“My Mother, The Car” now on DVD!*

http://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2013/10/digital-digest-more-alice-on-dvd-my.html

WHOOHOOO! Finally, the long wait is over!

 

And to think of all the long running, hilarious, successful sitcoms that still won't see the light of day.

 

I'd always read about how awful this show was, and finally saw an episode on TV Land in the 90s when they were running an evening of failed series or something. I thought it really wasn't any worse
than other nuttily-conceived sitcoms of the era, and was certainly pleasant enough. Maybe it was just that, in an era of goofy premises (THE MUNSTERS, THE GHOST AND MRS MUIR, I DREAM OF
JEANNIE, BEWITCHED), this one just went farther off the deep end than the rest.

 

One of the worst TV shows ever made. It's interesting as a historical footnote, but not too funny. I think there are far worse shows; Pink Lady & Jeff was a good example. (Though comedian Jeff Altman was and is a very, very funny guy.)

Some shows are just so bad, you're kind of in shock watching them. I had that reaction to Steve Bochco's Cop Rock musical police show in the 1980s. Weird, weird show... never syndicated, never released to home video, just vanished from the planet as far as I know.

At least My Mother, The Car had a terrific theme song:

The two things that really killed it: 1) Jerry Van Dyke was terrific as a second banana, but not good as a leading man; 2) the show ain't funny. You can do a funny show about a meddling ghost with a family, but not like this.

I wish I'd been in charge of a show like this. I would've had Jerry sit in the car and say, "hey Mom, if you're dead but now possessing this car, does this means there's life after death? Is there a god? Is there a devil? Is there a heaven or hell? What happens to us after we die? Why didn't you pass on to the great beyond? Are you being punished by fate? Why not pick a better car? Why doesn't everybody come back as a car? What's the point of life? Do foreign people only come back as foreign cars? Is wrestling fixed?"

Now that would've been an interesting episode.

 

cool!

 

The interesting thing is that some talented people such as James Brooks were involved with the show. It was an era of "fantasy sitcoms" with Martians, talking horses, witches, genies,ghosts so I suppose they figured a reincarnated mother in a 40 year old car was going to work. It also ran for a full year-nowadays it would yanked after three. I saw it when it was broadcast and a couple episodes on Hulu recently. This is not on my Christmas wish list.

 

WORST? Come on! you are being way too hard on this show! I loved it when I was a kid....thrilled to see it on DVD finally.

 

this will appeal to the first generation viewer as a bit of great nostalgia...so off the wall it's great! I have fond memories of watching this when I was a youngster in the 60's...

 

Oh, yeah -- this show is always on the Bottom 10 Worst TV Shows in History list. Have you seen it lately? The episodes posted to YouTube are really hard to watch, not well acted, and not too funny. It's actually kinda boring, if you ask me.

 

since I quite enjoyed it as a kid I'll probably see it from a different perspective but still be thrilled to own it and enjoy it on DVD!

 

That's the problem. If you're still looking at with a brain 45 years younger, it might be amusing. Today... not so much.

 

well that's subjective..since we all have an inner child.

 

I enjoyed it when I saw it last. I think Nick at Night was running it in the 1980s, but it may have been as long as the 1970s when I last saw it.

 

yes, one can still like a show from long ago!

 

I have rewatched plenty of things from my childhood and been disappointed.

 

I can't say I have...I look at it as a trip back in time. have great childhood memories.

 

Didn't you say the same thing about Bewitched? Or am I going nuts?

 

...he just may not be a fan of great 60's TV!.

 

My father's ashes are shifting--he thought Jerry was the most untalented guy he ever saw.
I watched it for awhile as a kid, to be honest, I lost interest...............I kinda thought it had been done before with Mr Ed

 

This is as good a place as any to ask this question... Does everything really need to be released on DVD?

 

OMG Vid that dialog is PERFECT as is! Then of course the demon possessing the car and attempting to fool him flees the 1929 Porter and it collapses into a rust heap. Maybe after Avery Schreiber makes off with the car......

 

The ep I remember is when the car wants to go to a Sonny Tuft's marathon at the drive-in in mid winter and Jerry Van Dyke has to come up with all sorts of excuses to explain it to his wife.

 

I dunno. The stuff of this era that shows up on the streaming services can look pretty bad and can be yanked at any minute. At least with a DVD release, fans get something of known quality that they can keep. I was looking at the Gilligan's Island stuff streaming on Amazon Prime and the quality was just awful; I'm glad I have the DVD sets.

 

I agree...the glory of having something on DVD is that you don't have to worry about this thing you like being run on TV or available via online services. It's there whenever you want to watch it, as long as your
equipment works. This is why I've picked up several films and TV series on disc. There was a time when you could always count on something like THE TWILIGHT ZONE or THE HONEYMOONERS being on some
channel or other every night. Not so much anymore, even moreso for the more obscure titles.

 

yes! for the deep TV on DVD fan...absolutely.
I have a large want list of TV shows that will most likely never wind up on DVD.