Watched the colorized Dick Van Dyke show on CBS last night. It took me a few minutes to stop checking out the color scheme of the Petrie’s home, but once I stopped paying attention to that, the show was enjoyable. I’ve seen those episodes dozens of times over the years and they hold up well. That is fairly typical of good writing. It is timeless. Using that criteria this blog has a shelf life of about 30 seconds. Oh well.
I am fairly ambivalent with regards to the colorization of black and white movies and television programs. I don’t find it necessary, but if it might expose some of this content to a new audience, that could be a good thing. I’d rather see a show like Dick Van Dyke colorized than updated. Imagine when Rob Petrie walks into the living room and trips over the ottoman during the opening credits. The modern version would have him suffer tragic head trauma and only a team of the most specialized surgeons could save him. Meanwhile, the crime lab’s forensic team proves that Buddy Sorrell deliberately moved the ottoman to kill Rob, because he coveted both Rob’s job and beautiful wife Laura.
Wait. I’ve got to pitch this to some TV execs. Don’t any of you steal my idea. Fortunately it’s on my blog where no one will ever see it.