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Pratfall-prone Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke) and his plucky wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), along with wisecracking co-workers Sally (Rose Marie) and Buddy (Morey Amsterdam), captured America's hearts in this TV favorite that irresistibly combined wit and slapstick. Each Episode Fully Restored for Unsurpassed Quality! Episodes include: Coast-to-Coast Big Mouth, Uhny Uftz, The Ugliest Dog in the World, No Rice at My Wedding, Draw Me a Pear, The Great Petrie Fortune, Odd But True, Viva Petrie, Go Tell the Birds and the Bees, Body and Sol, See Rob Write -- Write, Rob, Write, You're Under Arrest, Fifty-Two Forty-Five or Work, Who Stole My Watch, Bad Reception in Albany, I Do Not Choose to Run, The Making of a Councilman, The Curse of the Petrie People, The Bottom of Mel Cooley's Heart, Remember the Alimony, Dear Sally Rogers, Buddy Sorrell: Man and Boy, Long Night's Journey into Day, Talk to the Snail, A Day in the Life of Alan Brady, Obnoxious, Offensive, Egomaniac, Etc., The Man from My Uncle, You Ought to Be in Pictures, Love Thy Other Neighbor, The Last Chapter, The Gunslinger. Read more
Mary and the gang from WJM-TV return in another award-winning season. No longer the new girl in town, Mary has come to think of the newsroom staff as family. But along with the good times and close friendships come the often trying—and ultimately hilarious—situations every family faces. From Mary explaining the facts of life to Phyllis’ daughter to going on a blind date (set up by Lou!) to attending her disastrous high school reunion, it’s clear why this TV classic is one of the most beloved comedies of all time. The Emmy-winning first season was an auspicious beginning. By its second season, the classic theme song "Love is All Around" has been revamped with an even more optimistic outlook: "You're gonna make it after all." In the sophomore season of this instant gold-standard sitcom, the ace writing staff and peerless ensemble begin to flesh out the iconic characters. Gruff Lou Grant (Ed Asner, enjoying his second Emmy-winning season) reveals his more loveable side when he discovers his son-in-law out with another woman in "The Six-and-a-Half-Year Itch." Vain Ted Baxter (Ted Knight) becomes a more sympathetic character in "Cover Boy," featuring the hilariously preening Jack Cassidy as Ted's competitive brother, and "And Now, Sitting in for Ted Baxter," in which a substitute anchor earns higher ratings than the vacationing Ted. Mary, the sweetheart of prime time, is still something of a pushover (in "Feeb," she feels compelled to write a letter of recommendation for an extraordinarily incompetent secretary), but she develops the backbone to stand up to an anti-Semite who disapproves of Rhoda in one of the season's best episodes, "Some of My Best Friends Are Rhoda." The indelible friendship between Mary and Rhoda (Valerie Harper, also earning her second consecutive Emmy) is sorely tested when they become temporary roommates in "Where There's Smoke, There's Rhoda." As with the most enduring shows, The Mary Tyler Moore Show eschewed topical humor that would date the series, and instead, mined its more universal and timeless humor from the wellspring of the characters. More than 30 years later, there is still, as ever, something about Mary. --Donald Liebenson Read more
Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson return for their sixth--and last--hilarious season as "SANFORD AND SON." Join Fred, a cantankerous but loveable sexagenarian, and Lamont, his loving but long suffering son, as they welcome guest stars B.B. KING, CHUCK BARRIS, ROSS MARTIN, PAT PAULSEN, and SHELDON LEONARD to their South Central neighborhood junkyard, as one of TV's funniest sitcoms comes to an uproarious conclusion. This three-disk DVD collection features producers Norman Lear's and Bud Yorkin's legendary comedy series' final 24 sidesplitting episodes. Read more
One of the greatest comedians ever, Sid Caesar has been making America laugh since the 1950s, when he ruled airwaves with his Emmy® Award-winning Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour. Now, for the first time ever, 20 of his fans' all-time favorite sketcheWhen we worked together," reminisces Sid Caesar, "it was magic, and you don't question magic." So just enjoy this essential three-disc collection of vintage sketches from Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour. To work on these programs was to attend "the Harvard of Comedy," and this "great amalgamation of talents," which included Carl Reiner, Imogene Coca, Howard Morris, Nanette Fabray, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart, and Neil and Danny Simon, were at the head of their class. "We did everything," Caesar notes at one point, and the proof is on these discs: domestic sketches ("Life Begins at 7:45"), game show parodies ("Break Your Brains"), spoofs of foreign films ("U-Bet-U"), opera ("Gallipacci"), and classical music (and a pantomime of "the 1812 Overture"). It is a testament to the knowledge, technique, and taste of those who created the show that these 50-year-old sketches hold up as well as they do. This was the golden age of live television, when anything could happen, and the cast would have to go with it. In "Gallipacci," Caesar's make-up pencil breaks when his character, a heartbroken clown, is applying make-up to his face. Without missing a beat, Caesar rises to the potentially disastrous occasion with one of the most inspired ad-libs in television history.
In between the sketches, the cast members and writers, a virtual Who's Who of comedy, affectionately recall working with each other, and creating these classic sketches. Each DVD includes bonus sketches. Caesar also provides illuminating commentary on selected sketches. More than a television time capsule that vividly re-creates a bygone era, this priceless collection is also a master class for aspiring comedy writers and performers. It is not a coincidence that one of Caesar's signature characters was called "the Professor." --Donald Liebenson Read more
Valerie Harper is missed as Rhoda, but the show wisely did not try to replace her with another sidekick for Mary. Instead, episodes this season further flesh out these beloved characters. Sue Ellen (Betty White, who was honored with her first Emmy) reveals her vulnerability in ""What Are Friends For?"" Lou falls for a lounge singer with an active past (guest star Sheree North) in ""Lou and That Woman."" But Ted, happily, is still clueless, thoughtless, and egotistical, whether spreading gossip that he and Mary are having an affair (""An Affair to Forget"") or proposing to Georgette (Georgia Engel) on the air (""Marriage Minneapolis Style""). Mary Richards is an iconic character, the poster woman for what Cloris Leachman's Phyllis calls ""the era of the single girl"" in her Emmy-winning turn in ""Phyllis Whips Inflation."" A character and show of this stature certainly deserve better than this set's bare-bones release. Three years elapsed between the releases of season 4 and season 5. Talk about cliffhangers; ""Chuckles Bites the Dust"" awaits in season 6. --Donald Liebenson" Read more
Lotsa Luck was the first TV show to showcase the comic brilliance and acting skills of Dom DeLuise, although he did go on to star in a couple of other short lived shows. The writing on the series was crisp, funny, and brilliant, because the creators of the series, Carl Reiner, Bill Persky and Sam Denoff picked only the cream of the available writers. They also surrounded Carl with a group of actors who would compliment Dom's special talents. The show first aired on September 10, 1973, and went off the air May 24, 1974, perhaps victim of edgy writing and scripts, but the chemistry of the actors and the wit of the writing contributed to DeLuise receiving a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of the beleaguered Stanley.
The series features DeLuise as the custodian of the New York City bus company's lost-and-found department and while that position generated its share of hilarity, the real strength of the show took place at home, where Stanley had to deal with his mother, sister and her lazy, unemployed husband. There was but one other regular in the cast, his co-worker Bummy. Read more
