Merry Sitcom!-Christmas Cl

Merry Sitcom is for those of us born in the 50's and who like to revisit the "simpler" times of Christmas in our youth, perfect to watch an episode or two instead of a long Christmas movie. Some of the ep's create the warm/fuzzy feel of Christmas (FATHER, DONNA, WINDOW), some are throw-away (NUN, GIRL, which don't stand up well to time (and both are the only color ep's in the set)).
Shout!Factory has once again delivered (for the most part) sharp pictures with quite good sound, considering their age (all ep's are closed captioned). FATHER is definitely missing minutes (22:35; possible syndication copy), but the rest (I think) are full ep's (DONNA 25:50, McHALE'S 25:32, BEWITCHED 25:30, GIRL 25:18, NUN 25:51, WINDOW 25:23).
It's fun to see old faces in some of the ep's: Buster Keaton as Santa (DONNA); Billy Mumy (Will Robinson in Lost In Space), Bill Daily (Howard on Bob Newhart), and Cecil Kellaway as Santa (BEWITCHED); John Fielder (Mr. Peterson on Bob Newhart)(GIRL).
The inclusion of WINDOW ON MAIN STREET, a show I'd never heard of, is a nice treat. CBS aired this show (1961-62) between PETE & GLADYS and the DANNY THOMAS SHOW, but it was up against the PRICE IS RIGHT and the RIFLEMAN, which is probably why it only lasted one season. The show starred Robert Young (with 13 yr. old Tim Matheson, but not in this ep.). I do not believe the original airdate given for this ep., Nov. 6, because in 1961 the Christmas season did not get pushed so early into the fall like it is now, and this ep. takes place on Christmas eve, and it is the "warm and fuzziest" and most serious of the 7 ep's on this disc, so I think it must have aired much nearer to Christmas.

This is what Christmas is all about, watching vintage Christmas Shows. This collection is like the one CBS DVD put out last year. It is also jammed packed with Christmas mirth. Who can top Sister Bertrille as she try's to make a Christmas wish come true by sprinkling the clouds with dry ice. Or Samantha Stevens convincing a young boy that there really is a Santa Claus. Or Ann Marie forfeiting her own Christmas to share it with a young boy who's parents are working out of town. There is also a 7th Show included on this DVD "Windows On Main Street" starring Robert Young from Father Knows Best, I have never heard of this short lived show but I just loved it. Buy this if you want to see a Christmas show from a simpler time.

If you don't mind black and white shows, you'll enjoy this set of classic television Christmas shows. I really enjoyed the simple, yet heartwarming stories each episode presented. It's a far cry from the comic, slapstick antics of today's sitcoms. The sound and image quilaty was good which I was extremely happy about!