Question about Make Room for Daddy (a.k.a. The Danny Thomas Show) (1 Viewer)

[Randy Korstick]

Since no one seems to be interested in releasing this show or Make Room for Daddy I'm guessing their asking price must be high.

The Thomas estate controls the series, as they do the rest of Danny's shows. Distribution and licensing for all of their shows is currently handled by SFM Entertainment.

 

[Garysb]

Here is public domain Jean Hagen episode from you tube.

 

[AlanP]

Any news about this series seeing the light of DVD ??

 

[Neil Brock]

Any news about this series seeing the light of DVD ??

You know that 2 seasons have been released, right?

 

[Vahan_Nisanain]

The situation with the MRFD episodes with Jean Hagen reminds me of Bob Barker and The Price is Right. The death of Danny Thomas did not lift the ban on her episodes, and I doubt it will be any different with TPIR when Barker passes away.

Barker is such a stupid moron. He acts like he owns the rights to every episode, even though he doesn't (fremantle does). These were the episodes he ordered a ban on:

Anything with fur coats (including the first episode; 1972-1980's)
Anything with models he had the biggest grudge with (especially Holly Hallstrom; 1977-1995 she served)

 

[jimmyjet]

my way of fighting back is simply that i will not buy any part of the series unless they issue it in its entirety.

danny died in 1991. jean died in 1977.

does anything else need to be said ??

 

[smithbrad]

my way of fighting back is simply that i will not buy any part of the series unless they issue it in its entirety.

danny died in 1991. jean died in 1977.

does anything else need to be said ??

Apparently, there is. Marlo is still around and obviously she doesn't want to go against her fathers wishes. In this case, I don't think buying or not buying is going to make any impression one way or the other as far as getting more releases for this series.

 

[jimmyjet]

i can only do what is within my power to do.

and have done it. no jean hagen, no purchase from me.

others need to decide for themselves.

 

[jimmyjet]

in america, we tend to want instant results.

and therefore constantly make the mistake of thinking that unless an action brings about immediate results, said action does not help.

my statement about the deaths was to show the utter ridiculousness of the situation. the only people being hurt are the fans who want to watch the show.

does danny think that he can hurt jean, once she is buried in her grave ?

i do have hopes that at some point, someone in charge of the ownership of the show will come to their senses EVEN if it is after my death.

 

[smithbrad]

i can only do what is within my power to do.

and have done it. no jean hagen, no purchase from me.

others need to decide for themselves.

That's fine. While I tend to think you have to "grease the wheel" sometimes to get further releases. This appears to be a case where nothing may help. No criticism of your approach intended.

 

[smithbrad]

in america, we tend to want instant results.

and therefore constantly make the mistake of thinking that unless an action brings about immediate results, said action does not help.

my statement about the deaths was to show the utter ridiculousness of the situation. the only people being hurt are the fans who want to watch the show.

does danny think that he can hurt jean, once she is buried in her grave ?

i do have hopes that at some point, someone in charge of the ownership of the show will come to their senses EVEN if it is after my death.

The point I was trying to make was that it is no longer in Danny's hands. If still alive he may have been able to lighten up on the stance over time. But since this was the stance at his passing, my understanding is that Marlo is just honoring her fathers wishes, and that is much stronger and lasting then anything else. It may take her passing and control to go to another family member before anything else is done (at least for the Jean years).

 

[Vahan_Nisanain]

Brad, Marlo Thomas has no children. Neither do her siblings, or even her husband Phil Donahue.

 

[Neil Brock]

Why even worry about the first 4 seasons when even 5 of the remaining 7 seasons haven't been released? Obviously the first release (season 5) was a hack job with butchered episodes, etc. But the season 6 release was done properly, uncut with new transfers from the 35mm prints. That sold poorly as well. Look, I think this is a funny show but apparently it has not aged well nor been embraced by later viewers. The DVDs didn't sell and the show has been a bomb in syndication over the last 4 decades. When Nick at Nite bought it, it was the quickest show Nick ever removed from its schedule. Who knows why? Maybe Danny and all of his yelling is grating to people and they don't like him? Unlike all of the other 50s dads, he actually came across more like a real father than Ward Cleaver or Jim Anderson ever did. Maybe its all of those lame songs injected into the episodes. Whatever the reason, I wouldn't be so concerned about getting the early episodes when we can't even get the later ones put out.

 

[Ron1973]

Why even worry about the first 4 seasons when even 5 of the remaining 7 seasons haven't been released? Obviously the first release (season 5) was a hack job with butchered episodes, etc. But the season 6 release was done properly, uncut with new transfers from the 35mm prints. That sold poorly as well. Look, I think this is a funny show but apparently it has not aged well nor been embraced by later viewers. The DVDs didn't sell and the show has been a bomb in syndication over the last 4 decades. When Nick at Nite bought it, it was the quickest show Nick ever removed from its schedule. Who knows why? Maybe Danny and all of his yelling is grating to people and they don't like him? Unlike all of the other 50s dads, he actually came across more like a real father than Ward Cleaver or Jim Anderson ever did. Maybe its all of those lame songs injected into the episodes. Whatever the reason, I wouldn't be so concerned about getting the early episodes when we can't even get the later ones put out.

Neil, you would know a lot more about how it was syndicated than I would. How often was the show even syndicated before the Nick at Nite showings? I don't remember seeing it here at all on any local channels nor do I remember seeing TV Guide listings for it on any of the major cable channels. Maybe it's not that it's such a bad show but maybe it's that no one saw it enough in syndication to know anything about it.

 

[smithbrad]

Why even worry about the first 4 seasons when even 5 of the remaining 7 seasons haven't been released? Obviously the first release (season 5) was a hack job with butchered episodes, etc. But the season 6 release was done properly, uncut with new transfers from the 35mm prints. That sold poorly as well. Look, I think this is a funny show but apparently it has not aged well nor been embraced by later viewers. The DVDs didn't sell and the show has been a bomb in syndication over the last 4 decades. When Nick at Nite bought it, it was the quickest show Nick ever removed from its schedule. Who knows why? Maybe Danny and all of his yelling is grating to people and they don't like him? Unlike all of the other 50s dads, he actually came across more like a real father than Ward Cleaver or Jim Anderson ever did. Maybe its all of those lame songs injected into the episodes. Whatever the reason, I wouldn't be so concerned about getting the early episodes when we can't even get the later ones put out.

I have to say I owned season 5 and season 6 for a time, but after trying a few episodes it just didn't catch my interest so I sold it off.

As for the "real father" comment that just doesn't cut it as a generalization for father's as I remember, then or now. You've made this statement before, and maybe your childhood remembrance embraces this view point and that is fine, but maybe you should just refrain from labeling the majority of fathers from that era in such generalized tones since you aren't really qualified to do so.

 

[Harry-N]

Not Neil, but I'm old enough to remember MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY (and THE DANNY THOMAS SHOW) as it ran in early syndication and even first run prime-time.

I only saw the Jean Hagen epiosdes in reruns. Regular network stations used to run syndicated reruns of all sorts of shows in late afternoons back then. The typical network offerings ended around 4 PM and their local news didn't start until 6, so the intervening two hours were filled with old movies, cartoon shows, and syndicated reruns.

MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY used to rotate in and out along with LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, PEOPLE'S CHOICE, FATHER KNOWS BEST, OUR MISS BROOKS, DECEMBER BRIDE, etc.

Thus, the show is very familiar to me, though I haven't seen the Hagen episodes in a lot of years.

Harry

 

[Dave Lawrence]

I remember seeing the show in syndication as a kid in the early 80s on the UHF station that eventually became a WB (and now CW) affiliate in Houston. They showed MRFD along with other shows that now are either seldom or never seen such as Gomer Pyle, the New Dick Van Dyke Show, House Calls, and the Bill Cosby Show.

I'm sure the package being shown then was the same one ME-TV has now (no Hagen eps and none of those later ones where Danny and Kathy are off touring while the kids are stuck living with Sid Melton - which should surely count as child abuse). I also remember reading the old "Total Television" book back then and being surprised to find out that there were years of the show featuring the original mother, since those weren't being rerun.

I didn't have Nick at Nite during the brief time it aired there, so the ME-TV airings have been the first time I've seen it since the early 80s. It's still a fun little show and I might purchase a truly complete series set, but I'm not enough of a fan to buy one decently prepared season on DVD (S6) and one poorly executed one (S5).

 

[Ockeghem]

Dave,Would you be willing to elaborate a bit on your Sid Melton remark above? I know nothing of that period in the show. Were you joking, or was there something wrong with the relationships when Melton was in charge?

 

[Dave Lawrence]

Dave,Would you be willing to elaborate a bit on your Sid Melton remark above? I know nothing of that period in the show. Were you joking, or was there something wrong with the relationships when Melton was in charge?

Just a joke, as the idea of having to live with such an overbearing, unfunny character while your parents are off traveling the world sounds like a horrible fate for a child. The comment wasn't trying to link the real life person with real abuse. I just never found Sid funny on this show (or any show really), just annoying, and I couldn't recall his MRFD character's name at the moment, so I just put his actual name there.

 

[Ockeghem]

Dave,Gotcha. I was curious. I didn't know if you were serious or not. Thanks.