Customer Reviews

The Red Skelton Show

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

 

 

First off let me say that I didn't buy this from Amazon.com... I purchased it off of a discount rack at a retail store. Lo and behold, when I get home and look it up I had paid 20% more than I would have if I had ordered it here... That'll teach me.

Anyhow, as for the DVD set, it's great for fans of Red Skelton, and contains just about all of his classic characters (except for the Mean Widdle Kid). The episodes are chock full of guest stars (Walt Disney, Bing Crosby, and Judy Garland pop up in one episode alone!), and the commercials and sponsor's ad segments have been all but deleted from the show (to some a disappointment, but to me it makes the shows flow better)

My main complaint is regarding the picture quality of the episodes. I realize that some of these episodes date back to the early fifties, but more than half of the episodes on the second disc are so dark you can't see what's going on at all! The Christmas episode was the worst, forcing me to turn up the brightness just to watch it.

But, I suppose I can't complain. You get a dozen twenty-minute or so episodes of great comedy, complete with the live-TV screw-ups and adlibs (my favorite being the episode guest starring Vincent Price and Jackie Coogan called 'Painting', where they take turns upstaging Red, much to his chagrin)

I would highly recommend this DVD set, despite its drawbacks.

The memories that this dvd recalled were both enjoyable and refreshing.The four episodes of the Red Skelton show reminded me of the times of my youth and even the commercials were fun to watch. You meet characters like Freddie the Freeloader, Klim Kadidilhopper and others in skits and jokes that are hilarious. The interface is simple and easy to navigate with a short bio that should have been more in depth. I was very pleased with this dvd.

Lucille Ball may have paved the way and set the standard for sitcom television, but Red Skelton set the standard for sketch comedy. It must have been great working on television in those early days when things were live and not taped. Red Skelton was one of America's great comedians and the greatest American pantomimist. He came from an era of entertainment so different from our current pop culture. It's so refreshing to watch these shows and see how much better sketch comedy used to be (the current Saturday Night Live crew could learn a lot from watching Red). Red always kept the audience laughing and he didn't mind breaking the fourth wall to talk to the audience or break out of character to get the extra laugh. He was a treasure and this DVD is one great way to preserve his memory and our cultural heritage.

How refreshing this comedian was when growing up and everytime i watch this DVD I am in tears laughing. Something every household should have and in your collection