DVD Release Date: November 1, 2005 (S'more Entertainment, Inc.)
Black & White
MSRP: $39.99
Number of Discs: 4
Number of Episodes: 26 + Pilot Episode
Running time: Approx. 11 hours, 51 minutes
Audio Tracks: English Mono
Languages, Subtitles, Closed Captioning: English; none; none
Special Features Include:
• Pilot Episode
• Dom DeLuise Interview About Wally Cox
• Laugh-In clip featuring Wally Cox in "The Farkel Family Reunion"
• Mister Peepers' Family Tree: trace all the stars that appeared in this classic series
• Mister Peepers Trivia
• Photo Gallery
• Wally Cox Bio
Introduction:
Journey back to Jefferson Junior High with Mr. Peepers (Wally Cox) that shy, quiet,
slow-moving science teacher whose efforts to do the right thing always seemed to backfire.
Robinson Peepers' antics with his best friend and fellow teacher, Harvey Weskit (Tony Randall)
and the school nurse, Nancy Remington (Patricia Benoit) made this classic 50s
TV series a hit with the nation. One of the reasons we loved him was that although Mr. Peepers
appeared laughable, easily bullied, baffled and befuddled by the other teachers and life in
general, he quietly displayed the strength and conviction that ensured his life was fulfilled
and that at the end of every episode he prevailed. An every-day hero in a crazy world, he
displayed the virtues of putting the interests of others before his own, genuinely caring
about his students and those around him, including his sister (Jenny Egan) and mother
(Ruth McDevitt). In Mister Peepers, good guys finish first; in
the last season of the show, he even marries Nurse Remington, the girl of his dreams. Your
favorite episodes of this Emmy Award winning series, from 1952 to 1953, are compiled in this
classic collection. Created in conjunction with the
UCLA Film & Television Archives.
Mister Peepers aired on NBC from July 1952 until June 1955. The show was nominated
for 8 Emmy Awards and won a Peabody Award in 1953. There were apparently 127 episodes
produced. 102 of them still exist in the UCLA Film and Televison Archives collection. Other
stars included Norma Crane, David Tyrell,
Joseph Foley, Marion Lorne (Aunt Clara on "Bewitched), Gage Clark, Ernest Treux, Georgann
Johnson, Arthur O'Connell, Sylivia Field, Jack Warden, and Reta Shaw.
Episodes Included:
This 4-disc set includes the first 26 episodes of the series plus the pilot episode.
The pilot episode included Walter Matthau as the coach. He's not listed
in the ending credits. David Tyrell would play Charlie Burr starting with the
first episode of the series.
The DVD cover art features a black & white photo of Wally Cox holding up his index
finger. It has a lime green background with Mister Peepers written in pink.
It's in plastic snapcase that you often see with movie dvds. The back of the case lists
a summary of the show and the bonus features. When you open up the case, there
are over-lapping disc holders on each side. The discs have Mister Peepers written
on them and come in different colors. Disc 1 is lime green, disc 2 is orange, disc 3, is light
blue, and disc 4 is pink. There's a little piece of foam that
keeps the discs from popping out. I thought that was a nice touch as sometimes discs
on dvd sets fall out easily and are scratched. It would have been nice for them to include
a little sheet with the episode titles listed, original airdates, guest stars,
and summaries.
Menu Design and Navigation:
The main menu has a similar look as the cover art with a colorized photo
of Wally Cox on the right hand side of the screen. It has a lime green background
with Mister Peepers written in pink. There is a tv box with various black and white
clips of the show playing. There are other tinted tv boxes with clips playing that
fall down on the screen. The Mister Peepers ending theme music can be heard in the background.
The other main menus have the same photo of Wally Cox with different backgrounds
and color themes. Each disc has a Play All, Episodes, and Extras option at
the bottom. The Episodes sub-menu has some background music, and it lists the episodes
by their original airdates on a blackboard. These are pretty nice looking menus
with even some animation tossed in such as some paper flying airplanes. The Extras
sub-menu features some snazzy background music and lists them on a blackboard.
There are no scene selection menus or chapter stops within the episodes.
Video and Audio Quality:
These episodes were transferred to dvd from 16mm kinescopes with the help of the UCLA
Film and Television Archive. The show was produced live, so this is the only
way it survived. I've read on other sites that people thought these
episodes were long lost or destroyed. The video quality obviously can't be compared
to other 1950's sitcoms like I Love Lucy or Leave it to Beaver which were filmed
in a different format. Desi Arnaz was way ahead of his time with having I Love Lucy
put on film. The episodes on this set really look as good as can be
expected considering their age and the fact they are from kinescopes. There is
a lot of grain, scratches, film specks, and other techincal glitches. The episodes are
certainly watchable though, and I think it's amazing so many were able to survive. There
is a lot of buzz and crackle in the audio, and it fades in and out a few times. The volume
was at a good level on the pilot episode, but it was much lower in the other two episodes I
watched. All of the episodes run around 24-25 minutes in length.
The UCLA Film and Televison Archive logo is flashed a few times in the lower right hand corner.
The pilot episode didn't have any studio audience laughter, but the other two episodes I watched did. The first
episode even had an old Sponsored by Ford screen followed by an old NBC logo with chimes
that said "This Program was Reproduced By the Kinephoto Process." There is nothing
on the packaging to indicate there is closed-captioning.
Special Features:
There are a few, short special features that were interesting to watch. Here is a breakdown:
Disc 1 - Pilot episode (34:37) - This included Walter Matthau in an uncredited role as the coach.
Several of the scenes from this episode were re-worked for the 2nd episode.
Disc 1 - Dom DeLuise Remembers Wally Cox (2:48) - He talks about Wally Cox's friendship with
Marlon Brando whom he was also friends with.
Disc 2 - Wally Cox Bio (5:22) - This shows various clips from the Mister Peepers episodes with
a narrator giving facts about Wally Cox's life. He was an actor, singer, and
author. It details his many roles from The Adventures of Hiram Holiday to the voice
of Underdog for 120 episodes to his time on Hollywood Squares from 1966-1973.
This gives some good background information on him. It would have been nice
to see some other photos or video clips from some of his other roles included.
Disc 2 - Farkel Family Reunion on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In (2:15) - A funny clip
that includes Wally Cox.
Disc 3 - The Misters Peepers Family Tree - Shows you where an actor went after Jefferson
Junion High. There are text bios for Wally Cox, Walter
Matthau, Tony Randall, Jack Warden, and Marion Lorne.
Disc 4 - Photo Gallery (2:34) - Various still images from the dvd are shown in a tv set
while background music is played.
Disc 4 - Trivia Quiz - An interactive section that gives you 6 multiple choice questions
written on a blackboard. If you answer 5 correctly, it takes you to expert mode
where the questions are even more difficult. You'd have to be a real Mister
Peepers fanatic to answer some of these!
Final Comments:
Jeepers, creepers... where have you been Mister Peepers? One of the truly lost
sitcoms from the 1950's is now available on DVD. I'm not sure if this series was
ever shown in syndication. The only people who may truly remember it are
those that watched it live over 50 years ago. This series really had quite a few
recognizable names. If it was shot on film like I Love Lucy or Leave it to Beaver, I'm sure
it would be much better known. The video quality of the episodes is not the best due
to the source material, but it is great to see them made available. The company that released this set,
S'more Entertainment,
will have some other rare sitcoms available like Lotsa Luck (Dom DeLuise) and Good Morning, World (Goldie Hawn) in
upcoming months. Hopefully we will see s'more Mister Peepers volumes released
in the future.
UPDATE: Our good friend Arny Schorr of S'more Entertainment asked us to let you all know that if you purchased DVD sets of classic sitcoms Mister Peepers and Lotsa Luck and had some problems, replacement discs are available now for free. For Lotsa Luck, an incorrect pilot episode was placed on original sets. It was given that way to them by the distributor. When the problem was identified, they went to work and discovered the correct pilot episode. They subsequently remastered Disc One to include the right pilot. There are a number of people who've contacted them for a replacement disc but in the interest of making sure no consumer is offended we are spreading the news that buyers of this set can get a replacement disc, for free!They are also replacing discs for Mister Peepers where Sony, on the initial manufacturing run, placed two of the same discs onto each box set. To learn how you can get replacement discs of each, click here. And don't forget to visit the S'more website for information on their classic TV series on DVD.
