Mister Ed

One of the sillier, but yet most beloved of comedy/fantasy shows that were so prevalent in the Sixties was that show about a talking horse, the famous Mister Ed. The talking palomino had a popularity with real children and those elusive children of all ages because of the skill of Alan Young making you really believe that a horse could talk with the voice of Allan 'Rocky' Lane.

I'm sure for retired B picture cowboys who weren't getting too much work in the Sixties, Mister Ed must have provided a few nice paychecks for someone not in demand to be a cowboy hero any more. Lane's voice was well integrated into the personality of the palomino of whom evolution seems to have taken a quantum leap.

The premise of the show was that Mister Ed would only talk directly to Alan Young as Wilbur Post, architect who set up his studio in the barn on his property so he could spend as much time as he could with his talking equine. I well remember in the pilot episode when Young acquired Mister Ed, the horse told him that he never felt like talking to anyone until he met Young whom he felt had a real love of animals. It was the love that came through every week.

Young was married to Connie Hines who for five years couldn't figure out what this thing between Mister Ed and her husband was. Neither could anyone else and that led to the plot of most of the episodes.

I have very fond memories of the show in my younger days. It was one of those shows that was in a totally make believe world. No politics or issues of social significance ever intruded on the world of Wilbur Post and Mister Ed. It was and is completely timeless, you could remake all the episodes today without too much trouble.

In fact Mister Ed's primary source of mischief was the telephone extension in the studio/barn where he could call out anonymously to the world. When that receiver was picked up you knew Alan Young was in for 30 minutes of trouble. Can you imagine today what Mister Ed could do with a personal computer? The mind boggles.

Though I can never see anyone ever with the gentle humorous style of Alan Young doing Wilbur Post today, I could be surprised. I'm willing to be.

Mister Ed was one of those silly irrelevant shows that you had to love. You might question the sanity of the TV exec who green lighted a show about a talking horse, but watching Mister Ed frustrate Wilbur to no end was fun to watch. I really wish Nick at Nite would start showing Mister Ed again so the younger generation could take in this timeless and much maligned classic.

I was a small child when Mr.Ed first broadcast it is a funny clean comedy that i would imagine people of all ages would enjoy. keep the old shows coming.

Mr. Ed has the reputation of being a silly sitcom that is mainly for children which is probably due to the story centering on a horse that speaks English. However, I consider myself a person with sophisticated tastes and I adore this sitcom and consider it one of the greatest sitcoms ever. The writing is sophisticated and witty. The interplay between all the characters is hilarious and the performances are uniformly marvelous. I think that Allan (Rocky) Lane (Mr. Ed's voice), and Larry Keating, are particularly underrated in this sitcom. Alan Young is also outstanding and his comic mannerisms are a sight to behold--he is very similar to John Ritter with his wonderful combination of slapstick comedic flair and appealing personality. The fights between Wilbur and his wife are especially well-written and performed. A truly special sitcom that has never received its due credit--especially for the writing.

Being only 20, this show was before my time, but when my Nana and I started watching it, it struck a cord...

I'm used to the shows of today using crude and perverted "humor" as they call it and lame plots. but Mister Ed was different, the humor was actually funny and they always found something different to do and make it look practical and not always so outlandish. I sincerely believe that there was not a better man to play "Wilbur Post" than Alan Young, who had the mild manner attitude and "boyish" look to him that completed and made that character believeable. Allan Lane's voice was just perfect for the horse known as "Ed" (but who's real name was "Bamboo Harvester" or "Pumpkin" who was used for certain pictures and promotionals for the show)

This show is timeless and a classic and I am so glad to see it brought back on to television, though many of it's characters are with the LORD now: Larry Keating and Edna Skinner (The Addisons), Leon Ames (Col. Gordon Kirkwood), Allan Lane, Bamboo Harvester, Pumpkin (Ed's voice, the horse in the show, and the promotional Ed), but also happy to see that Alan Young and Connie Hines are still here!

If ever there was a show worth watching, this is IT...