Search - The Doris Day Show: The Complete Collection, Seasons 1-5 on DVD

I love it

J. Barnes | FT Laud Floria | 12/31/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this show, it was never in reruns so when it came out on DVD I was stoked! I watched this show every week when it was on the air and who didn't want to be Doris Day living in San Francisco in a Fab apartment working for a hip magazine with a wardrobe change in every scene.

The show went through several changes over the five years it was on. Season 1 and 2 Doris is living on her Dad's ranch in Mill Valley CA with her two boys, She starts working at "Today's World" magazine in season 2. In season 3 Doris makes the logical choice to move into San Francisco with her two sons into a FAB apartment above an italian cafe.

Season 4 is where the show really changed. In an effort to change with the times, Doris is now a single career women dating Doctor Peter Lawford and there is an entire new cast at the magazine. She still has the same apartment but she is now a writer for "Today's World". This same format is carried into season 5. There is no real final episode to the series which is the only fault I have with it. During Season 5 Doris is still dating Doctor Peter Lawford as well as politico Patrick O'Neil.

Yes the show is simple and the format change in season 4 is awkward but the outstanding production values (movie quality) and the 70's fashions and sets are great, its simple and funny entertainment of a better time in the history of TV. Doris never looked better and I still want that apartment, red convertible and unbelivable I Magnum wardrobe. A must for Day fans. The quality of the DVD transfer is great and looks just like new."

Better than I remembered it

calvinnme | 08/24/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I got season one of this show when it showed up deeply discounted at Costco. This show ran from 1968 until 1973, and I hadn't seen it on TV probably since its initial run. The show aired at a time when American culture was going through a great transition. When Doris Day first went on the air Bonanza and The Andy Griffith Show were the top television draws. By the time it went off the air it was All in the Family and M.A.S.H. Thus it is amazing that Doris Day stayed on the air for five years during this time when her clean-cut image probably drew ridicule that seems odd today, and then walked away from her show - the show was not cancelled due to poor ratings. In fact, it did quite well throughout its run.

It will take you back to a simpler time, but then so did Doris Day's films and I still find those enjoyable. The show did make a major change in season three to accommodate the changing times. Initially it had a rural setting with Doris' two sons playing a major part in the show. In 1970 the show had her moving to San Francisco - alone - and never really fully explained what happened to her sons. Today, at a time when children are encouraged to have curfews and depend on mom and dad until they are 25, the whole counter-culture movement of the 60's/70's getting to the point where it effects The Doris Day Show seems strange, but believe me, it's an enjoyable strange."

Doris' Day

annie morgan | 08/01/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While the settings changed several times over the seasons which was a bit confusing, who cares, it's Doris Day. She is always fun to watch and her smiles brighten my day!"

"Que Sera, Sera"

Terry Richard | Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada | 07/26/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Doris Day never wanted to do television. Upon the death of her husband in the spring of 1968 she found out by her lawyers that he had signed a contract with CBS for Day to do a TV series and a bunch of specials, all without her consent. To say Doris was disinchanted is an understatement. Day thought that after all the films and albums she made she was set for life financially, but realized her husband (who was also her manager) had squandered her entire life-savings. Doris did what she had to do; she fulfilled her contract with the network not only because she felt she had to since there was a contract involved, but she desperately needed the money.

"The Doris Day Show" went on the air in September, 1968 and lasted five years at a time when broadcast television was changing rapidly. The networks, most notably CBS, was doing away with rural sitcoms like "Green Acres" and creating shows like "All In The Family" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" that appealed to an urban audience. This explains the reason why Doris' series went through a bunch of changes nearly every year it was on. The show simply never found its identity. One year the sitcom took place on a farm, then its locale was changed to San Francisco. One year Doris had kids, the next they were never mentioned again. I believe this is the reason many cable networks like "TV Land" have never broadcast Doris' sitcom. Unfortunately for this reason many have never seen the "Day Show", but thanks to DVD viewers can watched these episodes time and time again.

I can't say I love "The Doris Day Show"; it's no where near the classic that Lucille Ball's sitcoms from the sixties are, but it's still an enjoyable and great way to pass 25 minutes and to view a wonderful, former movie star in the last big thing she did. The episodes are forgettable, but Doris more than compensates for the mediocre material.

Doris' series never won any big Emmy Awards, but it garnered respectable ratings during its original run. The following are the show's Nielsen figures:

Season 1-#30
Season 2-#10
Season 3-#20
Season 4-#24
Season 5-out of the top 30 which is the main reason CBS axed it in the spring of 1973.

This box set contains all 128 episodes of "The Doris Day Show" cleaned from their original prints. The crowning jewel here are the wonderful audio commentaries Day did for select episodes while being in her eighties. Her memory is quite impressive!"