Customer Reviews

The Dana Carvey Show

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Within its first few minutes on air The Dana Carvey Show had already alienated the general ABC viewing audience, as then-president Bill Clinton (Carvey) opened his shirt to reveal his lactating, multi-nippled chest from which human babies and puppy dogs fed with glee. The key word here is "glee", since that's what but a tiny percentage of the audience at home (i.e. a 14 year old me) felt as they busted a gut to this unprecedented absurdity from the man they had come to know as "Garth".

For 13 years now, the few, the proud, the...criminally insane, have had to hold out hope as they watched worn out VHS copies of the show containing skits such as "World Leaders and Their Baths" for the 1,000th time, that someone, somewhere would employ Dana Carvey so that his fame would warrant a DVD release of his short-lived, 7 episodes of madness.

Well, that didn't happen (Dana Carvey's return to the spotlight, I mean) but in an even bigger fluke formerly unknown castmates Steven Colbert and Steve Carell (if only he'd changed his name to STEVEN Carvey) have become national comedy superstars and thus we, the patient(and deranged) will soon be treated to a complete DVD set with a cover most likely featuring large graphics of Colbert and Carell with Carvey relegated to peaking out from behind their shoulders. But personally, I'll take these episodes anyway I can get 'em.

Classic skits like: "Waiters Who Are Nauseated By Food", "Deleted Scenes from the Wizard of OZ" and "Academy Awards: Best Foreign Animated Short" are sure to please the masses, but I for one can't wait to see the likes of "Grandma The Clown", Prince Charles singing Beatles-style about chopping Lady Di's head off and any skit featuring Bob Dole in all their digital glory.

Whichever former sponsor(whether Mountain Dew or Szechuan Dynasty) forked out the dough for the release of this DVD set I thank you, especially since this wonderful gift is being released on my Birthday. Somebody up there likes me or maybe 24 hour a day phone calls to ABC have finally paid off. Thanks, again.
"Bob Dole knows the flavor of soup!"

A painfully funny show that was too quick, too smart and too irreverent for America in 1996. You'll either love it or scratch your head, wondering why people find this stuff funny. "Grandma the Clown" left me wheezing in laughter precisely because Grandma was such an unfunny clown, her infirmities overwhelming her meager comic talent. Given what happened to Bill Clinton after he won reelection, the "nursing puppies" skit seems incredibly mild instead of shocking, but still hilarious. Some skits will still shock us: Pat Buchanan eating the beating, slightly spicy "Mexican" heart; comparing Mountain Dew (a show sponsor) to a similarly colored liquid. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you! It's about time this was freed from the vaults.

Noticeably watered-down sketch comedy (thanks ABC). The few times the show was controversial (e.g. the Bill Clinton breast-feeding sketch), it felt more like a gimmick than a statement. Some gems can be found throughout, though, and if you love Dana Carvey, then you'll love his show.

I was so excited to read about this. I have been waiting many, many years for this show to hit DVD. I had all 7 aired episodes taped on VHS back in '96 and I never understood why they cancelled it. It was such a great show. The only con was that the cast wasn't all that big so they used the same people as different characters in most of the skits... but otherwise it was still very funny. It had me in stitches every time. I was angry it got cancelled. Thank you to whoever funded this DVD release!!!!

I watched a few of the episodes of The Dana Carvey show when it aired and was disappointed that it was taken off the air. That vague recollection of the show prompted me to rent it on netflix. I had not even remembered Steve Carrell or Steven Colbert. I laughed so much through these (very dated) comedy sketches that I could hardly breathe. This is some of the funniest and most "before its time" television I've ever seen short of Saturday Night Live and the best bits of Conan O'Brien. If you are fans of those or The Daily Show, then this is a must rent or buy. My favorite skits were the "Horny Clinton" where he says "I'm a horndog, but I'm a good president", Casey Kasem flipping out, Paul McCartney, the lost scene of Wizard of Oz, and the first ladies as dogs. But every scene had me rolling! They really do always cancel the good ones.

Great show. I especially like Nixons, the Casey Casum bit and the Pied Piper. And Carvey doing Brokaw taping an absurd series of lines is priceless. Some outrageously funny stuff in the deleted scenes. You'll laugh out loud like you did when you watched the show in '96.

Dana Carvey somehow managed to get a half hour sketch show in on prime time back in 1996. It only lasted for seven shows, but hey, getting that onto ABC is quite a feat. I thought this show was great, and I was dissapointed when it just dissapeared from TV, by the way of the ABC network, without a trace.

If you don't remember this show here are a few refreshers. While it was a prime time show, it didn't feel like it at all. Dana Carvey was hungry for late night comedy style, and he put it down regardless of its time slot. Robert Smigel started doing his cartoons here. The very first Ambiguosly Gay Duo cartoon debuted on the Dana Carvey show several months before it appeared on SNL. Steve Carrel and stephen Colbert got their starts here...not to mention early evidence of the surreal writing style from Charlie Kaufmann (later responsible for Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind)...

Some of these sketches have been forever enlodged in my brain, despite not seeing them in years... like skinheads from Maine, one I couldn't believe even made it on the air. "Whatch ya widdlin' thar?" ..."a beatin' stick for the spades..." No wonder they cancelled this thing? They really had some balls to run this stuff. How about the lost Wizard of Oz footage? "If I only had an A$$" or the forgotten Beatles moments... What a great show. The DVD contains bits that were cut from the original shows by the sponsors (Pepsi co.) I thought these shows were long a lost part of TV history, but now they are available on DVD! Well worth a viewing peeps! I really missed this show!

Dana Carvey is a master showman. The contact for then was cutting edge, but so timely now. Very disappointed that Taco Bell wouldn't allow the jokes which we all remember. Who needs Taco Bell? A chain without a sense of humor? Feh. The world needs more Dana Carvey!

"Waiters Who Are Nauseated By Food" is one of my favorite comedy skits of all time. Also great is "Heather Morgan's First Ladies as Dogs". Funny, funny stuff. Plus, with Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell and Robert Smigel, what's not to like? Chock full of future stars, if you don't include Dana Carvey.(sorry Dana).Don't miss "Germans Who Say Nice Things" either. Steve Carell will have you wetting yourself, if that's your idea of a good time.

Dana Carvey is hilarious. His impersonations of various political figures and celebrities is always a riot. This show was simply to funny to be on tv. The show struggled to get sponsors and that only made it funnier. The Taco Bell Dana Carvey Show with dancing tacos. Sounds crazy but in this show it works. The biggest problem this show faced was its 8 PM timeslot. Dana couldn't seem to water down the content which he did so well in late night on SNL. He wouldn't compromise and why should he. Not with crazy bits were as Bill Clinton he milks puppies or others were he declares "I am the giant bubble creature.". The humor was very topical and it showcased the political characters of the time period. That may make it feel a bit dated to some and others simply won't get it. It's not that it isn't funny, it is. You just have to have been aware of current events at the time the show ran to fully appreciate it all. The eigth and final episode is the best. Former President Gerald Ford may agree.