Recap and React: The Dick Van Dyke Show, season 2, episodes 6 – 10

Rob makes a mess of his office while "drunk." (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP) — Rob nearly makes a mess of his office while “drunk.” (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP)

SEASON 2, EPISODE 6: “My Husband is Not a Drunk”
DIR. Al Rafkin
WRITTEN BY Carl Reiner
ORIGINALLY AIRED October 31, 1962
Recap: At a dinner party hosted by Rob and his wife, Rob accidentally gets hypnotized during a spell meant for Buddy. The hypnosis has an odd effect on him: he starts to feel drunk every time he hears a phone or bell ring!
React: This episode is a total riot, and Dick Van Dyke gets to show off his knack for physical comedy. I find it funny that this episode was aired on Halloween, because instead of going for a full-on Halloween-themed episode as we’re now accustomed to seeing from sitcoms, Reiner instead took a slightly-spooky subject matter (hypnotism) and made a wonderful comedy out of it. One of the most fun episodes of season 2 so far!
Favorite moment(s): The scene were Rob initially gets hypnotized

Rob and Laura react with serious excitement when she finds out that she's pregnant with Ritchie. (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP) — Rob and Laura react with serious excitement when she finds out that she’s pregnant with Ritchie. (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP)

SEASON 2, EPISODE 7: “What’s in a Middle Name?”
DIR. John Rich
WRITTEN BY Carl Reiner
ORIGINALLY AIRED November 7, 1962
Recap: Richie discovers that his middle name is “Rosebud,” and Richard Rosebud Petrie becomes very curious about his odd middle name. Rob and Laura must explain the whole story to Richie.
React: Woohoo, another flashback episode! This time around we get to see Laura revealing to Rob that she’s pregnant and all of the excitement surrounding that, which is adorable. The supporting players bring a lot of laughs in this episode, and it sure is a fun one. “Rosebud” turns out to have been selected not after Citizen Kane‘s infamous sled, but as an acronym for the names that each person in the family liked: Robert, Oscar, Sam, Edward, Benjamin, Ulysses, David!
Favorite moment(s): “Maybe we can get the government to re-plant!” – Buddy in reference to Mel’s balding head + Laura telling Rob she’s pregnant by yelling “THE RABBIT DIED!” + Buddy’s idea of naming the kid “Exit” + all of the movie references!

Sally and Ric have a lot of fun together -- so much that she asks him to elope! (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP) — Sally and Ric have a lot of fun together — so much that she asks him to elope! (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP)

SEASON 2, EPISODE 8: “Like a Sister”
DIR. John Rich
WRITTEN BY Carl Reiner
ORIGINALLY AIRED November 14, 1962
Recap: When suave singer Ric Vallone (Vic Damone) comes to The Alan Brady Show as a guest star, Rob thinks that Sally is beginning to fall for the crooner.
React: The big draw of this episode is, of course, Vic Damone guest-starring. He sings a little tune and flirts with Sally, charming both her and the audience. There’s just one problem: he isn’t interested in her… at least not romantically. He does care about Sally, but only as a pal. This is a relatable (and difficult) situation, but the episode doesn’t take it too seriously. Rob and Ric cook up a scheme for Ric to pretend he’s a mean drunk, when he’s actually just drinking grape juice, so Sally will lose her affection for him. Of course, this backfires on them greatly.
Favorite moment(s): Sally asking Ric to have dinner at her mother’s place when they first meet

In her version of the story, Laura got all dressed up and made a nice dinner, only to have Rob act angry at her when he gets home from work. (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP)

SEASON 2, EPISODE 9: “The Night the Roof Fell In”
DIR. Hal Cooper
WRITTEN BY John Whedon
ORIGINALLY AIRED November 21, 1962
Recap: Laura and Rob have both had terrible days, and because they’re already upset, they get in a fight over basically nothing, arguing just because they’re in bad moods. After the fact, each Petrie recalls the fight differently.
React: TWO WORDS: TALKING FISH. The story of this episode is told via the two fish in the Petries’ living room, who watched the entire fight. A hilarious, odd addition to the episode, which is quite funny despite its slightly-more-serious-than-usual subject matter. The ending is very cutesy. The talking fish and the extreme differences between the two flashbacks are the highlights of this installment in the series.
Favorite moment(s): Laura’s idealized flashback of the fight

They can't be! But are they? (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP) — They can’t be! But are they? (Screen capture by Lindsey for TMP)

SEASON 2, EPISODE 10: “The Secret Life of Buddy and Sally”
DIR. Coby Ruskin
WRITTEN BY Lee Erwin
ORIGINALLY AIRED November 28, 1962
Recap: When they both turn down multiple invitations to a barbeque at his house, Rob begins to suspect that Buddy and Sally could be having an affair.
React: Another very fun episode. The best scenes occur between Buddy and Sally alone, as they scheme to keep their secret a secret (often with Rob eavesdropping and misconstruing what they say). As usual, Rob is completely misunderstanding the situation! There are a couple of fun musical numbers in this episode as well, though I won’t spoil just who performs them.
Favorite moment(s): Rob and Laura sneaking around Herbie’s Hiawatha Lodge like a couple of spies

2 thoughts on “Recap and React: The Dick Van Dyke Show, season 2, episodes 6 – 10”

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Hal Pritzker says:

May 18, 2021 at 4:05 pm

What I remember about that episode “The night the roof fell in” was a little exchange between Rob and Ritchie near the very conclusion. The subject-matter subsequently gives future viewers a time-frame view. When Rob explains to Ritchie the difference between a fight and a discussion, Rob understandably delineates a fight as involving two boxers in the ring. Ritchie replies, “You mean like Floyd Patterson and Sonny Liston?” After a pause, Rob says, “I think most people thought that was more of a discussion.” The reference, of course, was Sonny’s first round KO of Floyd in their first fight (Sept. 25, 1962). People of later years, hearing the exchange, have an idea not only what occurred but when. Like a time capsule. Like glancing at a moment in time.

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