Recap and React: The Dick Van Dyke Show, Season 3, Episodes 11 – 15

Welcome to another installment of Recap and React: The Dick Van Dyke Show! Today we’re looking at episodes 11 through 15 of Season 3.

Season 3, Episode 11: “ Turtles, Ties and Toreadors”
Directed by Jerry Paris
Written by John Whedon
Originally aired December 4, 1963
Recap: Rob wants to give Laura a break from her housework, so he contacts an agency to hire a maid. When the maid shows up to begin work, she has a broken arm and doesn’t speak a single word of English. She also just arrived in America from Barcelona and was expecting to be not just a maid, but a live-in maid.
Reaction: Miriam Colon (best-known for her role as Mama Montana in Scarface) guest-stars as the maid. She’s fun to watch in this episode, particularly for those who only know her from her later work or haven’t seen quite as many of her earlier roles. The episode relies a bit too much on language misunderstandings for humor (as I expected it to once I realized what the plot centered around), but it’s still a pretty good watch.
Favorite moment(s): Rob and his bad Spanish, telling the maid that Laura is his mother

Season 3, Episode 12: “The Sound of the Trumpets of Conscience Falls Deafly on a Brain That Holds Its Ears”
Directed by Jerry Paris
Written by Bill Persky and Sam Denoff
Originally aired December 11, 1963
Recap: Rob comes in late to work one day, just after Buddy has told Sally the news that a local jewelry store was robbed. When Rob tells Buddy and Sally why he was late, all three begin to believe that he saw the suspects getting away with their loot. His arrival at work was stalled by a few people running down the street with a bag. Rob must decide whether or not to call the police about what he saw.
Reaction: With Buddy and Sally missing from the previous episode, I was very happy to see them again! The more I watch this show the more I love Rob’s co-workers. They’re such a wonderful part of the show’s dynamic, and I enjoy watching them just as much as I enjoy watching Rob and Laura! This episode also features one of my favorite Rob moods: the nervous, ramble-y Rob. Dick Van Dyke excels at bringing his character’s anxieties to life hilariously. I loved watching this one — a favorite of Season 3.
Favorite moment(s): Everyone expecting a punchline from the robbery story + Rob and Laura coming to the conclusion that as a witness he is “useless,” “but courageous!”

Season 3, Episode 13: “The Alan Brady Show Presents”
Directed by Jerry Paris
Written by Sam Denoff and Bill Persky
Originally aired December 18, 1963
Recap: The Alan Brady Show lets the audience peak behind the curtain for the annual Christmas special when Buddy, Sally and Rob become the stars of the episode. Alan loved the script the team had written for the Christmas special, but he wanted to prove to the public that the show could have heart and warmth in addition to bringing the laughs… so he and Mel came up with the idea for the special to focus the episode on the writing staff and their families.
Reaction: This episode is a whole lot of fun. I always love to see the cast perform song-and-dance numbers, and there are quite a few of them here. Sally’s song about wishing Santa would bring her a fella and Rob and Laura’s duet in Santa suits are highlights!
Favorite moment(s): Rob saying they’ll have to change the name of the show to “An Evening with Laura Petrie” after she gets excited about the episode and immediately begins brainstorming

Season 3, Episode 14: “The Third One from the Left”
Directed by Jerry Paris
Written by John Whedon
Originally aired January 1, 1964
Recap: During a rehearsal for the latest episode of The Alan Brady Show, Rob picks out a random dancer from the chorus line to have a featured part in a dance. He takes heat from Laura, who is convinced that the young dancer is in love with Rob, and Mel, who doesn’t think it’s Rob’s job to scout talent.
Reaction: Cheryl Holdridge (The Mickey Mouse Club, Leave It to Beaver) guest stars as Joan, the dancer who causes all of Rob’s trouble in this episode, and what a fun episode it is. The pace is quick and every solution that Rob comes up with to his problem with Joan seems to go wrong.
Favorite moment(s): Laura joking with Rob that Joan will get over her infatuation with Rob eventually, just like Laura did + Rob’s charade of trying to scare Joan off

Season 3, Episode 15: “My Husband is the Best One”
Directed by Jerry Paris
Written by Martin Ragaway
Originally aired January 8, 1964
Recap: Newstime, a popular and well-renowned news magazine, has decided to do a cover story on The Alan Brady Show and its staff. Mel asks Rob to take Newstime’s reporter, Diane Moseby, to lunch to talk about the show. Rob was already planning to meet Laura for lunch the same day, so he invites Diane to the same restaurant. The interview is going well, with Rob giving humble, pleasant descriptions of his experience working on the show… but then Laura shows up and declares Rob the driving force behind the show’s success!
Reaction: This episode is kind of odd. The interview scene is funny, but the story gets less enjoyable in the middle with all of the yelling and arguing once the article comes out. And then Rob goes home and argues some more with Laura, who is the cause of the article’s focus on her husband’s talents. Things pick up a little bit in the final five minutes or so as Rob and Laura come up with a solution for the whole mess. Not a favorite episode from the season, but it’s a decent watch in the end.
Favorite moment(s): Rob desperately trying to get Laura to eat so she’ll stop talking at the interview