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Special Features
Commentaries by Norm Macdonald and Bruce Helford
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
In the booklet that accompanies this welcome boxed set, The Norm Show cocreator Bruce Helford calls this late lamented series "the one that got away." A show that was just getting better as it went along, it fell prey to the vagaries of network scheduling, moved from Wednesday nights where it did very well to the programming sinkhole that is Friday night, where it did not, and was cancelled after three seasons. Helford also cocreated The Drew Carey Show, and Norm is cut from the same cloth. It shares the same off-center rhythms, delight in meta-musings and tweaking sitcom conventions, and cold openings, such as Norm's parsing of TV's ratings system (with rebuttal in one episode by the Devil) and the episode that begins apropos of nothing with costumed cast members engaged in a Pokémon battle. The show also engaged in Carey-esque stunts, such as the punch line and movie reference contests. Norm MacDonald is a pricklier personality than Carey. His Norm is not as likeable as Carey's Everyman. He is a former professional hockey player who avoids jail for tax evasion by performing community service as a social worker. He is a slacker in an office of dedicated professionals, including compassionate and overworked Laurie (the remarkable Laurie Metcalf) and the luckless and sensitive Danny (Ian Gomez). To the show's credit, little effort is made to dull Norm's sarcastic and acerbic edge that made him one of SNL's best Weekend Update anchors and Conan O'Brien's most dependably funny talk show guests. In one episode, when Danny says, "But you don't want to hear my problems," Norm replies, "Thanks, buddy. I was gonna say that but I thought it'd sound bad." The ensemble also includes sitcom veterans who raised MacDonald's game, including Murphy Brown's Faith Ford as Norm's social worker and romantic interest, Alf's Max Wright as Norm's tormented boss, MacDonald's Dirty Work costar Artie Lange as Norm's irresponsible brother, and Nikki Cox as Taylor, a former hooker, whom Norm helps rehabilitate. There are no Very Special Episodes, but several involving story arcs (Norm lapses into gambling, Danny and Taylor's budding relationship). And just for fun, there are memorable cameos (Richard Pryor in his last screen appearance as an abusive and uncooperative case, Lou Rawls as a hansom cab driver) and guest star turns, including Jack Warden as Danny's macho father who may be gay and Tommy Smothers as Norm's less than paternalistic father. As the show got better, so did its opening credit sequences. Season 2's never gets old, a comically choreographed street scene that perfectly encapsulates the characters. Extras are limited to several entertaining audio commentaries by MacDonald and Helford, who share writing and comedy insights and secrets from the set (during the episode "Norm Dates Danny's Dad," Helford reveals Norm's failed catchphrase that, alas, can't be repeated here). --Donald Liebenson
Product Description
Studio: Uni Dist Corp (music) Release Date: 09/07/2010
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Timeless humor has aged well,
By
This review is from: The Norm Show: The Complete Series (DVD)
Our memories can sometimes play tricks on us when we think back to our old favorite TV shows from decades past. We remember how great these shows were, how funny and original they were, and moan about how much we wish that one series or another would be released on DVD. And sooner or later these old shows usually do make it onto DVD, and we buy them with great anticipation of reliving something wonderful from years ago. And unfortunately, we sometimes find that our faded memories of a certain show are much better than the show actually was. Perhaps because the humor was of a certain time and has become dated. Or perhaps as we grow older our tastes change, and what we once considered to be hilarious we now find to be rather sophomoric.
I am very happy to say that this is not the case with The Norm Show. I purchased this DVD set expecting it to be as funny as I'd remembered, and it is! I looked forward to favorite gags or punchlines that I remembered from the series, and they still made me smile or chuckle when I heard them again. Jokes I'd forgotten made me laugh out loud. It is testimony to how smartly the show was written that the jokes work as well now as they did when the show originally aired a decade ago. With the exception of one Pokemon sequence, they smartly chose to avoid using cultural references of the time that would lose their relevance in later years. Even a hilarious scene where Norm's straight laced boss Mr. Denby dresses as Gene Simmons of KISS for Halloween is as relevant now as it was then, thanks to KISS' continued popularity, and Gene Simmons' own exposure on his Family Jewels reality show. As for the actors, they all play their characters perfectly and contribute greatly in every scene they appear. There is no deadwood in this cast, everyone on screen is integral to the storyline and the humor. And Norm Macdonald plays the role that he was born to play in Norm Henderson. The character's smirking, wise cracking, smart alec demeanor is an extension of Norm Macdonald's style of comic delivery when he did the news update segment on Saturday Night Live. But in the character of Norm Henderson he found an outlet to sharpen the wit and fine-tune the punchlines. I loved The Norm Show when it aired on television more than a decade ago, and I'm happy to say that these episodes are as funny now as they were then and still made me laugh. Sometimes our memories *do* get things right!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best sitcoms of all time.,
By
This review is from: The Norm Show: The Complete Series (DVD)
If you are a fan of Norm MacDonald I don't see how someone could not find something humorous or enjoyable in this series. It's essentially him playing his awesome comedic-sensibility throughout an entire sitcom setting: one filled with great supporting characters. It is truly a whole load of fun, and getting the complete series in one set represents an excellent value.
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious show,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Norm Show: The Complete Series (DVD)
this is one of the crude comedies that hit the mark. i was bummed it was cancelled. great cast, good plot, and some great lines i still remember and grin when it crosses my mind. norm is the man!
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