The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited

This "new" episode of the old series is an embarrassment to watch. Being an avid fan of the original, I eagerly awaited this reunion. Some memories are better left alone. I own all of the DVD's of "DVD", and that's all I need. It is even worse than the "Mary & Rhoda" TV-movie a few years back. At least in that "reunion," MTM was still playing Mary Richards. In this debacle, she's definitely not Laura Petrie....I have no idea whom she is portraying. Laura in this special appears sedated, with none of the spunk of the 60s version. Granted, it's forty years later, but DVD himself still manages to evoke the character of Rob. CBS deserves criticism for having Ray Romano "host" the show. I realize they consider him their current top comedian, but he can't hold a candle to DVD. The class, acting and writing of "DVD" cannot be found on network TV these days. And, I LOVE Rose Marie, but she doesn't appear well in this reunion. Again, go purchase those "DVD" DVD's - a great investment. I've already introduced many young friends to the series....friends who were equally appalled by this 2004 special.

I hate reunion shows of old TV shows. They always stink, but at least this one has a lot less stink than most of the others. It's not a bad film and it does reunite SOME of the original cast around a reasonably believable plot (the dead ones, thankfully, were not brought back). It also isn't so maudlin like many reunion shows. But, it also isn't all that wonderful and if you don't see it you aren't missing much. I loved the original show (except, of course, for episodes where they put on musical variety shows), but felt pretty tepid about this--the film isn't really necessary nor is it offensive. Now, believe it or not, this is a VERY positive review, because compared to other reunion shows I have seen, this is Hamlet-quality. For a nauseatingly bad reunion show, try the Beverly Hillbilly reunion. Or for a rotten time, but not quite as traumatic, try the Leave it to Beaver or Andy Griffith Show reunions. Now they ARE truly bad.

It was good to see the gang again. The writing was sprightly and stylish, but the premise was all wrong. Who cares about a eulogy for Alan Brady? That angle fell completely flat. I would much rather have spent more time with Rob and Laura in their old living room where we had last seen them; and in color!

As far as I'm concerned, the whole show should have centered around Rob and Laura selling their home in New Rochelle and moving into that Manhattan apartment. It would have been a more fitting way to bring us from the 60s and into the 21st Century. It also would have had more of the flavor of the old show as they faced quirky prospective buyers, real estate agents, etc. Alan Brady could have made an offer to buy the house and turn it into a rental property with a shrewd Ritchie stepping up to buy it out from under him.

One last party at the New Rochelle house to celebrate the move would have given the cast a chance to reminisce over archival footage. It would have been far more upbeat than spending an hour talking about death. Who knows? It could have provided Carl Reiner with a great platform for spinning off another reunion show. With critics panning this reunion as they did, they may never do another reunion episode again. I hope that's not the case.

Over the years, TV show reunions have varied in quality. "The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited" actually comes out quite well. In this one, Rob (Dick Van Dyke) and Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) are retired and living in Manhattan when Alan Brady (Carl Reiner) summons Rob and Sally (Rose Marie) to write a eulogy for him before he dies. So arises the question: how do you write a eulogy for someone like Alan Brady? The characters themselves haven't changed a bit in the nearly 40 years since the original series. Rob is still tense, Laura is still fiery, and Alan is still a jerk. Sally is now married to Herman Glimscher (Bill Idelson), and neighbor Millie Helper (Ann Morgan Guilbert) is dating Rob's brother Stacy (Jerry Van Dyke). A good thing that the reunion did is not try to replace the deceased cast members (Morey Amsterdam, Richard Deacon, Jerry Paris); I think that we can agree that no one throws out hilarious insults like Morey Amsterdam.

So, this reunion isn't bad at all. However, couldn't they have found someone other than Ray Romano to host it? Oh well, it's pretty good otherwise. Still, I would have liked to have heard Buddy make just one more comment about Cooley's bald head.

I finally watched it with mixed feelings. The only parts I found funny were the "clips" from the classic show. The laughter from the "present" felt forced and after a while the applause got a little annoying. It was really nice to see the cast-why was Ray Romano there?-but the storyline could've been done so much better! It lacked the spark and genius that made the show so successful from 1961-1966.