| Guide Picks - Top 10 TV Comedy Series Collections: DVD/VHS Boxed Sets | |||||
| Television comedy has invaded home video markets in the guise of collectibles and gift packages. This happy trend commits series' entire libraries or hefty chunks of episodes to the take-home enthusiast. Here are a few of the boob tube treasure chests now available, chosen for a spectrum and ranked for laughs, completeness, extras, and contemporary appeal. Oh, the irony -- sets of TV for TV sets. | |||||
| 1) "The
Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus" At the turn of the Seventies, six immensely inventive lads conquered British telly, evolving comedy on an anarchic sketch show rife with cerebral lunacies and, of course, silly walks. John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, and Terry Jones in their greatest bits, 45 episodes, plus extras, on a spectacular 14-DVD set. On VHS, the series only: Season 1, 2, 3.
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| 2) "The
Simpsons - The Complete First Season, 1989-1990" Rich cartoons, TV's finest scripted comedy series. This three-disc set returns to the dawn of Marge and Homer amidst Springfield's wonderful strife. Included: 13 episodes, the family's first spot on "The Tracey Ullman Show," original scripts, an unaired program, stills, Matt Groening commentary, Albert Brooks outtakes, foreign clips, and a BBC special. A treasury not deserving a D'OH!
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| 3) "Fawlty
Towers - The Complete Series" Known at my house as "The Daffy Dozen," these 12 half-hours encapsulate sitcom perfection. Writer-star John Cleese is a gulping gush of fresh air as Basil, the out-of-control proprietor/ass of a small countryside inn always on the brink of calamity. Amazing farces at breakneck speed, the word "uproarious" doesn't seem to do this show justice. Three-DVD set, also available on VHS and laserdisc.
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| 4) "South
Park Volume 1" and "Volume
2" I refer to this series as "Charles Schulz's nightmare." Imagine "Peanuts," but pronounce it "Penis" and expect events accordingly. Crudely written and animated, the show revels as it sprawls inside a cultural gutter. Acknowledge the satire and huge gross-out laughs can result. Vol. 1 DVDs offer the first 12 episodes, including "Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo." Vol. 2, 13 more. VHS packaging differs.
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| 5) "Sex
and the City: The Complete First Season" and "The
Complete Second Season" Winner of television's highest honor, the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, these are the early tales of sexually gluttonous girlfriends and their mating games across New York. Available on DVD and VHS, the first year of the HBO (pronounced "explicit") series features 12 episodes. The follow-up collection has 18.
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| 6) "Jeeves
& Wooster: The Complete First Season" and "The
Complete Second Season" Faithful adaptations of P.G. Wodehouse's beloved stories and signature characters, the befuddled London playboy, Bertie Wooster, and his almost magical valet, Jeeves, impeccably portrayed by Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry. Labyrinthine plots make for impressive comedies. Available on DVD and VHS, however Season One VHS tapes are packaged under a different title. Additional episodes on VHS.
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| 7) "The
Avengers - The Complete Emma Peel Mega-Set" Diana Rigg joined the classy, tongue-in-cheek Patrick Macnee crime fighters series during the 1965-67 seasons, becoming the leather-clad role model for female detectives and spies to follow. All 51 of her episodes are presented on DVD.
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| 8) "The
Sid Caesar Collection" A compilation from "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour," generally considered the best comedy-variety fount of the '50s. The three DVDs or tapes are themed "Creating the Comedy," "Inside the Writer's Room," and "The Magic of Live TV." New remembrances feature Woody Allen, Neil Simon, Carl Reiner, and Mel Brooks. The "This Is Your Life" parody may be the funniest sketch I've ever seen.
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| 9) "Absolutely
Fabulous: The Complete Collection, Series 1-3" Sort of. You'll find all 18 "AbFab" episodes from 1992-96, but not the afterthought 2001 season. Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley are shallow, self-centered substance abusers in this snarky Britcom which has amassed a rabid cult following. The DVD and VHS packages include "How to Be Absolutely Fabulous," a bonus clip special.
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| 10) "Peanuts
Classic Holiday Collection" "A Charlie Brown Christmas," the long-running favorite and TV debut of Charles Schulz's comic strip kids, is boxed on DVD and VHS along with "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving," "You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown," "It's Christmas Time Again, Charlie Brown," and "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." Lucy Van Pelt says, "Buy now and we'll toss in a stupid beagle."
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