The first two of 14 seasons of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet are back in fine restored fashion for the 70th anniversary of the enormously popular and long-running family sitcom’s debut in fall 1952.
The black-and-white programs look terrific after being remastered in 4K from the original 35mm film and sound elements In association with the UCLA Film & Television Archive for DVD, digital platforms and video-on-demand as of this week (June 21, 2022; $29.98 each; MPI Media Group).
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For those who have seen these episodes in reruns for decades, each one not only looks better but is the full-length of about 26-27-minutes without any commercial interruptions, although each includes plenty of original sponsor promotions at the beginning and end of every episode, which are very nostalgic fun. The family even does little infomercial-style plugs for the sponsors in their characters, which are basically themselves. It’s also a treat seeing the original ABC network logos and announcements and to hear promos for additional original episodes of the Nelson’s weekly radio show. It’s amazing to realize just how much these people worked during these years when they produced new weekly TV episodes (each running much longer than current sitcoms) for nine months of the year – only taking breaks during the summer. And all that on top of a separate scripted radio series.
Although there are no bonus features per se, there are some nifty elements, such as the rebroadcast versions of a handful of the episodes, including a 1965 rebroadcast of the 1952 Christmas episode, ending with a two-minute performance of Love and Kisses by the by-then enormously popular teen idol singer Ricky Nelson 13 years later (Ricky’s hits included Travelin’ Man, Hello Mary Lou, and later Garden Party, and he co-starred with John Wayne in “Rio Bravo”).
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The episodes do show a little bit of visual age and deterioration on the sides of the screen but not enough to be much of a distraction. There is no notes in the DVD packaging to indicate which of the 39 episodes are on the four discs for each season set, but this is not too difficult for a user to guess.
Ranked number six on Vulture’s list of “The 50 Most Definitive Family TV Shows,” the Emmy-nominated series that holds the record with 435 episodes produced is unique in that it starred the Nelson family, including both sons, Ricky and his older brother David, appearing as themselves, including father Ozzie, who was ranked by TV Guide at #21 on its list of 50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time. Don DeFore (Hazel) plays Ozzie’s neighbor pal Thorny. The situations and dialogue of the 1950s suburban White middle-class family all feel very contrived and a little over-done (especially now, but even then to a certain degree), but they are enjoyable entertainment.
— By Scott Hettrick