Pioneers of Television

Pioneers of Television

List Price: $24.99
Our Price: $12.33
You Save: $12.66 (51%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $7.85 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details

DVD details

Description of Pioneers of Television

There will be quibbles. Ernie Kovacs is but one glaring and bewildering omission, and icons such as Carol Burnett are missing in action. The series often blurs the line between being a pioneer and merely popular. But talking heads don't come any more entertaining than Tim Conway, Barbara Eden, Andy Griffith, Mary Tyler Moore, Dick Van Dyke, Betty White, Jay Leno, Jim Nabors, Marlo Thomas (talking about her father, Danny, but herself something of a pioneer), Joyce "Trixie" Randolph, Dick Cavett, Regis Philbin, and Tony Orlando (Tony Orlando?). Pioneers breaks little new ground. Most of these stories have been told better elsewhere, and certainly less clichéd ("The winds of ambition were blowing Johnny westward"). But there is much to treasure in the well-chosen clips, including Johnny Carson's earliest talk- and game-show gigs, Carl Reiner's failed pilot, Head of the Family, which became The Dick Van Dyke Show, and an early Honeymooners clip with Pert Kelton as Alice. There are still pioneers breaking new ground, but this welcome series is a reminder of those who paved the way. And if nothing else, in this era of reality television, it's a great escape to a bygone era. --Donald Liebenson