I suppose that looking at the show through modern eyes a person would note that just a small number of shows were memorable but there are some which are true classics. (Laura tells the world that Alan Brady is bald and he has a talk with his various hairpieces that are sitting on styrofoam heads, for example) It's a shame that while most people know and enjoy D.V.D. they are unaware of the ground broken by the show and more than once Carl Reiner and Sheldon Leonard had to fight the powers at CBS. By today's standards the struggles of the Dick Van Dyke show seem incredibly small and non combative but in the early 1960s it was enough to put the shows survival in jeopardy. For example, CBS did not want to film a story where Rob thought he brought home the wrong baby. The mix up turns out to be with a family of a similar name (Peters) who also had a baby at the same hospital on the same day. Rob and neighbor Jerry play "detective" and come to the conclusion that they have the wrong baby. Rob finally calls the other dad, tells him that they have the wrong baby and arranges a meeting. When they finally meet, the other dad turns out to be a black man. CBS did want to do that show. Carl Reiner (or Sheldon Leonard, I forgot which) told CBS to try it in front of a test audience. If it bombed, he would reshoot the last scene at his personal expense. When the black dad walked into view it got the biggest laugh in the show's history and had to be edited to stay within the time frame for the scene. In a clever stroke of genius the writers turned the power of the scene over to the black man when Rob asked "Why didn't you tell me over the phone?" and Mr Peters replied "And miss the look on your face?" thus telling the audience that Mr Peters knew the entire time that Rob was wrong and he followed through with the ploy just for the laugh. There are more stories of creative battles such as that, including a go-round or two with the censors. (as noted in the review by Virile Vagabond with regards to Laura's Capri pants) In the end it turned out to be a very good program, excellent family entertainment, groundbreaking in its day, yet not so far to the edge that it lost viewers. The Dick Van Dyke show remains a very entertaining well done show, written and performed by talented people who genuinely liked each other.