Ozzie & Harriet Release From Sam Nelson?

With Halloween coming next week, I will be watching"Halloween Party" from the first season. 1952. A young Jerry Mathers aka Beaver Cleaver appears as one of the Trick or treaters.

 

While I love the entire series I especially like the first few seasons with Don DeFore as Thorny usually getting into trouble with Oz.

 

I'll never understand why people who, often vociferously, proclaim to dislike the main subject of a thread still feel a need to go into said thread and continue to share their ill will toward the subject. Why even participate in the thread in the first place, let alone return to it again and again to continually offer the exact same derision? What purpose is this supposed to serve? On a purely objective level, do you think the repeated attempts to express contempt for the subject are somehow going to convert others to ally with your perspective? If so, is it so important to have your opinion be admired and potentially adopted? Why? Is there no room in your world view for differing takes on any given subject? I would have to wonder about inherent insecurity of such a person if that were the case. Surely there must be more important aspects of life than to try to vehemently sway others from, of all things, watching an old television series. I'm genuinely curious about all of this.

Of course, this is a public forum and all points of view on any subject should be welcome, but it's the repetition of the same old criticism by the same voices that bewilder me. I myself tend to stay out of threads for subjects that are of no interest to me and even if I did hold such a high opinion of myself I still wouldn't go in there just to try and convince everyone else that they are wrong and I am right. I don't get it.

Anyway, I'm trying to apply logic to something on the internet and as we all know those two things don't always go together. Suffice to say this thread has been a lot of fun and very interesting for the most part and I do encourage all the newcomers who are watching OZZIE AND HARRIET for the first time to share their reflections of it, both pro and con. I don't think even its biggest fans here would ever say the series is perfect, so intelligent, perceptive and rational critiques, positive and negative, are always beneficial.

(So as not to veer anymore off topic, if anyone has answers to the questions I posted above, shoot me a PM with your ideas as I'd really like to learn more about this message board phenomena).

 

Well stated, Glen. Thread-crapping just really isn't a positive position to take at fan-oriented sites. We aren't dealing with "end of the world" important stuff when discussing our favorite TV shows, so going into the thread of a show I don't care for, only for the purpose of raining on the parade, seems very counter-intuitive to me. Sites like this are similar to a town square, or a neighborhood watering hole, where folks come to enjoy themselves and talk to others. If I don't like a particular sports team, goodness knows I'm not about to go into a place where the fans of that team congregate and start screaming about how much I hate that team. Just not smart.

Gary "just piggy backing on the wisdom offered by the Professor - now back to your regularly scheduled show" O.

 

I like the different eras of the show for different reasons, and it would be hard for me to pick one over the other. Like Gary16, I enjoy the early years in particular because of the interaction with Don DeFore's 'Thorny' and Ozzie. It was a great pairing and Don was the perfect neighbor to give 'Oz' the business. Fun stuff.

But I also enjoyed the latter years because of the inclusion of Skip Young's character, 'Wally'. I thought he was a great addition to the show and whenever he was in an episode I thoroughly enjoyed it. Similar to Ken Osmond or Frank Bank showing up in a Leave it to Beaver episode. It just always added something extra. Wally's crazy laugh may have irritated some, but it was infectious for me. Loved it when he was part of the storyline.

Gary "so I guess I'm saying I like the entire run, with both early and later having something different yet really good" O.

 

I have a question from an opposite angle.

One poster recently commented:

"When they did the movie Pleasantville and depicted a white bread, everything perfect 50s sitcom, I think O&H was probably the blueprint that they used. Speaking of which, how did they constantly eat ice cream and drink milk shakes but never gain an ounce? Just like in Pleasantville! "

A subsequent poster immediately derided this film, I think they used the word vile among others, as though it's very nature was to diminish O&H, a show they love.

1.) No one ever said specifically that particular movie invention was based on O&H. So why take such vehement offense to it? Plenty of other 1950's sitcoms were, or could have been, the inspiration for that.
2.) Even if you like O&H, or anything, why can't one appreciate satiric takes on something one likes without reacting like you're personally being attacked?

I mean, I love Gilligan's Island, one of the most derided shows of all time, but I don't take offense at anyone who makes jokes at its expense or whatever else they might feel or say. I'm not offended by it nor do I feel I have to defend myself or the show. I enjoy it without needing any approval or agreement from anyone else. I think sometimes people like to poke at another who just doesn't see how ridiculous they are when they react to things like this. As I heard once, don't take things personally, unless it is. Think about that.

I don't know this series at all well, though I watched it in the later years in the 60's. I have some episodes on holiday collections and enjoy them very much. I'm not exposed to it now on any retro channels and the sheer volume of episodes they made seems to inhibit of my wading into it any further. The reason I've popped into this thread occasionally is to see what people have had to say about Sam Nelson and his seemingly futile attempts to get DVD releases for it. This thread was not intended at first to be about the show itself, but rather the aspect of Sam Nelson trying to release it. So...there's that.

 

I prefer the early years when the boys were younger, and Ricky was just a cocky kid and made wise-cracks! I noticed as Rick grew older, he became more serious, restrained and less-animated, so I feel they brought in Wally as comic relief. His laugh could get grating to me at times, and his acting seemed forced and a little over the top for me. I did like Mary Jane Croft here and on Lucy, but she could over-act at times, too. Maybe she was used to working on radio where she relied on her voice more.
But I do think the show was unique at the time in the sense that it ran for so long, and we got to watch the boys grow up, and get married and have careers.

 

Aside from a few episodes I've seen thanks to cheap PD dvd sets (mostly Christmas collections), I've never had much of an exposure to Ozzie and Harriet. This thread has intrigued me so I just placed the very reasonably priced Shout set on my Amazon wishlist. When I make my next order, I'll include it to get me over the $25.00 minimum for free shipping. Yep, I'm too cheap to spring for Prime.

 

I spent a good chunk of yesterday afternoon and evening binge watching this on YouTube! I started with a 1981 Christmas special with David, Harriet, and a ton of different guests appearing. It was a mixture of old episode clips and new segments. It wasn't as good as the series proper, but not bad. Then I delved into more Christmas episodes. I thoroughly enjoy watching the early years where Ricky was a wisecracking kid giving David a hard time. The latter years are good, and I haven't watched as much of those yet (I'm still a newbie to a great extent), but it seems almost like it turned into more of a milder comedy. This is what you call comfort food TV. If you're feeling down, this show will cheer you up.

 

I'll look for this myself as I don't recall ever seeing this episode. Since others have mentioned the long run and evolution of O & H and since you mention the Beav, I'm one of those who doesn't mind when a show runs longer than its glory years...if Leave It To Beaver had gone on a few more seasons, it seems likely that Mathers' own musical explorations would have figured into the storyline. Anyone who hasn't checked out Beaver & the Trappers "Happiness Is" should do themselves a favor.

 

The always great SCTV once did a hilarious satire of a long running sitcom entitled LOVE THAT RUSTY wherein the lead character, a troublemaker little kid named Rusty, is played by the same actor for 20 years still as a little kid no matter how much he had aged! It was brilliant.

I too prefer the early Ricky and the early Beaver as characters since both actors seemed to lose a great part of their 'personality" as they got older. Jerry Mathers in particular even flounders with losing some of his natural acting ability, becoming kind of strangely stiff and uncomfortably mannered in the later seasons. Ricky Nelson just seems more withdrawn, serious and oddly polite as he gets older, in marked contrast to his more snappy and wise behind his years younger self. Of course, I wouldn't want them to maintain an obvious childish demeanor as they themselves matured, but there is no doubt both shows become very different as the seasons progress.

Thankfully, the writers of each series realized this and made interesting efforts to compensate for the natural changes. In Beaver they really upped the roles of Wally, Eddie and Lumpy, which made for some of the best and funniest episodes of the later seasons, even while more than a few of the Beaver focused stories became embarrassingly bad. (Someday I would love to confront whomever it was that created the character of Gilbert, surely one of the most unlikable, nerve grating characters in the history of the medium!). As for Ozzie, they brought in Wally, who turned out to be a terrific comic character, naturally stunted in adolescence and picking up right where the younger Ricky left off. In addition, they spent more shows centered on the best character of the show from the beginning, Ozzie, whose consistent befuddlement over everything always struck me as the funniest part of the series and its heart as well.

If I had to desert island choose my favorite seasons of both shows they would no doubt be from the earlier years, but I can still watch the later ones with equal enjoyment once some adjustments are made, both within the shows themselves and within me.

 

Great comments, Glen. You are undoubtedly in the majority with your season preferences of both shows (LITB and O&H). What I'm about to write will put me into heretic realm, I'm sure, but with LITB I have always said I prefer the later years. In fact, I actually rate that show from favorite to least favorite this way 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Crazy, I know. But I so enjoy the interaction with Wally, Eddie and Lumpy that it makes those seasons all the better for me.

As for Ozzie & Harriet, that's a much tougher call. I could probably flip a coin and be fine either way. I love both eras of the show exactly the same. The show did become more easy going as it progressed, and if Skip Young had not entered the picture in season 5 I have no doubt I'd prefer the earlier seasons to the later ones.

The changes in story-lines with both series, as they progressed, were also both spot on and worked well. In the early years girls were not as much a focal point, but obviously as the boys in both shows grew up that had to be an addition to keep things real. And I thought both shows did a great job of that. In fact, that reminds me that another reason I enjoy the later runs of both series is because they were able to bring in Cheryl Holdridge for guest spots from time to time. And that was always a plus in my book.

Gary "great discussion about a great series" O.

 

I agree completely. Both shows brought in some amazing actresses in the later years in addition to Cheryl. Let’s not forget Tuesday Weld, Roberta Shore, Ahna Capri, Linda Evanstad (aka Evans), Brooke Bundy, Barbara Parkins, etc.

 

I think you just converted me to a fan!

 

Yes indeed. There were many beautiful actresses on both shows.

Gary "didn't intend to forget all the other actresses, its just that Cheryl was my first real TV crush" O.

 

And Susan Oliver.

 

Good discussion, guys! Just wanted to chime in and let Gary OS know that I followed Josh's lead and ordered The Best of the Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet set from Shout Factory. It'll be a while before I can get my hands on it, but definitely looking forward to getting more acquainted with the Nelson family.

 

At least Sam manages to keep the copyright up to date for the official site