Watched Love, American Style - Volume 1 (1 Viewer)

[Brian Himes]

Since I wasn't traveling for Thanksgiving this year and had no plans at all, I decided to spend the day watching season 1, volume 1 of Love, American Style.

I had a great time with it. However, the show is rather dated. It's...cute, but not as funny as I remember it. Maybe it got better as it went along. There were several good segments that stand out for me. Love and the Living Doll, Love and the Good deal (a take off of Barefoot in the Park) and Love and the Divorce Sale are the ones that really stand out for me. I was very surprised to see Harrison Ford show up in one episode.

All in all, a good show that I will be buying more of when they come out.

 

[RickER]

The only one i really remember is Love and the Happy Days. Yep, the pilot for the series. I watched the show again a few years ago on TVLand, i think. It has that 70s charm, but your right, its dated as hell! Some of the stuff is even cringe worthy bad. I recall as a kid i didnt find it as funny as other sitcoms, but we still watched it.

 

[Brian Himes]

You're right. It's very, very dated. There's no mistaking that this show was early 70s.

I have the Happy Days pilot that Nick at Nite showed years ago. Until this set came out, it was the only episode of Love, American Style that I had on tape. Honestly, I didn't think that Love and the Happy Days was all that great of an episode. It's interesting from a TV history point of view, but in my opinion there were much better episodes of Love, American Style than that.

 

[Corey3rd]

I like how the show has to dance around the obvious. And there's the unintentional humor - like we're supposed to believe that Paul Lynde would want to seduce a female secretary.

This is beautiful '70s kitsch that's much more entertaining than the sketches on so many variety shows. Next batch has a great episode with Tony Randall getting frisky with Julie Newmar - that's TV!

 

[Brian Himes]

Totally. It took several episodes before anyone even said the phrase, 'making love' in reference to sex.

The show tried to be naughty, but didn't quite hit the mark. While it was imginative in a way, at times it just seemed too coy.

 

[Hank Dearborn]

How great is it to finally see the full one hour versions again after almost 40 years? And with The Cowsills singing the theme song! Yes it's dated, but then again what show from that long ago isn't dated? It's a comedy about sex without anyone actually getting any sex. But compared to a show from the same era like The Brady Bunch, which was a 50s show in the 70s, at least it was of it's time. I don't hold a lot of hope for the DVDs to go far into the run but I'll take as much of it as Paramount puts out.

 

[Karl R]

Same here. I'm really looking forward to see one of my three favorite segments from the show, "Love and the Positive Man" featuring Hamilton Camp and Marianne McAndrew, which I understand is on Disc Three (My set is still in transit, having ordered from DVD Planet during their 20% sale.)

Hopefully, Paramount keeps the series going long enough for my other two favorites to make it on DVD:

"Love and the Pen Pals" featuring Diane Keaton and Monte Markham; and

"Love and the Forever Tree" featuring Robert Morse and Elaine Joyce.

 

[Radioman970]

I'm a fan of datedness. I'll take one! Sounds like a blast and a half.

I can't remember a single episode. I just remember watching it every time it was on.

 

[Charles Ellis]

I do recall that the show used some episodes of the shelved all-black TV version of "Barefoot In The Park" starring Scoey Mitchell as LAS installments in syndication. Is that the situation here with the DVD release? Is "Love And The Good Deal" one of these?

 

[Randy Korstick]

Same here I used to watch it as reruns back in the late 70's and early 80's and haven't seen it since and I can't rememeber a single episode but I definately remember the theme song.

 

[Radioman970]

Ive never forgotten the song either and the fireworks during the opening credits. I had no idea The Cowsills did that. I equate LAS with staying home from school. It would rerun with gameshows during the day. Man, daytime TV used to be fun at one point, even with less channels.

 

[Corey3rd]

The version used on the half hour syndication didn't use the Cowsills version. it was done by a group of studio singers.

 

[TonyD]

i was just a kid when this first aired.
i can barely rmemeber it myself but i just remember it.

the theme song was one of the best on tv ever.

 

[ToddR2]

Dated indeed, from the first moment it aired. Blech. Shame about the show, but what a GREAT theme. You can't underestimate the appeal of kitsch nor the power of childhood viewing memories. IMO, those are the two biggest factors drving vintage TV on DVD purchases. It is a sad commentary that a show like this is on DVD while contemporary comedy shows such as MTMS or Barney Miller are such a struggle to sell, not to mention contemporary dramas.

 

[Elena S]

Maybe so, but I'd much rather have LAS than the two you mentioned.

 

[chas speed]

What are you complaining about, both the shows you mentioned came out on DVD long before Love American Style. I guess the studios don't know there not supposed to release shows you don't like. I want another season of Mary Tyler Moore too, but it's got nothing to do with Love American Style and you know it.

 

[chas speed]

I got to admit I like the non-Cowsills version better. Are you sure they just didn't change the theme during later seasons. Night Gallery, for instance, had a different version of its theme during its 2nd season then it had on its first.

 

[Corey3rd]

They did change it in the later seasons. But when it came time for the syndication version - even the early episodes received the Charles Fox singers version of the theme song. If you get the Retro TV Network, you'll notice it.

It is pretty wrong to rag on how come Love American Style is out on DVD and MTM and Barney Miller aren't somehow huge hits. We don't know the numbers moved on Love American Style have been. I'm eager for Season 1 Vol 2 to get a prime transfer of Julie Newmar and Tony Randall episode. Plus there's Adam West and Goober.

Also it's Paramount putting out Love - MTM is Fox and Barney Miller is Sony. Paramount has been aggressive in the past year putting out shows on DVD.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

I get so sick of hearing whines about TV shows (or movies) being called "dated". What does that mean, anyway? That things in ugly 2007 aren't how they were back in 1970 (which is a shame, actually)...? I prefer to use the term "period piece" rather than "dated". The stories in the first volume of LAS are supposed to be taking place in 1969.... so, naturally, everything will look and play as though it was 1969! I mean, do people watch a western taking place in 1888 and say "oh, this is sooooo dated!!" ... ? Do you watch a biblical film set in the year 131 B.C. and moan "oh, this is so dated!?!??" It's ridiculous.

As for LAS, I bought the DVD and have only checked out the first episode. Not really much to go on at this point except to say it brings back warm memories of better times. When I was a kid I used to go to my cousins' house every Friday night when my family got together to play cards. While they were all in the kitchen doing their thing, we kids were in the living rom watching this lineup:

8:00 - The Brady Bunch
8:30 - The Patridge Family
9:00 - Room 222
9:30 - The Odd Couple
10:00 - Love, American Style

I've always remembered the feel-good theme song to LAS, but being the young age I was at the time, this was the point in the evening where things became "too adult" for me to appreciate. And always at some point during this last hour of the night it would be time for us to go home, so I never saw the entire show.

Look at that lineup. What do today's 7 - 10 year-olds have to watch today? Over 100 channels, yet nothing on. Unless they want to watch nonstop blatant sexcapades, people hating and killing each other, and "reality" garbage like "To Catch A Predator," where Dateline NBC goes after men trying to get sex from young underaged girls. "Hey mom -- pass the popcorn!" .

 

[Hank Dearborn]

I too was a big fan of that Friday night lineup (as well as most of the ABC shows in general in the 60s). And it was funny that even on a show like LAS that was "about sex", it wasn't vulgar like just about any sitcom today. Sitcoms nowadays, every "joke" and I use that term loosely, is a sex joke. I'm glad I don't have kids because it's impossible to protect them from this shit.

By the way, at least we have all of those shows on DVD except Room 222, but we've been over it many times how badly Fox sucks. Thankfully I have almost all of them from the USA run in the 80s. Not remastered but Fox will never give them to us.