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(More customer reviews)Be Forewarned---- These episodes of one of TV's true Classic Shows are, except for the pilot, EDITED-----trimmed, chopped---BUTCHERED! Can you imagine?--in this day and age of state-of-the-art technology--- a DVD company resorts to using materials that are CUT by THREE MINUTES of
running time each?? And that's 3 minutes out of a 25-minute show that's missing, which I would say affects the dramatic shape of the show, wouldn't you?
I wrote to Mr. Stanley Moger at SFM Entertainment (smoger@sfment.com)
and received a reply which mentioned the difficulties in licensing
these old syndicated shows; apparently they were unable
(or unwilling) to explore every possible source, and decided to
settle for a complete run of the show that was in fine visual
condition but had been EDITED for TV; so they chose higher visual
quality over content, which I disagree with...to the point that I
doubt I will be buying any future seasons of the show, as much as it pains me.
As to the show itself---Walter Brennan is AWESOME! What an actor,
who totally inhabits the character of Amos McCoy in every aspect of
his personality---from incredibly tender to downright terrifying at
times! He is utterly believable, and one can scarcely imagine that
he is an actor delivering memorized dialogue---he seems to be living
the part in real life. Occasionally, however, as the 1st season progressed, a distinct element of caricature began to creep into some
of the more overtly comedic episodes. But hilarious dialogue always abounds---in one episode, Kate prepares a fancy chicken dish--
"Coq au Vin", she says..."It's a chicken cooked in wine", to which Grandpa responds with the immortal line: "Well, I ain't gonna eat no chicken that has to get LIQUORED-UP to get the courage to come out here....'! [HAW!]
I might point out a couple of stand-out shows from the premiere
season; the "McCoys" is, sadly, the sort of show that would be deemed "clueless" and "non-progressive" in today's pathetically
PC society; Grandpa McCoy is, shall we say, decidely "old-world"
in his attitudes. Oddly, though, the most moving episodes for me
centered on Kate, beautifully portrayed by Kathleen Nolan, and the conflicts she encounters between the "men-folk's" old-world outlook
and her desire to maintain her dignity as a woman.
"Kate's Dress" is a remarkable tale of Grandpa and Luke's decision
to use the "cookie jar" money they've saved for a new gun to instead
buy a new dress for Kate, since she has been asked to join the local PTA. In their childish enthusiasm to show Kate their good intentions, the men unknowingly create a custom-made monstrosity with which to surprise her. Her reaction and ultimate decision regarding the dress takes this epsisode into an oddly dark and slightly troubling realm, which is nonetheless very moving. Talk about a clash of cultures!
"Kate's Career" is another show wherein Kate forces the men to
confront and deal with their EXTREMELY conservative views regarding
the role of women in society, with very satisfying dramatic results--even a little role-reversal for Grandpa himself at the end!
"The Goodys Come to Town" is another show that brings the men-folk's treatment of women into question, as Luke boorishly fawns over an old flame of his who comes to town for a visit. Ultimately it is Kate
who must rise above the fray in a subservient yet dignified way---and wouldn't you know it?----that's EXACTLY what it takes to show the men
how crude and thoughtless they've been acting. And Walter Brennan's
moment of realization and apology near the end will surely bring a
tear to your eye. [Interesting to note that Luke's former girl-friend
in this show is played by Nora Hayden, who later became the author of
a somewhat notorious "How-To" manual in the 1970's, as well as the
guru of the "Dynamite Health Milk-Shake" business].
The entire cast of the "McCoys" is fine; Tony Martinez is great fun
and very charming as farm-hand Pepino; the knee-jerk PC police can
rest assured that there is no racial stereotyping here, since Grandpa
is generally intolerant of EVERYONE; in fact, Pepino usually seems to
be several steps ahead of everyone else in the family (the late Mr. Martinez was a band-leader and prolific song-writer; he played the
role of Sancho Panza in "Man of La Mancha" for over 20 years onstage
---I saw him in Chicago in March of 1968). Praise also to the
delightful Madge Blake and the fine old comic Andy Clyde for their continuing roles as the McCoy's neighbors the McMichaels.
BUT WHAT CAN"T WE SEE THESE SHOWS PRESERVED IN THEIR ORIGINAL, UNCUT
FORM? C'MON, SFM Entertainment-----get ahold of the series UNCUT and
RE-DO your dvd sets! That would be a far more fitting way to offer
this classic series to the public.
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