The Dick Van Dyke Show

The Dick Van Dyke Show was an American television situation comedy which aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to September 7, 1966. It starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore.

Totalling 158 episodes, it was created and produced by comedy legend Carl Reiner, who wrote many episodes and played the part of Alan Brady. Reiner based the main character on himself, and created many of the show's plots based on his past experience as a writer for Your Show of Shows.

Characters

Van Dyke played Robert "Rob" Petrie, a comedy writer for a fictional New York TV variety series called The Alan Brady Show. The role of Rob Petrie was almost given to Johnny Carson, but Sheldon Leonard, the show's executive producer, suggested Van Dyke. Moore played Rob's wife, Laura, and their son Richard Rosebud "Ritchie" Petrie, was played by Larry Mathews.

Other characters included Rob Petrie's co-workers, Maurice B. "Buddy" Sorrell (Morey Amsterdam), Sally Rogers (Rose Marie), and Melvin "Mel" Cooley (Richard Deacon), and neighbors Jerry and Millie Helper (Jerry Paris and Ann Morgan Guilbert).

Storyline

Storylines dealt with Rob and his two coworkers, Buddy and Sally, who wrote material for the TV show. Mel Cooley, a balding straight man (and recipient of numerous insulting one-liners from Buddy), was the show's producer and brother-in-law of Alan Brady, who was the show's seldom seen star. As Rob, Buddy and Sally wrote for a comedy show, the premise provided a built-in forum for them to "be funny". Other stories focused on the home life of Rob and Laura, who lived in suburban New Rochelle, New York. Frequently seen was their young son, Ritchie, as well as their neighbors, Jerry and Millie Helper.

Influence

The show was an excellent vehicle for Van Dyke's physical comedy and sight gags. The classic example is the scene in the opening titles, in which Van Dyke enters through the front door and trips over the ottoman. Producers filmed three versions: one in which Van Dyke trips over the ottoman, one in which he steps around it, and a rarely seen third variation in which Van Dyke avoids the ottoman and then trips on the carpet. Viewers were kept wondering which version would be used on any particular episode, as the episode's editors were instructed to use them randomly.

The series was considered a trailblazer for its comparatively realistic portrayal of relationships — although the Petries slept in separate beds — and caused some mild controversy because of Mary Tyler Moore's decision to wear capri slacks in an era when most sitcom wives wore dresses and skirts. The show's storyline also gave viewers an "inside look" at how a TV show was run and written. This was rare at a time when situation comedy was limited to occupations other than show business. It also gave the cast an opportunity to do "variety" episodes that included stand-up comedy, music, and other non-situation segments.

Carl Reiner originally planned to produce and star in the series, which was going to be titled Head of the Family. A pilot episode was made in July of 1960, but it was unsuccessful. He ended up playing the role of Alan Brady, the overly egotistic prima-donna television star who Rob worked for.

Reiner always maintained that he never intended for the series to run more than five seasons, making this one of the first successful American TV series to end of its own free will, rather than through cancellation. It has been highly successful in syndicated reruns, and as of 2006 airs on the cable network TV Land.

The Dick Van Dyke Show was considered an inspiration for many later sitcoms, in particular the long-running Mad About You, which was in many ways a modern-day remake. Carl Reiner even reprised the role of Alan Brady for an episode. The relationship between Reiner as writer and Van Dyke as actor can be compared to that between Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld.

Van Dyke returned in 1971 in an unrelated vehicle, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, which despite running for three years is rarely shown in syndication, and has been largely forgotten, in contrast with The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which became as successful as the original Dick Van Dyke Show.

Reunion special

On May 11, 2004, CBS aired a reunion special, The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited. Produced by Carl Reiner, who referred to the hour-long special as "The 159th Episode," the show reunited cast members Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, Larry Mathews, Ann Morgan Guilbert, and Jerry Van Dyke. Reiner reprised his role as Alan Brady. Deceased cast members Morey Amsterdam, Richard Deacon, and Jerry Paris were remembered in flashbacks.

The main plot of the special involves the relatively healthy Alan Brady asking Rob and Sally to write his eulogy so that he knows in advance what will be said about him after he dies. The Petries and Sally, along with Rob's brother Stacey and longtime friend Millie, discuss ideas that are illustrated by way of flashbacks to the old show. The special ends with Van Dyke and Tyler Moore, out of character, reminiscing about the series as more flashbacks are shown.

DVD release

The entire series, as well as the 2004 reunion special, has been released on DVD in North America. For reasons that are unclear, six episodes from the second season have lapsed into the public domain, and as a result are widely available on low-priced, and often low-quality, DVD and VHS issues.

References in modern media

The comedy TV cartoon Family Guy had in the first season a short sketch, featuring a violent version of The Dick Van Dyke Show's opening sequence. In season four, it featured a censored version of the show's title (The (Bleep) Van (Bleep) Show, Starring (Bleep) Van (Bleep)) in an episode which targeted the FCC.
One episode of The Nanny had characters say a situation was "just like the Dick Van Dyke Show".
The "ottoman trip" of the opening sequence featured in the closing credits of an episode of the 1990s sitcom Mad About You, in which Carl Reiner reprised the role of Alan Brady.
The children's program Elmo's World featured a TV on one episode that said the next program would be The Dick Van Bike Show.

Episode guide

External links

1960s TV shows in the United States | CBS network shows | Sitcoms | Television shows set in New York

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