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A one-hour show, minus the commercials, has 45 to 50 minutes of programming. A DVD easily holds over 200 minutes of material. So in most recently released boxed sets for hour-long programs, you will routinely find DVD's containing four episodes.

The three DVD Laugh-In set contains just six complete programs, along with some interview footage. That's two episodes per disc (approximately 100 minutes), plus the bonus material. Although the Laugh In discs contain much less than the maximum amount of material, the price of the set is relatively high.

Rhino Video is certainly aware that the trend is to issue TV programs in boxed sets. Other studios issue their sets with all kinds of bonus materials. Rhino did a good job with The Monkees, choosing to issue the DVD sets by seasons, and including lots of extras. But in the case of Laugh-In, they continue to offer mediocre sets that short change fans. What are their real plans for this series? Do they intend to issue all of the episodes? Taking the "best of" approach, seems to indicate that they do not believe that interest in the series is great enough to justify issuing the program in complete season packages. Perhaps so, but there can be no denying that the "best of" sets could easily have much more content.

If you like Laugh-In enough to pay the premium per episode cost, by all means please enjoy. However, realize that purchasing this set only encourages Rhino to continue this minimalist type of packaging. If they ever do issue the program by complete seasons, you may regret the decision to buy. If you are not getting a fair value, take a stand and keep saying "NO" to inferior product like this. If you must have this, try the used market.


Why not release the show by season?   March 2, 2005
 64 out of 65 found this review helpful

Seasons 1 and 2 are easily the best, with Lily Tomlin easily being the best reason to watch season 3...

With a dual-layer disc, 4 episodes can be put onto one disc, with a handful of extras, and look very respectable (in the eyes of anyone who believed it when the mainstream media shoved DVD down our throats as having better quality.)

But 6 episodes on 3 single-layer discs, plus interviews, invariably leads to lower image quality. While other shows are worse, this packaging and contents only make me believe that we fans of this series are being fleeced; taken for a ride.

And the only series that had received even worse treatment was the original Star Trek series (at $20 per two-episode disc, Paramount really was taking big chances with its fan-base... The original Trek made back its money and more before Berman took over with the Next Generation and 3 dreary spinoffs... but that's another topic!) Of course, Paramount finally did the right thing and release the original Trek per-season, for only a moderately-inflated price. It's time Laugh-In fans get better treated as well.

Great show. But fans don't deserve this draconian treatment and fleecing.


The show is 5 stars, but the dvd...   July 27, 2005
 46 out of 46 found this review helpful

Is only 3. Because it's just a few episodes. I will not buy Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In unless they box the entire series.

I want to see it all again!


Wishing for a real offer for Laugh In   August 11, 2005
 33 out of 33 found this review helpful

I went all out and purchased, through television, the Rowan and Martin's laugh in, what a joke. First problem is that there is no order. And after awhile they stopped sending them. When i called they said they had not made anymore, and maybe some day they would. But so far, after a year, they never have. Then they put out the best of series. Which i admit, are not apart of the ones they had sent me in the beginning. But again, they leave you with so little and for so very much money!
Many libraries offer the Rowan and Martin's Laugh in Best of Sets and i suggest renting them out and watching them instead of purchasing them. I am really disgusted with the company and how they put these things out.
They should treat true fans a little better. I didn't watch too many of the original shows when they were on television as i wasn't old enough. But i have watched some when i was a teenager when they were on in reruns and i simply fell in love, 10 years after they were over with. And i still am. Yes, some of the material is a bit dated, but even us 35 year olds still love it!
Put it out by season and i think you'll have a hit, keep up these shoddy practices of ripping us off for very little, and you won't have much other than bad reviews.



Disappointing & Expensive   January 5, 2005
 28 out of 34 found this review helpful

The selection of the 'best' seems very haphazard & some of the late '60s political references have lost their edge 35 years on. There's a lot of padding between sketches, Goldie Hawn writhing about in body paint. The worst thing of all is that there are just two episodes on each disc and the remaining space, about a third of the whole, is given over to one of the performers rambling on a lot about themselves and what fun it all was but nothing about the production and its history. Really poor value for the money.