Dick Van Dyke Show "Best Of" Volumes -- They WILL Contain Some Bonus Features (1 Viewer)

[David Von Pein]

On June 29th, Image Entertainment will be releasing the fifth and final full-season boxed set of The Dick Van Dyke Show. And, along with that 31-episode season set, Image will also be releasing five bargain-priced ($9.99 MSRP) "Best Of The Dick Van Dyke Show" single-disc DVDs.

THIS REPORT via TVShowsOnDVD.com announced the news of these "Best Of" volumes, including the news that "No special supplements" would be included on any of these value-priced discs (which, naturally, was what was originally thought to be the case, given the low price tag).

But DVD Empire has just today provided images of the backs of the box covers for these five releases -- and what do you know! Image once again has come through with flying colors, it appears. Because not only can purchasers get four stellar Van Dyke Show episodes in crystal-clear quality for well under $10 (after store mark-down), but the good people at Image have also placed on each of the discs a few bonus features to boot. Once again, my hat is off to Image Entertainment, Inc.! Nice job!

All of the bonuses on these "Best Of" DVDs are also included on the full-season sets. So it's not going to be a case of having to Double-Dip just to get all the bonus material. **

** = Well, almost.

Here's a list of episodes, plus the special features for each volume ....................



VOLUME 1:

1.) "The Sick Boy And The Sitter" (From Season 1; Air Date: 10/03/1961).

2.) "Big Max Calvada" (From Season 3; Air Date: 11/20/1963).

3.) "Coast-To-Coast Big Mouth" (From Season 5; Air Date: 09/15/1965).

4.) "Dear Sally Rogers" (From Season 5; Air Date: 02/23/1966).

Volume 1 Extras: Complete "Pilot" episode, "Head Of The Family"; Emmy Award clip; Interview clips.

-------------------------------------------------------



VOLUME 2:

1.) "Where Did I Come From?" (From Season 1; Air Date: 01/03/1962).

2.) "That's My Boy??" (From Season 3; Air Date: 09/25/1963).

3.) "It May Look Like A Walnut" (From Season 2; Air Date: 02/06/1963).

4.) "October Eve" (From Season 3; Air Date: 04/08/1964).

Volume 2 Extras: Emmy Award clip; cast interviews; Featurette on the "Walnut" episode.

-------------------------------------------------------



VOLUME 3:

1.) "One Hundred Terrible Hours" (From Season 4; Air Date: 05/05/1965).

2.) "Uhny Uftz" (From Season 5; Air Date: 09/29/1965).

3.) "Never Bathe On Saturday" (From Season 4; Air Date: 03/31/1965).

4.) "The Secret Life Of Buddy And Sally" (From Season 2; Air Date: 11/28/1962).

Volume 3 Extras: Cast interviews; "Diagnosis Murder" clip (which has a "Van Dyke Show" tie-in).

-------------------------------------------------------



VOLUME 4:

1.) "Oh How We Met The Night That We Danced" (From Season 1; Air Date: 10/31/1961).

2.) "My Blonde-Haired Brunette" (From Season 1; Air Date: 10/10/1961).

3.) "4-And-A-Half" (From Season 4; Air Date: 11/04/1964).

4.) "The Alan Brady Show Goes To Jail" (From Season 4; Air Date: 11/11/1964).

Volume 4 Extras: Interview clips; Emmy Award clip; Dick sings Theme Song.

-------------------------------------------------------



VOLUME 5:

1.) "What's In A Middle Name?" (From Season 2; Air Date: 11/07/1962).

2.) "The Curious Thing About Women" (From Season 1; Air Date: 01/10/1962).

3.) "All About Eavesdropping" (From Season 2; Air Date: 10/23/1963).

4.) "One Angry Man" (From Season 1; Air Date: 03/07/1962).

Volume 5 Extras: "Rehearsal Footage"; 2 Emmy Award clips; plus a hidden
"Easter Egg" (TV commercial).

-------------------------------------------------------

Sample of the backside cover art (this is from Vol. 1)..........

 

[David Von Pein]

On June 29th, Image Entertainment will be releasing the fifth and final full-season boxed set of The Dick Van Dyke Show. And, along with that 31-episode season set, Image will also be releasing five bargain-priced ($9.99 MSRP) "Best Of The Dick Van Dyke Show" single-disc DVDs.

THIS REPORT via TVShowsOnDVD.com announced the news of these "Best Of" volumes, including the news that "No special supplements" would be included on any of these value-priced discs (which, naturally, was what was originally thought to be the case, given the low price tag).

But DVD Empire has just today provided images of the backs of the box covers for these five releases -- and what do you know! Image once again has come through with flying colors, it appears. Because not only can purchasers get four stellar Van Dyke Show episodes in crystal-clear quality for well under $10 (after store mark-down), but the good people at Image have also placed on each of the discs a few bonus features to boot. Once again, my hat is off to Image Entertainment, Inc.! Nice job!

All of the bonuses on these "Best Of" DVDs are also included on the full-season sets. So it's not going to be a case of having to Double-Dip just to get all the bonus material. **

** = Well, almost.

Here's a list of episodes, plus the special features for each volume ....................



VOLUME 1:

1.) "The Sick Boy And The Sitter" (From Season 1; Air Date: 10/03/1961).

2.) "Big Max Calvada" (From Season 3; Air Date: 11/20/1963).

3.) "Coast-To-Coast Big Mouth" (From Season 5; Air Date: 09/15/1965).

4.) "Dear Sally Rogers" (From Season 5; Air Date: 02/23/1966).

Volume 1 Extras: Complete "Pilot" episode, "Head Of The Family"; Emmy Award clip; Interview clips.

-------------------------------------------------------



VOLUME 2:

1.) "Where Did I Come From?" (From Season 1; Air Date: 01/03/1962).

2.) "That's My Boy??" (From Season 3; Air Date: 09/25/1963).

3.) "It May Look Like A Walnut" (From Season 2; Air Date: 02/06/1963).

4.) "October Eve" (From Season 3; Air Date: 04/08/1964).

Volume 2 Extras: Emmy Award clip; cast interviews; Featurette on the "Walnut" episode.

-------------------------------------------------------



VOLUME 3:

1.) "One Hundred Terrible Hours" (From Season 4; Air Date: 05/05/1965).

2.) "Uhny Uftz" (From Season 5; Air Date: 09/29/1965).

3.) "Never Bathe On Saturday" (From Season 4; Air Date: 03/31/1965).

4.) "The Secret Life Of Buddy And Sally" (From Season 2; Air Date: 11/28/1962).

Volume 3 Extras: Cast interviews; "Diagnosis Murder" clip (which has a "Van Dyke Show" tie-in).

-------------------------------------------------------



VOLUME 4:

1.) "Oh How We Met The Night That We Danced" (From Season 1; Air Date: 10/31/1961).

2.) "My Blonde-Haired Brunette" (From Season 1; Air Date: 10/10/1961).

3.) "4-And-A-Half" (From Season 4; Air Date: 11/04/1964).

4.) "The Alan Brady Show Goes To Jail" (From Season 4; Air Date: 11/11/1964).

Volume 4 Extras: Interview clips; Emmy Award clip; Dick sings Theme Song.

-------------------------------------------------------



VOLUME 5:

1.) "What's In A Middle Name?" (From Season 2; Air Date: 11/07/1962).

2.) "The Curious Thing About Women" (From Season 1; Air Date: 01/10/1962).

3.) "All About Eavesdropping" (From Season 2; Air Date: 10/23/1963).

4.) "One Angry Man" (From Season 1; Air Date: 03/07/1962).

Volume 5 Extras: "Rehearsal Footage"; 2 Emmy Award clips; plus a hidden
"Easter Egg" (TV commercial).

-------------------------------------------------------

Sample of the backside cover art (this is from Vol. 1)..........

 

[Ryan FB]

Giving us a steady stream of excellent full season sets, followed by "Best Of's" for casual fans (or those who can't justify ~$30-$50/set) after all the full seasons are out...well, what can I say. With Dick Van Dyke, Image has pretty much written the authoritative book on how TV on DVD should be done.

 

[PeterMano]

Those are a real deal. For those not familiar with the show, this is a great way to sample some of the best episodes from its five year run. These will also make great stocking stuffers at xmas time.

As for me, I'm waiting on season five to complete the set. I grew up with this series, hadn't seen it in literally decades. I'm amazed as to how many moments in various episodes I've remembered, which probably means that I watched this show religiously as a kid. They say you never forget anything, that it all stays locked up inside your brain somewhere. I'm apt to agree with that now.

No excuse now, for people not to pick up one if not all five of the best of TDVDS.

 

[Carlos Garcia]

Speaking as someone who owns every season set of this show, I think it would've been great if the extras on the "Best Of" set would've included bloopers and outtakes of the show. We all know they exist, but Carl Reiner didn't want them included as bonuses. However, I believe that if Mr. Reiner would've had a change of heart for the "Best Of" set, that would've been incentive enough for those of us with the season sets to spring for the "Best Of" sets as well.

 

[David Von Pein]

I don't think that would have been a good idea at all. Not that I don't want the bloopers on DVD (I do) -- but lots of purchasers would be ticked off at the prospect of re-buying all these different episodes just in order to get a few extras.

I can hear the backlash now. Image's image (hehe ) re. the DVD-on-DVD discs would be knocked down several pegs (IMO) if your proposition came to fruition, Mr. Garcia.

I think a better "Blooper Plan" would be to come out with a wholly-separate DVD release with "Additional Dick Van Dyke Show Bonus Materials", which could include the many other original CBS commericials that I have on VHS which we didn't get in the 5 seasonal boxed sets (for Joy, Kent, Cheer, et al), more TV promos, the bloopers we know exist, plus perhaps the TV-Land Special from 2000, and any other snippets/interviews that might be floating around. Maybe even put in there some of the game shows that Dick appeared on while he was doing his TV series -- I've Got A Secret, To Tell The Truth, and perhaps some others.

I'd buy that disc in a New Rochelle minute!

 

[Scott_J]

Thanks for the info David. I'll probably pick up volume 1 for "Sick Boy and the Sitter" (the first episode), "Coast to Coast Big Mouth" (one of my favorite DVD episodes), and the original pilot. For only $7.30 at DDD (final cost), it's a steal.

 

[pitchman]

Man, these look great! Nice job, Image. With all of the other big releases coming out next week, June 29th is gonna be one expensive 'new release Tuesday'!

Gary

 

[Carlos Garcia]

You mean the same way their newly re-mastered Twilight Zone sets are being ripped?

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=202579

It certainly sounds like it's not beneath them Too bad I didn't suggest this earlier, or we may have gotten bloopers of DVD already. I still think it would've been a good idea because unlike those extremely expensive Twilight Zone sets, the Dick Van Dyke Show bloopers aren't so plenty that they'll fill boxed sets. Sure, those who never bought the Image season sets may buy these "Best of" discs, but what about those of us who already own the season sets? What incentive do we have to buy discs of a show we already own?

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

You don't have any, and nor should you. You're already buying the season sets, these releases aren't for you anyway. These releases are targeted at people that are just casual fans and don't feel like dropping the $50 or whatever...the people that want to sample the show before committing to the season sets, and so on and so forth.
I'll have all 5 seasons by Thursday and will have no reason to buy these discs, and I'm not supposed to have a reason to buy them. Image has already got me hooked, these releases are for people like one of my friends who has maybe seen 1 episode of DVD in his entire life and it was one I showed him.

I like David's idea, come out with a completely seperate disc for this kind of stuff, don't just stick it on some best of so that I'd have to rebuy a bunch of episodes I already spent 50 bucks on once.

 

[David Von Pein]

Thank you, Casey.

I wrote......

Plus something I forgot to mention --- It'd be nice to have the new "Dick Van Dyke Show Re-visited" Reunion Special on any such "Extra Extras" disc as well.

That'd round it out very nicely.

They could even design the cover art to match the "Old TV Look" that adorns the 5 seasonal sets. That'd be kinda nifty.

Probably won't happen; but ya never know.

 

[David Von Pein]

Huh?
I don't understand this statement at all.

What good would one person saying "I want bloopers released" have done?

And why do you think Mr. Reiner would suddenly say OK to releasing the blooper material simply because it's contained within auxiliary "Best Of" type of DVD releases?

He doesn't want them released, period. Regardless of what type of Van Dyke Show package it's presented in.

That's a shame, I'll admit. And I don't see that releasing these funny outtakes would somehow destroy our image of Rob & Laura Petrie on screen. But Mr. Reiner feels differently, obviously.

 

[David Von Pein]

NOTE RE. SPECIAL FEATURES ..........

I've purchased Volumes 1 and 2 of the "Best Of" discs, and can tell Van Dyke DVD collectors that there's AT LEAST one special bonus feature that's on the Vol. 1 Best-Of disc that is not on any of the 5 full-season boxed sets (which was quite surprising to find).

The item in question is an Emmy Awards video clip (in color) from the 1966 Emmy telecast, which equates to the fifth & final year of the Van Dyke series.

I've double-checked every disc in the 5th-season set, and this clip on the "Best Of" is definitely not among the three awards we see presented on the fifth-season discs.

The "Best Of" Emmy clip features writers Bill Persky & Sam Denoff getting their award for writing.

The Best Of Volume 2 has an Emmy clip that IS contained also within a boxed set.

I'm soon going to be getting the remaining 3 "Best Of" discs. If I find any more "surprises", I'll post them here.

Very odd, indeed (IMO), that ANY bonuses would be placed on the value-priced Best-Of Van Dykes that would not also be on the season sets.

BTW --- Each "Best Of" volume also contains the "Meet The Cast" bio text screens, as well as "The Ottoman Tripper" one-question trivia game (with ensuing falling over/sidestepping the proverbial ottoman video clip from the show's opening). I *assume* the trivia questions used on the Best-Of discs are the same ones we see on the boxed sets (I can't quite recall).

All-in-all, the Best-Of series looks like a very good bang for the buck.

 

[David Von Pein]

I've noticed that TVShowsOnDVD.com is listing "outtakes" as an extra feature for all 5 of the Dick Van Dyke "Best Of" volumes (in the "DVD Releases" section, not the "News" areas).

This is incorrect. There are no outtakes on these discs. Wonder how that info got into the official Image Ent. specs?

Anyway, just thought David Lambert might want to revise that data.

 

[David Lambert]

I'll tell Gord; he usually handles the release listings.

BTW, I believe the release listings show what Image said (and continues to show) at their website for those releases. The news item, on the other hand, is straight from the backs of the boxes, almost word-for-word.

I can't imagine how Image got the "press/retailer" info wrong in their database! Didn't they know what was being produced for them? Somebody deserves a butt-kicking over that. And it makes me wonder if the problem is more widespread...

 

[David Von Pein]

The Image site doesn't have anything listed under "Special Features" for any of the 5 "Best Ofs" on its site.

 

[David Von Pein]

Hey, Van Dyke fans! ...........

Let's continue this thread with posts showing YOUR OWN "TOP 20" VAN DYKE SHOW EPISODES".

In other words, what eps. would YOU, personally, have placed on the 5 "Best Of" DVDs?

If Image Entertainment, Inc., had put me in charge of selecting 20 Van Dyke eps. to place on its series of 5 "Best Of" DVDs, here's what the discs would have looked like, episode-wise (many of these eps. do, indeed, appear on the Image Best-Of discs; but there are a few that I've replaced with others that I feel would be better-suited to adorn a DVD entitled "Best Of") ...............


VOLUME 1:
"The Sick Boy And The Sitter"
"Never Bathe On Saturday"
"A Nice, Friendly Game Of Cards"
"The Curse Of The Petrie People"


VOLUME 2:
"All About Eavesdropping"
"My Husband Is A Check-Grabber"
"Pink Pills And Purple Parents"
"The Impractical Joke"


VOLUME 3:
"Coast-To-Coast Big Mouth"
"The Curious Thing About Women"
"Ray Murdock's X-Ray"
"Harrison B. Harding Of Camp Crowder, Mo."


VOLUME 4:
"My Blonde-Haired Brunette"
"That's My Boy??"
"The Two Faces Of Rob"
"I'd Rather Be Bald Than Have No Head At All"


VOLUME 5:
"It May Look Like A Walnut"
"The Ghost Of A. Chantz"
"The Case Of The Pillow"
"Empress Carlotta's Necklace"

 

[george kaplan]

I'll play. It was actually pretty easy paring this down to 48 episodes. But getting down to 20 was painful. As you can tell I'm a sucker for flashback episodes (I almost went flashback all the way - even contemporary episodes like the toe in the bathtub are actually flashbacks).

Volume 1:

Oh, How We Met On The Night That We Danced
The Curious Thing About Women
Where Did I Come From?
Bank Book 6565696

Volume 2:
The Attempted Marriage
The Night The Roof Fell In
Don't Trip Over That Mountain
A Surprise Surprise Is A Surprise

Volume 3:
That's My Boy??
Honeymoons Are For The Lucky
Dear Mrs. Petrie, Your Husband Is In Jail
4 1/2

Volume 4:
The Impractical Joke
The Redcoats Are Coming
Your Home Sweet Home Is My Home
Never Bathe On Saturday

Volume 5:
One Hundred Terrible Hours
Remember The Alimony
Long Night's Journey Into Day
Obnoxious, Offensive Egomaniac, Etc.

 

[pitchman]

I picked up all 5 of the "Best Of" discs for less than four bucks each online, and I must say that I am tremendously impressed. For some reason, I missed the boat on the full season sets, and have not yet pulled the trigger becuase I can't seem to find them at a decent price (under $40 ea.) These single "Best Of" discs are an amazing deal... great episode selection and the transfers and bonus materials are superb! I guess Image achieved what they set out to do, because now more than ever, I want to get the entire set of full season boxes!

 

[David Von Pein]