Music
Store

Why is it that "The Best of Laugh-In", a three DVD set, contains just a total of six episodes? This is VHS type packaging, and is comparable to how the original Star Trek TV program was offered on DVD years ago. We've come far beyond that. The price for this set is exorbitant as well. You could get the complete season of a series like MASH or All in the Family for less. The title of this set is also misleading. Rather than being a "best of" compilation, it is actually a collection of six complete episodes.

Laugh-In is a great program, one that broke new ground, and was highly innovative and influential. It is certainly worthy of much better treatment. Rhino usually provides value, in whatever they issue, however this time they have clearly "socked it" to the customer. Rhino needs to understand that this type of packing is not acceptable, and is really an insult to the consumer. Just say "no" to this set, any maybe they will get the message.


When will they put this series out on DVD?   July 1, 2003
 89 out of 94 found this review helpful

For six years, I watched Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In on Monday nights. I enjoyed it because it was funny, with catchphrases like "Sock it to me," "You bet your sweet bippy," and "Here comes da judge" performed by an ensemble cast of comedians including Goldie Hawn, Lily Tomlin, Ruth Buzzi and Arte Johnson. I haven't seen this show for several years, so I bought this DVD as soon as I saw it. This DVD has two episodes from each of the first three seasons and they're just as funny today as they were when they first came out. They even have the show in which Richard Nixon asked "Sock it to ME?" I'm hoping that Rhino puts every season out on DVD in box sets so that those of us who watched it can enjoy it again and those of us who never saw it can watch it and enjoy it. This DVD set has a delightful bonus - the three discs in the set has interviews with Gary Owens, Ruth Buzzi and Arte Johnson, respectively, where they discuss how they were hired for the show and discuss how they worked on the show. Creator and producer George Schlatter also explains the genesis of the show and says that there might be a Laugh-In 2004 and there is a pictoral recration of the joke wall with pictures of the regulars saying the lines they made famous. It's well worth the price and is a look back at a piece of television and comedic history. Buy it.


The Fickle Finger of Fate goes to Rhino   June 26, 2003
 47 out of 48 found this review helpful

The contents of this package rates five stars, but what drags it down to three is that Rhino created a fancy package and short-changed the public on the amount of episodes they put in the package. I mean SIX episodes in a three-DVD set for [that amount]? Come on Rhino! You could easily have put 12 episodes in this set. After all, there were 144 episodes of Laugh-In. At 12 episodes a set, it would takes years to release them all on DVD. Now it's going to take twice as long.
Aside from all that, the episodes are great and the picture and sound are crisp and clear. The interviews aren't bad either.
So Rhino, enjoy your Fickle Finger of Fate. I'll be thinking twice before I shell out {good money]for six more episodes of Laugh-In.


The perfect item for a time capsule or your DVD collection!   November 8, 2003
 33 out of 36 found this review helpful

Though the 1960s saw some of the greatest tragedies in modern history (assassinations of people who would have made our society better than it is now, and - of course - Vietnam), the 1960s made up for it in pop culture, style, and fashion. The 1960s were a very creative period indeed, and Laugh-In is a great example of this era. Never before had viewers tuned into anything so faced-paced, witty, wacky, irreverent, and topical. And they loved it as the show soon received high ratings and won several emmy awards. Which was good because, at the time, the Emmy was worth something.

Some 35 years later, this review is coming from a person who was born a few months before the traitorous Watergate scandal took place. As a kid, my mom would always quote from this show and, at the time, I didn't get it. Of course, I get it now, and it just shows what impact this series had because mom rarely watches television!

But I digress. Those who remember the show know the gags. The questions are, is this DVD release worth the money and will new audiences enjoy it?

Let's start with the quality of the disc:

The sound quality is quite good. There's no much in the way of hiss, and the sound definitely sounds like it's been digitally enhanced. No complaints here.

The video quality is remarkable considering it was taped in 1968. They obviously did some restoration work, and colors are vibrant and blacks are reasonably black. There are some video lines typical of videotaped programs, but there's nothing worth complaining about. I've seen far worse. All in all, Rhino did a great job of restoring these episodes.

However, there is a negative point or two: There are only 2 episodes per disc, in a 3 disc collection. For anything more than $35, this is an insult. Whole television programs are being released, by season, for less money. The phenomenal "All in the Family" is a prime example of this. To make up for this, they included interviews of some cast members. While I enjoyed these interviews immensely, they could easily have added an extra 2 episodes per disc and still have room for the interviews.

Also, these episodes seem to tally at around 49 minutes each. In 1968, TV episodes ran for 50-51 minutes. I've noticed some very weird editing in spots (and it's quite obvious as the scene jumps to another and then another within a second's period of time), making me wonder if a modern censor cut out what he decided was "offensive". Sigh. I hate censorship. Why not let the viewer decide? And, honestly, how could something be more offensive today when it was able to survive the stern NBC censors of 1968?!

Now for the episodes and humor potential:

For people who initially saw and liked the series, they will undoubtedly enjoy every episode on this disc set as it will revive old, wonderful memories.

For people watching this show for the first time, I strongly recommend you watch the season 2 episodes (09/68 - 04/69) first, particularly the Barbara Feldon episode (the season 2 opener). The season 2 episodes have the most polished feel and are also the funniest. They're the most appealing. Season 1 has most of the right elements, but it just doesn't seem to gel. And while season 3 is generally good, I had gotten used to the season 2 cast and format rather quickly so the show acquired a new, unfamiliar, feel. And the Farkel family is a little too weird, though I'll give them credit for managing to say all of those lines without cracking up or flubbing their lines... However, season 3's biggest saving grace is the wonderfulness of Lily Tomlin.

While some of the series' humor holds up very well, some of it has unfortunately lost its effect because of its topical nature (But on the plus side, we wouldn't want the Vietnam war continuing today, we've got enough useless wars going on as it is). But some other jokes were just plain bad to begin with; with one very notable skit from season one featuring Joey Bishop and the Laugh-In girls... But then consider other comedy skit shows, Laugh-In is not unique when it comes to being a mixed-bag of humor. Some of the early "Saturday Night Live" episodes have aged badly as well, and if you think the recent episodes are completely rubbish now, just wait another 9 years... As a whole, Laugh-In holds up, especially if you dig 60s culture.

Two things I were hoping for was the News of the Future segments where Dan Rowan talked about the fall of the Berlin Wall (though an alligator-filled moat was put in its place) and, *gasp*, President Ronald Reagan. Those bits alone would make for valid entries in a "best of" collection given that they were more-or-less accurate! Was the remainder of their respective episodes not so great? (but I shouldn't criticize, the included episodes are quite good.)

No episodes from the 4th or 5th seasons are on this set. Did they simply want to stick with just 2 episodes from the first three seasons, or is there something about the final two seasons which they want to keep locked up?

And why, for discs 2 and 3, did they mix season 2 and 3 episodes together when disc 1 concentrated solely on season 1 episodes?

I wish they'd release box sets of entire seasons. I'm anxious to see all of season 2 and eventually seasons 1 and 3. Though season 1 was the weakest, they still had some terrific jokes. But until then, this is what we get. I am pleased with my purchase and I am eager to see more. Now they need to deliver! :-)


Bad package, bad show   August 11, 2005
 28 out of 36 found this review helpful

Why is it that in an age when you can get a whole season of a television show on DVD for less than 30 dollars, you need to pay 45 dollars for six episodes of a show that quite frankly wasn't all that great to begin with? I bought this collection for my father (a former hippie) for his birthday despite the fact that it was a huge rip-off. He seems more-or-less pleased with the episodes included, but doesn't think it's worth what I payed (he saw the receipt).

I managed to get the Best of Monty Python's Flying Circus (a much funnier sketch comedy program from about the the same time period) for only twenty dollars. That collection is loaded with special feature and has at least twelve episodes. I highly reccomend that collection over this any day.