Wait Till Your Father Gets Home

Wow! Never in my wildest dreams did I think this classic 70's cartoon would get released on dvd!!! I remember when the cartoon network briefly aired the episodes in prime-time several years ago. Unfortunately they were recorded on vhs from a old tv at the time, so the episodes had very poor sound quality. At that point I was just happy to record one of my favorite cartoon shows of the 1970's!!!

The Boyle family included father Harry Boyle(voiced by Tom Bosley of Happy Days), wife Irma, oldest son Chet, daughter Alice, and youngest son Jamie. The oldest son Chet was a college dropout, who still lived at home and never really wanted to work. Alice was the sweet overweight daughter who was always the free thinker, and wanting to try new things, and the youngest son Jamie was the little capitalist always trying to make a fast buck! The mother Irma was just plain hilarious in her way of thinking and that whiney nasal voice simply added to the humor! There was also Harry's nextdoor neighbor Ralph, who was this military fanatic, that was paranoid about so-called communist, and being ready to attack at anytime.

Althought Wait til your father gets home only lasted about 2 full seasons, they included some very funny episodes and funny guest stars like the voices of Don Knotts, Phyliss Diller, and Monty Hall. One of my favorite episodes was when Dad Harry Boyle decided to build a swimming pool and the nightmare that came along with it. I also loved the episode when the Boyles go on a summer vacation and there are nudist hanging around on the beach. Wow! I can't wait to enjoy this show all over again on dvd!!! June 5th can't come fast enough!!!

Just as "The Flintstones" was modeled after "The Honeymooners," WAIT TIL YOUR FATHER GETS HOME is the animated cousin of "All in the Family." And, just as "All in the Family" broke new ground, so does this fantastic Hanna-Barbera classic. The hot-button topics of the early 70s are all here -- feminism, bigotry, even nudism! -- and the scripts are superly written, surprisingly bold and truly funny. Top-notch voice talent, too, featuring Tom Bosley, Allan Melvin, John Stevenson, Sandra "Gladys Kravitz" Gould, Casey Kasem, and more.

Also, THANK YOU to this set's producers for keeping the show's laugh track, as it originally aired. Given that the series is a bonafide sitcom and aired in primetime, the laugh track is totally appropriate here -- and actually adds to the fun.

If you are a "Simpsons" fan, that show would be unthinkable had WAIT TIL YOUR FATHER GETS HOME not paved the way. And even if you're not, this 4-disc set makes for hours of terrific watching.

Get this!

I was skeptical at first, but my expectations were totally underating this show. I own all the other Hanna-Barbera DVD collections, and as an avid collector of special edition DVDs, I look forward to each new Hanna-Barbera release. It gives me a chance to own all of those I've watched as a kid and catch up on those I've not got to know as much. However, being someone who's just under 30 years of age, I had never even heard of "Wait Till Your Father Gets Home".

Though, after buying this collection this morning and having watched a couple of episodes, I have to say that I actually like this old classic. With a touch of modern animation (for its time) and with the real life issues that were plaguing the baby boomer generation as they were growing up, this show will actually entertain (perhaps even shock) you as you become engrossed in it.

Compariable to the Simpsons and Family Guy, this is the show that started prime time network animation as we know it today. As due with All in the Family, this show seems to tackle issues that many considered too liberal for tv (then and now).

The animation drawings were a bit suprising to me at first. Not exactly "state of the art", but after watching these episodes more, I believe the different forms of drawing in the backgrounds (even the charecters) were a signature of its time and generation. It's different, and even looks a bit cheap. But after watching it more, its apparent that all the art work took as much time to create and construct as the other Hanna-Barbera cartoons before did. From a historical perspective, and as a tribute, I really like this new "groovy" animation.

I can't wait to watch the rest of the DVD release and anticipate news of the 2nd Season's release. Keep 'em coming Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros.