Search - The Real McCoys: Complete Season 1 on DVD

What a SHAME!

Lawrence Rapchak | Whiting, IN United States | 11/04/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Be Forewarned---- These episodes of one of TV's true Classic Shows are, except for the pilot, EDITED-----trimmed, chopped---BUTCHERED! Can you imagine?--in this day and age of state-of-the-art technology--- a DVD company resorts to using materials that are CUT by THREE MINUTES of

running time each?? And that's 3 minutes out of a 25-minute show that's missing, which I would say affects the dramatic shape of the show, wouldn't you?



I wrote to Mr. Stanley Moger at SFM Entertainment (smoger@sfment.com)

and received a reply which mentioned the difficulties in licensing

these old syndicated shows; apparently they were unable

(or unwilling) to explore every possible source, and decided to

settle for a complete run of the show that was in fine visual

condition but had been EDITED for TV; so they chose higher visual

quality over content, which I disagree with...to the point that I

doubt I will be buying any future seasons of the show, as much as it pains me.



As to the show itself---Walter Brennan is AWESOME! What an actor,

who totally inhabits the character of Amos McCoy in every aspect of

his personality---from incredibly tender to downright terrifying at

times! He is utterly believable, and one can scarcely imagine that

he is an actor delivering memorized dialogue---he seems to be living

the part in real life. Occasionally, however, as the 1st season progressed, a distinct element of caricature began to creep into some

of the more overtly comedic episodes. But hilarious dialogue always abounds---in one episode, Kate prepares a fancy chicken dish--

"Coq au Vin", she says..."It's a chicken cooked in wine", to which Grandpa responds with the immortal line: "Well, I ain't gonna eat no chicken that has to get LIQUORED-UP to get the courage to come out here....'! [HAW!]



I might point out a couple of stand-out shows from the premiere

season; the "McCoys" is, sadly, the sort of show that would be deemed "clueless" and "non-progressive" in today's pathetically

PC society; Grandpa McCoy is, shall we say, decidely "old-world"

in his attitudes. Oddly, though, the most moving episodes for me

centered on Kate, beautifully portrayed by Kathleen Nolan, and the conflicts she encounters between the "men-folk's" old-world outlook

and her desire to maintain her dignity as a woman.



"Kate's Dress" is a remarkable tale of Grandpa and Luke's decision

to use the "cookie jar" money they've saved for a new gun to instead

buy a new dress for Kate, since she has been asked to join the local PTA. In their childish enthusiasm to show Kate their good intentions, the men unknowingly create a custom-made monstrosity with which to surprise her. Her reaction and ultimate decision regarding the dress takes this epsisode into an oddly dark and slightly troubling realm, which is nonetheless very moving. Talk about a clash of cultures!



"Kate's Career" is another show wherein Kate forces the men to

confront and deal with their EXTREMELY conservative views regarding

the role of women in society, with very satisfying dramatic results--even a little role-reversal for Grandpa himself at the end!



"The Goodys Come to Town" is another show that brings the men-folk's treatment of women into question, as Luke boorishly fawns over an old flame of his who comes to town for a visit. Ultimately it is Kate

who must rise above the fray in a subservient yet dignified way---and wouldn't you know it?----that's EXACTLY what it takes to show the men

how crude and thoughtless they've been acting. And Walter Brennan's

moment of realization and apology near the end will surely bring a

tear to your eye. [Interesting to note that Luke's former girl-friend

in this show is played by Nora Hayden, who later became the author of

a somewhat notorious "How-To" manual in the 1970's, as well as the

guru of the "Dynamite Health Milk-Shake" business].



The entire cast of the "McCoys" is fine; Tony Martinez is great fun

and very charming as farm-hand Pepino; the knee-jerk PC police can

rest assured that there is no racial stereotyping here, since Grandpa

is generally intolerant of EVERYONE; in fact, Pepino usually seems to

be several steps ahead of everyone else in the family (the late Mr. Martinez was a band-leader and prolific song-writer; he played the

role of Sancho Panza in "Man of La Mancha" for over 20 years onstage

---I saw him in Chicago in March of 1968). Praise also to the

delightful Madge Blake and the fine old comic Andy Clyde for their continuing roles as the McCoy's neighbors the McMichaels.



BUT WHAT CAN"T WE SEE THESE SHOWS PRESERVED IN THEIR ORIGINAL, UNCUT

FORM? C'MON, SFM Entertainment-----get ahold of the series UNCUT and

RE-DO your dvd sets! That would be a far more fitting way to offer

this classic series to the public."

A great comedy

Willard Onellion | Dallas, TX United States | 04/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am glad to see that they are getting ready to release the Real McCoys on dvd. I loved this show growing up and bought it on bootleg dvd. That was of couse the syndicated version, so there were several minutes missing from the episodes. I look forward to seeing the first season episodes with the restored scenes. I hope all season come to dvd soon."

The Real McCoys

M. F. Lane | Hockessin, DE United States | 08/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In my opinion, shows like The Real McCoys is what TV was suppose to be. Good, family entertainment. I ordered this set the second I saw it was going to be released. I had reservations because I feared the prints and sound would be awful. To my surprise the prints are clear with only minor flaws not even worth mentioning. I'm hoping that the rest of the seasons will be released but I'm not getting my hopes up. Seems the trend is to release one or two seasons and than stop. I'm not sure why this happens with these wonderul old shows but it does. Whatever the case, fans of this show should grab this set while they can as it is well worth the price."

Fine Family Entertainment

Ernie R. McHone | Carlisle, Ohio | 08/26/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Walter Brennan and Richard Crenna star in this classic tv situation comedy. What more can one ask for? This show features both clean and family friendly comedy. This show was most definately the forerunner to The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, and Green Acres. It truly is a shame that it does not get the recognition it deserves. Now, that it is available on DVD, we can appreciate and cherish this timeless classic!"