The front and back covers of this DVD absurdly claim these shows to be "digitally restored." Hogwash. Based on the headache-inducing transfers actually on the disc, one can only urge the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) or some similar organization to self-regulate the use of such claims by DVD labels. Even at cheap prices (this title retails for $9.99), many consumers understandably feel ripped-off by such misleading claims, and are disinclined to try similar DVDs in which an honest and genuine restoration effort has been made -- Pioneer's The Judy Garland Show and Shout! Factory's You Bet Your Life -- The Lost Episodes, both highly recommended, being good examples.

The two Benny episodes, both shot in 35mm, are seen here in 16mm television syndication prints, complete with splices, heavy dirt, reel change cues, etc. Further, they appear to have been mastered to some primitive video format, possibly one-inch tape, before being authored for this DVD. The result is an added layer of haziness, a lack of definition, which makes for a very gray, very cloudy image. Additionally, the second episode is frequently very dark, and from about the halfway point the entire image begins to jitter. It is, frankly, very hard to sit through. The sound for both shows is somewhat better, though even here it is, on occasion, very distorted (announcer Don Wilson's introduction sounds like he's gurgling underwater), and the volume level seems to fluctuate throughout the second show.

For the uninitiated, The Jack Benny Program has Benny playing himself, a popular radio and television personality, and the shows often revolve around Benny's attempts to lure famous stars to appear on his show. Such is the case with the first episode, in which Benny wants to land Bing Crosby and George Burns for an upcoming episode. There is a lengthy flashback to a Vaudeville routine performed by the trio, back when they were, supposedly, working under the name "Goldie, Fields, and Glide." The episode also revolves around a Rube Goldberg contraption Eddie "Rochester" Anderson has created, sending the show into the realm of fantasy. The DVD's jacket text unfortunately gives away the episode's punch line.

The second episode has no story, with virtually the entire show consisting of Benny talking to guests in front of the show's plain but familiar curtain. These were often the funniest shows, however, affording the comedian the opportunity to do what he did best: react to guests' insults, play (badly) his violin, and do long monologues which reflect on his familiar persona of a cheap and vain celebrity. This episode features a long, hilarious monologue by Benny with a lengthy but very funny routine with child violinist Toni Marcus, who went on to record extensively with Van Morrison in the 1970s and is still very active. A pre-Emergency! Julie London is the featured guest, and she performs what at the time must have been considered a dangerously sultry number, but which by today's standards plays like high camp.

The Jack Benny Hour is special from 1965 that's much more dated than the earlier half hour episodes. Bob Hope is prominently featured, and the show plays more like one of his sketch-filled specials than a typical Benny show, with the two comics obviously reading from cue cards, an annoying facet of the Hope specials. Especially bad is a long segment parodying popular TV shows from the era -- everything from The Munsters to The Fugitive, and a later segment where Benny and Hope play would-be surfers opposite a bemused Beach Boys. The band performs "California Girls" and "Barbara Ann" in the manner common to '60s television -- that is, on electric guitars not plugged into anything, lip-synching to a pre-recorded tape. German actress Elke Sommer (whose name is misspelled on the DVD jacket) also sings -- she had a record deal with the MGM label at the time -- and in a very peculiar sketch parodies both Italian cinema and Mary Poppins, with Sommer singing "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," with new lyrics about Italian pasta!

The mostly dreary hour comes to life near the end of the show, when Benny tries to convince Walt Disney to give him 110 free tickets to Disneyland. Part of Benny's persona was his unfailing cheapness, and this segment, apparently filmed in the faux Disney office used for The Wonderful World of Disney, is quite hilarious. Disney also uses the opportunity to promote That Darn Cat and sits next to a talkative animatronic bird.

The Jack Benny Hour was shot in color on tape, but is black and white on Critics' Choice's DVD (this is restored?). The program seems to have been transferred (years ago) to film then back again to tape before being authored for this collection. The result is pretty unwatchable, worse even than the two half-hour shows. The program is sponsored by Eastern Airlines, who managed to muscle their way into the show itself, with an incredible routine about how great they are. If that weren't enough, the DVD includes all of Eastern's commercials, too, which look equally haggard.

Extras

There are none.

Parting Thoughts

While one cannot expect 50-year-old TV shows to always be in pristine condition, they usually can look much better than this. A large part of television history went to the junk heap years ago. Thousands of hours of shows are lost forever. But that's not the case here, and Critics' Choice isn't doing fans of the show any favors. The Jack Benny Program was one of television's (and before that, radio's) most perennially successful shows, and Benny's comedy deserves a more fitting tribute than this shoddy compilation.