A Quick Look at TV: THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW

   The Dick Van Dyke Show was one of numerous delightful sitcoms produced during the early 60's, but I note it as being one of the first to actually have continuity to it's backstory. Most sitcom couples would relate a few different versions of how they met, but this series tried to do more than just go through the motions. Yes, it was hysterical, but it also tried to make it's players more like real people and less like characters just used as props to get laughs. As the title might indicate, Dick Van Dyke took the lead as TV comedy writer Rob Petrie. He and his co-workers (Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam) would spend their days writing for the fictional The Alan Brady Show. At home, Rob would deal with whatever domestic issues arose involving his pretty wife Laura and their son Ritchie. Laura was played by a young model and rising actress by name of Mary Tyler Moore, who was just scrumptious in black and white. While it always put humor first, and much of that zany slapstick, The Dick Van Dyke Show set itself in a world very real in it's background details. It wasn't preachy and self-righteous like several 70's sitcoms would be, but some matters came up that you didn't see on earlier shows. (In a classic episode, Rob is to address the Committee For Inter-Racial Understanding, in order to accept an award for Alan Brady. Moments before leaving, he accidentally dyes his hands black!) The jokes were rapid-fire, the situations believable yet extreme, the characters likeable if overly emotional and prone to occasional bouts of selfishness -particularly Laura, who seemed to be the model for most sitcom wives to follow (though she seemed to genuinely love Rob more than most of her descendants seemed to love their husbands). Some of the hardest laughter I've ever bellowed resulted from this show. I really must pick up the complete series set soon!

Some quick sketches

A Quick Look at TV: THE COLGATE COMEDY HOUR

   The Colgate Comedy Hour remains one of the great jewels in the crown of early television. Sunday nights saw the live comedy/variety show brought into homes under sponsorship of the Colgate company. What really made the show stand out was it's revolutionary use of rotating stars. One week would be hosted by Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis (pictured here), the next week by Phil Silvers, the next by Abbott and Costello, the next by Eddie Cantor, and so on. The show had marvelous energy, and the stars being able to play off of a live audience made their performances even sharper. For Abbott and Costello and many others, this meant a televised version of their vaudeville and burlesque routines -these preserved by the fact that the show was kinescoped for West coast broadcasts. The Martin and Lewis episodes are considered some of their best presentations, capturing the absolute craziness of their live performances. Being live, and in a period where television technicians were still learning their craft, this meant frequent mess-ups with props or forgotten lines. Audiences loved this, and screamed all the louder with their laughter. Over the years since, The Colgate Comedy Hour was kept in memory by the releasing of several episodes on tape and later disk. Most all the episodes I've run across featured either Abbott and Costello or Martin and Lewis. A public domain series now, episodes have been collected for disk releases, though all the ones I've seen are tied to the above-mentioned teams. I'd love to see a wider selection of episodes get released (though there may be legal issues preventing that, if the estates of the actors and performers are involved in any way). As a bonus, many episodes released on tape even include the original commercials!

A Christmas message from Joseph Prince

   "My friend, if all is silent and dark in your life now, and you feel like you have been left out in the cold, just know that Jesus came to be your Savior at such a time as this.
    He was not born in the comfort of a warm, cozy room, but in a cold manger. There was no room for Him in the inn (Luke 2:7), so that there will always be room at the cross for your healing, deliverance, wholeness and provision, and a mansion in heaven waiting for you!
Jesus was born very quietly, so quietly that the Bible says that only a group of shepherds came to Him, while the rest of Bethlehem slept. (Luke 2:8–9) Like manna falling quietly from heaven in the Old Testament, the true bread from heaven came quietly. It was a silent night, but that was not all.
    Jesus was also born during the darkest time in Israel’s history. Israel was under the tyrannical rule of the Romans. It was during this time, when everything was so dark, that Jesus was born. Beloved, He will come to you in the darkest period of your life.
    On that cold and silent night, the shepherds were afraid when the angel of the Lord stood before them. But the angel said, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
    Beloved, it was not a judge or lawgiver who was born. It was a mighty Savior. He came to save His people. He came to save you and me. So even if you are in a cold, dark period of your life, don’t be afraid—the Savior has come and He will save you to the uttermost!" -Joseph Prince

   "You are probably familiar with the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. The Bible says that when the time had come, Mary “brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger”. (Luke 2:6–7) But have you ever wondered why the angel told the shepherds that the Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger was a “sign”?
     A manger is actually a feeding trough for livestock. Do you know what a feeding trough in those days looks like? I have seen a similar one at Solomon’s stables in Meggido, Israel. It is basically a big rectangular block of stone with the trough hewn out of it. So baby Jesus, who was wrapped in swaddling cloths, was placed in such a stone trough.
     But why was that a sign? Because if you have seen the empty tomb of Jesus at a place called The Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, you would have noticed that the place where His body was laid, inside a tomb hewn out of rock, resembles a stone trough. The Bible says that after Jesus’ crucifixion and death, Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’ body, wrapped it in linen and laid it in a tomb hewn out of a rock. (Mark 15:43–46)
    Can you see the similarities? Wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger, baby Jesus would one day be wrapped in linen and laid in a tomb. That was the sign the angel was referring to. It pointed to Jesus’ death.
Jesus was the only child in all of humanity born to die. Once you realize that, you will realize how much God loves you. You will realize that He gave up His Son for that one purpose, and that His Son willingly came for that one purpose—to die for your sins and mine.
     Beloved, can you imagine living your life knowing that you are just qualifying yourself to die on the cross to save the world? That was the life that Jesus lived. He lived to die, so that we might live and enjoy life abundantly today!" -Joseph Prince

"The merriest of Christmases to you all! God bless you, and a wonderful New Year! Each and every one of you be blessed to rest in the perfect love and finished work of my Lord Jesus, the Christ, son of the living God! MERRY CHRISTMAS!" -Rock Baker

A Quick Look: A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983-color)

   A CHRISTMAS STORY, the last classic film to really become a certified Christmas tradition, remains a seasonal favorite in the hearts of Americans. Christmas movies have been made since, of course, but few -if any- ever captured the public as did this film version of humorist Jean Shepherd's recollections of his boyhood mania to receive a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. Set in a sort of nostalgic dream version of 1940, the film acts as a send up of the entire season and it's activities. Told from a child's point of reference, the focus is entirely upon the secular side of the holy day. Beyond the main focus, however, is a rich tapestry which brings out new gems every time it's viewed. A truly timeless movie. The film was a hit, and became increasingly popular through video and television play. It's become common practice for some stations to marathon the film all through Christmas day. A decade later, a sequel was made, about Ralphie's adventures that following Summer, IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY (one of two major releases under that title that year). MERRY CHRISTMAS!

A Quick Look: ERNEST SAVES CHRISTMAS (1987-color)

   ERNEST SAVES CHRISTMAS was only the second feature film to star Jim Varney's commercial pitch-man-turned-American icon, but for my money is the best of the lot. Santa Claus has decided to retire and comes to Florida to recruit his replacement. Along the way, he meets up with your old buddy Ernest, and the two join forces to save Christmas as well as help out a teen runaway. A fast clip, solid performances, and a funny script are produced under the quality associated with Disney. The film was a hit, and Ernest was back on theater screens very shortly. Produced right around the same time was the Saturday morning series Hey Vern, It's Ernest!, which recycled a number of props created for ERNEST SAVES CHRISTMAS (as well as the earlier DR. OTTO AND THE RIDDLE OF THE GLOOM BEAM). This one features a number of brilliant slapstick routines and sharp dialog, balanced against some genuine drama. I always try to work this one into my seasonal viewing.

A Quick Look: WILL VINTON'S CLAYMATION CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION (1988 - color)

   In the 80's and early 90's, Will Vinton's patented Claymation technique was used for a number of television commercial campaigns, most famously The California Raisins -which were later spun off into a pair of Claymation specials and a traditionally-animated Saturday morning cartoon series. WILL VINTON'S CLAYMATION CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION was a video and television special which hit all the right marks. A series of Christmas songs are interpreted in various sketches, hosted by the dinosaur comedy team of Herb and Rex. Rex was an intellectual who tried to keep order. Herb was a gluttonous screwball. The results were very much in the vein of Abbott and Costello. Rex and Herb had sprang from an earlier classroom short about dinosaurs, though they had but one tiny scene and didn't speak. I'd love to think there was more Herb and Rex material, but I'm not aware of their being used beyond this seasonal favorite. The California Raisins appear, just prior to starring in their first special, MEET THE RAISINS, climaxing the festivities with a snappy version of "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer." WILL VINTON'S CLAYMATION CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION was a true high mark for the studio. Hard to figure why Claymation had vanished by the end of the following decade (actually, I imagine Claymation suffered from the same thing that killed traditional animation, the arrival of computer animation and Pixar).