My Review of Season Two - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Leslie Eckhardt · 02-25-2012, 08:19 PM

I finally got my DVD set of Hazel-ssn2 today! It's taken 5 and a half years to get this set to market after the release of ssn1. I am very happy with the set. The episodes are uncut and in more than acceptable condition considering the age of this, the pioneer color filmed sitcom. (An honor shared with The Joey Bishop Show, filmed in color the same year, but Hazel had that single first season episode shot in color, which gives it the edge). Having just brought the set home this afternoon, I sat down with my friend to watch the first five episodes. What a treat to see the shows in their full-length versions for the first time since 1962! The opening "teaser" scenes (missing from the Antenna TV prints) are there along with that torch lady at the end with the announcer saying in voice-over "This has been a Screen Gems film production". The color has been largely corrected from the off-color in the Antenna prints. My criteria for accurate color is the stunning look of that gorgeous red 1963 Ford Galaxie. It has looked almost burnt orange in the Antenna versions, but is most vividly "Rangoon Red" here. There are a few instances where there are specks and artifacts in the picture, but by and large the picture is most acceptable. The audio came through loud and clear. There are no special features on this set, but, with the principal cast members all passed on, and no knowledge of any surviving crew members , writers or directors, none really expected. Some cast commercials for Ford would have been nice, but I don't know whether anyone could find them. Since the only source for these shows until now would have been bootleg copies of hideous quality (duplicated episodes, no sound or cross-talk sound), we should thank our lucky stars for Shout! Factory and their efforts to keep shows like this alive. The first four episodes I screened had no laugh track, but episode 5, "The Case of the Missing Mailman", did have a full laugh and applause track. I also noticed that the quality of this episode was a bit sharper than the previous four. In all, I can highly recommend this set to all of Hazel's fans. We've been waiting a long time, baby!

1960'sTVfan · 02-26-2012, 11:33 AM

The episode where they search for Barney Hatfield seems to have been restored, no black lines or black spots in the picture and the episode has a laugh track. So far, I've watched the first six episodes on disc 1, the unrestored episodes still look very good but are minus the laugh track which is actually what I prefer, I think these episodes are more effective without the laugh track.

Leslie Eckhardt · 02-26-2012, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by retroTVfan4ever

The episode where they search for Barney Hatfield seems to have been restored, no black lines or black spots in the picture and the episode has a laugh track. So far, I've watched the first six episodes on disc 1, the unrestored episodes still look very good but are minus the laugh track which is actually what I prefer, I think these episodes are more effective without the laugh track.

I probably would have preferred these shows either one way or the other, that is, all with or all without the track, but hey, I'll take what I can get. One of my My Little Margie episodes starts out with the laugh track, then unaccountably the laugh track cuts out for the final three-fourths of the episode!

MichaelKeith · 02-27-2012, 10:54 AM

Yes, I love it. I've gotten through about 7 episodes and a couple have the applause track at the end. And yes, I loved seeing the teasers at the start of each episode. Those are so easily lopped off for syndication. Am trying not to watch too many episodes at any one sitting as I want to space it out as much as I can until May 15 of this year when season 3 comes out. I know I'll have finished S2 before then but am trying to only watch two episodes at one sitting. Love this show!

BuddyHinton · 03-03-2012, 12:57 AM

I thought Season 1 was a lot better. Aside from this seasons transfer and all the lines and spots (which are NOT acceptable given how many OTHER sitcoms from this era look a lot better) the writing is just not as sharp. Many of the episodes are NOT about the Baxters but about mailmen, lovesbirds, senators (groan, this one was bad) and anything and anyone else. I just got to an episode on disc 3 about all the Baxters having to tell the truth and this seems like almost the first one not about anyone else. I thought season 1 was a 5 star season but this is barely a 3 out of 5..

Tom_Clark · 03-04-2012, 03:35 AM

"Hazel" wasn't the first color sitcom. That distinction goes to the very short lived 1955 series "Norby," starring David Wayne.

Leslie Eckhardt · 03-04-2012, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom_Clark

"Hazel" wasn't the first color sitcom. That distinction goes to the very short lived 1955 series "Norby," starring David Wayne.

Wow! Tom Clark you are good! I admit I have never heard of this series. Doing some research, it was filmed on Kodak film, probably Eastman color. (The same process as Hazel-Color by Pathe). Since Screen Gems and Universal (Technicolor) were the only companies to identify the color process they used on their TV programs, I have always been curious to learn what processes were used on "The Lucy Show", "The Beverly Hillbillies", "The Adventures of Superman" and other programs which did not give the color process involved any on-screen credit.

1960'sTVfan · 03-12-2012, 11:40 AM

The one gripe I have about the season 2 DVD is the audio levels are not consistent. I thought this was going to happen, Shout Factory's DVD's are notorious for having inconsistent audio levels. Over the weekend, I watched "Hazel's Luck" and "Oh My Aching Back" on the DVD, both episodes have a muffled audio track. On "Oh My Aching Back", towards the end of the episode the sound does correct itself for a few brief seconds but then it goes right back to that muffled audio tone. The airings on Antenna TV do not have these audio issues. The video/color quality on the DVD's could be better also, but I can live with that.

02-25-2012, 08:19 PM	#1
Leslie Eckhardt Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 24, 2011 Posts: 293	My Review of Season Two I finally got my DVD set of Hazel-ssn2 today! It's taken 5 and a half years to get this set to market after the release of ssn1. I am very happy with the set. The episodes are uncut and in more than acceptable condition considering the age of this, the pioneer color filmed sitcom. (An honor shared with The Joey Bishop Show, filmed in color the same year, but Hazel had that single first season episode shot in color, which gives it the edge). Having just brought the set home this afternoon, I sat down with my friend to watch the first five episodes. What a treat to see the shows in their full-length versions for the first time since 1962! The opening "teaser" scenes (missing from the Antenna TV prints) are there along with that torch lady at the end with the announcer saying in voice-over "This has been a Screen Gems film production". The color has been largely corrected from the off-color in the Antenna prints. My criteria for accurate color is the stunning look of that gorgeous red 1963 Ford Galaxie. It has looked almost burnt orange in the Antenna versions, but is most vividly "Rangoon Red" here. There are a few instances where there are specks and artifacts in the picture, but by and large the picture is most acceptable. The audio came through loud and clear. There are no special features on this set, but, with the principal cast members all passed on, and no knowledge of any surviving crew members , writers or directors, none really expected. Some cast commercials for Ford would have been nice, but I don't know whether anyone could find them. Since the only source for these shows until now would have been bootleg copies of hideous quality (duplicated episodes, no sound or cross-talk sound), we should thank our lucky stars for Shout! Factory and their efforts to keep shows like this alive. The first four episodes I screened had no laugh track, but episode 5, "The Case of the Missing Mailman", did have a full laugh and applause track. I also noticed that the quality of this episode was a bit sharper than the previous four. In all, I can highly recommend this set to all of Hazel's fans. We've been waiting a long time, baby!

02-26-2012, 11:33 AM	#2
1960'sTVfan Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 30, 2009 Posts: 6,103	The episode where they search for Barney Hatfield seems to have been restored, no black lines or black spots in the picture and the episode has a laugh track. So far, I've watched the first six episodes on disc 1, the unrestored episodes still look very good but are minus the laugh track which is actually what I prefer, I think these episodes are more effective without the laugh track.

02-27-2012, 10:54 AM	#4
MichaelKeith Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 01, 2007 Posts: 1,139	Yes, I love it. I've gotten through about 7 episodes and a couple have the applause track at the end. And yes, I loved seeing the teasers at the start of each episode. Those are so easily lopped off for syndication. Am trying not to watch too many episodes at any one sitting as I want to space it out as much as I can until May 15 of this year when season 3 comes out. I know I'll have finished S2 before then but am trying to only watch two episodes at one sitting. Love this show!

03-03-2012, 12:57 AM	#5
BuddyHinton Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 31, 2006 Location: CA Posts: 441	I thought Season 1 was a lot better. Aside from this seasons transfer and all the lines and spots (which are NOT acceptable given how many OTHER sitcoms from this era look a lot better) the writing is just not as sharp. Many of the episodes are NOT about the Baxters but about mailmen, lovesbirds, senators (groan, this one was bad) and anything and anyone else. I just got to an episode on disc 3 about all the Baxters having to tell the truth and this seems like almost the first one not about anyone else. I thought season 1 was a 5 star season but this is barely a 3 out of 5..

03-04-2012, 03:35 AM	#6
Tom_Clark Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 20, 2011 Location: Missouri Posts: 10	"Hazel" wasn't the first color sitcom. That distinction goes to the very short lived 1955 series "Norby," starring David Wayne.

03-12-2012, 11:40 AM	#8
1960'sTVfan Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 30, 2009 Posts: 6,103	The one gripe I have about the season 2 DVD is the audio levels are not consistent. I thought this was going to happen, Shout Factory's DVD's are notorious for having inconsistent audio levels. Over the weekend, I watched "Hazel's Luck" and "Oh My Aching Back" on the DVD, both episodes have a muffled audio track. On "Oh My Aching Back", towards the end of the episode the sound does correct itself for a few brief seconds but then it goes right back to that muffled audio tone. The airings on Antenna TV do not have these audio issues. The video/color quality on the DVD's could be better also, but I can live with that.