-- it definitely seems like the show tried to promote the whole "Dick and Mary as a cute young couple" thing whenever possible (not that there's anything wrong with that! ). As much as I hate to say it, I have a feeling that if the show had been only about Rob's life at the office, it probably wouldn't have lasted so long. Letting Rob have a pretty wife and a happy marriage must have made him more appealing to the audience than if he just traded jokes with his older, less perfect coworkers. lol

[HistoryBuff]

Originally Posted by Etrulia63

And welcome to the boards, HistoryBuff! Aren't they great??

Thanks for the welcome! I'm trying to acquaint myself with the boards but confess to being annoyed by the huge amount of advertising, including pop-ups that aren't defeated by my system's pop-up blocker.

Originally Posted by Etrulia63

Letting Rob have a pretty wife and a happy marriage must have made him more appealing to the audience than if he just traded jokes with his older, less perfect coworkers. lol

And there was a suggested sex appeal between Rob & Laura that was unique in TV up to that time. I remember one critic saying that, even though they had the ubiquitous twin beds in their bedroom, viewers fully expected Rob would have spent more time in Laura's bed than in his!