Edward
What I remember most about this show (and I have seen the show in reruns on Antenna TV recently) is that Hazel's world was one where everybody knew their place and knew that they could never rise above their stations. On the one hand, you had the masters who had the money and called the shots. Beneath them were the domestics - maids, butchers, plumbers, the mailman, who existed only to serve their betters. They ate in the kitchen, called the employers Mister and Mrs. and never questioned what their superiors did.Hazel was smarter than any of them but she spent her life raising the Baxter's son, living in the maid's quarters and never having enough money to even have an apartment of her own. Mrs. Baxter was young enough to be her daughter but she always had to take an inferior role.Things have changed since then to some extent, but that is the message that I got (and still get) from Hazel.
Ethereal-Cloud
I recently discovered this little sit-com gem from the early 1960's (although it feels like the 1950's). I'd never even heard of this show before, but I'm glad that it's survived and some station director (Antenna-TV) decided to re-run it.The first time I saw it I nearly turned it off, the main character Hazel has a rather 'distinctive' voice but I stuck with it. After viewing a few more episodes I came to love the character because of the nutty predicaments she gets herself and the family in and the fact that she's got a heart of gold. Things always turn out Okey-Dokey by the end of the 30 minute show as would be expected in a 50's sit-com. The best analogy I can make is if The Brady Bunch gave Alice the maid a spin-off with good writers and an affable supporting cast. Overall it's really tame TV, but fun to watch.
willowgreen
This series provided Shirley Booth with a suitable character with which she could apply her undeniable acting talent towards making HAZEL a truly believable version of the nosey, know-it-all but loveable maid. Based on the once nationally syndicated comic strip character by Ted Key, Booth won an Emmy for her portrayal which she added to her Oscar and Tony awards. In an interesting revelation discovered after Booth's death, for obvious reasons, she took a full decade off her birthdate, making her over 65 by the series cancellation in 1965! The supporting actors weren't exactly inspired: Don DeFore and Whitney Blake were rather wooden as George and Dorothy Baxter, and Bobby Buntrock was rather annoying as Harold, while the color looks cheap and faded. Performers such as Norma Varden, Cathy Lewis (as George's snotty shrike sister Deidre) and Maudie Prickett (as Rosie, Hazel's maid friend) came off marginally better. Mr. Griffin, anyone?
SkippyDevereaux
I love this show!! One of the best casts ever in television and of course, I LOVE the Baxter's house.I have a book that has the floorplan to this house in it. Wish I had a house like that!! LOL. It is nice to watch this show and not have to worry about back-talking kids or cussing or anything that is prevalent in today's so-called comedies. Just wish that someone would show reruns of this wonderful show again. Heaven knows there are enough channels out there to afford it the airtime.
