16mm Film

Posts Tagged ‘Wally’

One of the earliest surviving “live” sitcoms of the 1950′s is Wally Cox’s “Mister Peepers”. The show aired on NBC from 1952 to 1955. Unlike “I Love Lucy” which was shot on film, “Mister Peepers” was aired live and exists today because it was saved via the kinescope process (basically, putting a 16mm camera in front of a TV monitor and filming the screen). Due to the nature of the show and the way it was saved, the picture quality is not that amazing. (But, its historical value as one of the earliest TV series still available to see today makes up for this!) What we have here (in four parts) is the original unaired pilot for the series (circa early 1952). (Look for a young Walter Matthau as the coach!) Unlike the aired episodes, there is no audience, so the scenes seem rather quiet. This series is very low-key and probably will seem quaint and rather boring to those folks used to what passes for entertainment today. But, as the series progresses, you tend to find yourself rooting for Robinson Peepers, as he genuinely is a nice guy! (BTW, if you like the show, you really should buy the two volumes of episodes out on DVD. About half the series has been released so far, and more support might get the rest of it released!)

One of the earliest surviving “live” sitcoms of the 1950′s is Wally Cox’s “Mister Peepers”. The show aired on NBC from 1952 to 1955. Unlike “I Love Lucy” which was shot on film, “Mister Peepers” was aired live and exists today because it was saved via the kinescope process (basically, putting a 16mm camera in front of a TV monitor and filming the screen). Due to the nature of the show and the way it was saved, the picture quality is not that amazing. (But, its historical value as one of the earliest TV series still available to see today makes up for this!) What we have here (in four parts) is the original unaired pilot for the series (circa early 1952). (Look for a young Walter Matthau as the coach!) Unlike the aired episodes, there is no audience, so the scenes seem rather quiet. This series is very low-key and probably will seem quaint and rather boring to those folks used to what passes for entertainment today. But, as the series progresses, you tend to find yourself rooting for Robinson Peepers, as he genuinely is a nice guy! (BTW, if you like the show, you really should buy the two volumes of episodes out on DVD. About half the series has been released so far, and more support might get the rest of it released!)