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Mister Ed the talking horse (remember, he’s no normal horse … of course .. of course) has made his way to DVD. Mister Ed first started out as stories in magazines and then eventually made his television debut first in syndication on October 1, 1961 and then being eventually being picked up by CBS. Ed concluded his network run on September 4, 1966 … 143 episodes later. 

Mister Ed stared Alan Young (as Wilbur Post), Connie Hines (as Carol Post),  Larry Keating (as Roger Addison), Edna Skinner (as Kay Addison),  Jack Albertson (as Paul Fenton), Leon Ames (as Gordon Kirkwood),  Florence MacMichael (as Winnie Kirkwood) and of course Allan Lane (as the Voice of 'Mister Ed').

On some side notes … I bet you didn’t know that Ed’s real name was Bamboo Harvester, or that there were two different horses used in the series in the case that one was not available. Ok, so you want to know how they made it look like Ed was talking. Depending on where you look and who you talk to there are different stories. One source claims a piece of nylon mesh was used under Ed’s lip and he would try to remove it, giving the impression that his lips were moving like he was talking. Another source claims peanut butter was used. Both seem somewhat believable, so believe what you want. Some believe that Mr. Ed really WAS a talking horse … just kidding!

This release is not the first reason of Mister Ed, but a compilation of the “Best” episodes randomly selected out of those produced between 1961 and 1963, it includes the following 21 episodes: The First Meeting, Ed the Songwriter, Psychoanalyst Show, Wilbur Sells Ed, The Horsetronaut, Ed's Ancestors, Mister Ed's Blues, Zsa Zsa, Ed the Beneficiary, Ed's Bed, Horse Wash, Ed the Beachcomber, George Burns Meets Mister Ed, Clint Eastwood Meets Mister Ed, Horse Sense, Wilbur the Masher, Ed the Emancipator, The Price of Apples, Doctor Ed, Ed the Zebra, Wilbur Post Honorary Horse

Packaging
The main packaging color used is orange. the case cover features a sliver where you actually see the cover to the fold our section (look at the top cover art section -- I am talking about the picture of Ed and Wilbur). If you so desire, you can flip the fold out case around so you can display another photo on the cover (one of Ed all dressed up in a Hawaiian hat). You pull the fold out section out and open it up to reveal the 2 doubled sided DVD’s along with a sleeve to the far left which has a nice colorful book containing episode descriptions, guest star, original air date, and other information – very handy! If you pop out the first DVD you see a E on the package if you pop out the second one you see …. Take a guess …. Yes a D!

DVD Menus & Functionality
You are greeted by the animated Lions Gate introduction, and then a background slate with pictures of both Mister Ed himself and Alan Young. You get yourself a few Mister Ed quotes while some music plays in the background. The Music is not the Mister Ed theme song, it is something I have never heard before. Why they did this, I don’t know. On this main screen you have one and only one option “Episode Selection.” At this point your going to want to click on the one option and you are brought to a screen with the numbers 1-8 on the bottom of the screen. Upon moving over each, you get to see a picture from that episode (in the blue TV screen to the left), and the title and description for that particular episode. Actually clicking on that number lets you view the particular episode. No setup, audio, or other functions in the menu.

Video & Audio Quality
For a series from the early 60’s I found the audio and video to be impressive. The Video was extremely clear, and the black and white was quite vivid (if that makes sense). I found a few minor jumps while watching the video (almost like a few frames were missing), but nothing too major. No jumps or noticeable problems with the audio.

Bonus Features
Nada, zilch, nothing. Maybe in the future … But, then again in a "Best of" set I really wouldn't expect any.

Final Thoughts & Recommendation
In the future while it would be nice to do see the series released in Season box sets, rather then best of sets … I want all the Ed I can get!  It amazes me that such a series could be so popular and last so long. An updated version (whatever that means), is in the works for the FOX network. If you like Mister Ed, love Mister Ed, or even just watch occasionally it definitely can’t hurt getting your hands on a copy of this. I’ve never seen Ed look so good!      

... Have your own Review? Want to comment on this one? Visit the Message Board or E-mail Greg

...Want to buy it now? Purchase Mister Ed, Volume 1 from Amazon.com

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This Review was last updated Thursday, January 20, 2005 06:15 PM -0500