Customer Reviews

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour: The Best of Season 2

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While I am pleased that we now have two best of volumes of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, I am disappointed that the decision has apparently been made not to issue complete seasons. I am also disappointed to see that some of the shows appear to be edited. Because I am not sure if we will ever get the complete series with unedited shows, I recommend buying the collection if you have fond memroies about the show or are curious to see what it was all about. I've taken off one star for that nagging feeling that something is missing.

This is a GREAT collection! Most people believe Season Three is the topper but Season Two has many, many great routines, guests and skits! We finally get to see Leigh French doing her most famous character in the segments of "Share A Little Tea With Goldie."

One of the fun parts of watching the SmoBro Shows is the looseness; they may stumble through an intro but, instead of doing another take, they laff and make fun of themselves. During a scene with Mama Cass, Dickie announces a Q&A period; Tommy says "no, we're not gonna do that now" then you see (but don't hear) Dickie say to Tommy "why aren't we doing it?" and Tommy answers...it's this type of looseness that gives another boost to the show...they leave moments like these in rather than re-shoot.

The interviews are plentiful and insightful. I especially enjoyed the interview with Pete Seeger who gives us a little more insight on his media blacklisting. There is also a gallery showing letters from viewers who protested the upcoming episode with Pete Seeger, calling him "anti-American" in almost every one...they usually start out the same: "I am writing in protest," which makes it apparent there was some dunderhead that started a "Ban Pete Seeger" campaign and his followers followed orders...it's SO friggin' obvious. It amazes me how someone (Seeger) who was against war and for peace could be labeled "anti-American". It shows how manipulated some of our own countrymen were in the 60's. Other interviews include Don Rickles, Leigh French, Glen Campbell, Mason Williams, Nancy Wilson, a very funny one from Pat Paulsen and background info on the episodes by Tom & Dick themselves.

Wonderful color and great guests (Don Rickles, Jimmy Durante, Bette Davis, Janet Leigh, Rowan & Martin, Don Knotts, Nanette Fabray, Mickey Rooney, George Segal, Mel Torme and many others).

The rock guests include The Who (yup, the famous clip!), Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Byrds, The Association, The Temptations and Janis Ian (who is also interviewed).

The clip of Tommy finally receiving an Emmy for comedy writing (from the 2008 Emmy Awards) is great; especially when the camera shows Dickie in the audience - you can see on his face how PROUD he is of his brother. These Bros truly love each other, unlike many other "family" acts who squabble continuously over the years.

All these shows were during the hotbed we called the Vietnam war and the SmoBros made us laugh while they ripped apart The Establishment, The Man and The Great Society. This is a priceless set that any TV aficionado (and comedy fan) should have. Even though these are labeled as "Best of" and not complete seasons, that doesn't mean they won't release the other episodes in the future. You really shouldn't pass up the chance to get any sets of "The Smothers Comedy Brothers Hour."

P.S. I never realized Patty Duke had such a great bod! WOW!

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was a television show from the late 1960s which is known today for the struggle the brothers experienced with CBS's censors.

Season 2's packaging is just like that for season 3; it is a "best of" collection, and some of the episodes have slight cuts based on what Tom and Dick thought should be included. It is frustrating for completists not to have the entire season here, but it is better than nothing.

In fact, it is much better than nothing. Season 2 is outstanding and features many excellent guests. The second episode alone features Bette Davis, Mickey Rooney, and The Who who famously explode their drum and cause chaos on the stage. Also appearing are James Mason, Edgar Bergen, Don Knotts, and Jimmy Durante and musical guests include Pete Seeger, The Byrds, The Temptations, and Glen Campbell.

There are great comedy bits, like the brothers singing "I Fell in a Vat of Chocolate," or all dressed up for their parts in Mutiny on the Bounty. Pat Paulsen adds a lot of laughs to the show, especially during his presidential candidacy nomination speeches. "Share a Little Tea With Goldie" has some great moments as well.

Although it is incomplete, this set is definitely worth owning.

Anyone thinking of purchasing this DVD set needs to know clearly that these shows have been chopped and hacked up to a fare-thee-well to produce this package. What one ends up viewing is not actually the original Comedy Hours but a smallish assortment of individual segments from those shows. Not only are many priceless moments missing altogether, but any sense of continuity and "episode arc" are destroyed.

If you've never seen any of this material before, you may be forgiven for wondering how this show stayed on the air for even three years. If you remember the airing of the originals fondly, as I do, this DVD set may prove a shocking disappointment. If you don't mind little pearls of random frozen memories, this DVD may be your product.

Surely if every minute of every episode of years and years of M.A.S.H. and Andy Griffith are widely available, someone could do as much for the Smothers Brothers? This set is weak, and disrespectful of original work of some significance.

Season 2 had some great musical guests. Unfortunately, two of the best didn't make the cut for this collection; namely The Bee Gees (who did a marvelous live version of "Words" as well as "And The Sun Will Shine") and The Hollies ("Carrie-Anne" and "Dear Eloise"). Also, no Agnes Moorehead, who was great in several sketches. I was looking forward to this material, but none of it is on this set. A letdown.

Season Two delivers as much, if not more fun than the previously released Season Three. The brothers were at their best, stretching their comedy wings to reach all the way to Lyndon Johnson's White House. The musical segments are even better and feature the now infamous performance by The Who. My only criticism...I want more.

good to see the old shows again. Unfortunately, all of them were edited so none are the actual, complete shows.

One could quibble about whether a "Best of Season __" description is good enough to alert fans that the shows were heavily edited to about half of their original length. Tommy references E! as the network where the "Best of" shows replayed several years ago, which explains the odd cuts and the sometimes redundant comments from the brothers. Tommy and Dickie are marvels but the viewing experience is disappointing when the shows last approximately 20 minutes with another 5-10 minutes for the brothers' comments. It's frustrating to see the great guests listed in the opening and closing credits and not have their performances available. A bonus of the omitted sections wouldn't be the perfect resolution, but it would help.

For my money, the second season of The Smothers Brothers Brothers Comedy Hour is superior to the third. Still looking clean-cut with their matching red blazers, shirt and tie, their unique brand of humor was in perfect sync to the turbulent climate of their times. Yet their All-American youthful appearance provided a reassuring anchor to the nation's heartland. After the "Summer of Love" and with Vietnam beginning to polarize the country, the brothers returned in September,1967 subtly blazing through an eclectic trail of music and satire, including taking potshots at President Johnson and the establishment in general.

These episodes bring back vivid memories of my teen years while watching an Admiral black and white 16 inch portable. What a hoot to see the opening CBS color logo, this time around in color. Not all episodes are shown here. I was looking forward to seeing members of The Blackstone Rangers (once Chicago's most notorious gang) when they sang in January,1968. Perhaps, they'll emerge in a future compilation.

I've always admired the fact that Tom and Dick were at the cutting edge of television's cultural revolution, yet they would always have tremendous respect for venerable show business legends guesting on their show. From Bette Davis to The Who(their first network appearance) and Mickey Rooney to The Byrds, this was variety television at its best. 'Sharing a Little Tea with Goldie'(with priceless Leigh French) and the crumbling syntax of Pat Paulsen's editorials made the 1967-1968 season a wonderful time capsule to look back on and laugh in this DVD set.

I'm looking forward to Season One when it all started on February 5, 1967, the night `Bonanza' finally met its match.

I also wish we were getting the full season in DVD but I'll take what I can get right now. These shows are from a truncated version of the shows shown on E! a few years ago. I don't take that lightly, it is important for a television network to take the shows and present them and E! did. The Smothers Brothers were present to explain shows and provide information about the stars and the show. Wonderful. The musical guests are a premium and wonderful to watch but I think the best part of the show were the political jokes and their series regulars, Pat Paulsen and "Goldie" a hippie giving "housewife" advice. The jokes still sting and are relevant. The war, the deficit, the health care system are all dealt with in some pretty funny jokes. A pleasure to watch and maybe we will get the whole series someday.