head of the family

the old dick van dyke show is to me about as perfect as classic television can get. i love the feel of this black and white world moving as a silent guest through the petrie home and following rob to the his job as a comedy writer. and i adored mary tyler moore as "laura petrie".
i remember seeing an interview once with rob reiner talking about getting to follow his dad to work during the production of the show. i always felt like this was a mirror reality of the show itself, as carl reiner largely based the idea of the show on his own family life and work as a writer.
so i was a little surprised and somewhat pleased the other day to come across the "missing pilot" originally titled "head of the family". in this bizarro reality reiner plays the van dyke character "rob petrie" instead of the familiar "alan brady" he would go on to immortalize. and in fact there is no alan brady. it is called "the alan sturdy" show instead. there are the other familiar characters too, rob's wife "laura" their son "ritchey" and rob's co-writer's "buddy and sally" all played by other actors.
this pilot was originally produced in 1959 and has a decided 50's feel which contrasts it with the more modern look and feel the final production would take. and although the basic structure of the show remained the same, there's no denying the powerful improvement and chemistry dick van dyke and mary tyler moore would bring to the show. in retrospect their characters seem so effortless and natural.
still, for someone like me, finding this pilot was like discovering a missing beatles album or original star trek episode, also products of the 60's. it's great to see reiner here as well working his acting chops.
in the opening of the show, we see him leaving his suburban home (in what we would later know as new rochelle) in an exterior shot and climbing into a huge late 50's sedan to rumble off to work. we then pick him up outside a new york walk-up where he passes what looks like sid ceasar before entering the offices of the alan sturdy show. in fact the whole pilot has a decidedly more new york feel to it. this buddy sorel might even pass for a beatnik when we first meet him.
overall i really enjoyed slipping into this alternate universe for a short time. it made me wonder just what things might have looked like in another world...