Room 222...Could It Be? (1 Viewer)

[TV_Fan]

I finally completed the first season (I was taking my time and only allowing myself to watch one episode at a time to savor the experience) and I really hope sales a strong enough that Shout! Factory sees their way clear to release the rest of this wonderful series! It's hard to comprehend that prior to 1969 (the year I graduated from high school) Room 222 was only the second program on network TV to feature an African American in a lead role. James L. Brooks and Alan Burns comments (in the brief interview extra included on disc four) were really interesting. According to Brooks, ABC sent him a note and asked him to develop a pilot about a "black school teacher" and with no further guidance, Brooks came up with Room 222. I also enjoyed Denise Nicholas remarks about Gene Reynolds and the Room 222 Scholarship he established and has personally funded every year since the show went off the air. It is awarded to a worthy male and female high school senior at the same high school that was used as the primary location for Walt Whitman High. Pretty classy thing to do as far as I'm concerned!

I also finished the set and thoroughly enjoyed it. I think there well be more sets released.
I also noticed in the interview that they said Room 222 was the second program on netowrk TV to feature an African American lead. This is not actually correct though. I'm assuming they were refering to Julia as the first which premiered in 1968. I Spy, however, featured Bill Cosby in a leading role, and that premiered in 1965. Nonetheless, Room 222 was a show that continued to break barriers.

 

[Bob Hug]

I also noticed in the interview that they said Room 222 was the second program on netowrk TV to feature an African American lead. This is not actually correct though. I'm assuming they were refering to Julia as the first which premiered in 1968. I Spy, however, featured Bill Cosby in a leading role, and that premiered in 1965. Nonetheless, Room 222 was a show that continued to break barriers.

And if you go back to the early 1950s, there were African American leads in the comedy shows "Amos 'n' Andy" and "The Beulah Show."

 

[Ockeghem]

I suppose the definition of the phrase "to feature an African American in a lead role" is paramount. I too thought of the shows mentioned by a few posters above, as well as the role of Greg Morris as Barney in Mission: Impossible!. But I do think of Diahann Carroll (Julia) and Bill Cosby (I Spy) more so than I do of Greg Morris (supporting role?) when I think of 'lead role.'
BTW, I loved Julia during its original run.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

I Finally got the First Disk from Blockbust and it is a pretty sad quality to these disks I have seen Public Domain stuff look better. You would think that in 2009 we could do better than this.

 

[Jeff Willis]

I Finally got the First Disk from Blockbust and it is a pretty sad quality to these disks I have seen Public Domain stuff look better. You would think that in 2009 we could do better than this.

Dave,
I agree with you. I bought the set and rate it an A+++ for the show itself but it's sad to see this transfer Q these days from what I consider to be one of the better major Independents. I realize that perhaps that's all Shout was given to work with (ie no access to the master prints) but we know on this Bd that this isn't always the case with these older shows. Occasionally a studio will release a set such as this one when they had access to the masters.
Due to the xfr Q, It'll take some time to get through the set but imo, the show itself sure holds up well for me having seen it in its original airings.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Dave,
I agree with you. I bought the set and rate it an A+++ for the show itself but it's sad to see this transfer Q these days from what I consider to be one of the better major Independents. I realize that perhaps that's all Shout was given to work with (ie no access to the master prints) but we know on this Bd that this isn't always the case with these older shows. Occasionally a studio will release a set such as this one when they had access to the masters.
Due to the xfr Q, It'll take some time to get through the set but imo, the show itself sure holds up well for me having seen it in its original airings.

I Can't watch these on my Bravia LCD it actually fatigues My Eyes, I'll be looking for a Cheap copy at some point and I'll encode them to Divx and Watch them on my Portable Player where the bad quality won't be as noticible

 

[Neil Brock]

I Can't watch these on my Bravia LCD it actually fatigues My Eyes, I'll be looking for a Cheap copy at some point and I'll encode them to Divx and Watch them on my Portable Player where the bad quality won't be as noticible

They look like what they are - 16mm films that were transferred to tape around 25 or 30 years ago. They may not look great but the show is great.

 

[Ockeghem]

I've watched the first seven episodes from this memorable series. The issues raised on the show are fun and thought-provoking, and the characters (the four primary and numerous secondary) are very interesting and at times a bit quirky. Bernie hasn't really taken off yet, although Helen, Richie, and Jason have been granted a lot of air time thus far.
I think the four principles have some really good on-screen chemistry. I hadn't seen the show in almost forty years before I purchased this DVD release. The quality leaves something to be desired in the earlier episodes, but these are still watchable. I've been watching one or two of these each night, followed by an episode of season two of The Mod Squad.

 

[jimmyjet]

i just came across this thread after recent conversations about it.

someone mentioned karen valentine today, so i looked.

you gotta be kidding me about her looks.

that is plastic surgery gone bad.

no way did she age like that. OUCH !!

 

[jimmyjet]

Remembering Lloyd Haynes "Mr. Dixon" Room 222

 

[Ockeghem]

Jimmy,Thanks a bunch for posting that. As I've mentioned several times, I love Room 222 (I own the first two seasons). One of my daughters is learning the theme on recorder. It's quite possibly the most memorable television theme ever written in 7/4.

 

[jimmyjet]

hi ock,

dont know if i once knew about haynes dying, but i had no recall of it, currently.

he died of lung cancer and was a smoker.

so many of these older generation were heavy smokers.

from what i am told, that is why so many scenes would depict a person smoking.

when i was younger, i used to feel sorry for the actors being forced to smoke.

but now i realize it was just the opposite.

i havent looked at stats, but just from everyday environment, i dont see nearly as many people smoking as i did when i was a kid.

if so, we may be killing ourselves with drugs, but not as much with cigarettes !!

 

[Ockeghem]

Jimmy,I too had no idea how he passed away. That video was interesting, especially the part about the blacklisting he had to go through. I knew nothing of that either.

Something else that I only realized recently about Haynes was that he was in an episode of Star Trek. I have been a fan of TOS since about 1967-68, and it was on this Board where I learned (within the past year or so) that he was on that show. That came as a very pleasant surprise to me.

 

[jimmyjet]

i didnt recall that, either.

from the wiki - Haynes appeared in a number of films and television series, such as Batman and the second Star Trek pilot episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before". Haynes was dropped from Star Trek because series Producer Gene Roddenberry preferred actress Nichelle Nichols over him.

i dont know if you are aware, but roddenberry was known to be a womanizer. dont know if that had anything to do with the decision ??

 

[Ockeghem]

Jimmy,I don't know (Roddenberry). But over in the Star Trek Trivia (Series and Films) thread, Lee and Nelson have been working their way through the Cushman books (seasons one and two published thus far). Their posts have been very enlightening. That topic has come up a couple of times, at least in passing.

 

[Jack P]

There is no question in my mind at least, that Nichols got her break in large part for the same reason that Majel Barrett had a career and that was benefiting from the casting couch. It's frankly always amused me how in the world of Trekdom, this unsavory practice tends to get downplayed just because Roddenberry was allegedly some noble visionary about the future, but there was no difference between him and Daryl Zanuck giving choice parts in movies to his latest mistress (Bella Darvi, Irina Demich etc.)

 

[Mr. Handley]

I was very disappointed with the (lack of) video quality on the two seasons that were released on DVD. Although, IIRC, there were a couple of episodes that looked outstanding. Even with the poor quality, the shows themselves are a wonderful time capsule back to the early 1970s. I'd be all-in for the rest of the series, even better yet if they could be remastered into a complete series set (hey, I can dream, can't I?).

 

[Ockeghem]

Paul,The show also gave us some actors who were not necessarily very well-known at the time. I recently saw an episode or two with Chuck Norris and Ed Begley, Jr., and I believe I also saw Richard Dreyfus, Rob Reiner, Terri Garr, and Mark Hamill during the show's original run. (Hamill was also in at least one episode of The Partridge Family.)

 

[jimmyjet]

any sort of sexual morality in the entertainment industry is almost non-existent.

roddenberry was just one of MANY who behaved in that fashion.

what is somewhat frustrating for me is how untrue to life the images of some of these celebrities, when compared to actuality.

 

[Wvtvguy]

I bought season 1 as a blind buy. Terrible picture quality but I really loved the show!