The Best of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

The Best of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

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Movie Reviews of The Best of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

Movie Review: The perfect item for a time capsule or your DVD collection!
Summary: 5 Stars

Some 35 years later, this review is coming from a person who was born a few months before the traitorous Watergate scandal took place. As a kid, my mom would always quote from this show and, at the time, I didn't get it. Of course, I get it now, and it just shows what impact this series had because mom rarely watches television!

But I digress. Those who remember the show know the gags. The questions are, is this DVD release worth the money and will new audiences enjoy it?

Let's start with the quality of the disc:

The sound quality is quite good. There's no much in the way of hiss, and the sound definitely sounds like it's been digitally enhanced. No complaints here.

The video quality is remarkable considering it was taped in 1968. They obviously did some restoration work, and colors are vibrant and blacks are reasonably black. There are some video lines typical of videotaped programs, but there's nothing worth complaining about. I've seen far worse. All in all, Rhino did a great job of restoring these episodes.

However, there is a negative point or two: There are only 2 episodes per disc, in a 3 disc collection. For anything more than $35, this is an insult. Whole television programs are being released, by season, for less money. The phenomenal "All in the Family" is a prime example of this. To make up for this, they included interviews of some cast members. While I enjoyed these interviews immensely, they could easily have added an extra 2 episodes per disc and still have room for the interviews.

Also, these episodes seem to tally at around 49 minutes each. In 1968, TV episodes ran for 50-51 minutes. I've noticed some very weird editing in spots (and it's quite obvious as the scene jumps to another and then another within a second's period of time), making me wonder if a modern censor cut out what he decided was "offensive". Sigh. I hate censorship. Why not let the viewer decide? And, honestly, how could something be more offensive today when it was able to survive the stern NBC censors of 1968?!

Now for the episodes and humor potential:

For people who initially saw and liked the series, they will undoubtedly enjoy every episode on this disc set as it will revive old, wonderful memories.

For people watching this show for the first time, I strongly recommend you watch the season 2 episodes (09/68 - 04/69) first, particularly the Barbara Feldon episode (the season 2 opener). The season 2 episodes have the most polished feel and are also the funniest. They're the most appealing. Season 1 has most of the right elements, but it just doesn't seem to gel. And while season 3 is generally good, I had gotten used to the season 2 cast and format rather quickly so the show acquired a new, unfamiliar, feel. And the Farkel family is a little too weird, though I'll give them credit for managing to say all of those lines without cracking up or flubbing their lines... However, season 3's biggest saving grace is the wonderfulness of Lily Tomlin.

While some of the series' humor holds up very well, some of it has unfortunately lost its effect because of its topical nature (But on the plus side, we wouldn't want the Vietnam war continuing today, we've got enough useless wars going on as it is). But some other jokes were just plain bad to begin with; with one very notable skit from season one featuring Joey Bishop and the Laugh-In girls... But then consider other comedy skit shows, Laugh-In is not unique when it comes to being a mixed-bag of humor. Some of the early "Saturday Night Live" episodes have aged badly as well, and if you think the recent episodes are completely rubbish now, just wait another 9 years... As a whole, Laugh-In holds up, especially if you dig 60s culture.

Two things I were hoping for was the News of the Future segments where Dan Rowan talked about the fall of the Berlin Wall (though an alligator-filled moat was put in its place) and, *gasp*, President Ronald Reagan. Those bits alone would make for valid entries in a "best of" collection given that they were more-or-less accurate! Was the remainder of their respective episodes not so great? (but I shouldn't criticize, the included episodes are quite good.)

No episodes from the 4th or 5th seasons are on this set. Did they simply want to stick with just 2 episodes from the first three seasons, or is there something about the final two seasons which they want to keep locked up?

And why, for discs 2 and 3, did they mix season 2 and 3 episodes together when disc 1 concentrated solely on season 1 episodes?

I wish they'd release box sets of entire seasons. I'm anxious to see all of season 2 and eventually seasons 1 and 3. Though season 1 was the weakest, they still had some terrific jokes. But until then, this is what we get. I am pleased with my purchase and I am eager to see more. Now they need to deliver! :-)