The New Dick Van Dyke Show

I was a fan of the first two seasons of this series. With the third, and final, season there were multiple cast changes and Dick, Hope and the girl that played their daughter were all that was left of the original cast. Interestingly, I recall reading that prior to being cast as Jenny in this series, Hope Lange's acting experience had been as a film actress and she had never performed before live audiences until this time. She made a great transition! In one episode Dick & Jenny are resolving an argument and he makes a comment about, "Whoever said blondes were dumb?" Jenny's reply; "Probably some dumb brunette." Were they giving Mary Tyler Moore a little jab? :-) Although the ratings remained good (not great) after the cast changes, the reason this series was pulled from the CBS schedule was because of an episode the network refused to air; Dick & Jenny's daughter accidentally sees them making love. Her parents then explain what she saw. CBS found the topic too controversial. When Dick Van Dyke and Hope Lange protested, the series went into permanent hiatus. Remember, only a decade earlier Rob & Laura couldn't even sleep in the same bed. But only a few years later CBS allowed Edith Bunker to deal with rape and Maude Findlay with menopause.

BTW ~ In regards to sensitive subject matter, Hope gave a fine performance in the TV movie "That Certain Summer."

I remember as a kid tuning in hoping to relive the excellence of the earlier Dick van Dyke show, only to get this.

Hope Lang was not MTM, which she repeatedly demonstrated with her wan performances and her insufferable camera glances. The supporting players were uninteresting and there was none of the dynamism the old DVD show managed to bring to both home and office. MTM advanced, DVD struggled.

I don't know whether the "making love" scene was true, but it does sum up the era - with inhibitions gone, any absurd thing became relevant. It may be that DVD as a comic performer needed the supporting cast he had, not the ones here that he ended up with.

Not a good show.

Dick van Dyke and Hope Lange, likeable stalwarts of 1960s sitcoms made a second series together with pretty good results. No particularly memorable plots but you really believed them as a modern married couple with a young teenage daughter.

The writers wanted to make a more modern series; this was after all the era of ALL IN THE FAMILY. That led to the one scene that people remember from the show and a scene likely to appear on TV comedy retrospectives-- It's night time, the daughter is asleep and the parents have gone off to make love in their bedroom. The camera shows the hallway linking the two bedrooms. Out of the door on the right, the daughter comes out, calling to her parents in a sleepy voice. She crosses to her parents' room, opens the door, and enters. Wait two beats..... On the third beat she backs up back into the hallway and silently crosses back to her room. Wait two beats.... The parents, hurriedly tying bathrobes shut, head to the daughter's room!

A nice scene follows where the parents try to explain what the daughter saw. The daughter listens intently, nods her acceptance, and then giggles the punchline, "You two sure looked funny!"

I enjoyed this show even more than the original Dick van Dyke show. I always found Mary Tyler Moore a little annoying - never liked her show, but loved Rhoda - and found most of the characters a little one-note (Sally couldn't find someone to marry, Buddy couldn't say anything nice about his wife, Mel couldn't say anything nice about anyone but Alan and that was fake, and Alan was bald). But I really enjoyed this, even though I only got to see a few episodes. The episode where Dick got stuck in a tree was a hoot! And I always loved Hope Lange. She never over-acted or over-reacted, but just seemed real.

No matter how crazy this sounds, while this show was on the air, it was one of my favorite shows! I found this show very entertaining, I found it enjoyable to watch, and, I even love the reruns, and why? The House!.. That house in Phoenix was absolutely spectacular! The sofa was second to none, the staircase was the most beautiful informal staircase on the face of the Earth! It is one of those homes that exudes a comfortable American affluence.. This house was so inviting for you to just sit around in it and eat a dinner comprised of 40 pounds of Prime Rib with Baked Alaska for dessert! The adobe fireplace was so innovative, and, I love the concept of a Master Bedroom on the main level of the house!The Sunken Living Room that had several conversation areas, and light colored walls which were so avant garde for the early seventies!The house in California during the last season of the show was nice, especially the open staircase, not nearly as breathtaking as the Phoenix one though! Dick Van Dyke's original show had a house in Connecticut which was very open and executive looking, however, it was too linked to the motif of early sixties decor! Yes, interior design can make all the difference in the world! I loved Dick Van Dyke's second show "The New Dick Van Dyke Show' and, it was all because of the house! That house in Phoenix was absolutely magnificent!