The Best of Mr. Ed, Vol.2

There are two particularly odd things about this DVD collection. First is that it contains two discs, equalling eight hours and 27 minutes of the famous talking horse. The second is that this is volume two. There just aren't enough great moments of Mr. Ed to warrant more than one volume. The only use in revisiting this show is for nostalgic reasons, and even then most of the novelty runs out well before you can get through the first side of disc one. For those who may never have seen this show when it was originally on in the '60s, or who missed the reruns in the '80s, Mr. Ed is a horse who loves his owner, Wilbur the architect. Ed answers phones, flies a plane, appreciates rock'n'roll, wears costumes and solves crimes. And, most importantly, he talks. Speaking in a series of puns, Ed (voiced by Allan Lane) sounds like a cross between a Clint Eastwood-styled cowboy and Elvis. After revisiting Mr. Ed it is clear that this palomino was a one trick pony. Each episode is simply another version of the same joke: Mr. Ed is jealous/worried/love-sick, let's watch him get up to some zany antics. This set would have benefited from some special features, particularly one that explains how the trainers got the horse to appear as if he was talking. Online fan sites have differing stories explaining this. Some say a piece of nylon mesh was placed under his upper lip to keep it flapping, while others suggest that peanut butter made him smack his lips repeatedly. Whatever the reason, it's only people like the fans who update these sites that will get a kick out of these discs. Everyone else should allow Mr. Ed to remain a fond, yet distant, memory. (MGM)