Customer Reviews

Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch" is a clever parody of 1990s "people" shows in which Dame Edna and her bridesmaid Madge Allsop investigate the nooks and crannies of contestants homes. Full-marks for the great introduction where Edna sings the title song while doing a night time round of a minature model neighbourhood. The program is more highly invasive however than any of Dame Edna's previous efforts and I can understand this being offensive. What is magical about all of Humphries' offerings is displayed here - rude and resourceful wit, an electric interaction with the studio audience and as Dame Edna herself says "Even if they couldn't understand me...it's the colour and movement they love!". If you enjoy it, keep an eye out for Dame Edna's celebrity interview show - "The Dame Edna Experience". And, to any "powers that be" out there, why not release more Of Humphries work such as "The Adventures Of Barry McKenzie"?

Dame Edna Everage, Housewife/Megastar, in reality the brilliant Australian comedian Barry Humphries, may well be the funniest man alive, and these shows are hilarious! Edna probes into the raunchiest corners of her victims - ah - I mean her contestant's homes. Woe unto her who thinks her porn is hidden safely away. Edna will find it, while Madge helps herself to whatever she finds in the house. Are there scratches on the wall where the master bed's headboard has hammered the wall? Don't think Edna will let it pass un-noticed. What's going on in the daughter's bedroom while Mom is at the TV studio? Edna's cameras will display the mice playing while the cat's away. And Edna will comment careingly and witheringly on the decoration choices. Edna's array of stunning outfits, all designed by her still unmarried son Kenny of course, is worth the price of the tapes alone. My favorite is the dress based Munch's "The Shriek". It's literally a scream! If you can resist enough to watch them one at a time, you should parcel them out, but the temptation to just sit and watch all of them is too great! If you can see Madge in her prize spokesmodel outfit without screaming with laughter, you're a stronger man than I. DAME EDNA RULES!

Dame Edna's neighbourhood watch is well worth the money. It's one of the most imaginative TV shows you'll ever see. Her wit is at top form here. You'll laugh and laugh and cry for more when it's finished. Why in the world this show was never brought to the US I'll never know. Dame Edna's humor must be just too sophisticated for a wide US audience. You have to listen closely and be really sharp to get all the inside jokes. This tape will become one of your favorites. Buy it will confidence that your money will be well spent!

I admit I am a fan of Dame Edna, but this DVD was better than I could have imagined. I haven't laughed this hard in years! I agree with the previous reviewer. If this program doesn't make you laugh, then you are already dead. Money well spent. The only complain I have is I would like to see MORE, MORE, MORE of these Dame Edna programs!

Having been a fan of Dame Edna's for years (and recently having the privledge of seeing her Broadway show in the first row center!) I loved this DVD. I can't remember when I laughed this hard, and pull it out when I am feeling a little blue to cheer myself up. From the gum on the hutch to the erotic dining room, you will laugh yourself silly! I want more!

Being a lover of game shows and British comedy, imagine my surprise to find a tape with the best of both worlds. Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch is possibly the funniest "live" action recorded. In the series contestants (always women) are "surprised to find their house scrutinized on the big screen in the studio. 2 other contestants are then asked questions on the tour of the other woman's house. All to the shock and surprise of the woman whose home is being invaded by Dame Edna's crew. All in all this tape is hilarious. Hopefully someone in America will come up witha series for the American audiences. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Possibly the first "reality" television, Dame Edna re-invents the game show to do what no one else has previously dared do: reveal women's most closely-guarded secrets. No, not whether they are faithful wives, have a "checkered" past, or are stealing from their employers. This is small stuff compared to what Dame Edna uncovers. She goes straight for the most terror-inspiring act anyone can threaten your average middle-class housewife with: the revelation of how she REALLY keeps her house when no one's expected to visit! Is there a laundry pile larger than a small automobile? A toaster filled with enough crumbs to feed an entire Petting Zoo? A hidden stash of booze, or worse, chocolates and cookies? As the poor, unprepared "contestant" discovers, Trevor and his live camera are there at her house, ready to ring the bell. When they do, Madge, Dame Edna's brilliantly funny "bride's maid and travelling companion," answers the door and lets him in, and together they roam about the house uncovering bins, opening drawers, checking out what's under the bed, while the all-female, by-invitation-only audience howls with laughter and the horrified contestant watches in anguish. I, for one, have never understood this common fear amongst women, but it is real, and Dame Edna sends it up with glee, revelling in the absurdity of being upset at being discovered to be less than perfect. It's refreshing when the occasional contestant is actually amused herself (one of these has a house filled with erotic art from around the world, and has a great time watching Edna and Madge and the audience deal with that!)

Madge is the real treat in this series, which does become a bit repetitive--it was a weekly game-show, after all. Her behaviour becomes increasingly lunatic (imagine her in head-to-toe leather--on second thought, don't), and it is her facial expressions that provide the greatest humour as she silently censures the contestant's state of affairs. Emily Perry's Madge alternates between a quietly seething unexpressed rage and a tolerant, profound fatigue after 30+ years of living with Edna, her lovingly brutal mistress, and in this series she really shines.

Just as in her live shows, Dame Edna fulfills her mandate to treat ordinary people as stars, and vice versa. Her stars-for-a-night may be briefly horrified, but they get to fly off to Paris for a weekend with the "traitorous, treacherous, back-stabbing Rat" who let Dame Edna and her crew in. This person, by the way, is also known as the constestant's husband.

I found the first series to be consistently funnier than the second, though both Edna and Madge are in top form in both. If you have trouble enjoying them back-to-back, make the show a weekly treat, as though it were still on TV.

"Say your prayers, cause we're going up your stairs!"

I'm not sure if this is an original concept, but it is a SCREAM nonetheless. Barry Humphries, Dame Edna, does a grand job with costume, wit, audience interaction, humor and even wrote the theme song. His facial expressions and comedic timing are unmatched!

He takes unsuspecting ladies from the audience, who think they are going to play a quiz show about houses, and actually takes the viewers on a LIVE TOUR of the interior of their homes. It's a riot!! The show gets permission from the "sneaky" husband and they film while the wife is away. All the dirty laundry, and YES, there is some of that, is aired!!

I haven't watched Part II yet, but I can't wait. From the reviews I've read, Part II is even more funny! My stomach may never recover.

Bottom line: $26.00 is a bit expensive for a DVD, but the comedic SHOCK value is priceless....and with six episodes for DVD, think of it as a little over four bucks a show...a good value for all the laughs!

This is an hilarious concept that carries through pretty well. Barry Humphries (Edna) has some great put downs and one liners. There are six episodes on each DVD so you get close to three hours, enough for a real Dame Edna experience. Enjoyable!

Everyones favorite Mega-star (that cares) is at her humorous best in this collection of videos. This is literally a comedy concept in the guise of a game show. Unwitting housewives comprise the audience of this show, and one horrified member of the group is "lucky" enough to win the honor of having her home invaded via a live video crew. Madge, the haunting bridesmaid guides us as all stops are pulled out and very knook & cranny of the house is probed by Edna's (suportive, yet critical) eye. This collection of volumes is far superior to its follow up (V 4-6). Get it now and you too will be mesmorized by the Grand Dame of Comedy!