Customer Reviews

Andy Barker, P.I.: The Complete Series

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Andy Barker, P.I., was a short-lived NBC comedy created by Conan O'Brien. I don't care for O'Brien's humor and was surprised at how much I liked this show. There were so many laugh-out-loud moments packed into the 6 episodes, it was better than a night of comedies in Prime Time. There is a dry, quick humor that you have listen to closely so you don't miss anything. If you watch the episodes a second time, I guarantee you will hear/see something different, but equally hilarious.

Andy Richter is spot on with his comedic delivery, as are all of the supporting characters of this sharp, funny series. I just wish there were more episodes. I would even watch it online if it were revived.

If you only watch one episode, watch the one about the chickens.

Note: There are only six episodes of the show in this DVD set - all that were created. The series was canceled very quickly for low ratings. What some forget is that NBC released ALL of the episodes online before running them in Prime Time.

I watched this again on DVD recently and was depressed that this brilliant and laugh-out-loud comedy was overlooked and was not renewed in Fall 2007. The casting, writing, directing are all spot-on. Even the pilot ep is good- which doesn't often happen. This series should have run at least 2 years. Buy or rent the DVD- you won't be sorry.

While this show may only have six episodes, each episode is hilarilously funny.

So if you think of the purchase price in terms of the number of times you actually laugh out loud, you'll actually find this DVD to be a better buy than some regular purchases. (In any event, the total running time exceeds three hours anyway so in comparison, to say, a DVD of a comedy movie, you especially come out ahead on the deal.)

For its entertainment value, take the first episode, for instance, where we meet Andy Barker, an accountant ready to open his new CPA office at a strip mall (funny stuff, eh?). Played by Andy Richter, Barker is just funny sitting still. But no sooner than the first scene at his new office, he stands up and gets even funnier when a mysterous blond comes to him seeking PI work.

Before he gets to explain that he's just an accountant (or is he?), he gets four thousand dollars pushed into his hands with a mission to find the woman's husband (or is he?).

So as not to spoil the plot, let's just say that Andy spends the rest of the show proving that if you make enough wrong steps, you can actually end up going in the right direction again.

As you watch other episodes, you meet other quirky and fun characters from the Barker universe including a morbidly obese man who's death breaks the hearts of a shocking number of women, an evil chicken cartel, and a doctor (played by that guy who never ages from Lost) who's main practice consists of romancing young wives out of their husbands' fortunes.

It's pretty funny stuff and while I certainly would've been happier if they'd run and sold more episodes, I'm at least glad we've got these ones to watch, and re-watch and re-watch.

Andy Barker PI was the second show Andy Richter starred in and was just as offbeat and hilarious as the first. The run was only six shows before NBC canceled it - as usual, the bottom line spoke and the network didn't give it a chance to find its audience. I was surprised to see it released on DVD, given the truncated run it had, but I snapped it up immediately. Watching it again, I could only wonder at where it would have gone had it been given a chance. It was a wonderful, bizarre show, cast to perfection, and could have been truly great.

This six episode series is an excellent comedy delivery system. What a shame it didn't go longer . . .

This was such a funny show so we were thrilled to add it to our collection. Love the Conan contributions. A bargain for all the funny!

i loved this show when it was on. like 30 Rock it was full of goofy humor and bizarre plotlines, but without the surrealism. In a better world, this would have been a winner. i'm buying the DVD set but all the original music better be there or I'll be ticked.

I gave it 3 stars not for the content but for the price. While I realize that they can't control that only 6 episodes were only available, I question the cost (in a $ per episode manner). Enjoy the quality of the shows, they are worth watching.

The cast members have a lot of fun with the commentaries. The two special features are excellent and are 30m each. Sure, 6 episodes is short for a series but together they're funnier than most movies I've seen. Let's have another 6 episode series from Andy and company.