Make Room For Daddy - The Complete Fifth Season [DVD]

First, the good news. This DVD contains ten episodes from the rarely seen first four seasons of the show (two from Season One, three from Season Two, three from Season Three, and two from Season Four). Better yet, most of the episodes are complete and uncut, including the original opening and closing credits, and all original commercials and promos. For fans of the show, this alone makes this a DVD worth owning.The actual episodes contained are:Episode 8: "The Sea Captain" 11/17/1953Episode 49: "The Children's Governess" 2/1/1955Episode 7: "The Visiting Englishman" 11/10/1953Episode 82: "Who Can Figure Kids?" 2/21/1956Episode 99: "The Talented Kid" 11/26/1956Episode 67: "Danny's Palladium Offer" 10/25/1955Episode 41: "Margaret Feels Neglected" 12/7/1954Episode 106: "Danny's Date" 1/14/1957Episode 86: "Don't Yell At Your Children" 3/20/1956Episode 52: "Rusty's Haircut" 2/22/1955Extra: Radio excerpt from "The Bickersons" featuring Danny Thomas.All the episodes are complete, except for Episode 82, which is a shortened (23 minute) syndicated version (with syndication opening and closing credits), and Episode 8, which is missing the closing credits only.These episodes include some rare gems, such as a rare glimpse of the Williams' seldom seen dog Laddie (Episode 8), Danny's date with a pre-"Leave It to Beaver" Barbara Billingsley (Episode 106), and early 1950's cigarette and automobile commercials.Now, for the bad news. With regard to the discrepancy between the label and the contents pointed out by other reviewers, the only difference is that the "Sea Captain" episode is mistakenly identified as the "Danny's Birthday" episode (which would be Episode 90). Both episodes have a birthday theme, but the one on the DVD is actually Episode 8.The larger discrepancy is due to the picture on the Amazon.com page, which differs from the actual label, showing titles for four episodes not on this DVD at all. (Perhaps we can hope that this artwork was for another 10 episode DVD that St. Clair has yet to release!) So the list in this review is correct; the picture is not.Other problems with the St. Clair release are:1. Incorrect artwork. The pictures on the case and DVD label are of Danny's "second family" (with Marjorie Lord and Angela Cartwright), while all the episodes are from the Jean Hagen years (seasons 1-3) or Danny's one year as a widower (season 4).2. Totally unrelated music in the "episode" menus. I don't know where they got this music, but I don't think it has anything to do with the show.3. Notation errors. The mislabeling of the "Sea Captain" episode; a description on the package mentioning Hans Conried as Uncle Tonoose (who doesn't appear in any of these episodes); misspelling of "Palladium" on the episode menu; the apparently random order of the episodes; etc.4. Compression quality. The source material looks clean, but putting 10 episodes on one DVD means they are significantly compressed - still quite acceptable, but starting to show some noticeable mpeg artifacts.While I find these issues annoying, it is much more important to me that St. Clair apparently put some effort into using, wherever available, complete and uncut source material, rather than the truncated "syndicated" versions (which is all you get in Questar's awful "Season Five" set). So taking off one star for the "packaging" issues mentioned above, I still give this release a four star rating just for making these rarely seen episodes available in their original form at such a reasonable price.

After looking at other reviews, I didnt realize the episodes are edited. I feel kind of cheated! But then again I must've only seen them edited in syndication back in the '80's & early '90's. This was the most popular version & cast lineup & popular of the entire 11 season run & of the final 7 seasons when moved to CBS. (Why did Sherry Jackson have to quit after season 5 or why was Terry written out & why couldn't Miss Jackson come back for Terry's wedding in season 7 instead of unknown Penny Parker thus not being able to show flashback's when Terry was younger. Was Miss Parker's Terry older than Miss Jackson's or did Terry get courted & married at age 18?) It's great to see again after an abscence of 13-14 years after Nick at Nite discontinued showing after Mr. Thomas passed away spring '91. By the way Nick at Nite from what I remember only showed seasons 5-8. I had never seen an episode beyond that until summer '90 when an independent station where I was living at the time continued to season 9 (Angela Cartwright starts to look more & more like Brigita Von Trapp & Penny Robinson instead of 5yo Linda Williams & Rusty Hamer's Rusty Williams has gone through puberty & his voice has changed). I didnt know that the Williams moved into two more apartments or condos & the sets were different for seasons 8 & 9. But partway into season 9 Nick at Nite must've discovered someone else was broadcasting on free antenna tv & bought out all syndicated rights because that channel stopped showing. I had never seen the first version or ABC version until I bought the inexpensive samplers of the first 3 seasons. I always thought of oldest child Terry as a teen & figured from pictures of season 1 that she must've been a younger girl at one time & Rusty Hamer was predessor of Angela Cartwright as the youngest cutest one who gets all the attention. I can see why season 5 was the first to be available to the public because that's also the first season of the CBS years & cast lineup that most people of my generation who grew up watching reruns in the '70's & '80's are familiar with. I didnt know there was an earlier version until about '87 or '88 when I checked out a tv trivia book at a local library & that's when I wondered why is Linda older than Rusty & Rusty so young? Even if each is edited, when are the first four seasons, in a different apartment & set w/Terry & Rusty's birth mother, going to be released? How about also rereleasing season 5 unedited? I'll gladly pay another $50 & sell the edited set even though I'll probably only get $5 for it. Can season 6 at least be released sometime soon & the remaining Marjorie Lord seasons annually afterwards even if edited? You know I wonder if the first 3 seasons were never shown in syndication or on Nick at Nite or not available because the samplers include original footage of tobacco companies presenting & sponsoring in the first season opening credits?But anyway, I suppose it's recommended if you love this show, even if it's only the first version, or it's your first time & dying to see, to purchase this set. It's better than nothing & it wouldn't suprise me Questar & Mr. Thomas' surviving family decide to soon remove from the market & consider this entire series out-of-print & secured in a vault permanently. By the way, if you love the cast besides "Sound of Music" & "Lost in Space" I also recommend the following: "Singin' in the Rain" (& I thought that was actually the way Miss Hagen talked until I saw a first version episode for the first time) "I'll See You in my Dreams" "The Jazz Singer" (original '40's version if not out of print, not the retarded '80 remake) " "Batman ('66-'68) season 1" and "Charlie's Angels season 4" (when these are released) One last thought: what about releasing two followup reunions? '67's pilot "Make More Room for Daddy" & the short-lived "Make Room for Grandaddy" ('70-'71 w/original CBS cast including Sherry Jackson)

I purchased this dvd set for my daughter. Received carefully packaged and in great condition. No, scratches and quality is great. The show is funnier than I remember.

Having owned the  Season 5  and  Season 6  sets for some time now with no further season sets on the horizon, I was jonesing for "Make Room For Daddy" episodes I had not yet collected on DVD. So after researching the product details of all the Make Room For Daddy sample sets available, comparing content and prices against double-dip factor, I decided on this Make Room For Daddy 10-episode collection from St. Clair Vision. Don't let the studio's blunder with the artwork (Kathy & Linda aren't featured on the set) and print errors (listing "The Sea Captain" episode as "Danny's Birthday") disuade you. Once you pop the disc in and start watching these 10 complete classic episodes (from the Jean Hagen/Danny the widower years) with original commercials included none of that will matter. The episodes have been carefully re-mastered for best possible picture quality and remain just as hilarious as ever. Out of these 10 episodes, only 3 or 4 eps are also featured on the other sample sets. However, none of these eps are featured on the available season sets. For the most substantial collection of episodes from the show's earlier seasons, this Make Room For Daddy 10-episode collection is definitely the best buy!

I love classic TV Shows and I knew a little about Danny Thomas and how funny he was. I don't recall that I had ever seen anything other than clips of Make Room for Daddy but I decided to take a chance when I saw the DVD release for Season 5. I loved it. Danny Thomas is so funny and likeable. The actors who played the children were all excellent - especially Rusty! The kids were funny without being annoying as so many kids are on todays shows. The show was very well written. There were famous guest stars, but Danny Thomas was the star and if you haven't seen much of Danny Thomas, please check out this DVD. If you like classic comedy you won't be sorry for buying Make Room for Daddy.