The Dick Van Dyke Show

I have been a fan of this show since I was a kid and it's the best sitcom ever. I disagree with the reviewer who said the first season was off. The first season had some of the best shows of the series. My personal favorite is "The Curious Thing About Women" where a domestic squabble ends up as a skit on the Alan Brady Show. This show is laugh out loud funny. I am also impressed with the way minorities are represented on this show. In the 60s. minorities weren't on TV except to be stereotyped in jokes. This show was different. One of Rob Petrie's colleagues was Jewish. The other was a single woman with a career. But that's just where it starts. There was an episode where Rob and Laura hire a maid. She turns out to be Spanish (from Spain) and doesn't speak any English. Turns out she's a horrible maid but she can paint. Rob finds her a job painting novelties. Another episode her brother stays with the Petries claiming to be a bullfighter. Turns out he was a bullfighter's chef. Rob gets him a job as a chef. There's also the episode where Rob and Laura dye their hand's in a vat of black dye and then have to go to a dinner where they're accepting an award for their portrayal of minorities on the Alan Brady Show and they end up taking their gloves off for all to see. But the funniest episode dealing with minorities is the 1st episode of the second season where, in a flashback, Rob thinks they brought the wrong baby home from the hospital. If you haven't seen it, the final joke was so funny, I've read they had to cut the laughing by the live studio audience to make it fit in the half hour time slot. This show was sophisticated, sexy and funny. It makes for a good watch now because the episodes are timeless, they could still happen today, except for the one call "The Twizzle". The one clunker in the bunch and even it's funny. This show is the best sitcom of all time, at least in my opinion.

Overall great show with great writing. Dick Van Dyke is very versatile and talented, most of which is displayed throughout. One thing I would like to note is how many episodes they created per season compared with most modern shows.The first season was a little off as can be expected from any show, seemed like they tried to cram everything into it and see what worked. The show had great continuity with jokes throughout referencing past events from the show. I appreciated that they rarely used flashbacks, and the flashbacks that they did have were back to before the timeframe of the show showing a younger rob and laura. Great marital and family humor, reminded me of real situations.I was happy with it all until the last half of the last season which to me seemed weak. There were few laugh out loud moments. The last episode was a real disappointment primarily being a flashback episode without even a farewell at the end from the cast. I think they should have taken that opportunity.Watched all 159 episodes on hulu, thanks. Bring Gunsmoke on and I will be a happy man.