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 9
Timmy years 5
Corey years 2
I never watched the later years.
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 9
Timmy years 5
Corey years 2
I never watched the later years.