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The Dick Van Dyke Show

A Surprise Surprise Is a Surprise

  • Episode aired Apr 24, 1963
  • TV-GTV-G
  • 30m
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
220
YOUR RATING
S2.E30
  • S2
  • E30
All episodes
All
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke in The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961)
  • Comedy
  • Family
Rob drives himself beyond distraction trying to figure out whether Laura is going to throw him a surprise party for his birthday and, if she IS going to throw a surprise party, when and wher... Read allRob drives himself beyond distraction trying to figure out whether Laura is going to throw him a surprise party for his birthday and, if she IS going to throw a surprise party, when and where it's going to happen.Rob drives himself beyond distraction trying to figure out whether Laura is going to throw him a surprise party for his birthday and, if she IS going to throw a surprise party, when and where it's going to happen.
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
220
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Jerry Paris
  • Writer
    • Carl Reiner
  • Stars
    • Dick Van Dyke
    • Rose Marie
    • Morey Amsterdam
Top credits
  • Director
    • Jerry Paris
  • Writer
    • Carl Reiner
  • Stars
    • Dick Van Dyke
    • Rose Marie
    • Morey Amsterdam
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1User review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos

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    Top cast

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    Dick Van Dyke
    Dick Van Dyke
    • Rob Petrieas Rob Petrie
    Rose Marie
    Rose Marie
    • Sally Rogersas Sally Rogers
    Morey Amsterdam
    Morey Amsterdam
    • Buddy Sorrellas Buddy Sorrell
    Larry Mathews
    Larry Mathews
    • Ritchie Petrieas Ritchie Petrie
    Mary Tyler Moore
    Mary Tyler Moore
    • Laura Petrieas Laura Petrie
    Richard Deacon
    Richard Deacon
    • Mel Cooleyas Mel Cooley
    Jerry Paris
    Jerry Paris
    • Jerry Helperas Jerry Helper
    Ann Morgan Guilbert
    Ann Morgan Guilbert
    • Millie Helperas Millie Helper
    Frank Adamo
    • Party Guestas Party Guest
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Jerry Paris
    • Writer
      • Carl Reiner
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    Storyline

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    Rob overhears Laura talking to Millie about pulling some sort of deception on him which Millie will help keep secret. It sounds like Laura is planning on having an affair, but based on another conversation he overhears between the two, Rob learns that the secret is a surprise birthday party for him. When Rob gets it out of Laura that she is planning "something" for his birthday, Laura makes a change of plans. So Rob knows that Laura is planning a surprise party for him, but what Rob doesn't know is that Laura knows that he knows, or so Laura thinks. Rob is pretty certain she is trying the old double reverse on him. Is she really? Only a party (or none) on Saturday night will tell the real story of who managed to outfox whom. —Huggo
    • birthday
    • surprise party
    • secret
    • deception
    • crying
    • 13 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Genres
      • Comedy
      • Family
    • Certificate
      • TV-G
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Sally Rogers (Rose Marie) teases Rob about his amateur sleuthing to learn whether he's going to have a surprise party by referring to him as "Sebastian", an almost incomprehensible reference to most viewers today. She is referring to the then-recent television series Checkmate (1960) that ran from 1960-1962, in which 'Sebastian Cabot' played a British criminologist who assisted the partners of a San Francisco detective agency.
    • Goofs
      When Rob opens Jerry's gift of quarters, he reads the note and says it's for the tolls on the West Side Highway, but his lips say West Side Expressway.
    • Quotes

      Mel Cooley: Did you want to see me Rob? I've only got a second.

      Buddy Sorrell: A second with you is like a year with an ugly mob.

    • Connections
      References Checkmate (1960)

    User reviews1

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    WHAT are those two silver/brassy/shiny things??
    I keep coming back to this page to see if anyone else noticed the two brassy shiny stands (or whatever they were), that really stuck out like a sore thumb? One was next to the front door and the other one was in the hallway next to the wall where the big rubber plant stood. They were there during the entire episode; the first time I saw it last year, I assumed they would be used for some purpose before the end of the episode, but they weren't. They were never even mentioned by anyone on the show, and this episode is the only one in which they appear. It might have been a private joke of some kind between the cast and crew, but I would love to know why they were there in only this one episode, for seemingly no reason?

    Other than that oddity, this is one of the best episodes of the DVD series - not only due to the usual stellar writing, directing, and acting that was present in every episode, but also because of the originality of the surprise party that Rob was so sure he knew everything about all along but then ended up genuinely flabbergasted at Laura's ingenuity to outsmart him.

    It's fun to watch these old episodes over again that I saw as a child when they were originally aired back in the 60s, especially because now I can fast-forward, rewind, and slow down certain scenes, like during the "SURPRISE!" part when Buddy's party hat was knocked off and he fooled with trying to get it back on before the scene was over!
    helpful•1
    0
    • deedrala
    • Jul 18, 2021

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 24, 1963 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Desilu Cahuenga Studios, 846 N. Cahuenga Blvd. Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Calvada Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      30 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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