The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Complete Series (All 5 Seasons)

The Dick Van Dyke Show was the winner of more than a few Emmy awards along with legions of fans and its' appeal has not faded a bit.In fact as I finished watching these eps I hadn't seen since they went off the air back in the early to mid 60s,I couldn't help but think what has happened to TV today? Where is the wonderful comedy and smart shows like this one that an entire family can sit and watch together?

I was debating to get individual season sets but I thought I'd bite the financial bullet and go all the way.I'm sure glad I did.When I finally reached the last ep I wished there was more to see!

This series premise was a unique one in that it presented the day to day interactions of a fictional trio of writers working for a

fictional comedy TV star and focusing especially on the private life and tribulations of the head writer played by none other than the shows' star.

The fabulous idea(a masterstroke created by Carl Reiner) to its' dynamite cast of pros was a continual hit throughout its' five year run.The chemistry amongst the stars is evident throughout and only adds to its' appeal.From concept to cast it was a winner all the way.

Now down to the nitty gritty.As you have already noticed I've only given this four stars.Well the series on its' own is a five no question.However,the subtracted star is for two very good reasons.Firstly the special features in this set are spread out very thinly,in fact most of them land in the very last disc where we have two different areas filled with them.Previous to this some discs have two or three small items or none at all.An exclusion from this DVD set is some out takes/bloopers included in the VHS version,why I have no idea.Most discs however(all in seperate slip cases,with photo art on covers and on the discs themselves)have one ep with commentary by some its' original stars.

Secondly,and more importantly,is a defect in some of the prints used for this compilation.Every season is affected to a greater or lesser degree but generally the later the season the less this defect is seen.The defect is a very quick running in picture quality from slightly blurry to clear and back during short periods of several affected eps as if the film is worn.Strangely this can vary from shot to shot.You may have a medium long shot where this blurry/clear,etc.is talking place then the next shot is a medium close up and it's gone!Some range in duration from under a minute to several.It can be distracting and something I wasn't counting on seeing in a set like this at all.However in total there are only about a dozen or so eps in the entire series affected.

Besides this pronounced and noticable defect the series also shows its' age with the usual white and black specks and lines.Some eps even show faint film deterioration( I call them "bubbles") one might expect to see more in old nitrate based silent film stock.

It's very puzzling as most shows in b&w from this period and earlier are in far better shape and show no such defects.Without any information to go on questions such as who exactly has been holding/storing this property for all these years?;is the master film stock really in that bad of shape?;were new prints struck or old ones used?;...it's all just speculation.

With that said and in conclusion,I still have to give this set the rating I have,the shows are just too good not to!The Dick Van Dyke show was one the best ever sitcoms ever to grace a TV screen.It could be smart,silly and serious but it was ALWAYS funny.The kind of funny the whole family could enjoy,something that has long(to this reviewers' chagrin) disappeared from the TV wastelands.As you watch these shows you will marvel at Dick Van Dykes' acting and his physical comedy/humour.He sure learned his lesssons well from HIS idol Stan Laurel(many references to which abound in this set).Dick met his idol during the filming of this series and Stan himself would come to say that if anyone ever did a film about him(he hoped no one ever did!) that he would prefer Dick Van Dyke to play him.What a humbling tribute!

I hope that you will consider buying the entire series like I did.Periodic film problems aside,this is one must own TV series.And as of this writing Amazon.com no longer stocks this set,so get it here in Canada while the getting is good!

OMG!!!! This is one of the greats. I can spend hours watching them not just Rob, Laura but Sally and Buddy, Mel This show is a true Classic!!!

This show has always been my favourite sitcom. The writing and acting and cast were consistently top notch. There may have been other good sitcoms since (e.g. I Love Lucy, M*A*S*H, Cheers, etc.) but this one is hard to beat. Especially with Dick van Dyke's amazing timing and flair for physical comedy.

I only wish that the cast had not decided to "go out on top" after 5 years - I'm sure they could have squeezed out at least another high-quality season.

I do agree with another reviewer that the extra features (especially the running commentary for certain episodes) could be stronger, but the actual episodes are untouchable. And some of the extras are pretty special (e.g. a whole episode of a real game show that the cast guest starred on). Guaranteed laughs and some of the best moments ever seen in TV comedy (like the look on Rob's face when Laura says she told the nation that his boss is bald - or the look on their hosts' faces when Rob and Laura ruin their charades game at a house party). And I still can't believe Rob and Laura had to sleep in separate beds to please the censors!

Get this set - you won't regret it.