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"The Doris Day Show" (1968) More at IMDbPro »

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11 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Doris Day Quit CBS, She Was Not Fired, 27 February 2005
Author: oliverpenn from United States

"Raysond" wrote this in his/her review: "due to low ratings and a sorry time slot) to let it go and from there "The Doris Day Show" was canceled by CBS. Also during this time the career of singer/actress/producer Doris Day was over and to this day in 1973 officially retired from the entertainment industry where she is living peacefully somewhere in her private estate in Hollywood."

Nothing could be far from the truth. Yes, CBS dealt Doris Day a "Ft. Knox Hand" (that's what VARIETY called it) to Miss Day for her to do a TV series. But, unlike what was reported by Raysond, the series was consistently in the Top 20 it's entire run. Doris Day called it quits with CBS. She had never wanted to do television in the first place: her husband secretly signed her to the CBS contract without her permission. He died, and as Day has said, "I was delivered to CBS." From what I have read, CBS wanted Doris to re-sign and continue the show, but she declined. She did, however, live up to her contract and did the two musical specials that her late husband promised.

Most people are not aware, but Doris' film career was far from over in 1968. Her three films that year ("Ballad of Josie," "Where Were You When The Lights Went Out" and "With Six You Get Eggroll") should have landed her among the top ten box office stars, but with the news that she would be doing a TV show, Quigley's Poll didn't bother. The fact is, Doris Day's 1968 films out-grossed several of the stars who made the list.

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10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
The sit-com that tries to find itself, 19 July 2002
Author: lugonian from Kissimmee, Florida

THE DORIS DAY SHOW (CBS, 1968-73), stars Doris Day in her only weekly comedy show of her career. Making her movie debut in 1948's ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS for Warner Brothers, she became an instant hit, with her subsequent films ranging from Technicolored musicals to light black and white comedies, and occasionally showing her ability as a dramatic actress with non-singing roles as STORM WARNING (WB, 1950), MIDNIGHT LACE (Universal, 1960), an excellent biographical role as Ruth Etting in LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME (MGM, 1955), among others. She found her screen persona as a virgin-type career woman in romantic sex comedies, memorably opposite Rock Hudson in PILLOW TALK (Universal, 1959), which earned her an Academy Award nomination. Day followed the Pillow Talk-type formula through most of the 1960s, but by 1966, the sameness was creeping in and her comedic formula was wearing thin. After twenty years on the big screen, she ended her cinematic career with WITH SIX YOU GET EGGROLL (1968), opposite TV actor Brian Keith in a motion picture with sit-com elements extended to about 90 minutes. At this point, Doris Day's movie career was over, until she found herself employed once more, working for the little screen, that being the set of television.

THE DORIS DAY SHOW, which premiered on CBS in September of 1968, opens with her theme song, "Que Sera Sera." The first season finds the widowed Doris Martin (Doris Day), a city girl, moving in with her white haired, bearded father, Buck Webb (Denver Pyle) on the family ranch with her two little blonde-haired boys, Billy (Philip Brown) and Toby (Todd Starke). Toby is the little guy with a buck tooth. With similarities to the recent TV show, GREEN ACRES, Doris is a city girl now back on the farm. Supporting her father is a hired hand country boy named LeRoy B. Simpson (James Hampton). There was also a maid, Aggie (Fran Ryan), and later Juanita (Naomi Stevens). The first season followed the tradition of other sit-coms of that time, sugar sweetness with country humor, never rising above the number one TV show of that season, THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW. Doris, in 1960s fashionable clothes, always looked too glamorous as a farm girl, but the first season succeeded well enough to go on another year. The second season found Doris Martin continuing to live on the farm, but this time commuting to the city and landing a job at TODAY'S WORLD MAGAZINE in San Francisco as a secretary to Mr. Nicholson (MacLean Stevenson). Also in support is Myrna Gibbons (Rose Marie, best known for her role as Sally Rogers on THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW). Rose Marie's character became an added plus to the show, although her character, a single woman always looking for the Mr. Right, was actually no different from her character on Van Dyke's show. The one thing missing was Morey Amsterdam. Myrna and Doris were given a second banana character in the carnation of Ron Harvey (Paul Smith), a bachelor co-worker on the trail of beautiful female companionship. Humorous but not hilarious as Amsterdam. With this change, the show was slowly finding itself. In season three, Doris moves out of her father's farm, takes with her the boys and their sheepdog, Lord Nelson, and moving to San Francisco in an apartment over an Italian restaurant run by Angie and Louie Palucci (Kaye Ballard and Bernie Kopell). Doris continues to work as secretary at TODAY'S WORLD MAGAZINE, with this format echoing the storylines to THE LUCY SHOW, with the boss and secretary stories, but minus the yelling, misunderstandings and slapstick. Denver Pyle as Doris' father, Buck, made a guest appearanace or two during this third season, and was no longer a series regular. While still working woman, Doris manages to find quality time with her boys, especially with one episode that focuses on the youngest Toby, in an episode where she on a camping trip with him, even though it's supposed to be a weekend for the fathers and sons, with Doris being the only female pitted against some upsetting fathers. Up to this time, THE DORIS DAY SHOW improved, showing both humor and heart to the character and plots. But it was still trying to find itself.

As a youngster growing up during this period, I always enjoyed shows like this, especially whenever they included kids. But the big change came with seasons four and five when Mrs. Doris Martin, who continues to work for TODAY'S WORLD MAGAZINE and living in the same apartment on top of Palucci's Italian Restaurant, becomes Miss Doris Martin, a bachelor girl. Following the more liberated woman-type shows, and the current CBS hit of THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, the format shift gears, eliminating the Martin boys, their dog, and contradicting everthing from the previous years, but regardless, the show finally found itself. Of course there were occasional characters reprising their roles from the first three seasons, such as Lew Ayres, Van Johnson and Billy DeWolfe (hilarious as Mr. Jarvis), so obviously this is the same character now with amnesia, and same show with different writers. Another difference, which is true to life, is Doris now working as a staff writer for a new boss, Cy Bennett (the mustached John Dehner), supported by a co-worker pal named Jackie (Jackie Joseph). Changing her boss from a handsome and easy-going man to a stuffy middle-aged meiser is a fine change, paralleling once again with THE LUCY SHOW (CBS, 1962-1968) with secretary Lucy Carmichael (Lucille Ball) and her daily working relationship with her stingy boss (Gale Gordon), which found Doris sometimes at wits with Cy Bennett. So with these final two seasons sees a combination of both LUCY and MARY TYLER MOORE shows. But the final two seasons is the format that has lasted the longest. Denher is a good counterpart to Doris, at times doing a good impersonation of 1930s leading man, Warren William.

This new format would have worked for me had Doris Martin remained what she has been previously, and mentioning in the first episodes of the fourth season that her boys have been sent away to boarding school would have explained the emptiness of her apartment. I was surprised she didn't rename this revamped format, THE NEW DORIS DAY SHOW. But what did happen is that Doris Day succeeded in making this dramatic change work. But for me, the working girl/family episodes from the second and third seasons are the best. The worst episodes are the latter ones that features Doris appearing as a model in an annual fashion show. And those fashions, clothing and hairstyles, especially from the 1970s, are awful then and awful now. Mediocre episodes are the ones featuring Larry Storch, who, to me, was never very funny, sorry to say. There was even one episode, I believe the final show from its third season, that had Doris appearing only in the opening segment where she comforts a troubled teen named April (played by Meredith Baxter). Baxter tells her story where the flashback segment takes up the entire rest of the show. Whether this was supposed to be a pilot episode to a new series, or an introduction to Miss Baxter, who would find a career on TV in later years, is uncertain. But this is one I least liked but somehow remember the most. I can also recall Doris Martin, of seasons four and five, having a romantic love interest, a middle-aged doctor, played by silver-haired Peter Lawford.

There's one episode, which I feel might be the one closest to Doris Day's heart, is the one in which she goes on trial for releasing a group of dogs locked in an automobile parked in the hot sun with shut windows. After being taken to court by the owner, she, of course, gets acquitted following her plea in the courtroom for the safety of dogs and other creatures, and her willingness to do what she did again even if it meant jail time. It's a possibility that this would be labeled Doris Day's personal favorite episode for that this is more Doris Martin being Doris Day, an animal rights activist.

THE DORIS DAY SHOW lasted 128 episodes, making its final first run in 1973. There was no final episode to end it all, but very few shows at that time had an episode that ended like a movie, which alls well that ends well. All the episodes were done on film and in color, but interestingly, it seldom got revived on reruns in later years. Maybe a small local TV station in the southern or midwestern states carried this program, airing it at the graveyard shift of 4 a.m., but I was reacquainted with the show when cable's Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN, now The Family Channel) revived it, along with other shows from that era, as GREEN ACRES, for example, in the 1980s. The show has dated, of course, but again, the drastic format change from seasons four and five might have worked had Doris Martin always been a single working girl. But then again, one cannot change the course of history. After a few years on CBN, the show disappeared again, leaving it to the memory to those who had watched this now almost forgotten sit-com on a regular basis back in the days of clean, wholesome television featuring a major movie star on the small screen. If this program should ever resurface again, possibly it would be from TV Land.

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11 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
I Don't Remember This Show Being This Good!, 5 August 2005
Author: nneprevilo from United States

I didn't watch much of the Doris Day Show when it was on, I hated the idea that America's top female movie star was forced to do TV. Because I'm a Doris Day collector, I purchased THE DORIS DAY SHOW First Season.

Now, I remember. I saw the first couple of shows and quit watching. Now watching the later shows from the first season, I can't believe how good this is! Leave it to Doris Day to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Her acting is incredible -- she doesn't miss a trick. As Jack Lemmon said about Day, "It was elevating to act with her." AND THAT BODY! Doris Day had the best figure in Hollywood. Don't get me wrong, I thought that Marilyn Monroe was voluptuous, but Doris' figure was perfect. She could wear anything and look terrific.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the seasons. On this collection, there are some fun extras, including Doris' two appearances on the TV classic, What's My Line?"

Looking back, Doris Day was robbed. She never got nominated as Best Actress in a comedy by the Emmys. Clearly, she was better than Lucille Ball in the messy and overplayed, "Here's Lucy" and as good or better than the actresses that WERE being nominated during this period. But I must point out, this series was done during the "I hate Doris Day" period in the USA. Everybody frowned on Day as being "too clean" and "a virgin." Of course all of that was nonsense and looks silly today, but that was the atmosphere in which Doris filmed this series.

The Emmys often ignored the best. Remember, the marvelous Esther Rolle was never nominated for her formidable work on "Good Times."

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7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
What ever will be will be!, 19 October 2000
Author: SanDiego from The Beach

How this show lasted five years is amazing considering each year the show was about something else. Her trademark theme song said it each week: 'What ever will be will be!' The show aired between 1968 and 1973, a time when women's roles changed in society and on television. "The Doris Day Show" reflected these changes beginning with Doris as a "modern housewife:" a widowed mother of two living in the country, and evolved into a pre-Mary Richards role model for single women in the work place (the first ever on television!) Because each year brought a different look (and different cast) to the show, it is difficult to sell in syndication but perhaps Nick-at-Night which prides itself in the evolution of such shows will have fun with it some day. (My suggestion: Do one of those five nights a week summers where Monday has the first year, Tuesday has the second year, and so forth...each year really was an entity unto itself.) The bottom line is that it features America's sweetheart Doris Day and that's really all that it needed. What ever will be will be.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
WHAT WILL BE WILL BE DELIGHTFUL!, 26 December 2001
Author: (pebrogan@hotmail.com) from Concord, NH - USA

Doris Day, the number one female box-office attraction of all-time, smoothly segued into television in September of 1968. Although she had not planned to do a series, her late husband Marty Melcher had committed her to a deal with the eye network and as Day always said, "...a deal is a deal..." Despite stellar ratings the first week, the series faltered somewhat during the following weeks as viewers became frustrated at seeing Doris, who had achieved tremendous cinema success as a working, strong-minded woman, relegated to living on a farm. She was a delight as a widow with two young sons, a father, farm hand and housekeeper, but the scripts gave her little to do but smile. She took control of the show during the second season, had her character, Doris Martin get a job at a magazine in San Francisco, and ratings shot through the roof. The second through fifth seasons were certainly notable for many reasons. "The Doris Day Show" averaged 35-35 million viewers each Monday evening. It was largely due to Day's tremendous likeability and effortless skill as an actress and comic. The situations, while often uproariously funny, were never so slapstick that they bordered on caricature. She wisely surrounded herself with a wonderful supporting cast and guest stars that complimented her inherent skills. Maclean Stevenson, Rose Marie, Kaye Ballard, Bernie Kopell, Billy DeWolfe and others, were all given ample opportunity to shine, Day never feeling she wanted all the focus to be on her. There were wonderful guest stars and a look-see at the series will give you a chance to watch a young Jodie Foster and a venerable Estelle Winwood, well into her 80's at the time she appeared on the series several times. Henry Fonda, Day's "Midnight Lace" co-star John Gavin, Lew Ayres, Tony Bennett, Peter Lawford, and Patrick O'Neal are just a handful of those who graced the tube with the freckle-faced dynamo. Continuing her big-screen role as an independent woman who wouldn't take flack from anyone, instead building a successful career in what was often a man's world, prior to the so-called cutting edge "Mary Tyler Moore Show", Day was a woman of strength and determination although never submerging her femininity and becoming hard or cold. Occassionally Doris Day even let lose with a song or two, harmonizing with Bennett to "I Left My Heart in San Francisco", chirping with Larry Storch to "Harvest Moon" or singing a perfectly beautiful "Silver Bells" during a Christmas episode. Always garbed beautifully, Day had a great time sending up her own image as in an episode where her character, Doris Martin, won a Doris Day look-alike contest. While the show underwent some changes of cast and locale each season, her character continued her job at Today's World, and always maintained her integrity and sense of humor. In the Spring of 1973, following a successful five year run of almost 130 episodes, Day decided not to renew her contract for another season feeling that she had done what she could with the role. Offers continued to pour in for various series but Day felt the series stood on its own merits. A look at the show today shows that she was savvy in walking away when she did. It remains funny, charming, very watchable, and Day remains a surefire treat, the glue that keeps everything nicely together.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Cute, But Confusing, 25 October 2005
Author: Brian Washington (Sargebri@att.net) from Los Angeles, California

When I was a kid this was my first exposure to Doris Day. I was only two when this show first aired and I used to watch it every week. However, it was fairly confusing due to the fact that it changed situations almost every season. In the first season she was the typical widowed mom raising her two kids in an almost carbon copy of "Green Acres", but without the surrealism of that show. In the second season we see her become a writer for a magazine, which she would remain, with slight variations for the next few years. However, in the final season, the show pretty much becomes another version of "Mary Tyler Moore" with her now playing a single girl and without the kids that she had for the first few years. However, despite these changes Doris Day retained the charm and grace that made her one of the most popular stars in television.

Also, one thing that is quite ironic is the fact that this show was set in San Francisco, which was the same locale as her former co-star, and close friend, Rock Hudson's series "McMillan and Wife". That fact could have led to all sorts of guest star possibilities.

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3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
America's and Canada's Sweetie, 27 November 2006

Author: gooelf50 from Canada

There wasn't much of a plot to speak of in this series, but I can recall watching it religiously every week. In retrospect, it was the dazzling good looks and charming personality of Doris that drew an audience. She played a part in the romantic dreams of every young man from the 1940s to the 1980s. Doris had it all; great looks, lovely figure, demurely sexy personality, wonderful singing voice, and a beautifully soft nature with occasional glimpses of a fiery temper. Her eyes were like two spoonsful of the Pacific ocean and her blonde hair and freckles were captivating. I haven't seen much of her since the series ended, but gather that she now runs a hotel in California where only people with pets can be guests. Given her well known love of animals and her generous nature, what else would you expect? I'd like to see her as a guest on the Tonight Show or the Letterman show. There are still a lot of us out here who love the lady and would like to see her one more time.

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Too good to be true!, 27 June 2005
Author: tfreeman-1 from Australia

I am delighted that a show that I remember fondly from my childhood is available on DVD at last. I grew up in Adelaide, Australia in in the 1970s and even though it took a few years for the rest of the world to get to us "television-wise", we did enjoy shows like "The Ghost and Mrs Muir", "Love on a Rooftop", "F-Troop", "Julia", "The Bob Newhart Show" and so on. The Doris Day Show was one of these great memories for me. Sadly, "Nick at Nite" has been canceled here and so we have no way of seeing these classic sit-coms, and certainly never on network TV! I hope that there is a rush on these DVDs. Their sure popularity may mean that the other episodes will be produced - the only chance that other generations will get a chance to see these classic shows. Oh, and the classic outfits! Gotta love that opening credit sequence of Doris stepping across the street through the traffic!

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
I still love to watch this show when it is on!, 24 July 2004
Author: appleimacdude (den246N@netscape.net) from San Diego, California

I had not seen the Doris Day show since I was very little (about 5) when it was on the air. I saw it listed in the TV Guide oh-so-many years later, and it was fascinating to watch! I love the scenery of the farms (though perhaps so-so writing) -- and later the scenery of her Plymouth Barracuda convertible driving through the beautiful scenery of the city -- this show is worth watching for the cast itself, which consisted of very talented people in comedy. It is worth noting that Doris Day said she did not know she had been signed up for a comedy series until her husband suddenly died - she quickly became producer after the first few scripts.

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3 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
WHO WROTE IT?, 4 July 2002
Author: ivan-22 from Los Angeles

Two decades ago, when they showed it for the last time, I was glued to the set every day, not only because Doris Day is one of the greatest actresses and most likable screen presences ever, but because the writing was so good. Yet there are no writing credits listed. I had a decided preference for the urban part of the show. The part where she is in the country struck my as pure corn. When she moves to the city where Anthony Benedetto left his heart, it becomes a different show. I love the season where she is living over the Italian restaurant and Kaye Ballard plays an Italian matron to the hilt. I love the episodes with Billy de Wolfe. He's a cranky, prissy bachelor listening to a cello recital and takes noisy neighbor Doris to task for perturbing his quietude. As Doris says in her book, she and Billy were friends and she tried to help him in his last illness. Great show, great memories. But we should know who wrote it. The writers are the real stars.

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