Dennis The Menace: Season One

After all of the perfect family sitcoms of the 1950sm, Dennis the Menace was a breath of fresh air. While Robert Young's TV family was always well behaved, and June Cleaver's Beaver never caused any major problems, Jay North's Dennis was a holy terror.

The mischievous mop-head might have been well intentioned but he wreaked havoc on his parents, his neighbors and especially the perpetually irritated Mr. Wilson, who was marvelously played by Joseph Kearns.

Season One (1959-60) of the show is now on DVD in a five-disc set that features 32 episodes of the tow-headed hellion at his best.

While North got more mature and more forced as the years wore on, during season one he was at his youthful, most innocent best. While Gloria Henry and Herbert Anderson played his typically prim TV parents, Dennis often behaved more like Satan incarnate - still inducing smiles 50 years later. Keep your eye out for the pre-Opie Ron Howard who pops up as well.

The DVD set features extras including a detailed new 40-minute video interview with Gloria Henry and Jeannie Russell who starred as Dennis' precocious friend Margaret. There is also an older half hour radio interview with the two women. Aside from some original promos for the show, the only other bonus feature is an episode of the Donna Reed Show with North and Kearns playing their Dennis and Mr. Wilson characters on that show as well.

My guess is that despite being in black and white, the episodes in this budget-priced set will still prove completely entertaining to kids today.

Dennis the Menace: Season One
DVD
$29.93
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