Customer Reviews

The Comeback - The Complete Only Season

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Perhaps the Producer, Michael Patrick King from Sex and The City and Lisa Kudrow, star from Friends were really expensive to get for HBO, since those shows were so big. However, those shows were made for the masses. Perhaps HBO was expecting another block buster ratings giant. It sounded like it, when they chose not to renew this show, saying the numbers weren't there and they didn't have any resources to put into promoting it further.

However, The Comeback was more of a niche show; subtle, intelligent, willing to embrace pain, humiliation in a point blank fashion. Willing to embrace phases we tend to avoid: those difficult moments in life when somebody says something in which you are not quite sure how to respond, socially awkward situations. A series this intelligent and insightful can only appeal to a few. The great masses prefer simple minded fair to distract them or prefer to see lots of things exploding with lots of pyrotechnics kind of like Homer and Bart Simpson, who are caricatures of "Everyman" on the Street".

But as Valerie (Lisa's character says in one episode); Reality TV is becoming "Coliseum mentality" and that she doesn't do coliseums. Valerie feared her show would not fare well in such a world. This thought proved to be prophetic.

Lisa Kudrow graduated from Vassar College with a degree in Biology. She's an extremely intelligent woman although you might not think so with all the ditzy characters she has played like Phoebe and the Romy and Michelle HS Reunion character.

In The Comeback however, as the main character and as Executive Producer, her intelligence is allowed free rein, as she is allowed to fully develop this Valerie character into a lightning rod for all manner of ridiculous situations...she still plays the part of silly and vain woman but does it so well in concert with the whole cast... We get to see humanity and all it's ridiculous foibles: vanity. prententiousness, selfishness, rudeness, vapidness, indifference, ego mania, self involved-ness...

Each episode allows us to see in subtle details and not so subtle details the dynamics of human/social interactions.

It was definitely not a show for the masses...I don't know if the 2nd season could have been as good as the first but at least we got 13 fantastic episodes of which I have watched at least 15 times each. I think Lisa and Michael should have tried to bring it to Showtime after HBO dropped it but Hey life is always changing...I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

In Lida Kudrow's short-lived HBO series "The Comeback" we are forced to watch former "it-girl" Valerie Cherish as she embarks on a comeback, playing a Mrs. Roper-style character in a jiggly comedy while appearing in her own reality TV show, The Comeback. It all strikes a little too close to home for television celebs, I think, and Kudrow isn't afraid to go to those uncomfortable places making us cringe even as we laugh. At the beginning of the series we're laughing at Valerie and her obvious attempts to make herself look good in the eyes of her fans from the past. By the time the first season wrapped, we were with her every step of the way, rooting for her triumph and feeling her pain. I'm so glad we're going to get this show on DVD... now if we can just have a second season?

FInally, HBO is doing right by "The Comeback" - one of the most hilarious shows ever to grace the TV screen and one which was criminally cancelled after only one season - with a double disk DVD. From tvshowsondvd.com:

The 2 disc set will include all 13 episodes from season 1, along with commentaries on 6 episodes, Valerie's DVD interview, and footage of Valerie backstage at Dancing with the Stars. Episodes on the set include:
<OL>
Disc 1
<LI>The Comeback (Pilot) - Audio Commentary
<LI>Valerie Triumphs at the Upfronts - Audio Commentary
<LI>Valerie Bonds with the Cast - Audio Commentary
<LI>Valerie Stands Up for Aunt Sassy
<LI>Valerie Demands Dignity
<LI>Valerie Saves the Show
<LI>Valerie Gets a Very Special Episode

Disc 2
<LI>Valerie Relaxes in Palm Springs
<LI>Valerie Hangs with the Cool Kids - Audio Commentary
<LI>Valerie Gets a Magazine Cover
<LI>Valerie Stands Out on the Red Carpet - Audio Commentary
<LI>Valerie Shines Under Stress
<LI>Valerie Does Another Classic Leno - Audio Commentary
</OL>

Come on, folks... Y'can't really blame HBO for the cancellation of this brilliant and offbeat series. If the numbers weren't there, THEY WEREN'T THERE. (I am willing, quite frankly, to forgive them most anything for Six Feet Under ALONE.) When the corporate world begins, despite financial loss, to subsidize art for art's sake, I will know that I was wrong all along, that there IS a life after death, and that I've died and gone to heaven! BIG-TIME Kudos to Ms. Kudrow; we most certainly have not seen the last of her. In a perfect world Poetic Justice would ensure that she will win the Emmy she so richly deserves for making Valerie Cherish a household name in (at least) MY household. Here's to hoping Poetic Justice was tuned in. In the meantime, in a LESS-than-perfect-world, I offer thanks to HBO for giving artistry yet another whirl AND for the superb DVD left behind for all to cherish.

You might have noticed but the folks who liked this show, LOVED IT WITH A PASSION. That said, that it was canceled due to low numbers speaks to its niche appeal. I saw a talk with Lisa Kudrow in which she explained that the head of HBO TV Production never really "got" the show -- otherwise he might have given it another season. But still, what we have been given in this DVD set is a miraculous little gem, a polished and perfect masterpiece, brilliantly written and acted, and highlighting Kudrow in one of her most engaging performances. The masochistic agonies of her gut-wrenchingly optimistic Valerie Cherish, will not be for everyone -- but for those who do "get" it, it is that rare beauty: truth in art. It hurts to watch, but it hurts good.

I realize that dark comedy like this way-too-short-lived, fake-docu-comedy, which aired on HBO last year, is not for everyone. But, if you get the humor of "The Office," either the origional BBC version or the equally great NBC series, then "The Comeback" is for you. If folks tuned in thinking that they were seeing Lisa Kudrow that they knew and loved from "Friends," then they, too, will be thrown for a loop. The complete opposite of "Friends" (which I also love) or its spin-off "Joey," which was miserable (save for scenes that included the always sidesplittingly funny Jennifer Coolidge as Joey's agent), "The Comeback" had some of the best writing and painfully realistic acting on the part of Kudrow. I'm sorry that HBO didn't get it or give it a chance to find an audience. Paired with "Curb your Enthusiasm," "The Comeback" could have been an HBO classic. I can't wait for my DVD's to arrive so that I can watch the eps for the third or fourth time!

this one of those rare shows where it just works on every level - from the acting, to camera, to writting. it is so real that you have to laugh. Esp for those in the "industry" there is allott to draw from and laugh about. This is funny in the way "Fat Actress" and "arressted development" find humor in the truthful absurdity of life. For anyone with half a brain tired of the mindless, not really funny t.v stuff out there . LISA KUDROW is amazing!

I can hardly wait for this DVD. I can finally dump the series from my DVR. Because they aren't going anywhere until I have them on DVD.

Man, I miss this show! Anyone for a Comeback of The Comback?

One reviewer said, "so funny it hurts." I'd actually say "hurts so much I couldn't laugh." Both as a writer and a performer Lisa Kudrow has shown she is absolutely brilliant. Her character Valerie is a has-been with a stunning lack of awareness of herself and the industry that has passed her by. Forced into a humiliating career choice which she believes will be her path back to A-list fame, Valerie despite her previous role is most definitely not it, but she is the only one not to know.

The pain begins as her character is progressively marginalized for younger, hipper Friendsoids. Off screen her attempts to act as mentor and moral center to the cast come off excrutiatingly tone deaf and awkward. A scene in which we learn that one of her co-stars, who Valerie considers green and ripe for training, is actually a well-seasoned veteran of another entertainment medium is almost tragic.

The supporting cast from her personal life is great. Her loyal puppy of a clueless hairdresser almost steals the show, and her step daughter is brilliant.

This is a great, can't miss series, and Kudrow absolutely deserves an Emmy for this work, but don't curl up with it hoping for some charming laughs. The material is painful and almost bitter, but worth every minute.

Cancelling "The Comeback" after only one season is one of HBO's biggest blunders in recent history. The show was incredibly creative with pitch-perfect writing and casting, but never quite found an audience. Unfortunately, a series with this much wit and creativity demands a sophisticated audience. If the execs at HBO had enough guts to stay with the series, I'm sure it would have found an audience, but giving it just 13 weeks was a pretty raw deal. Lisa Kudrow was simply outstanding, and very deserving of her Best Actress Emmy nomination. This DVD is excellent and the "Dancing With the Stars" portion of the extras alone makes it worth buying. The audio commentary from Lisa Kudrow in character as Valerie is absolutely hilarious. This is a must-buy even if you may have missed the show on HBO.