Welcome to another Wildcard Wednesday! After teasing months ago that I may be covering some radio episodes of Our Miss Brooks, I’m finally living up to my word… kind of. You see, there are close to 200 episodes that still exist in circulation, and my intention was to listen to all of them and present you with a list of my favorites. Well, I’ve only listened to about half of them, and I wouldn’t feel justified making judgements on the series without hearing as much as I can. So, instead, I want to share ONE episode that I particularly enjoy.
Episode 103: “The Dancer” (Aired: 10/29/50)
When Conklin hires an exotic dancer for a bachelor party, Connie mistakes her for Conklin’s new secretary.
This episode was never adapted for television — and based on the story, that should come as no surprise! The obviously risque subject matter is only acceptable because we don’t have the visuals; there’s no way it would have made it to film. Apart from the delightful (and tasteful) naughtiness, this is simply a classic Our Miss Brooks misunderstanding. In addition to a hilarious script, this episode boasts the unmistakeable voice of Doris Singleton (whom you’ll most remember as Lucy Ricardo’s frenemy, Carolyn Appleby) as the stripper — er, “dancer.” Take a listen — it’s an example of some really great comedy. (This episode stars the original cast of the TV series, save Jeff Chandler, who plays Mr. Boynton, the role he originated.)
I promise to share more Our Miss Brooks radio episodes in the future, but that’ll have to be all for now. Come back next Wednesday for a new Wildcard post! And tune in tomorrow for more Xena!
Just a note to let you know that I was looking at the CBS Syndication Bible, and they have a new notation under their listing for Our Miss Brooks. This says that the first season of 32 episodes will be converted to HD masters. It dosen’t say when exactly, but this sends a message that mabye, finally, they’re going to do something to properly preserve this classic series. For the last few years, the Miss Brooks listing only said that there were no tape masters available, meaning that any station wanting the series would be getting the same battered 16mm prints which have been available for more than half a century. It also listed several episodes as not being available for syndication, pretty much the same ones missing from the current DVD sets. After all this time, I think Miss Brooks should be available in decent prints. There are so many people who have never seen (or heard) an episode. My hopes are up.
Yes, I saw that back in December! I tried to ask around and get more info, but nobody really knows much. Apparently, the rumor is that Me-TV and/or AntennaTV has expressed considerable interest in syndicating the series. But, of course, my hopes are up for a potential DVD release as well. (Although I question why only 32 of the 38 produced Season One installments are in this first package.)
I’m not sure, but cost or condition of elements may have something to do with it. I’ve discovered that many vintage shows are syndicated in incomplete form. Bachelor Father, for example, has only 117 out of 157 episodes in the package now being shown on Antenna TV. I just the other day read that the Dobie Gillis package consists of 100 of the 147 episodes, but I got the impression that this was because of some music rights issues. (One of the salient features of that series is it’s great jazz score). The Donna Reed Show is 180-something out of 274 episodes because the last seasons have different ownership than the early seasons. From what I can gather, Eve Arden’s estate controls at least part ownership in Our Miss Brooks, but that is an unfounded rumor. I guess with the tangled spaghetti bowl of rights issues and iffy exsisting prints, anything they can restore or salvage will be a plus to me. The only three episodes I’ve seen released on public domain sets are “Home-Cooked Meal”, “The Jump”, and “Here Is Your Past”, all, I believe from season 3. This is not counting, of course, the nearly-complete unofficial sets which are out there. If one of the nostalgia channels picks the show up, a DVD set is almost sure to follow. After Antenna TV began showing Hazel for the first time in many years, Shout! Factory secured the DVD rights, and now the entire series is out on DVD. I’m really hopin’ for an Our Miss Brooks revival!
All of the 130 OUR MISS BROOKS episodes are accounted for in the Syndication Bible, they’re just redistributed into other seasons. However, several of them are not currently available for syndication. As you know, I have 127 of the 130 episodes (most syndicated), and the three that I haven’t seen are available for viewing at the UCLA Archives. So, they’re all out there.
Hopefully we’ll get some information from CBS soon.
I was assuming that the eps not available for syndication may have been in a condition too poor to be acceptable for conversion to a high-quality master, but if UCLA has some of these, that probably is not the reason. The seasonal divisions are not definite, I guess. For years I thought that the last Madison High episode, “The Blind Date” was the last episode of season 3. I was surprised that it was used as the season 4 opener, before the format change. I own two seasons of The Real McCoys which were sourced from the 22 minute syndication prints. The DVD distributor has said that these masters were in much better shape than the original, full length ones. (These are currently being shown on COZI-TV). The syndication prints of Miss Brooks, as seen on Youtube and I assume your DVDs are a mixture of full-length and edited syndication prints. There is one ep “Four-Leaf Clover” which is sourced from the original, network version, as well as “Buddy”, which is from a network rerun from season 4. I was very surprised to see that the music in these was, indeed, the Wilbur Hatch music similar to December Bride and I Love Lucy, and identical to the music from the radio show. Miss Brooks was shown on CBS daytime during the 1956-57 season, and it seems they redid all the music on these shows at that time. The three episodes on my public domain DVD carry a 1957 copyright date which I found odd as well. As Lucy and December Bride have been shown with their music intact, I wonder why it was changed on Brooks all those years ago?
“The Blind Date” was no doubt produced for the third season, but held over.
Of the three episodes I’m missing, only two of them are currently unavailable for syndication — “The Bakery” and “Blood, Sweat, And Laughs.” The other one I don’t have is “The Dream,” and that IS available for syndication. However, the one that I do have that is not available is “Public Property On Parade.”
I have no clue as to why these shows are (at the moment) unavailable or why the music was changed for the initial syndication. The currently used opening is obviously not the original.
I have a vague recollection of “The Dream”, Miss Brooks had a comical dream of being wed to Mr. Boynton, and he turns out to be a bit less than she had hoped for. I don’t recall the other missing shows.
Yes. I’ll actually be viewing this one at UCLA over my Spring Break. The other two, unfortunately, have not been converted from film, so I won’t be able to see them at this time. They are:
“The Bakery”
A woman out of Mr. Boynton’s past returns to town—but no one seems to know who she is.
“Blood, Sweat, And Laughs”
A mad mix-up ensues when Connie picks up the wrong costumes for the schools’s gala ball.