Mary Tyler Moore holds the unique distinction of being both an iconic TV mom and single career woman. She was able have it all. Although it was over the course of two different shows in two different eras. While she might have been Rob Petrie’s wife on The Dick Van Dyke Show, her Laura Petrie was an uber-wife. The audience understood why Rob wanted to go home instead of spending the entire day in the writers room with Buddy Sorrell (Morey Amsterdam), Sally Rogers (Rose Marie) and Mel Cooley (Richard Deacon). What says welcome home greater than Mary Tyler Moore’s smile? Nothing! The Dick Van Dyke Show: Classic Mary Tyler Moore Episodes serves up 20 episodes of her finest times in black and white.
“”Oh How We Met on the Night That We Danced” explains how Rob and Laura met and fell for each other with a few clumsy steps. “My Part-Time Wife” lets Laura get a job as typist at the Alan Brady Show. Rob can’t deal with the fact that she does amazingly well in the position. Did anyone doubt that Laura wouldn’t be great at whatever she wants to do? “October Eve” has Laura admit that there’s a nude portrait of her. This was very scandalous in the era before the internet. It’s only a shame this episode wasn’t on Showtime. The best of Mary’s episodes remains “Coast to Coast Big Mouth.” Laura goes on a TV gameshow and blabs about their hairpieces of Alan Brady (Carl Reiner). Has she ruined Rob’s career by letting out the hairy secret of Rob’s boss? Is there anything she can do to make it up? The timing and writing on this episode is what sitcoms beg to achieve.
The Dick Van Dyke Show: Classic Mary Tyler Moore Episodes lives up to its name with the episode selection. The collection is perfect for those who just want to have a Mary Marathon. Mary has so many shining moments as wife, mother and collaborator. She can do so much with a simple, “Oh, Rob.” It’s a good thing that Mary Tyler Moore’s next major series had her as a single career woman since it’s obvious she couldn’t top the perfection of Laura Petrie.
The Episodes
“Oh How We Met the Night That We Danced,” “My Blonde-Haired Brunette,” “The Curious Thing About Women,” “The Two Faces of Rob,” “My Husband Is a Check-Grabber,” “Ray Murdock’s X-Ray,” “Laura’s Little Lie,” “Very Old Shoes, Very Old Rice,” “The Life and Love of Joe Coogan,” “My Part-Time Wife,” “October Eve,” “Teacher’s Petrie,” “My Mother Can Beat Up My Father,” “Pink Pills and Purple Patients,” “Never Bathe on Saturday,” “Show of Hands,” “Coast to Coast Big Mouth,” “See Rob Write, Write, Rob, Write,” “The Curse of the Petrie People” and “Long Night’s Journey into Day.”
The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The black and white transfers look sharp. You can see the crease in Laura Petrie’s capri pants. The audio is Dolby Digital Stereo. Don’t get too close to the speakers when she says, “Oh, Rob.”
Audio Commentaries on “October Eve,” “Never Bathe on a Saturday” and “Cost to Coast Big Mouth” with Carl Reiner and Dick Van Dyke.
Commercials include a spot for Cheer, Dash and Kent cigarettes. They actually promote smoking if you have a child.
Remembering “Oh, Rob” (1:23) lets Carl Reiner discuss how that simple line was a great joke thanks to Mary’s ability to deliver it in so many ways. Mary does a few takes.
The Dick Van Dyke Show: Classic Mary Tyler Moore Episodes is the perfect gift for the upcoming Mother’s Day. Amazing how a young Mary Tyler Moore could hold the screen with her comic cast.
RLJ Entertianment presents The Dick Van Dyke Show: Classic Mary Tyler Moore Episodes. Starring: Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Richard Deacon and Carl Reiner. Boxset Contents: 20 episodes on 3 DVDs. Released: April 1, 2014.
