In fact, the show was actually cancelled after its first year. But producer Sheldon Leonard, who had other programs on the network, including The Andy Griffith Show, and thus had some pull at CBS, believed in it so much, he convinced the network to give it another chance. 

In the three or four channel universe that existed in those days, the audience found it during summer reruns and when it began winning awards, it became the hit it was. But it was Leonard's intervention that saved it. 

There were several different openings involving that ottoman. In the one you refer to, van Dyke trips over it after coming in the house. In another, he sidesteps it. It seems to me there may even have been a third version, but I can't quite recall what happened in that one. 

Creator Carl Reiner explained they did it to leave viewers wondering which one they'd show in any given week. 

All this info is from The Dick van Dyke Show Book by Vince Waldron, a terrific look at the creation and making of the show. Not sure if it's still in print or available, but it's a terrific read if you're a fan of this classic show. 

The series could have been filmed in colour but wasn't because of the extra cost of $6000 per episode. The book entitled the 101 Greatest Sitcoms of All Time [ not ranked but listed alphabetically] has some amazing colour photos of Mary Tyler Moore on the set. All I can say is WOW!!

mace wrote:

The series could have been filmed in colour but wasn't because of the extra cost of $6000 per episode. The book entitled the 101 Greatest Sitcoms of All Time [ not ranked but listed alphabetically] has some amazing colour photos of Mary Tyler Moore on the set. All I can say is WOW!!

 

"Ohhhh Robbbb!!!"

Here's the original pilot for the show, long before the Dick van Dyke Show even heard of Dick van Dyke. It was called "Head of the Family" and starred creator/writer Carl Reiner as a scribe for the "Alan Sturdy Show". The thing bombed but once again, it was producer Sheldon Leonard who came to the rescue, hilariously but correctly pointing out that Reiner - who was essentially playing himself in a semi-autobiographical role - was wrong for the part. 

What makes this fascinating, if you've never seen it, is that there are different actors playing Laura, Richie, Sally and Buddy - a look at the early rendering of these now legendary characters in other players' hands.

Here's what now 66-year-old Larry Matthews (real name Mazzeo) looks like today. 

I watched yesterday's episode, and was it just me, or did it seem slightly sped up? Most everyone had a higher pitched voice than I remember. Mary Tyler Moore especially.  She sounded more like Minnie Mouse than MTM.

Could CHCH have sped up the show to sneak in another spot or two? It could make sense as sitcoms back then ran about 25 minutes as opposed to the 22 minutes now.

Many if not all of the episodes are available gratis and commercial free on YouTube. 

RadioActive wrote:

Many if not all of the episodes are available gratis and commercial free on YouTube. 

Thanks for this RA

Possible idea for a thread, "free cool stuff on YouTube" the terrific Nero Wolfe series with Maury Chakin and Timothy Hutton is on there, old movies "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and a slew of noir films

Not sure how many people remember this, but in a famous episode of Mad About You, Carl Reiner returned in the role of Alan Brady, who the main character wanted to narrate his documentary. This got a fair amount of publicity when it aired in the 80s, and you can see it on CTV's site for free. IIRC, it was the last time Reiner ever played the role. 

Mad About You: "The Alan Brady Show" 

mace wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

There are 125 full (and free) episodes of WKRP online on YouTube.

I wonder if these episodes have the original songs that aired when the series was still in production. After the rights to that music had expired and mistakenly not renewed, generic sounding rock music was added.

Judging by the one episode that pops up when you click the link, "Herb's Dad", this (and presumably the others from this uploader) appear to be from the 2014 box set released through Shout! Factory. A good percentage of the original music had been retained for this release.

WKRP producer and creator Hugh Wilson talks about music licensing issues with the show:





One peculiar thing I noticed about this episode: there appears to be a lack of audience reaction that I remember hearing in the original syndicated runs. (For example, the audience laughing at the Big Guy's slightly embarrassed reaction when he notices The Cars' "Candy-O" poster in the hall). Perhaps this was a pre-production reel of the finished version? Maybe the producers were only able to get Bert Parks on a day when there wasn't a regular audience, and the final product was "sweetened" with some canned laughter? I notice there is some slight laughter in this version, but perhaps it might just be stagehands and other crew?

Another peculiarity in this box set that has been noted by many: The season 1 episode, "The Contest Nobody Could Win" has a different ending than most of us are used to. Apparently, according to various sources, this original ending didn't meet CBS' Standards and Practices criteria, so a new version was shot, which is the one most of us have seen various times in reruns, where Johnny retrieves the money from the fake Don Pesola, played by Vincent Schiavelli. (Footnote: the 2007 season 1 DVD release from 20th Century Fox Home Video has the episode with the familiar ending, albeit with substituted music).

Overall though, the Shout! Factory box set is a pretty good release. If you didn't have the foresight to record the original episodes when they first aired (or in one of the first syndicated runs when the music was still intact), this is probably about as good a release as you're going to get, considering that seasons 2-4 were out of commission for a long time and looked like they would never see the light of day.




PJ