Folks, I just saw this episode for the first time, and my mouth is hanging open. Why?
First of all, I pretty much hate this tv series, and before this episode I would give the series a four. I have the whole series on Blu-ray, and I am seeing them all in order (one per day). This series was really torturing me time after time, but it does have bright spots at times, but I think the jokes are often quite dumb, and it's not about comparing it to modern humor. I saw this show as a child, and again in later years, and I never really liked it. Dick Van Dyke campaigning like a commie against the Vietnam War didn't help things any.
But as much pain as going through this series gave me, this one episode made up for it all. This episode is so blasted magnificent, I'm at a loss for words. I'm going to see it again tomorrow, to make sure I caught all the jokes. Laura coming across as a dancehall tramp was just hilarious, plus Richie mistaking his father for his mother, because Rob is wearing a dress, and then continually calling him a sissy. Total, total classic. This is probably the best dream sequence I have ever seen, even more so if you dislike this series as I do. BTW, this series was MUCH better that last half of the last season. They destroyed a lot of things I didn't like (like Buddy non-stop insulting Mel) and the increased inclusion of Carl Reiner made all the difference. Carl saved that show, and it's too bad they didn't discover the humor he could provide until the bitter end like that.
So the first four and one half years, I would give it a four. The last half, not including this episode, I would give a seven, but including it, maybe an eight or nine. But this one episode was easily a twenty by itself. What happened with that writing staff that they pulled off a precious gem like this? I'm awestruck.
First of all, I pretty much hate this tv series, and before this episode I would give the series a four. I have the whole series on Blu-ray, and I am seeing them all in order (one per day). This series was really torturing me time after time, but it does have bright spots at times, but I think the jokes are often quite dumb, and it's not about comparing it to modern humor. I saw this show as a child, and again in later years, and I never really liked it. Dick Van Dyke campaigning like a commie against the Vietnam War didn't help things any.
But as much pain as going through this series gave me, this one episode made up for it all. This episode is so blasted magnificent, I'm at a loss for words. I'm going to see it again tomorrow, to make sure I caught all the jokes. Laura coming across as a dancehall tramp was just hilarious, plus Richie mistaking his father for his mother, because Rob is wearing a dress, and then continually calling him a sissy. Total, total classic. This is probably the best dream sequence I have ever seen, even more so if you dislike this series as I do. BTW, this series was MUCH better that last half of the last season. They destroyed a lot of things I didn't like (like Buddy non-stop insulting Mel) and the increased inclusion of Carl Reiner made all the difference. Carl saved that show, and it's too bad they didn't discover the humor he could provide until the bitter end like that.
So the first four and one half years, I would give it a four. The last half, not including this episode, I would give a seven, but including it, maybe an eight or nine. But this one episode was easily a twenty by itself. What happened with that writing staff that they pulled off a precious gem like this? I'm awestruck.