Often, when people wax nostalgic about annual Christmas TV traditions of their youth, they invariably return to animated children's fare, mentioning various Rankin and Bass efforts, such as Rudolph, the Red-Nose Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, or possibly CBS' A Charlie Brown Christmas. It's funny, though, how the Bob Hope Christmas specials that were staples of the NBC primetime holiday schedules for decades, rarely come up anymore in those discussions. Hope was such an ubiquitous presence on TV when I was growing up (his yearly NBC shows; his movies endlessly re-run on the afternoon and late shows), that when he died in 2003, the sad news didn't quite sink in for me; you always just kind of got used to the idea that Bob Hope would be around forever.

The Show:

Allow me to get nostalgic for a moment and just say that, for me and many others of my generation (that DMZ between baby boomers and generation X), The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson is television comfort food.

Growing up in the late Seventies, I officially knew that I had tempted the gods and stayed up too late whenever I heard Ed McMahon's familiar "Heeeere's Johnnnny!" booming from the Zenith set in the family room. There was an irresistibly conspiratorial sense to it all. When Carson sauntered out on stage from behind that huge multicolored curtain, I felt like I had crept into the forbidden land of grownups, where everyone was spry and funny and sophisticated and cool.

There are glimmers of nostalgic wonder to be had from The Best of the Tonight Show: The King of Late Night, a two-disc set that ostensibly pays tribute to Johnny Carson's 3...Read the entire review

The Show

Most comedians, be it in interviews or in their act, speak in awe of the first time they appeared on the late Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" -- it's akin to a religious experience, a once-in-a-lifetime shot that either marks the beginning of great things or the apex of an otherwise minor career. This two-disc set, culling from a range of decades, focuses mainly on more recognizable (read that: more bankable) names, many of whom appear startlingly young on Carson's stage for their first-ever televised performances.

It's a hit-or-miss assemblage, with plenty of obscure funny folks tucked in among the stars-on-the rise; as such, it's more of an archival release, something to have if you're either a huge fan of stand-up in general or perhaps very fanatical about the performers featured here. Carson fans should probably bypass this set, since the host is relegated strictly to...Read the entire review

Maybe they're saving all the good stuff for Volume 2. Whatever the reason, The Best of Carson, Volume 1 is a truly baffling three-disc set of badly organized miscellanea from The Tonight Show (Starring Johnny Carson) that never once plays anything like a "Best Of" collection. In the end Johnny's much-missed classiness wins out, but only just. At $39.99 retail, it's also pricey given that the three discs offer barely four hours of mostly indifferent material.

For those too young to remember, The Tonight Show (Starring Johnny Carson) was the third incarnation of NBC's late-night talk/variety series that began in 1953 as Tonight and initially was hosted by Steve Allen. The late, great Jack Paar took the reigns from 1957-62, and after a series of temporary hosts following Paar's departure, former game show host and semi-pro magician Johnny Carson took over beginning on October...Read the entire review

When Donny and Marie turn away from their trademark silhouette opening, and start wildly dancing in perfect synchronization to The Bee Gees' "Jive Talkin'," it's like someone slamming you in the chest with a cardiac needle, pumping equal parts confusion and vivid nostalgia directly into your flat-lining heart. After recovering from the initial, blinding shock at beholding their benevolent, sequined grandeur, you ask yourself, "My God, did we actually watch this? And then...it all comes flooding back to you, and you resoundingly answer, "Yes! Yes, I did - and I loved it!"

<...Read the entire review

What happened to the televised celebrity Christmas specials? They largely disappeared from the airwaves sometime in the 1980's, and it seems unlikely they'll ever come back. The Donny & Marie 1978 Christmas Show is fairly representative of the numerous Christmas specials that one could typically chose from back in the 1970's. Since this special stars the Osmonds, the emphasis is on music, family and God -- a more traditional focus when compared to other more secular Christmas specials from that time period (please click here for my George Burns: The TV Specials Collection Box Set review, featuring The George Burns Early, Early Christmas Special, starring the Playboy Bunnies!).

Read the entire review

]]> DVD Video http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=24642 Tue, 24 Oct 2006 17:27:49 PDT Recommended

The Movie:

When Johnny Carson was hosting the Tonight Show, it seemed like anything could happen. He had a knack for getting some truly unusual guests on his show and sometimes there was an air of unpredictability to the material that seems to be lacking from more modern late night talk shows. He also had an appreciation for cowboys and country music if this compilation, aptly titled Carson Country, is anything to go by. Here fans have a chance to check out roughly seventy minutes worth of footage where Johnny takes on musicians, cowboy stars, southern comedians or just plain odd hillbilly types to often very funny effect.

Each of the clips in the collection is introduced by a text screen which gives the name of the guest and the date of the original broadcast before kicking into the clip itself running time varies from segment to segment, and some are considerably longer th...Read the entire review

]]> DVD Video http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=20314 Wed, 22 Feb 2006 15:38:22 PST Rent It

DVD has been able to resurrect a lot of beloved TV shows in innovative and interesting ways. Many were welcomed back with open arms and the enthusiasm that viewers feel for warmly remembered favorites. The television variety show is a genre that pretty much no longer exists, barring Nick and Jessica's moronic attempt to revive and spoof it at the same time (and we all saw how well that worked out) and bringing back a C-rate variety show like the one hosted by the masters of muzak Captain and Tennille is enough to hope the well has run dry. Captain and Tennille: The Ultimate Collection is three discs of episodes from their 1976-1977 variety show (each disc contains three or four episodes) and it showcases some very bad humor, lousy acting and dated performances.

I understand why variety shows were fun in the 70s: With no VCRs catching your favorite TV stars outside of the realm of their...Read the entire review

]]> DVD Video http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=19643 Wed, 11 Jan 2006 09:38:11 PST Recommended

The Show

Most great ideas are incredibly simple in their brilliance. In 1990, ABC introduced America's Funniest Home Videos, which may be the quintessential reality show. The brilliance of this program was that most of the content was produced by the audience, as they sent in their own home videos to be shown on television. ABC only had to add host Bob Saget (for better or for worse) and award a cash prize to the "funniest" (read: groin hit) video, and the show has existed in one form or another ever since. In an equally brilliant move, someone at Animal Planet noticed that some of the best segments on America's Funniest Home Videos were those which involved animals. Thus, a new show, The Planet's Funniest Animals, which utilized (mostly) home videos of funny animals, was born. A collection of segments from the show is now available on DVD.

The Planet'...Read the entire review

]]> DVD Video http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=18652 Fri, 11 Nov 2005 15:45:34 PST Rent It

Movie: Around the time that Sonny and Cher broke up and way before musicians like Human League, New Order, Tori Amos, Kylie Minogue, X, Pat Benatar, Selena, Galaxy 500, Sarah Brightman, Berlin, ZZ ...Read the entire review

]]> DVD Video http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=16100 Tue, 31 May 2005 09:32:34 PDT Recommended

In the 1982 film Frances, down-and-out actress Frances Farmer (Jessica Lange), after years of Medieval-like "care" in various mental institutions, is surprised live on national television for a program entitled This is Your Life (1952-61). With ghoulish glee host Ralph Edwards (Donald Craig) details her years of unspeakable anguish ("...and then in 1946 you had a lobotomy!"), finally rewarding her with a prize to help get her back on her feet: a brand-new Edsel.** If anything, the surrealism dramatized in Frances is no match for the actual episode, regrettably not included in this boxed set, This Is Your Life - The Ultimate Collection, Volume 1. It encapsulates everything that was tasteless yet irresistible about the program, its value as a record of various personalities in a highly personal if crudely choreographed environment.

For the uninitiated, This is Your Life<...Read the entire review

]]> DVD Video http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=14426 Wed, 09 Feb 2005 17:18:46 PST Recommended

I've always loved the irony that Hollywood's, self-proclaimed, "Biggest Coward" did so much for the troops, including traveling halfway around the world to some of the most dangerous and active combat zones, just to bring a smile to a young G.I.'s face. The truth is that Bob himself loved doing it, he too loved the irony of it and he did everything to help perpetuate it. Beginning back in 1941, Hope would travel to US Army bases and installations overseas and entertain the troops. His first Christmas show was held in 1948, where he and his wife performed for American soldiers involved in the Berlin airlift. This became a tradition, and Hope never spent another Christmas at home through the 90's.

Much like the current "war" in Iraq, the Vietnam war sharply divided the country into two, those for and those against the war effort. However, it's safe to say that even those a...Read the entire review

]]> DVD Video http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=14297 Tue, 01 Feb 2005 08:52:42 PST Skip It

Wow. Like, wow this was really bad. And why does that surprise me?

I'm not entirely sure. I can say, however, that I unapologetically like Cher not so much her music but simply Cher, the icon and of course, the actress. She really can be a talented presence. She's also, as proven in films like The Witches of Eastwick and Moonstruck, very, very funny. She's got that special Cher touch that's gone beyond the flipping of the hair and the cackle laugh that in her earlier days was used as exclamation point directed at Sonny. You will see that in abundance in this DVD, The Sonny & Cher Christmas Collection.

Bringing us back to the variety show, a subject DVD Talk reviewer Matthew Millheiser wrote with pitch perfect hilarity when covering The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour , this disc features three o...Read the entire review

]]> DVD Video http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=13978 Sat, 08 Jan 2005 15:02:50 PST Recommended

In 10 Words or Less
All the Rodney anyone needs...and then a bit more

The Shows
HBO's biggest strength in its early days was its lineup of stand-up specials, led by George Carlin's envelope-pushing performances. If they were funny, they were doing hour-long sets on this cable pioneer. That includes Rodney Dangerfield, who used his specials to give exposure to young comics. Of course, this was after years of using his ABC specials to build his own career. These were relatively popular shows, but today, with Dangerfield gone, many people have never seen these shows.

"Rodney Dangerfield: No Respect - The Ultimate Collection" is a collection of rarities featuring the bug-eyed comic at the peak of his powers, when h...Read the entire review

]]> DVD Video http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=13646 Mon, 13 Dec 2004 00:42:16 PST Rent It

It's highly unlikely The Best of Bob Hope - Hope for the Holidays will ever become an annual Christmastime event the way It's a Wonderful Life and A Charlie Brown Christmas have for some people. But those weary of the same raspy cries of "Merry Christmas!" from George Bailey and Peanuts angst year-after-year might enjoy this decade-old TV special, which functions well as white noise during the annual family reunion, as nostalgia for older generations (including, alas, this reviewer), and as high camp. The material may be as stale and un-asked for as Auntie's fruitcake, but the sentiment is just the same.

The actual onscreen title of this clip show with new bridging material is the less poetic Bob Hope's Bag Full of Christmas Memories (1993), one of the last of a very long line of television specials Hope made for NBC. (The Bob Hope Christmas Show: Hopes for the Holiday...Read the entire review

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