Review of Mister Ed

Everybody knows of Mister Ed, but very few have watched an episode of the show. CBS is responsible for many odd shows throughout the 1960's including the Twilight Zone, Gilligan's Island, Hogan's Heros and yes, Mister Ed. How successful can a show be about a talking horse? Enough for it to last 6 seasons and 145 episodes. Still, here are my 10 points after watching every episode. (10) Season 6 sucked. After trying to re-invent itself for the third time, it was too late for the series to continue with its original theme. Changing neighbors and giving more time to Carol's Dad did not keep a strong audience. (9) Ed's back story. Several missed opportunities with Ed's background were never brought up. We hear that the previous owners of the House left Ed to the new owners (Wilbur and Carol), but they never talk about them. Ed is an intelligent horse, but we never learn about how he learned to talk, read, and have an intellect. This missing plot detail could have added more to the story. (8) White Suburbia conspiracy. The Post family lives in a world that no longer exists, in the 1960's countryside of Encino, California. Much like the Ricardos moving out of NYC to Westport, CT, the Post family advertises to its audience how great living in the LA suburbs is. 70 years later, Encino is a city with a large population, the countryside that once existed so you could go horseback riding through endless parks and golf courses, no longer exists. (7) Sharon Tate. In 2 episodes, Sharon Tate makes an appearance. Although her roles are small, it is hard to look away when she is on screen. (6) The Guest Stars. Special guest celebrities like Clint Eastwood, Greta Garbo, the LA Dodgers, and George Burns added a much-needed flair during its 6-season run. (5) Larry Keating's death. The chemistry between the Posts and the Addisons is what made a lot of the show good. After Keating's death at the end of Season 3, the show started to go downhill. (4) Many Ethical characters. For the early 60's, Mister Ed does an amazing job to include minor characters in several ethnical categories including: Black, Japanese, Italian, Mexican and Chinese. Although they include many stereotypes in the performances, they still offered speaking roles to several communities that made up southern California. (3) Connie Hines was a Sex Bomb! Connie Hines would portray Carol, was a pure talent that was under used in the series. Multiple scenes show her sexy figure in swimsuits and lingerie but not enough. One of the truly missed opportunities with the show was the lack of Carol having more screen time. (2) No kids? Why? (2) - Until the Ricardos with Little Ricky, the Posts never had or even mention having kids -They are newlyweds and are in love with the giant house with plenty of money and they do not plan or even have any discussions on the matter. In a few episodes, Carol can be seen wanting to have a child, but Wilbur is too busy having Ed as his child. (1) Mr. Ed was never about Mr. Ed - but Wilbur Post. Alan Young was the true star of the series as Mister Ed was just the side plot during his zany situations. Young was always the butt of the joke as he fell into endless scenarios that would get him into trouble. Wilbur in drag, Wilbur impersonating another character, etc.

Overall, the downside to Mister Ed is that none of the main characters developed. Wilbur never grew up, Carol never got out of the kitchen and Mister Ed didn't help the Post become a family - never even having Carol or any of the neighbors find out that Ed could talk kept the series limited. Sadly, it is a milestone series that was very original but fell short when it could have been bigger than it was.