It's been over a year or so since Shout! Factory released a Tom Snyder Tomorrow DVD, so fans of the cult television interviewer - as well as millions of Beatles fanatics - will no doubt enjoy the two-disc John, Paul, Tom & Ringo: The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder, a collection of three intact episodes from the celebrated NBC late night talk show where Snyder interviews John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. The Lennon interview from 1975 is certainly the most valuable one, not only from a historical standpoint (evidently, it was the last televised interview Lennon conducted), but also for letting the viewer get a true glimpse (of at least one side) of one of the most iconic figures in 20th century music. The other two interviews are merely celebrity filler (along with an extended interview with actress Angie Dickinson that follows the Ringo segment), showcasing more often than not Snyder's drawbacks as an interviewer and "TV personality," rather than contributing much of value in illuminating either McCartney or Starr (or Dickinson, for that matter).

Being just a kid when Snyder's series Tomorrow debuted in 1973 (it lasted until 1982), I'm sure, like a lot of other kids around my age, I knew Tom Snyder more from Dan Aykroyd's hysterical impersonation of the talk show host on Saturday Night Live, rather than from actually watching his program. Running after Johnny Carson's show (which you were lucky to ever catch to begin with) at 1:00am, I didn't get a chance to actually see Snyder until his final years on Tomorrow, which, by that point, had been changed significantly, being renamed Tomorrow Coast to Coast, where it functioned much like any other celebrity chat show. Watching these three episodes with former members of The Beatles, I can't say I'm particularly a fan of Snyder's distinctive (and frankly annoying) style, but in television, anything that sets you apart from the pack is considered "successful," so it's not surprising that Snyder was able to create a small but loyal buzz for those nine years.

The first interview in the John, Paul, Tom & Ringo: The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder collection was originally aired on April 4th, 1975, where John Lennon, just prior to going "underground" for several years as a self-proclaimed "house husband," came on Tomorrow to discuss his career, his time with The Beatles, and perhaps most importantly, his flap with the U.S. government over his immigration status. This interview was then rebroadcast on December 9th, 1980, the night following Lennon's murder on the streets of New York City, with commentary by Snyder as well as journalist Lisa Robinson (who was close to Lennon) and Double Fantasy producer Jack Douglas (one of the last people with Lennon before he was shot). That 1980 rebroadcast is presented here on disc one.

At the possible risk of incurring the wrath of 99.9% of those who may read this review, I can't say I'm a rabid Beatles fan, so in the spirit of full disclosure, I doubt I know very much about Lennon (or McCartney or Starr) other than from hearing their music, seeing their films, and gleaning what impressions I have of them from what I've read in the papers over the years. I do remember growing up with the media-induced understanding that Lennon was somehow seen as a potential "bad influence" or "threat," whether for his admitted drug use or his committed opposition to the status quo, particularly when speaking out about governments and war. Having said that, that version of John Lennon, true or false, is not on display here in this interview. Instead, a resolutely low-key, thoughtful, direct Lennon very calmly rolls with the often inane questions from Snyder, proving himself to be an intelligent, considerate, and keenly astute observer of his own image, his place in music, and his role as a "celebrity." I have to say it was one of most disarming, knowing interview performances I've ever seen from a celebrity.

Lennon discusses a wide range of topics, including his early days as a Beatles, the break-up of the band, his post-Beatles searching as an artist, and his relative anonymity in New York City, along with his immigration troubles. Snyder, despite protestations to the contrary, keeps Lennon focused on the past for most of the interview, with The Beatles the obvious anchor for most of his inquiries. From that, we learn Lennon's reasons for forming a rock band (for the girls, of course - which Snyder can't believe, for some unknown reason), his take on the group's break up ("Out of sheer boredom. And boredom creates tension." And that the group became "stale, musically."), his "bed-in" for peace, and his place as an influential celebrity (where he quite correctly states that celebrities can't "make" somebody do something through an endorsement, regardless of the level of their popularity).

What also came through, loud and clear, was Lennon's obvious love for this country, its people ("I don't get hassled. People either don't care, or they'd like to have an old Beatle living here."), and what this country stands for: freedom. His take on drugs (he quite directly states they're prevalent in all areas of society, but that the hard stuff, like cocaine, is bad for you) is surprisingly conservative, especially after you hear journalist Lisa Robinson state that he had rejected drugs and their influence in his last years (as well, her recounting how John wanted nothing more than to hang out at home with his kid in his last years, is fairly revealing in light of his perceived rabble-rousing image).

Unfortunately, Lennon is frequently stymied by Snyder's insistent dunderheadedness. With his affectatious, deliberately mannered delivery (a curious combination of rolling blather delivered in a subdued staccato, along with the weirdly staring eyes and of course, the occasionally hearty, totally phony laugh), Snyder is annoying enough, but most of the time you can tell he's not really listening to his subject. Oh, he's paying attention to them, but he's not listening to them. Lennon even catches him once when Lennon states he went into rock 'n' roll to get girls. Snyder is clearly caught off guard, not because of what Lennon said (which is totally innocuous and obvious to anyone who knows anything about most musicians), but because he clearly wasn't listening to Lennon. And then Snyder compounds the problem by trying to cover up his mistake by questioning Lennon's statement. It's an embarrassment, but by no means the only one here. Snyder, obviously in love with the sound of his own voice, takes several moments to insert comments about himself that have no bearing on the interview, and for which a clearly tolerant Lennon often times is non-plussed (I love when Snyder tells some stupid joke about a broadcaster in the South, which Lennon gets, and which Snyder then proceeds to lugubriously explain, with an almost exasperated Lennon exclaiming that yes, he gets the joke). During Snyder's opening comments in 1980, he states that the 1975 interview wasn't a particularly good one. He's dead wrong concerning Lennon, but right on the money with his own performance.

The two remaining interviews on disc two certainly don't match up with the Lennon chat, with Snyder failing to elicit anything but the most basic, undemanding, humdrum pronouncements from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. McCartney's interview, conducted via satellite hook-up from London and aired on December 20th, 1979, is a model of celebrity puffery, with McCartney and his wife, Linda, doing themselves no favors by frequently mugging or acting bored - regardless of whether or not Snyder is to blame for the tone of the interview. Certainly Snyder is seen at his worst here. By 1979, Snyder was well aware of his perceived image in the press (you know he had to love those Aykroyd impersonations), and he's playing up to it here. How else can one explain an interviewer basically telling his subjects to shut up and wait their turn while he goes on and on to his audience about a Japanese TV the show uses for a monitor? With that subject being Paul McCartney. It's almost as if Snyder is putting them in their place, and bringing himself up to their level.

Conducting an interview with primitive satellite technology is bound to drain some of the spontaneity out of a conversation, but this chat is deadly dull. It's bad enough that Snyder is willy-nilly in his scattershot, lame questions (the only good one he gets off is pinning down Linda on why she deserves to be in Paul's band Wings, to which she has no answer), but the McCartneys respond by acting either childish or bored - a mistake that has them coming off very badly here. Linda is particularly annoying with her unfunny asides and labored put-on voices, while Paul looks alternately distracted (watch him look vaguely shocked/sick-to-his-stomach when Linda admits she doesn't know much about music) or equally juvenile, pulling faces left and right, and trying to joke - with no success. It's a typically phony McCartney performance by a celebrity who learned years and years ago how to give a "good" (i.e.: totally surface) interview.

Even the Wings music video shown during the interview, Spin It On, is typical McCartney shadow play; a punk-Lite grind that shows McCartney's composing at its most calculated. Only once or twice does something interesting come out (McCartney saying he'd hate a reunion of The Beatles, and that it could never happen; stating emphatically that the majority of Beatles' tunes are "his," and that he's going to play them at Wings concerts), but more often than not, what the McCartneys have to say is really of no interest (the highlight of the interview has to be when Snyder, ridiculously, tries ask McCartney about security at his concerts, in light of the then-recent Who concert tragedy, to which McCartney responds, in hilarious, unintended Spinal Tap glory, "We try to have more doors...")

Snyder's Ringo Starr interview, originally airing on November 25, 1981 (who watched this at 1:00am on Thanksgiving Day?), isn't the disaster the McCartney interview turned out to be, but that's no saving grace, because it's exceedingly dull instead. Tellingly, when Snyder opens the program, Starr isn't even the lead promo; Snyder mentions TV star Angie Dickinson first, and then Ringo. Once the interview begins (in the cavernous Hollywood living room of music executive Neil Bogart), it's clear that Ringo is initially uncomfortable, and then thoroughly bored with the whole thing. He doesn't have much to say about anything, and despite Snyder's attempts to bring up John Lennon's death (Ringo, obviously uncomfortable, pulls out a rote, standard answer), Ringo isn't roused in the slightest. His wife, gorgeous Barbara Bach shows up (and has little to say, either), and a music video is shown, Wrack My Brain (which is generally awful). It is funny to hear Ringo call the musical show Beatlemania a "rip-off," but that's about as controversial as it gets here.

Ultimately, Angie Dickinson is the one I feel the most sorry for here on the John, Paul, Tom & Ringo: The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder disc set, because almost nobody buying this collection is buying it to hear her interview. For whatever reason, this episode of the Tomorrow show is unedited for the DVD, and Dickinson's interview is included as well. Don't get me wrong: I grew up loving Angie Dickinson. Police Woman. Big Bad Mama. Dressed to Kill. The whole thing. And she's lovely here, and very open, and charming (despite Snyder obviously hitting on her, which she coolly blows off - dude, you're no Carson). And watch a real pro in action as Angie graciously thanks Snyder for referring to her as a "star." It's a rather touching moment; unfortunately, I'm going to bet that the Beatles fans who buy this disc, won't even bother to see it.

The DVD:

The Video:
Don't expect miracles. The full-screen, 1.33:1 video transfers for these interviews may have come from the original video masters, but that won't mean much, with bleeding, soft image, occasional solarized burnout, faded or pulsing color, and ghosting all occurring to variable degrees. They can clean up old video to look better than this, but nobody is going to spend the money on that for a marginal title like this. Still, overall, it doesn't look any worse than when it was first broadcast - and in fact, it might look a little better (no black & white portable with an antennae - and accompanying "snow.").

The Audio:
The Dolby Digital English 2.0 mono track is just what you would have heard on your TV way back when, so it's fine for what's here, which is all dialogue (except for McCartney's and Ringo's lame music videos).

The Extras:
There are no extras for John, Paul, Tom & Ringo: The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder.

Final Thoughts:
Fans of The Beatles will no doubt want to check out John, Paul, Tom & Ringo: The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder, particularly for the keenly observed interview with John Lennon. The other two interviews are basically celebrity puff-pieces, but completists will still have a go. Snyder fans are out there still, and I would imagine they'll clamor for this, as well. For the Lennon interview alone (and to be honest, for Angie, too), I recommend John, Paul, Tom & Ringo: The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder.