Customer Reviews

The Ben Stiller Show

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The Ben Stiller Show aired for 12 episodes on FOX during the 1992-1993 season. Critics praised the show even though it routinely came DEAD LAST in the nielson ratings...which is probably why you've never heard of the show. They stuck it up against 60 Minutes at one point. Don't be fooled, though. This is brilliant sketch comedy from a group of talented comedians that have all gone on to bigger and better things. Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Andy Dick, and Bob Odenkirk spend most of the show creating dead-on hilarious parodies of television, movies, actors, and anything else that reeks of Hollywood. A 13th "Lost Episode" was uncovered when Comedy Central aired The Ben Stiller Show a few years back, and it is included in the DVD as well. The only drawback is that, yes, some of the material is a bit dated. Still, don't let that keep you from enjoying one of the best sketch comedy shows to grace the airwaves. Fans of Bob Odenkirk's "Mr. Show" should enjoy seeing some of his earlier work as well. It's a shame FOX didn't give this show the support it deserved.

This compilation is one of those DVDs that has been long overdue. After looking desperately for chances to see this "one season" wonder on Comedy Central years back, I was pleased to find out recently that I could see the entire season for a little more than twenty dollars by buying it online.

The DVD chronicles the 12 episodes of Ben Stiller's Show, which ran on MTV from 1992 to 1993. The cast includes Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo (remember her?), Andy Dick and Bob Odenkirk doing sketches and parodies of popular early 90s shows, commercials and fads. There is also one unaired episode included, as well as commentaries and outtakes from a few of the episodes.

This show mocks the aggravations of trendy television that sprang up in the late 80s/early 90s. There are plenty of stabs at FOX's "rich" kids shows, Hollywood blockbuster movies, commercials and MTV shows. For instance, there is a running parody called "Melrose Heights 90210-2402" which pokes fun at the over dramatization and hipness of yuppie-teen television that came to prominence with Melrose Place and Beverly Hills. There is also "Legends of Springsteen", where we learn the many achievements of the legendary "Boss" (such as how he fought off alien invaders at a cafe). Another highlight is "The Grungies" segment, which mocks the Grunge "X" Generation movement of the early 90s (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, etc) by combining it with the popular 60s show "The Monkees." It is also has a scattering of action movie skits that mimic action movies: Die Hard 12: Die Hungry, Cape Munster, and Advantage Agassi (Andre Agassi as a tennis-playing, crime fighter in a prototypical cheesy B-Movie subplot). Numerous commercials (What is sexy?, the "Pig" Latin singer), a mockumentary of U2 (Stiller as Bono), Ben's Video Diary, and Headslammer's Ball are other notable segments included.

An excellent buy for a Ben Stiller fan, and definitely worth a shot if you are unfamiliar with the show. Essentially, this is smart comedy.

Sometimes the memory is much better than the reality. I had fond memories of this show. While reviewing the DVDs recently, I realized that the one or two sketches I remember as being hilarious were indeed funny, but just. The other sketches were of rather poor quality. I wanted badly to like it, but it was rather embarassing; It was one of those shows that you brag to all your friends about how much they'll like it, only to shift uncomfortably as it unfolds before your eyes. One of those 'rent-before-you-buy's for sure.

The Ben Stiller Show was, in my opinion, the best sketch comedy show....EVER. A fantastic cast, Stiller, Garafalo, Odenkirk, and Dick. Brilliant writers. incredibly funny sketches and short films.
Some of the best were "Of Buildings And Women"(a take off of French art films), "Manson"(a parody of "Lassie" starring Charles Manson), "The Grungees"(a modern day version of "The Monkees" featuring a grunge band, with guest appearance by Micky Dolenz),"Skank"(a sitcom about a loud-mouthed, racist sock-puppet and his loving family...with guest spots by Todd Bridges and the late(great)Norman Fell),"Jake Steel, Marionette Cop"(about...well, just what the title says),and so much more!
I would highly recommend this collection for any fan of sketch comedy, film buffs or people who grew up in front of the television in the 60s and 70s (as I did).

The Ben Stiller Show was a very humorous program back in 1992 when Fox canceled it. The show still went on to win an Emmy Award, which is very ironic becasue of its cancellation. The show was a vehicle for its stars Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Andy Dick, and Bob Odenkirk. The DVD includes all of the 12 episodes that made it on to the Fox Network including an unaired 13th episode.

The show had guest stars like Danny Bonaduce (The Partridge Family), David Cassidy (The Partridge Family), Dave Madden (Mr. Kincaid, The Partridge Family), Gary Shandling, Tom and Roseanne Arnold (still married back in 1992), Sarah Jessica Parker, Dennis Miller (who prophesized the shows cancellation on one of the episodes) and many more.

On the infomercial, parody to promote the release of the DVD, which aired Dec. 2, 2003 on Comedy Central Janeane Garofalo, said jokingly "Some of it holds up." Well a lot of it does hold up such as Skank, The Bruce Springsteen sketches, Tom Cruise: Dress Casual, Oliver Stoneland, Scotty Fantasy, The B-Minus Time Traveler, Manson and many more.

There are several skits, which are dated. Those particular skits were funny back then but aren't as funny now especially if you were too young to recall any of that pop culture. Information 411 parody of Rescue 911 with William Shatner, Blue and White Shampoo parody of annoying Head and Shoulders commercials, Amish Studs parody of the Fox dating game show Studs, The Grungies parody of the Monkees (outdated if you have never seen the the Monkees at all) and Rob Morrow from the TV show Northern Exposure as a guest star (younger family member had no clue who he was).

Now if you are a big fan of the commentaries that many DVDs have you must be alerted that not all of the Ben Stiller Show episodes have commentaries and many of the ones that do have them do not contain the entire cast, which is a bummer.

I would guess that it probably took this long to release the Ben Stiller Show because Warner Bros thought Ben Stiller was a big enough star now that people other than the few who actually saw the show would buy the DVD set.

Overall, it's still a very humorous show. The quality of the images are far better then the recent worn out looking ones that I viewed on Comedy Central. It doesn't have any kind of social or political messages that you might hear from one of its stars now. The show is just funny comedy to watch.

Fans of the show can finally retire their decade old VHS tapes. All twelve original episodes are here, plus the thirteenth episode that only aired on the Comedy Channel.

Aside from the shows themselves, which most people looking at this page are already sold on, fans need to get this DVD set to hear the commentary. Ben Stiller, Andy Dick, Janeane Garofalo, and Bob Odenkirk are all in the commentary tracks. The commentary is generally fun and any serious fan must listen to the commentary tracks to hear the following:
1) How Ben Stiller assembled this now legendary cast.
2) A story about Ben meeting Bruce Springsteen, who is a subject of several skits in the show.
3) How the cast felt about the show's cancellation.
4) How the cast feels about the show relative to their later works.
5) How the fledgling Fox Network felt about the show's parodies of "Cops", "90210", and the Fox Network.
6) Guests that they tried to secure for the segments between the sketches.
7) How Janeane feels about bike shorts.
8) How they tricked Adam West into impersonating Adam West.

Best:

1) The humor was free-flowing and one skit drifted quickly into another.
2) Once you start watching an episode, you're hooked until it's over. All 12 (actually 13) episodes, plus bonus skits, are easy to watch back-to-back with plenty of good places to pause.
3) Many of the skits were absolutely roll-around hilarious.
4) The commentaries and behind-the-scenes features tell you everything you need to know about the series and why it was cancelled.

Worst:

1) The celebrity guests rarely participated in skits and sometimes had nothing entertaining to say or do.
2) Some camera shots, especially the outdoor scenes, had a very low-budget look.
3) Many of the joke references require you to have a knowledge of 1980's TV series to really understand.

Recommendation:

The price is good, the special features are generous and it's hours of entertainment with a high rewatch value. Get it - definitely.

...not quite as funny as I rememeber it. There are a few lame bits but most are good and a few are adult diaper-time funny. But the between sketch "improvs" are incredibly juvinile and bring the show to a grinding halt. Thankfully, you can forward thru them. Of note is how really pretty Jeanine is! Recommended but not quite the Holy Grail I had thought it was.

After 4 episodes I pulled the plug. Yes some funny situations but lots of "inside" jokes, repeated jokes, mumbled delivery. Stiller +company have definitely improved since then!

"The Ben Stiller Show" was a hidden treasure on the then-fledgling FOX Network. Around the time of the equally funny sketch show, "In Living Color," it helped make FOX *the* place for comedy.
Some of Ben Stiller's most popular impersonations got their genesis here: Tom Cruise, Bono (the MTV Mock-umentary of U2 is hilarious), even Eddie Munster (as Eddie in "Cape Munster"). And boy did he know how to surround himself with good people. The regular ensemble cast of four is filled out by Bob Odenkirk, Andy Dick and Janeane Garafalo before anyone knew exactly how cool she was. All those MTV Movie Awards skits... their birthplace is on this show. Every episode also features a special guest, ranging from Ben's dad, Jerry Stiller, to Bobcat Goldthwait and the late Sam Kennison.
Unfortunately, only thirteen episodes of the series ever made it to air. Shortly before "Mystery Men" was released in theatres, the FX Network aired all the episodes in a Sunday Marathon. I've had them on tape ever since. I definitely look forward to replacing them with this DVD collection.