Customer Reviews

The Best of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

With the current trend of issuing television series in complete seasons, and maximizing the content included on a DVD, there is absolutely no reason for consumers to accept product that gives them less than their full value for their money. There is easily enough space on a DVD for over three hours of material. Minus the commercials, it is common to have four "hour" long episodes on a single DVD.

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.

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.

In the late 1960's, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In was an entertainment of sight gags, skits and one liners. It was Vaudville, Burlesque and low brow humor combined in an hour of TV


This DVD of six episodes fully takes in what the show had to offer. You could call this DVD A taste of Laugh-In. It captures in a nutshell what Laugh-in was.

You will note, in the late 80's, NBC (the same network that Laugh-In was on) came up with Saturday Night Live. It took up Laugh-In mantle without the joke wall or the quick SOCK IT TO ME!

However, This small piece of the show on DVD isnt much, we need more! I rate it low, because it feels so incomplete...and for what it worth, it better to have NOTHING than a small taste of greatness

I would rather have a full season of Laugh-in. Since Rhino isnt making many DVDs lately...someone should!


Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD

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 Best of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1968) is very good--but only as far as it goes. This three DVD set wastes space on the discs; we only get a few episodes and even then I strongly suspect that one or two of these episodes were trimmed down a little. The picture quality is excellent, admittedly; and the sound is good. We get three bonus interviews (one on each of the three DVDs) with Gary Owns, Ruth Buzzi and Arte Johnson.

The jokes are very funny; Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In took huge risks for its time to make audiences howl with laughter. I remember it was a big deal if we children were allowed to watch it! These episodes give us the famous Lily Tomlin act as Ernestine the telephone operator, the swinger's party were jokes with many innuendos were told ostensibly off the cuff; and the dialogue between Rowan and Martin themselves is very well written and performed.

There are several celebrity sightings on these DVDs; I liked Tiny Tim despite the fact that his act was rather bizarre; and the episode on DVD number three includes the full show that guest starred Jack Benny. Jack Benny fits in perfectly on this show; he tells jokes and gets set-up by the regular cast of Laugh-In with hilarious results.

The regular cast never fails to pitch out those jokes that even today have some very funny punch lines. Look for Goldie Hawn, Alan Sues, Judy Carne, Jo Anne Worley and Lily Tomlin (among others) to make the shows here on DVD very entertaining and funny.

Unfortunately, my main gripe (and it's a big one) is that there's just not enough here. Where are all the other shows from the first two seasons? Why do we get only four or five episodes at the most here? This is very disappointing and I will take off two stars for this flaw to make this a three star review.

Overall, Laugh-In was hilarious. This three DVD set proves it. Unfortunately, what we get is so good it can frustrate me--and others--that we didn't get so much more from the first season or two. Hopefully Rhino will eventually see the light and produce a proper retrospective of this fine series complete on DVD. This is even too short to be called a "best of" Laugh-In DVD set. Sigh.

This show is as insanely provocative now, as it was when I first saw it over 35 years ago. My only complaint is the number of episodes offered on the set of three DVD's. Compared to other T V shows being offered, the price for this set is prettty spendy.

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! :-)

Laugh In is one of my all time favorite comedy shows, but I would love to buy complete seasons of uncensored Laugh In starting with Season One. And above all, I never waste a dime on over priced DVDs that are half full or less.

And I would also like lots of behind the scenes talks by the stars, writers, and producers about the making of, and censorship, and just how did they write so many hilarious jokes so fast?!!!

Unfortunately the greedy executives at Rhino have done it again. I give TEN stars to the show, but 0.000025 for Rhino. They're doing it again. You get TWO lousy episodes (49 min each) per disc. There are three discs so that's a total of SIX episodes only.... What's going on here guys...There is only ONE excuse for this pricing structure, pure greed.

Packaging is great, the quality of the program is not bad (not brilliant either), yet they're charging $45 for 6 episodes, with some extras. What a rip, considering you can buy the ENITIRE season of .... let's see... I'll just pick ANY series, here's one, Magnum PI (1st season). For under $20, you get FOUR DOUBLE sided discs with 1113 minutes of footage. Rhino gives you 3, SINGLE SIDED discs, with only 294 minutes for more than DOUBLE the cost. It's not worth it guys. Rhino do this often to make HUGE profits. Don't buy this DVD until the greedy execs at Rhino lower the price. If no-one buys it, they'll have to. It's a shame a decent company didn't pick this great series up.
DON'T GIVE INTO TO THE GREEDY THUGS AT RHINO.

Good lord there are just too many people complaining about the fact that "Laugh-In" was "topical" on this site (as if that was a bad thing). The same folks probably hoo-hah with laughter when "The Simpsons" parody "American Idol" (how do you think that'll hold up on the topicality scale in 30-plus years kiddies?) So let's get this straight: "Laugh-In" is, was and always will be a priceless and epochal combination of humor "ripped from the headlines" (of its time) and the last gasp of vaudeville.

That's right - vaudeville. Because while the editing in "Laugh-In" is straight out of the French New Wave, the rythm of the humor is pure Borscht Belt. No joke is too low, no cow is too sacred, and that's why this is a priceless buy for any of you kids out there in TV land. "Laugh-In" was to its tumultuous era what Michael Moore is to ours: a forum that was willing to take aim and name names. It was funny and it was courageous, and it deserves to be celebrated for all the brilliant humor it still possesses.

For those who decry the shows "dated" references, let me just say: Listen, punk, go buy yourself a history book. "Laugh-In" is inviting you to reflect upon the most significant era of modern American history (the 60s, which defined the America of today as surely as the Civil War did the America of the 1880s), and if you're too lazy to Google what they mean when they say "Mai Lai" on the show, you shouldn't be writing reviews on Amazon in the first place.

So thank you, Mr. Agnew, and we'll see you soon, in beautiful downtown Burbank...