DVD Review: Gentle Ben (Season Two)

DVD Reviews, Reviews

There always a strange shock when discovering that a favorite TV show only lasted two seasons. The Monkees, The Addams Family, The Munsters and Car 54, Where Are You? played for years in reruns on the same channel even with so few episodes. How could America have given up on Gentle Ben during its sophomore outing? The show featured a boy (Clint Howard) with a pet bear and raccoon. His father was Dennis Weaver, beloved as Chester from Gunsmoke. They lived in the Florida Everglades and zipped around on a fan boat. How could it not have lasted as long as According to Jim? Gentle Ben: Season Two has the final 28 swampy adventures.

“Two For the Sea” contains the ultimate animal show crossover. While hanging around the boat dock, Gentle Ben gets to meet Flipper. The bear isn’t sure what to make of the dolphin. But the two quickly grow to be friends. But it turns out that Flipper isn’t a normal ocean dolphin. He’s Marco Polo, an escapee from a water park. He has no attention to going back to captivity. He heads out and Gentle Ben swims along with him toward freedom. The director of this amazing animal double feature is Ricou Browning. Along creating Flipper, Browning was one of the guys inside the Gill Man suit in Creature From the Black Lagoon. You’d figure the ratings for this episode alone would rival The Six Million Dollar Man versus Bigfoot. However the big star for the season would be the arrival of Green Bay Packer legend Bart Starr in “Starr of Green Bay.” He plays himself as he give Mark a few life lessons.

“The Wall That Mark and Tom Built” has Mark (Clint Howard) moving out of the house and into Ben’s shed. He also gets a job. Things were so much different back in 1968 when kids could live with bears and start careers. “Ben the Champ” has the bear enter the world of professional wrestling. He’s like a really hairy Ric Flair in the ring. Victor French (Highway to Heaven) and Dennis’ wife Gerry Weaver are part of the carnival promoting the grappling. “Flapjack for Breakfast” has the pet raccoon get kidnapped. “Code Name: Disaster!” threatens the family’s home with a flood. How will mom (Beth Brickell) handle her kitchen washing away?

“Knights of the Road” has Mark roaming around with a drifter. This show took place before the whole “stranger danger” technique was taught to kids. “Keeper of the Glades” is a two-parter that puts destructive folks in the swamp. It’s up to Tom to lay down the law. “Show Biz” makes Ben learn more tricks so he can work. “The Last Red Wolf” makes Tom hunt for an endangered species. Mr. Burns’ favorite star Rory Calhoun arrives to build a hunting lodge in “Boom’s Land Boomerang.” After the success of a dolphin, the producers bring on an elephant. Mark wants to keep the big fella. Can a small child handle a bear and an elephant? “The Bully” brings Ron Howard out to pick on his younger brother. Their dad Rance Howard had a recurring role of Henry Boomhauer. “Busman’s Holiday” wraps up the show with Mark once more scared that Ben will be taken away from him. Little did he know a network executive would soon be ending their relationship.

Hard to tell what happened to Bruno the Bear that played Gentle ben. He must have been heartbroken to discover NBC hired a chimp to star in BJ and the Bear. That could have been his comeback vehicle. Things weren’t so bad for Dennis Weaver who would ultimately get another long running series as McCloud. Beth Brickell spent most of the ’70s guest starring on numerous shows including quite a few Love American Style episodes. Clint Howard would eventually make a career out of Roger Corman productions and cameos in Ron Howard movies.

The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The transfers are fine. You’ll get to feel the fuzzy black fur on Gentle Ben. The audio is Dolby Digital mono. The conversation between Gentle Ben and Flipper is solid. The episodes are subtitled.

No bonus features.

Gentle Ben: The Second Season brings the series to an end. The show was great childhood escapist entertainment. Clint Howard had a cool life in the Everglades. He had a trained bear. Now all of his fun times are out on DVD.

CBS DVD presents Gentle Ben: The Second Season. Starring: Dennis Weaver, Clint Howard, Beth Brickell and Bruno the Bear. Boxset Contents: 28 episodes on 4 DVDs. Released: February 18, 2014.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.