Based on a series of short stories by Walter R. Brooks, an unaired pilot shot in 1958, and extensive recasting, Mister Ed debuted in syndication in 1961, sponsored by Studebaker, because executives at the three networks had little faith that a series featuring a talking horse could be successful. An immediate hit, CBS was happy to pick up the series for its second season, where the show stayed until it’s cancelation in 1966, after six seasons, and 143 episodes. Mister Ed even managed to pick up a Golden Globe for Best Television Series: Comedy in 1963.

The premise is a rather simple one: Newlyweds Wilbur (Alan Young), and Carol Post (Connie Hines) have just bought a charming ranch house in southern California. Wilbur, an architect, sees the barn on the property as potential studio space for his work. However, he soon discovers a horse, Mister Ed, has been left behind by the previous owners. Next-door neighbors Roger and Kay Addison (Larry Keating and Edna Skinner), who sold them the property, were unable to keep him, and the Post’s adopt him as their own. It’s not long before Ed begins talking to Wilbur and only Wilbur, leaving him bewildered, and carrying around a big secret. Not that anyone would believe his horse could talk, anyway. As the title suggests, Mister Ed is the central character, but on rare occasions he does take a bit of a back seat to the Post’s neighbors, the Addison’s. When actor Larry Keating died of leukemia in 1963, the Addison’s were replaced by new neighbors Col. Gordon Kirkwood (Leon Ames) and his wife Winnie (Florence MacMichael).

Having watched the entire series, Mister Ed deserves lots of credit for not going the way of Bewitched, and having the nosy neighbor constantly out to prove there’s something peculiar about Mister Ed. Ed likes to call people on the phone, so he isn’t a figment of Wilbur’s imagination. Others have heard his voice. They just have no idea that it’s a horse on the other end of the line.

When the show premiered, Mister Ed is best described as a crotchety old nag. Thankfully, within the first few episodes he evolved into the intelligent, spoiled brat he’s remembered as. The performance of Mister Ed himself is undoubtedly a big reason for the series success. Played by a palomino named Bamboo Harvester (1949-1970) trained by Les Hilton, Harvester was aided by some camera, and technical trickery, as well as off screen commands, but seemed comfortable on camera. His vocals were performed by popular 1940s Western actor Allan “Rocky” Lane, whose name did not appear in the credits, and participation was unknown for decades. That said, Lane’s inflections are perfect; almost as if he knew what a horse would sound like. It’s that perfect. Not to be overlooked is the performance of Alan Young, whose easy going charm offset Mister Ed’s often blunt assessments of humans, horses, and whatever else was on his mind, very well.

By the time Mister Ed was ensconced in its second season, the show started featuring appearances by some well-known personalities as themselves: Mae West, Clint Eastwood, George Burns, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Leo Durocher, Jon Provost, and Sebastian Cabot, gave Ed a new and famous person to play off/create trouble for. In one such case, the popular Clint Eastwood Meets Mister Ed, Clint lives next door, and Ed has a crush on his filly, and it just so happens that he shares a party line with the Rawhide star.

The sixth season, which consisted of just thirteen episodes, turned out to be the final bow for Mister Ed. The series still pulled in healthy ratings. It’s possible that with CBS going all color the next season, executives felt Mister Ed was too difficult a show (given the technical trickery involved), to make the transition. Whatever the reason, nearly fifty years after it was originally broadcast Mister Ed remains a true television favorite.

Though Mister Ed has been available in various DVD configurations over the past several years, Mister Ed: The Complete Series includes some material you can’t find anywhere else. Shout Factory has included all eight full-length season one episodes (“Busy Wife”, “Kiddy Park”, “Stable for Three”, “Ed the Lover”, “The Pageant Show”, “The Aunt”, “Little Boy”, and “The Contest”) released previously in their syndicated form. And of course, the sixth season hasn’t been released separately, but is exclusive to this box set.

Given the obvious limitations of time and format, Mister Ed looks as good as I could ever imagine it. Presented in their original 1.37:1 aspect ratio, image detail is quite impressive throughout, with steady contrast, and nice black levels. There are no real digital problems or compression issues, and there are only a few specks of dirt here, and there.

Presented in Dolby Digital 1.0, the mono mix is pretty much what you would expect from a show of this era. Dialogue is fairly clear, the laugh track appropriate, and the music occasionally runs a bit loud. Don’t expect much in the way of depth, but given the materials age, that’s to be expected.

Closed Captioning is only included for the first four seasons.

All the extras from the previous standalone releases have been carried over:

  • Audio Commentary on “The First Meeting” with Alan Young and Connie Hines. The two obviously had a fine rapport, and share several memories and ‘tricks’, regarding shooting, and dealing with a horse on set.
  • A Horse Tale (32:02) Young points out Mister Ed was based on a book that was written years before the Francis the Talking Mule films. The horse and the mule did share a director in Arthur Lubin, and more interesting history.
  • Studebaker Commercial (0:35) Wilbur and Mister Ed discussing the latest model.
  • Audio Interview (1:54:00) with Alan Young from Shokus Internet Radio’s Stu’s Show. Young covers his life, and career in this long interview.
  • Audio Interview (92:00) with Alan Young and Connie Hines from Shokus Internet Radio’s Stu’s Show. A discussion about Hines’ career including her involvement in the quiz show scandals.
  • Studebaker Car Commercials (5:18) featuring Mister Ed and the cast pushing the latest models. The video quality varies from good to extremely wavy.
  • Mister Ed U.S. Bonds Promo (19:00) let the horse remind folks where to save their money.