I admit it: I'm part of the generation that grew up with Saturday Night Live, and yet somehow I never watched it on television. Even so, SNL wormed its way into popular culture to the point that even I knew about its star comedians and famous skits. Now, thanks to the "Best of" series, I'm finally getting a chance to see for myself what everybody was laughing about. And... it's no wonder it was popular. It's really funny.

The Best of Adam Sandler has a self-explanatory title: this 73-minute program collects the best skits and individual comedy routines of Adam Sandler. We get to see a selection of his comic characters, including the Gap Girl, Cajun Man, Canteen Boy, and Opera Man, as well as plenty of other skits and comedy routines. In fact, some of Sandler's funniest material is found in his solo pieces: I particularly enjoyed his songs... the "Hanukkah song" in particular is hilarious. While of course the skits that we see in this collection are usually ones that Sandler had a major role in, we also get to see the contributions of other well-known SNL cast members like Chris Farley, and a whole lot of guest stars, including Alec Baldwin, Kirstie Alley, Courtney Cox, Michael Keaton, and many others.

The "Best of" program is fast-paced and intelligently assembled, with shorter skits interspersed with the longer ones, and with recurring pieces like the "Opera Man" segments scattered throughout the program. On the whole, the material holds up very well, with the skits just as funny as they were on their original broadcast in the early- to mid-1990s; the one exception is that the skits that poke fun at then-current events (notably Opera Man) don't work as well, especially if you don't have perfect memory of popular culture and current events from ten years ago.

By virtue of being on DVD, Saturday Night Live is no longer exactly "live," but somehow the energy of the live shows is captured and retained perfectly here. The cast members are so obviously having a good time that it draws you in to having a good time along with them. Sandler's often grinning or half-laughing as he goes through his skits or routines, and it's both charming and contagious.

The DVD

Video

The Best of Adam Sandler is presented in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and looks perfectly acceptable. This isn't material that really calls for stunning image quality, after all; the picture could be a bit sharper, but it doesn't really matter all that much. The image is clean and free of flaws, and colors and contrast look fine as well.

Audio

Since The Best of Adam Sandler includes just his comedy work, without SNL's musical interludes, all the track needs to do is to present the dialogue clearly, which it does; the Dolby 2.0 track is clean and natural-sounding.

Extras

The only special feature is a photo gallery, which is of minimal interest.

Final thoughts

Saturday Night Live: The Best of Adam Sandler brings together some really funny material from Sandler's stint on the show; both fans and casual viewers will find a lot to laugh at in this collection. It's recommended.