The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

I really liked the series- a true American Classic. I agree with another poster about Wally Plumstead- he provided many humorous moments and actually carried the series for many of the episodes. I think I recall that there were some episodes where only Wally appeared and Rick was featured at the end in a separate filmed performance of his band. Also, the episodes with Thorny and the situations with Ozzie were definitely the most humorous in the series. Just one thing on your stats as far as appearances for each of the main characters. It says Harriet, David and Ricky each appeared in 172 episodes, where Ozzie was in 171. How could this be, since there were at 435 episodes total?

Ah, those were the days. THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE AND HARRIET was such a wonderful piece of Americana, back in the days when the neighbor came in through the back door to pay his pal a visit. Nowadays, when the neighbor comes in through the back door, it's to spend a little time with his pal's wife! Sad to say, many people would consider the comedy of this wonderful sitcom as being obsolete, giving the false notion that this show is not funny. Actually, this show was really very funny, in spite of the lack of crude humor, the lack of profanity and the lack of, dare I say? sexual situations.

OZZIE AND HARRIET reminds me of that mythical sitcom featured on the movie, PLEASANTVILLE.

Even though Ozzie's character wasn't the most assertive person around, he was still the man of the house and he did keep his family together. He certainly did a far better job as the man of the house than (sad to say) too many so-called assertive husbands today as the number of divorces and dysfunctional households continue to increase.

The plots were funny enough. All those clever one-liners that took place throughout the program, only made what was originally a funny episode, even funnier, yet.

Before jumping to the ignorant conclusion that this show was bland, one must also remember that this show was one of the first sitcoms to feature real rock and roll as later episodes featured Ricky Nelson performing his hits.

This show not only brought rock and roll into American living rooms, it also made it acceptable to parents, proving that rock and roll music would not destroy American society.

One story that was printed long after the series was canceled involved Ricky Nelson and his mother, Harriet. Unlike too many mothers of that era, who thought rock and roll posed a threat to modern society, Harriet commented that when she was Ricky's age, the older generation made the exact same comments (in the 1920s) about jazz.

Another story that was printed involved Ricky Nelson's first encounter with Elvis Presley. Not knowing what to expect from this encounter, Ricky was surprised to discover that not only was Elvis a nice guy, he was also a big fan of THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE AND HARRIET.

I think that The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, not unlike its counterparts (i.e. Leave it to Beaver), were what they were because that's what people wanted at the time. Many accounts of the 1950's are not the most interesting, but that's the way things were-culturally. With out these programs, however mundane you may find them, there would have been no examples for the family sit-com following the cultural revolution of the 1960's. I think that in today's society it is nice to look back, and see a family living together, enjoying life, and running into the occasional plot conflict. To hate Ozzie and Harriet is to hate Americana- after all that's what they were at the time of their program.You'll notice that the show ended in the late 1960's, when due to the cultural unrest in the United States, their brand of entertainment became, sadly enough, obsolete. Conclusion: take it for what it is (or was), it's a glimpse into a bygone era: a time of homemakers, fresh-baked cookies, pipe smoking dads, the milkman, and no use for the modern vulgarities of the medium.

I concur with the previous posts that Ozzie and Harriet was really a show "about nothing," and was quite funny until the boys got married (even then, it had its moments). Rather than showing how dull and boring the perfect traditional family could be, it celebrated the humor and fun in everyday life and its quirks. Most underrated was the comic talent of Ozzie. Not only was he hilariously adept and creative in his efforts to avoid work around the house, but when the situation resulted in physical comedy he was nothing short of amazing. I remember seeing a rerun 35 years ago, in which Ozzie has to swallow a big wad of ice cream. Just watching him, I could FEEL the brain freeze he got, and I still feel it just remembering. Personally, I like the 1952-1955 episodes with Don Defore as Thorny. The situations were believable but still funny-- Ozzie trying to convince everyone that he bought spot cleaner to help out an old lady instead of buying it to help out her sexy daughter, Ozzie scouring the town for tutti-fruity ice cream, Ozzie fretting over the rain damage that he knows he will get if he permits a nest of birds to remain in his rain gutter, Ozzie trying to send back a pair of chairs sent by mistake, Ozzie having to sleep apart from Harriet because she misinterprets Ozzie's support for separate rooms for the boys. In a way, Ozzie is a more functional and less stupid Homer Simpson. Since some of the shows can be obtained in the bargain DVD bins at Walmart and other places, do yourself a favor and give a few episodes a try.

"Ozzie and Harriet" is often used as a buzzword for white-bread America: Husband runs the family spouting words of manly wisdom, while the wife stays home with the well-behaved kids. Funny thing is, the show really isn't like that. Ozzie is a guy who apparently never goes to work - it's a running gag throughout the show. His "great ideas" usually lead to disaster, and usually it's Harriet who quietly gets everything to turn out all right in the end. The kids, especially Ricky, often shoot off at the mouth. It was even Seinfeld-esque (and I say that as a rabid Seinfeld fan) - most episodes could fairly be described as being "about nothing".

In truth it's one of the funniest shows ever on television. It was even cutting edge, for its time: Ozzie and Harriet slept in the same bed, which was unheard of. Ever see anyone on a TV show "break the fourth wall" (start talking to the camera)? This started on O&H - first with Ricky's end-of-show shrugs, and later with full-blown conversations directed to the camera. My personal favorite example of this is when Ozzie pretended to be a mind-reader (who of course no one recognized because of a cheesy goatee). When he gets exposed at the end, just about every character quips something or other straight into the camera.

Do yourself a favor though. Don't start off with the late episodes where the boys are grown up and married. Those can be quite funny, but the show at times was just coasting on its reputation by then. Watch the earlier stuff from when the boys were little, when Thorny still lived next door. Give yourself time to get to know the characters, and you certainly won't regret it!