The Best of Mister Ed, Volume One

"It's been a long time since I was a pony." With these immortal words one of television's most unlikely, but enduring, friendships was launched: between architect Wilbur Post and Mister Ed, his talking horse. In fact, so convincing is Alan Young as Wilbur, and so easy his rapport with his equine costar, that you really do believe a horse can talk (Ed's voice is courtesy of Western character actor Allan Lane). This extra-less two-disc set saddles up 21 episodes from the first three seasons of this Golden Globe-winning series--recently added to TV Land's stable of '60s retro faves--from director Arthur Lubin (who knew his way around the barn, having helmed the best of the Francis series of talking-mule comedies). While the episode with Mae West is sadly absent, this set does include Ed's memorable encounters with Clint Eastwood (then starring on Rawhide), George Burns (who produced the series' pilot episode), and original diva Zsa Zsa Gabor. Young is a gifted comic actor in his own right, but just as George Burns had his Gracie, Young has his Ed, who gets all the good lines, as when Wilbur congratulates Ed on curing Zsa Zsa's fear of horses. Ed replies, "She cured my fear of Hungarians." But the writers took the show's surreal premise and galloped with it, as when Ed joins the beatnik set in "Ed, the Beachcomber." Sound unbelievable? We'll give Ed the last word, of course, of course. "Don't try to understand it," he advises Wilbur during their first meeting. "It's bigger than both of us." Looking sharp, thanks to a solid digital transfer, this trip down TV memory lane is recommended. (D. Liebenson)