Customer Reviews
WHERE IS SEASON 2 ??? 
2008-04-21
OK enough already Sony--we've been waiting over a year now for Season 2 of this, perhaps the best sitcom ever on television. What's the problem? I've re-watched my Season 1 discs too many times now, I want what's next....why do you do this to us? Why bother releasing a series at all if we're only going to get a Season 1 teaser?
C'MON NOW...respect the fans. Do what's right, release all of the "Maude" episodes--and get with it on Season 2.
Brooklyn 2008-04-15
I watch this DVD over and over. Bea Aurther was funny then as she was on Golden Girls
70's TV Strikes Gold Again! 2008-04-06
Maude is GREAT!
I've written a couple reviews on other 70's TV shows, and am a long time fan of All in the Family, but Maude simply completes the puzzle and is a perfect time capsule of what was going on during that era.
These episodes are thought provoking and a great way for anyone that didn't grow up in this era, to get a glimpse into some of the struggles of the times.
Maude was already middle aged, at the start of the sexual revolution, but she portrays a sexy, self confident woman, who is reluctant to reveal her own insecurities, but they get coaxed out of her, regardless. Maude often shows her tender side, albeit sometime while coupling it with a punch line to the stomach.
Recently when at home sick, I flipped on a few of these episodes, and I had such a laugh, I had to watch them again with my wife when she arrived home from work. Women in particular will get a kick out of Maude. She makes no apologies for her behavior, and freely admits, having to burn through 3 husbands to get to her "keeper".
Maude runs "roughshod" over people, and I always got the feeling that this was from years of taking crap from men.
Another reviewer had mentioned their preference for Maude over All in the Family and Archie Bunker, but I think the 2 shows complement one another so much, it is genius. I know Maude was a spin off of All in the Family, and remember seeing he appear on those early episodes, and Archie visiting Maude at some point in one of her Episodes. (I think....definitely not this series)
I miss the no nonsense, get it done now, attitude of families from that era. Maude was a leader and a winner in so many ways.
You will get a LOT of laughs out of this show, regardless of your generation.
I am also anxious to see season 2.
Right on Maude 2008-03-19
Wow!! Loved the first season!! But whats the holdup with the next season being released.They wait way too long to release the next season its already a year later and no season 2! Im still waiting for seasons 3 and 4 of the partridge family The 2nd season was 4 years ago!!Whats the holdup?How about season 5 of Mary Tyler Moore show???Laverne and shirley had a 4 year wait after season 1 was released.4 years to get season 2 its finally happenning though for Laverneand shirley Fans!!Does anyone know where I can send a email to let them know how Pissed Off I am about how long its taking?
Hip Hip Hooray! 2008-01-14
All I can say is that it's about time. There must be thousands of us Maude fans who have been waiting for this DVD. I play it anytime I need a lift or a laugh, which is pretty often. There is no actress alive or dead like Bea Arthur. She was born to play the role of Maude even topping her role as "Dorothy" in the Golden Girls. The supporting cast is also wonderful, especially "Walter".
Where oh where are the subsequent seasons? I hope it won't take Sony forever to distribute them. If it does, they will certainly be worth waiting for!
The 70s Feminist As Suburban Godzilla 2008-07-01
Norman Lear's seminal television series 'Maude' (1972-1978) harks back to a time when American adults were still adults, people freely and fearlessly spoke their minds, and the modern scourge of political correctness did not exist.
Lear revolutionized American television with 'All In The Family' (1971-1979), which introduced audiences to bigoted conservative Queens resident Archie Bunker in an era when most viewers where still tuning in for pleasant rural fantasies like 'Mayberry R.F.D.' and established series with magical premises like 'Bewitched' (1964-1972).
Where television comedies of the previous decade, from 'Mr. Ed' (1961-1966) to 'Hazel' (1961-1966), had emphasized genteel good manners and upper middle class respectability, All In The Family, with its coarse blue collar protagonist and his 'dingbat' wife, Edith, hit the ground running by boldly tackling themes of racism, anti-Semitism, rape, homosexuality, women's liberation, breast cancer, and impotence.
Rumored to have been based on Lear's wife Frances, Maude Findlay originally debuted on All In The Family in a passing role as Edith Bunker's cousin. Maude was the diametric opposite of Archie Bunker: upper middle class, feminist, educated, intelligent, and, above all, liberal.
Brilliantly portrayed by Beatrice Arthur, Lear wisely realized that he had television gold on his hands, and 'Maude' soared into primetime, as instant and controversial a success as All In The Family had been a year earlier. Arthur's commanding presence, impeccable comic timing, and blatant intellect cast an instant shadow across the entertainment landscape of the country, making 'Maude' one the decade's most recognizable icons.
Dressed in her slightly eccentric trademark ensemble of a kneelength open vest over a blouse, a neckerchief, and a pair of loose trousers, the tall, confrontational, never less-than-assertive Maude, with her unruly steel-gray hair, hilariously roars through each episode, bellowing, hollering, and reducing her antagonists to rubble like a prototypical Japanese monster.
Like All In The Family, 'Maude' would embrace mature themes like racism, abortion, spousal abuse, alcoholism, and mental illness (in a later season, Maude is revealed to suffer from manic-depression after becoming obsessed with the idea that screen legend Henry Fonda should become America's next president) head-on in a responsible but consistently entertaining manner. 'Maude' was a program created largely for adults and watched largely by adults; children and teenagers were unlikely to find it interesting.
As the characters in Woody Allen's later films 'Annie Hall' (1977) and 'Manhattan' (1979) would, Maude, her husband Walter (Bill Macy), and other adult cast members blithely take subscription pills to stabilize their moods, while the ritual of evening cocktails is an essential component of the Findlay's daily lives. There are very few episodes in the first season in which Maude, Walter, or physician-neighbor Arthur (Conrad Bain) don't reach for a drink as soon as tempers begin to flare.
Perhaps these habits explain the continually worn-out, beaten-down look of the cast, the repulsive clothing worn by everyone, the women's taste-free hairstyles, and the relatively tacky interior of the Findlay manse.
Or perhaps Lear was partially attempting to underscore the 'realism' of his program: the grooming, dress, and decor found in 'Maude' are leagues away from the polished standard established by earlier Fifties and Sixties television series from 'Leave It To Beaver' (1957-1963) and 'My Favorite Martian' (1963-1966) to 'That Girl' and 'Family Affair' (both 1966-1971).
This is particularly unlikely to be the case, however, since most of the show's production values are equally poor, a trend which would unfortunately sweep Seventies television and not be rectified until the late Eighties and early-to-mid Nineties with dramas like 'Thirtysomething' (1987-1991), 'Twin Peaks' (1990-1991), 'Northern Exposure' (1990-1195), and 'Picket Fences' (1992-1996).
But 'Maude' was always about intellectual substance rather than visual style, and if he couldn't reflect both qualities equally, Lear certainly made the right choice, as 'Maude,' via the complexity of the writing, characterization, and superb acting by Arthur, remains the never-bettered situation comedy of its kind.
Maude - The Complete First Season 2008-06-28
A great buy for getting a good taste of that era. I had forgotten how comedy has changed over the years. Its a good sampling to have as a collection or to rely on when theres nothing else to watch.
bring on season two! AND THREE AND FOUR.... 2008-05-03
This is one of the rare shows that continued to get better and better as it went on. Of course Bea Arthur could read the phone book and be funny, but luckily, the writing here was top-rate. and it continued to get even better.
Very funny show 2008-05-02
Another first for a show of this kind. If you liked the Golden Girls you will for sure like Maude, she is the golden girl. I'm sure glad to see this out on DVD, now put it back on tv too.
Beatrice Arthur is one of the true comedic greats 2008-05-01
I loved Maude as a kid, because Beatrice Arthur made me laugh even when I didn't understand most of what she was referring to. As an adult, I appreciate the comedic gifts of Beatrice Arthur even more in this series. She is truly one of the greats, and to see her chew up the scenery in every scene and episode of Maude has been a rare treat. This is mega talent unleashed, and Beatrice Arthur can deliver dead pan one liners like no other. I wish that I were fortunate enough to have been in the studio audience during the tapings of Maude to witness Beatrice Arthur's electricity with the studio audience, where Ms. Arthur had to pause momentarily and wait for the hysterical laugher to die down before she delivered the next line. I also give 5 stars to the supporting cast. A younger Adrienne Barbeau being very easy on the eyes while at the same time offering calm stability to her mother during the moments of crisis. Conrad Bain making us realize what a great actor he was before his talents were wasted on Diff'rent Stokes, Esther Rolle as the fed up with bigotry and preferential treatment maid of Maude's, and being a rival of Maude in her own right, and Bill Macy who played Walter, Maude's husband. He too, was a great presence in this series, telling Maude to "Sit!!" on numerous occasions when he got fed up with her. To see and hear these four arguing about the issues of the day near the alcohol bar with drinks in their hands has been priceless. I urge the studio to release the other seasons of Maude, as Beatrice Arthur's true gifts as a comedieanne should not be denied to anyone. Everytime Ms. Arthur utters "God will get you for that Walter" leaves me in tears from laughing so hard.
