A half-hour show, the series packed in as many guests as possible, with around five comics and at least one special guest per episode. Add in the titles, bumpers and Crosby's short monologue, and that's a lot to fit into less than 22 minutes of show. (The box says it has more than 10 hours of "Laugh-Out-Loud Entertainment" but in truth, there's less than nine.) As a result, the comics' performances are extremely short, preventing them from getting any kind of flow going. On top of that, many of the jokes are pretty old, referring to things that many viewers won't even understand. I consider myself pretty well versed in pop culture, but I had to look up a joke about Woody Hayes in order to get it. That's not very conducive to laughter.

That really isn't why you watch something like this though. This is more of a comedic time capsule. There are some historic clips here, including early television appearances by several well-known comics, including Jay Leno, Arsenio Hall, Howie Mandel and Paul Rodriguez. But more interesting than the young comics, or the appearances by legends like Phyllis Diller, Buddy Hackett, Milton Berle and Henny Youngman, are the performances by comics who made it as actors instead. I never knew Marc Summers ("Unwrapped," "Double Dare") Michael Keaton and Nathan Lane ever performed stand-up, and after watching their sets, I understand why. But it's still fascinating to see this different side of them.

Also interesting is the content of the acts. This was the late '70s, and the difference in what people said then and now on TV is quite large. Take for example, Richard Belzer. The "Law & Order" star presents a set based entirely on the behavior and speech patterns of black people. I'd like to see him try and get away with that in today's PC atmosphere. Plus, the amount of jokes about sex, drugs and other taboo subjects would never fly on a network today, but, at least in New York, this series was seen on the local NBC affiliate. There would be at least a few protests if this show's equivalent aired before "Dateline."

As a curiosity from the '70s, it's a great chance to see some of the stars of the past and the stars of the then-future, and that's the best way to approach it. (A DVD set of "Circus of the Stars" would fill the same niche, if any interested producer is reading this.) Just watching all these really bad three-piece suits and ridiculous men's perms is fun by itself, so any laughs you get from the jokes are a bonus.

The DVDs
Packed in a slipcased five-tray digipack, the 25 23-minute episodes are spread evenly across five DVDs, which can be viewed in three ways: in a five-episode chunk, in single episodes or by segment. Each episode is listed by number, with a photo of the featured celebrity. The lists of segments is a bit uneven, as some are done in order of appearance and some are in alphabetical order. The alphabetical are more useful, especially if you know who you are looking for.

The full-frame menus have some slight animation, and display the options listed above. There are no subtitles, alternate audio tracks or closed captioning.

The Quality
These full-screen transfers of a series more than 20 years old are a slight-bit better than VHS quality, displaying the noise, grain and general dullness typical of old TV video. Colors can burn a bit bright, but overall, the quality of the image is surprisingly good, with some new graphics inserted for the show title and names of the acts.

Rarely, there is some damage to the tape, in the form of a disturbance line or two, but it's nothing too terrible. There are a couple of very dark episodes, which, other than the brightness, actually look better than the other episodes.

The audio, presented in Dolby 2.0 Mono, is very simple, most likely just as it was when originally broadcast toward the end of the '70s. The mix isn't the greatest, and some of the throws to commercials are nearly inaudible, but the comics are easily heard, which is impressive, since many of the comics don't use handheld microphones.

The Extras
Five discs, but not an extra in sight.

The Bottom Line
While many of the comics aren't what one would call headliners, and many of the jokes haven't aged well, this series is amazing in terms of history, as many comedians (and non-comedians) take their first turn in front of the camera. The nostalgia value of this set alone, thanks to appearances by every big name in comedy (and other genres of entertainment), is off the charts. I can't say I laughed much watching most of these stale performances, but it's quite fascinating to see how some of these celebrities got their start, especially guys like Keaton and Lane, who aren't known for being stand-ups. Big fans of stand-up comedy might want to pick up this inexpensive box set, but for everyone else, it's definitely worth at least a rental to see what comedy's past was like.

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*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.