The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show - 40 Episodes 8 DVD-Collector's Set!

This is an 8 DVD boxed set that contains 40 Hiliarious episodes from the most beloved comedy teams of all time. All DVDS are New, and Sealed U.S. editions. Remastered in black & white. The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show , which premiered in October, 1950 was one of the first comedies to make the successful transition from radio to television. Similar to the format of the radio program in which George Bruns and Gracie Allen played themselves, the domestic comedy was set in their home. This was the first TV series to depict the homelife of the working show business couple. Gracie pulls one stunt after another, while George steps out of the scene to narrate. Great family fun! DISC 1 Kleebo Property Tax Assessor Harry Morton's Private Secretary Gracie's Checking Account Rhumba Lessons DISC 2 The Income Tax Preparer Emily Vanderlip Stays with The Burnes Too Much of the Mortons Gracie and Blanche Become Vegetarians Gracie Throws a Wedding DISC 3 Christmas with Mamie Kelly Gracie Loses her Engagement Ring Jack Benny Steals George's Joke George tries to write a Speech The Fortune Teller DISC 4 Wardrobe Woman's Trip to Hawaii Dinner Party for Atomic Scientist Gracie Worries about George's Sneezing Buying a Boat Gracie and Blanche Hire Gigolos DISC 5 Ballet Tickets The Skating Piersons Harry thinks the Swamp has Oil Gracie Writes about Silky Thompson Gracie thinks George is going to Commit Suicide DISC 6 Von Zell dates a Married Woman Uncle Clyde Gracie thinks Harry is in Love With Her Harry wants to Trade his House We're not Married (With Jack Benny) Disc 7 Up All Night-Burglar Buying a Ranch George in the Army Gracie Reports the Car Stolen Gracie Pretends she's a College Boy's Mother Disc 8 Buying a Mountain Cabin The Missing Fur Stole Spanish Lessons The Black Eye Fraternity Happy Hum-Hum Product Description

Overall best value dispite a few bugs

The George Burns Gracie Allen - 40 Episodes is a great collection dispite a few bugs. Most of these episodes are true classics with Jack Benny appearing in two of the episodes and Sheldon Leonard appearing in one. The discs are DVDr's, there are no chapter menus, and 14 of the episodes were retrieved from faded-over-time video cassette recordings off of secondary sources such as CBN and TV Land. However, there are 26 full length excellent quality episodes. These include all of the episodes on the first, second, third, and seventh discs along with the fourth episode on disc five, the fifth episode on disc six, and the first four episodes on disc eight. All the episodes on this collection are watchable, but it is highly recommended to watch this collection using a smart DVD software player on a computer. Activate the player's resume playback function to enable the player to start the DVD where left off and reduce the size of the player screen when watching the episodes with lower picture quality. August 10, 2008

Great show, so-so way to watch it

I agree with what the previous reviewers have said. We didn't expect this to be something someone taped off of their TV with ads for other shows and network logos on the screen here and there. We wished there could have been menus for easier navigation.

The packaging is not the best. The plastic box came damaged and one DVD was slightly cracked but could still be watched. The set looked home-made, and overall it's not as professional a set as you'd expect for that price.

All that said, it is a wonderful program and that doesn't reflect at all on the way it is being presented here. I wish someone could get the series, put it out and package it properly with decent navigation and perhaps an insert of information about the show and its cast. For this price, we expected more.

This is a great series with legendary stars. It's as funny and innovative (or more so) than anything of recent years, and worth having in any collection. It deserves to be watched and enjoyed however you can get it, but it deserves better than this.
March 20, 2008

SHAME ON AMAZON FOR NOT INDICATING THAT THESE ARE DVD-Rs!

The Burns and Allen Show is one of the funniest programs ever made. It's a real pity that no quality company has seen fit to release it on DVD. This set is exceedingly frustrating. It consists of poorly-made DVD-Rs (home recordings, not factory pressed) in a flimsy package. Three of the discs arrived scratched because their holders were either broken or warped to the point where the disc won't remain in place. The discs themselves have no menus or chapter stops, and there is no insert or episode guide beyond the glued-on labels. The sound quality and levels vary so much from scene to scene and episode to episode that you have to watch with the remote in hand. The picture quality is equally bad, ranging from near impossible to watch to acceptable.

Miserable as this release is, I wouldn't part with it because the episodes themselves are priceless. If you're just discovering George and Gracie then buy another release -Only a true fan could sit through it. But if you're already a fan, you have to own this one. February 1, 2008

Great material, bad production

If I were rating this on the material alone, I would easily give it 5 stars -- they really don't make shows like this anymore. However, the quality of the production leaves something to be desired. There are pops and cuts, and a few places where the audio and video are out of sync.

But what I find most frustrating is that there are no menus, and no easy way to navigate between episodes. The disc automatically starts playing the first episode, and hitting "next chapter" on my remote brings up the next scene but won't let me advance to the next episode until this one has completed playing.

I'm determined to watch every frame of this great series. I won't have fun getting them set up each time, but in a way, it's worth it. July 2, 2006

More reviews at Amazon.com ...