Baseshment
I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
Quiet Muffin
This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
Scotty Burke
It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review
FlushingCaps
It appears I've never reviewed this series, so I'll chip in. Condensed version: All the many other reviewers and message board commentators are quite right when they say the shows with Jeff were far better than what came later.When I was a little kid, it was Timmy and Lassie. I think my family watched because my older sister was a huge fan of the Jeff episodes, and just kept watching, even though admitting it wasn't as good. As a kid I didn't like some elements, particularly that they seemed to want me to cry almost every week.When Lassie became paired with Corey the episodes really got dull and we quit watching. There was no family, no fun times, just work at saving the forest every week. No wonder Smoky Bear never got a series.Years later in reruns I got to see the episodes with Jeff. "WOW!" First of all, the characters were much more real--about as realistic as any TV family ever in the ways they interacted with each other. Jeff made mistakes, but wasn't in any way stupid. Ellen was usually doing all the right things in raising her son, but occasionally erred as well. Gramps was the funniest of the group, but was not a buffoon in any way.With Jeff, it was the story of a boy, who had a dog who he was seen training to do some tricks. They sometimes showed how he had to spend time training Lassie to do anything. Most of Lassie's heroics were running home to "Get Gramps" and bring him to wherever Jeff was. Totally believable.With Timmy, it was more like "Superdog" who understands hundreds of words and does all sorts of tricks, seemingly without any training at all. Nearly every week Lassie saved either Timmy or someone else from either death or serious injury. I think almost everyone who likes Timmy better, does so because that is the era they first saw. Even though I fit that description, I don't like Timmy years nearly as much. I think the difference between the Jeff years and the Timmy years is like the difference between a Corvette and a VW Bug. The Bug might have lots of good points, but it's not nearly the auto a Corvette is.I loved the comedy episodes, which were fairly frequent in the Jeff years. I remember Jeff phoning for help because "There's a lion in the yard." Another time Ellen's meeting with other women is disrupted by a seal Jeff put in the bathtub.Two of the most dramatic episodes that I remember that did make me cry: First the one where Jeff tries to shoot a fox and finds out he accidentally hit Lassie. He cried "I shot my Lassie." I just thought that was about the most horrible thing that could happen to a boy's dog, from the boy's perspective. The other episode came when Jeff, trying to help a blind soldier who had come home and whose parents didn't want him to know his collie had died, agreed to lend Lassie to this family for a couple of weeks, "just so it'll be easier" for the soldier. Somewhere along the way, with Jeff telling Lassie to stay with the other family, just got to me.The series was mostly drama, but with Jeff there were not so many life-threatening episodes. There were poachers of various kinds and thieves, but lots of the episodes dealt sick or wounded animals or the family being worried about the health of the other members. It was about a family that had a smart dog. The family was the center of the action, with the dog doing some nice tricks. It was rare for Lassie to do something so extraordinary you would think it hard to believe a dog could do that. I think the Timmy years saw "Superdog" nearly every week, which was the biggest flaw.I'd like to give a rating to the different eras.Jeff years 9Timmy years 5 Corey years 2 I never watched the later years.
profhound
I, too, have to chime in with the folks who prefer "Jeff's Collie" to the other incarnations of "Lassie". Tommy Rettig, rest his soul, was superb, as were Jan Clayton and George Cleveland (and the wonderful boy who played Porky, sorry, I've forgotten his name). Perfect family entertainment -- and a brilliant vehicle for teaching young and old alike the all-important lessons in empathy and do unto others. What better way to learn how to look beyond appearances and taking things at face value, than taking the time to understand what a dog is feeling or trying to tell us? Sometimes the storylines were amazing, considering the time. I saw a rerun last week that dealt with the evils of people who engage in pit bull dogfights! I feel very fortunate to have grown up with Lassie.BTW, thanks to the poster who remembers the book "Lassie and the Secret of the Summer" -- I LOVED that book!
Jay09101951
When i was growing up in the late 50's are early 60's there was only one program we ever watched at 7pm on Sunday and it was Lassie. I remember the 2 part episode when Tommy and Lassie were lost andi cried at the the end of part 2 when Lassie found her way home . I was very dissapointed when the Martin's sold the farm and gave Lassie to Forest Ranger Cory Stewart. The show was never that same after that. Thanks to Discovery Kids Channel i can now see these wonderfull shows including the 1st three seasons 1954 to 57 when Jeff Miller and his family owned Lassie and the farm.
Zane-05
This is my favorite version of Lassie as well. I watched all the re-runs on the Animal Planet channel until I had seen them all. Tommy Rettig was a talented young actor; it's a shame he passed away. It's too bad they don't make classic TV programs like this one anymore.
