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The Best of The Colbert Report Okay so maybe Stephen Colbert is not going to run for President after all. But at least we have this single-disc "Best of" sampler to imagine what might have been. The star of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report is in fine, funny form here, and the selections - culled from various episodes, cherrypicked to present concentrated doses of Colbert's cleverly skewed comedy and commentary. It's great to watch the opening of the very first show, for example, and realize in retrospect how fully realized his vision was from the start. Show #1 introduced the word "truthiness," which actually entered the vernacular as a result. And if nothing else, this disc includes some very memorable guest appearances, including a Ben & Jerry's ice-cream duel between Colbert and Willie Nelson (both of whom had flavors named after them), and a post-Emmys show in which Colbert is angry at Barry Manilow for "stealing" his award. Before those segments are over, Colbert sings with them both. The most outrageous guest on the package, though, is an unlikely one: Jane Fonda, featured in a pair of appearances. In the first, she's there, along with fellow feminist Gloria Steinem, to promote a radio network for women. In the second, she's there to promote her movie, Georgia Rules. In the first, Colbert undercuts the seriousness of the interview by moving it to a kitchen set, for a segment called "Cooking with Feminists." Wearing a "Kiss the Cook" apron, he chats to Fonda and Steinem while getting them to help him prepare an apple pie. Fonda, though, takes the upper hand, and flusters Colbert visibly, by taking the advice of his apron and kissing him, more than once. Then, on her second, solo appearance, Fonda takes charge again, by moving from her side of the table as Colbert begins the interview. She sits on his lap, plants a big kiss on him, and begins nuzzling his ear and talking about his soft lips. If that's not worth the price of a DVD, I don't know what is. |
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Seinfeld - The Complete Series If you've bought all the individual seasons of Seinfeld to this point, getting the stand-alone ninth-season set, to complete the collection, makes a lot more sense. What you'll be missing, basically: a beautiful, exclusive coffee-table Seinfeld book (it doesn't unfold into a coffee table, but it's still impressive), and the new jewel in the crown: a one-hour chat reuniting all four series stars with Seinfeld co-creator Larry David. A sampler of the conversation is included in the season nine set, but only Seinfeld - The Complete Series has the complete reunion chat. It's lots of fun, more like eavesdropping than watching an in-studio filmed conversation - and Jerry Seinfeld sets up the whole thing with a monologue, about Seinfeld, that proves the guy still knows how to write, and deliver, a monologue. What this set is about, really, however, is the show itself. All 180 episodes are here, from the Seinfeld Chronicles pilot (which began with Seinfeld's Jerry and Jason Alexander's George arguing about the proper placement of shirt buttons) to the hugely popular finale (which ended with Jerry and George arguing about... the proper placement of shirt buttons). No hugging, no learning, all the way to the end. Seinfeld is one of the best, most influential sitcoms ever made. It holds up extremely well to repeated viewings, and appeals to a wide range of viewers and ages. Home libraries have only so much room for mega-DVD sets such as this one, and price is at least as major a consideration - though hefty discounts are easy to find. But really: If you're only going to collect, or give as gifts, the very best, Seinfeld - The Complete Series belongs way up there on that list. |
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The Singing Detective The idea of "Classics to Consider" is to suggest TV shows that have been out on DVD for a while, but may have escaped your notice - and are perfect to seek out for those "nothing-to-watch" rainy days (or, if you don't have cable, summers). In that spirit, the very first, and best, such buried treasure to offer here is Dennis Potter's 1986 BBC masterpiece, The Singing Detective. Over the years, from the quickly failed Cop Rock to the instantly failed Viva Laughlin, TV shows have tried to emulate Potter's success at mounting a "drama with music," as he called it. None has come close, not even remotely. Potter came closest, with his own previous Pennies from Heaven miniseries. Please don't confuse the long-form TV versions of Pennies, or Detective, with their pallid big-screen counterparts. The movies don't work; the TV shows never miss. That's because, like novels, they take full advantage of the time and space given to explore themes and characters. But unlike a novel, The Singing Detective plays with image, music, and so many other tricks that it's a pure television creation. It weaves a handful of story threads into one twisting, turning, amazing arc, like a double-helix DNA strand, only tripled. Michael Gambon stars as pulp novelist and hospital patient Philip Marlow, and... well, see for yourself. Please. My enthusiasm for The Singing Detective is so great that I wrote the liner notes for the DVD - and no, I don't make any money off any sale, not unless you click and order it here. I just feel like everyone who cares about quality TV should see this masterpiece. Amazingly, it has never been televised in the United States on any national network - neither on PBS nor on cable - and was shown, back in 1987 and 1988 and repeated a few years later, only by public TV stations on an ad hoc mini-network. If you go to the FRESH AIR FAVORITES page, you can find and hear my original Fresh Air review of The Singing Detective. Or you can just trust me and order it now. As I wrote in the DVD liner notes: "If this is your first exposure to The Singing Detective, prepare to be blown away." |
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