MovieChat Forums > The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961) Discussion > An Illogical (not possible) Scene

An Illogical (not possible) Scene

posted 8 years ago by [email protected] (5871)
9 replies | jump to latest

First of all, I have read and heard a lot of what Carl Reiner wanted for the show. Some of the most outlandish things were based in reality. He used personal anecdotes from the writers and the actors. But once in a while, something is not possible.

I just bought season five. I hadn't seen "Dear Sally Rogers" in a long time, a very funny episode where Sally advertises for a husband on the Stevie Parsons Show.

But the very NEXT day, she receives bags of mail! How in the world could she get letters the next day? It was a LATE NIGHT talk show. Even if all those people were moved to pen letters to Sally, would they all make a mailbox run at 1:A.M.? Huh? And even if they did, mail pick up isn't until the morning.

The most unbelievable example was the postcard from Hawaii from Ralph Kakalani (love that name though!). A postcard made it from Honolulu to New York in a few hours? lol Don't forget, Hawaii is five hours behind the east coast and even if Ralph saw The Stevie Parsons, it would already be 4:00 A.M. EST.

Anyway, before satellite TV, Hawaii was not getting live feeds and was even behind on regular programming. My grandmother went to Hawaii in the mid-seventies. She wanted to catch up on her afternoon soap one day. But the station was showing the previous week's episodes.

It's such a little thing. But it could have been solved so easily. For instance, Sally could have walked into the office, very frustrated and said, "It's been almost a WEEK since I advertised for a husband. Wasn't anyone watching the show that night?" Then, an avalanche of mail comes in!!!
I guess people did not really care about details like that back then.

Another little thing , Sally appeared on Stevie Parson's show a few seasons earlier. It was the two-parter when she considered taking the late night sidekick job that he offered her. But Sally and Stevie got in a huge argument, he took back his offer and told her to come back on Halloween. "Bring your broom!" I guess those two made up after their argument.

[–] Tristan_Booth (405) 8 years ago

"How in the world could she get letters the next day?"

This has always bugged me too. It would only work if they were transcribed phone messages, or maybe telegrams.

[–] [email protected] (5871) 8 years ago

Telegrams would've arrived in time. Too bad the show didn't go that route. But they clearly said that a lot of mail came for Sally.

Later when Herman came to the office, he asked Sally if that was the mail. Sally replied, "No, it's confetti with a thyroid condition!" lol

They only had thirty minutes to tell a story, so I guess they speeded things up because of time constraints.

I just watched 'Coast-to-Coast' bigmouth the other day. When Laura blabs about Alan being bald, it's on a noon time game show. Later on Rob tells Laura how they were late for a lunch meeting because they stayed to watch her interview on the show.

Laura tells Rob the bad news. The phone rings and it's either Buddy or Sally (I forget who) calling to say that they read it in the evening newspaper. Hard to believe a little item like that would make the afternoon edition! I think the evening paper would have already gone to press by midday. It wasn't a "stop the presses" type of event. Laura's gaffe might've made it in one of the TV columns the next day. Of course today the news makes it onto the internet in minutes. Back then news didn't travel as fast. But obviously the audience was willing to overlook little details like that.

[–] GlenEllyn (21526) 8 years ago

I seem to remember that mail was picked up from mailboxes much more frequently throughout the day back then, although I doubt the last pickup of the day would come after the late show aired. And it wasn't unusual, especially for businesses, to receive two mail deliveries per day. Since this show took place in New York City, it's not inconceivable that Sally might have gotten a few letters from local viewers by the following day, but an avalanche of letters from around the country? And the postcard from Hawaii? No way. I think we chalk this up to dramatic license.

Even today, if I mail a letter before the final pickup of the day, if it's to a local address, it very likely will be delivered the next day. Of course, I live in a small city so there isn't the volume of mail that you'd see in large cities.

[–] [email protected] (5871) 8 years ago

Oh I forgot about two mail deliveries back then! But it still brings me back to my original point about Sally getting letters the next morning.

Perhaps a lot of people wrote letters right away and mailed them the next mornig on their way to work. They could've been delivered with the afternoon mail. But in the episode , the Stevie Parsons Show sent over the mail that they received for Sally. It was in the morning. Just TOO fast.

I live in a small town. Sometimes I send a birthday card to someone in town and they don't get it for two days. Our mail system is really strange here. They send the mail out to the mail center which is 90 miles away , postmark it, and then send it BACK here! I guess I am just used to late mail.

[–] GlenEllyn (21526) 8 years ago

I'd forgotten that the letters came from the Stevie Parsons Show, so yes, it's over the top. They could have written that scene as taking place a couple of days later and I don't think it would have detracted from the humor of it.

My city is big enough that they do their own postmarks. When I lived in a suburb of a large city a few years ago, if I dropped letters at the suburban post office they had a separate box or slot for local mail (same zip code) which made sense. Everything else went to the main post office "downtown" for processing.

Didn't UPS do something ridiculous like sending all packages to their main hub in Nashville or wherever it is, even if they're just going across town? Maybe that's an urban myth.

[–] Neemy (6) 8 years ago

For instance, Sally could have walked into the office, very frustrated and said, "It's been almost a WEEK since I advertised for a husband. Wasn't anyone watching the show that night?" Then, an avalanche of mail comes in!!!

She could have ridden that avalanche like Laura did with walnuts in "It May Look Like a Walnut"! :)

[–] [email protected] (5871) 8 years ago

LOL Would've been funny. But Sally always wore a dress or suit in the office. Riding an avalanche in a dress? ha ha Still, I can picture it!

[–] liscarkat (18410) 6 years ago

It's a sitcom. Don't sweat it.

[–] avortac4 (3744) 2 years ago

It's Sally.

Sally can't get 'bags of mail' if she robbed a post office!

So it's obviously her hallucination, and in hallucinations, anything is possible. Case closed.