The Dick Van Dyke Show: Difference between revisions
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[[File:MV5BMTU5MDAyNjI2Ml5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwOTMzOTE2__V1__SX304_SY400__3499.jpg|frame]] The show ([[CBS]], October 3, 1961 - September 7, 1966), created and produced by Carl Reiner, centers around the life of a New York comedy writer who lives in [[Suburbia|suburban]] New Rochelle with his attractive wife, Laura, their cute son and a pair of brash next-door neighbors. Coinciding with the Kennedy era (a.k.a. Camelot) which heralded a new age of youthfulness, ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]'' reflected a break from the old-fashioned sensibility of previous television families.
''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]'' was the first sitcom to focus as much, if not more, on the main character's work life as his home life, influencing later [[Work Com|Work Coms]] such as ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]], [[The Bob Newhart Show]]'' and ''[[News Radio]]''. Sally Rogers was an unusual character for the pre-women's lib period, in that she was both a working professional (not a teacher or nurse) and single (although she was portrayed as
Also, this show was one of the mainstream shows to first use, even in a bit role, middle-class African-Americans in a non-criminal or servile role. In the episode
Though the show stayed away from [[Jive Turkey]] territory as much as possible, Kennedy era reflections abound, including Laura as a Jackie O. surrogate; the Mafia, via the imposing Big Max Calvada (executive producer Sheldon Leonard); [[The British Invasion]] ("The Redcoats are Coming"); a self-indulgent [[Playboy|Hugh Hefner]] surrogate; Carl Reiner as a Jackson Pollack-like abstract painter; or Rob and Laura's praise for baby guru Dr. Spock.
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** However, subverted on a wider level. Buddy is emphatically shown many times to be a very generous guy.
* [[All Just a Dream]]: "It May Look Like a Walnut", their ''[[Twilight Zone]]'' [[Affectionate Parody|spoof]].
* [[Ambiguously Jewish]]: Buddy.
** Some writers have in fact observed that the Petries themselves were the only unambiguous gentiles in an otherwise all-ambiguously-Jewish cast. [http://www.interestingideas.com/ii/rob.htm]
** Is Buddy's Jewishness really ambiguous? There's an episode where he studies with a rabbi and celebrates a late-in-life Bar Mitzvah.
* [[American Gothic Couple]]: In the episode "The Masterpiece", Rob and Laura bought a painting from an auction. The painting revealed a different version of "American Gothic", in which the couple were shown smiling.
* [[An Aesop]]: Occasionally, such as the pet duck episode where Rob teaches Richie that, basically, if you love something, let it go.
* [[Animated Adaptation]]: The [[TV Land]] computer animated <s>pilot</s>/special ''[[The Alan Brady Show]]''.
* [[Anti-Love Song]]: one of Stacey Petrie's sleepwalking rock 'n roll songs:
{{quote|My heart told me that I should get a wife
My heart told me I was in a rut
My heart told me I should get a wife
I wish my heart would keep it's big mouth shut!
* [[Author Avatar]]: Rob Petrie is based on Carl Reiner, who actually played the part himself in the unaired pilot. Much of Rob's background -- his army experience, his courtship of his wife, and his life in the suburbs -- is taken directly from Reiner's life.
* [[Borscht Belt]]: Buddy is from this school of comedy.
* [[Brick Joke]]: The Peters' entrance in "That's My Boy??"
* [[Bridge]]
* [[The British Invasion]]: "The Redcoats are Coming".
* [[Butt Monkey]]: Mel Cooley.
* [[The Cast Showoff]]: Everybody. Starting with the pilot, the show gave the cast members many opportunities to show off their singing, dancing and stand-up skills.
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* [[The Couch]]
* [[Couch Gag]]: You never knew whether Rob would tumble over the ottoman or not.
* [[Cowboy Episode]]: Rob gets knocked out for a dental procedure while worried about a sketch Alan Brady wants for the show. He dreams he's a wild west sheriff and Alan is "Big Bad Brady
* [[Crossover]]: Three decades after DVDS' heyday Carl Reiner appeared as his character Alan Brady on ''[[Mad About You]]''.
** Also, Buddy appeared in one episode of ''The Danny Thomas Show'' moonlighting as a joke writer for the main character. These two minor crossovers throw DVDS into one hell of a bizarre shared continuity, see [[Shared Universe]].
* [[Dream Sequence]]: "It May Look Like a Walnut", "The Gunslinger", "Washington vs. the Bunny", "The Bad Old Days", "I'd Rather Be Bald Than Have No Head At All".
* [[Dumb Blonde]]: The woman on trial where Rob was a juror in "One Angry Man".
* [[Elevator Failure]]: One of the many flashback episodes has Rob and a pregnant Laura trapped in an elevator with an inept hold-up man played by [[Don Rickles]].
* [[Embarrassing Middle Name]]: Richie {{spoiler|"Rosebud"}} Petrie
** Which actually stands for
* [[The Eponymous Show]]
* [[Exiled to the Couch]]: Played with in "Give Me Your Walls". Rob and Laura are annoyed by a painter who has been working on their living room for a long time. Rob swears that he will tell him to get out of their house soon, and if he doesn't, he vows to sleep on the couch. Laura hopes that won't happen (though, oddly, Rob and Laura are always in [[Sleeping Single|separate beds]]
* [[Exploding Closet]]: with walnuts!
* [[Extra Eyes]]: In "It May Look Like A Walnut", an [[All Just a Dream]] where everyone lives on walnuts and water ("getting a drink of fresh air") and grows eyes in the back of their heads.
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