The Best of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1968)

 great but WAY too short--why didn't they release it all ???
The Best of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1968) is very good--but only as far as it goes. This three DVD set wastes space on the discs; we only get a few episodes and even then I strongly suspect that one or two of these episodes were trimmed down a little. The picture quality is excellent, admittedly; and the sound is good. We get three bonus interviews (one on each of the three DVDs) with Gary Owns, Ruth Buzzi and Arte Johnson.

The jokes are very funny; Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In took huge risks for its time to make audiences howl with laughter. I remember it was a big deal if we children were allowed to watch it! These episodes give us the famous Lily Tomlin act as Ernestine the telephone operator, the swinger's party were jokes with many innuendos were told ostensibly off the cuff; and the dialogue between Rowan and Martin themselves is very well written and performed.

There are several celebrity sightings on these DVDs; I liked Tiny Tim despite the fact that his act was rather bizarre; and the episode on DVD number three includes the full show that guest starred Jack Benny. Jack Benny fits in perfectly on this show; he tells jokes and gets set-up by the regular cast of Laugh-In with hilarious results.

The regular cast never fails to pitch out those jokes that even today have some very funny punch lines. Look for Goldie Hawn, Alan Sues, Judy Carne, Jo Anne Worley and Lily Tomlin (among others) to make the shows here on DVD very entertaining and funny.

Unfortunately, my main gripe (and it's a big one) is that there's just not enough here. Where are all the other shows from the first two seasons? Why do we get only four or five episodes at the most here? This is very disappointing and I will take off two stars for this flaw to make this a three star review.

Overall, Laugh-In was hilarious. This three DVD set proves it. Unfortunately, what we get is so good it can frustrate me--and others--that we didn't get so much more from the first season or two. Hopefully Rhino will eventually see the light and produce a proper retrospective of this fine series complete on DVD. This is even too short to be called a "best of" Laugh-In DVD set. Sigh.
May 5, 2008

 Greedy Rhino Management
Unfortunately the greedy executives at Rhino have done it again. I give TEN stars to the show, but 0.000025 for Rhino. They're doing it again. You get TWO lousy episodes (49 min each) per disc. There are three discs so that's a total of SIX episodes only.... What's going on here guys...There is only ONE excuse for this pricing structure, pure greed.

Packaging is great, the quality of the program is not bad (not brilliant either), yet they're charging $45 for 6 episodes, with some extras. What a rip, considering you can buy the ENITIRE season of .... let's see... I'll just pick ANY series, here's one, Magnum PI (1st season). For under $20, you get FOUR DOUBLE sided discs with 1113 minutes of footage. Rhino gives you 3, SINGLE SIDED discs, with only 294 minutes for more than DOUBLE the cost. It's not worth it guys. Rhino do this often to make HUGE profits. Don't buy this DVD until the greedy execs at Rhino lower the price. If no-one buys it, they'll have to. It's a shame a decent company didn't pick this great series up.
DON'T GIVE INTO TO THE GREEDY THUGS AT RHINO. November 26, 2007

 More please
This was what I was looking for. A taste of what the show was and an opportunity to enjoy some of the best episodes. I only wish that the whole thing was available. The interviews and extras are not quite what they could have been but the disc satisfies anyway. Some of the material is dated and it doesn't matter. The 2nd volume is more of the same. I acquired both and have enjoyed them over and over. February 10, 2007

 Very happy.
These shows were so refreshing. So open and so funny. I will continue to look for more like these and the like. January 17, 2007

 Rowan & Martin's RIP OFF
Actually Rhino's RIP OFF... The 6 episodes on here are gems, and the cast interviews are wonderful BUT where are the other episodes? Why aren't there at least a dozen episodes on this compilation?? Rhino needs to make up for this by offering a volume 3 with a lot more episodes on it. I feel short changed. January 12, 2007

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