Description
THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW – THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON, a spin-off from "The Danny Thomas Show," is a comedy about a North Carolina widower named Andy Taylor who divides his time between raising his son, Opie (Ron Howard) and being sheriff of the small and virtually crime-free town of Mayberry. With next to no crimes to solve, Andy spends time philosophizing and trying to calm down his cousin, Deputy Barney, played by Don Knotts.Amazon.com
Since its network debut in 1960, The Andy Griffith Show has been a viewer favorite thanks to its folksy, nostalgic charm and memorable cast, both of which shine in this set featuring the series' debut season. Originally spun off from an episode of Make Room for Daddy (both series shared producers Sheldon Leonard and Danny Thomas), The Andy Griffith Show centered around the lives of small-town sheriff Andy Taylor (the marvelously dry Griffith), his son Opie (Ron Howard), cousin and deputy Barney Fife (multiple Emmy winner Don Knotts), and the other gentle eccentrics of Mayberry (which was based on Griffith's real hometown). But while other "rural" programs poked fun at its characters (The Real McCoys, The Beverly Hillbillies), The Andy Griffith Show never stooped to stereotypes, preferring instead to draw its humor from the fine writing and cast, which counted Frances Bavier as Aunt Bee, Howard McNear as Floyd the Barber, and Hal Campbell as Mayberry's benevolent drunk, Otis, among the first season ensemble. All 32 episodes (including the epilogues, which are rarely aired in syndication) are compiled on this four-disc set, which regrettably lacks any supplemental features. --Paul Gaita

The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete First Season

Description
THE DOCTOR IS BACK IN!

Bob Newhart and his eccentric cast of crazy friends are back in Season Four of The Bob Newhart Show, one of the best-loved TV comedies of all time. Newhart returns as psychologist Dr. Robert Hartley, who works with neurotic, obsessive, compulsive and just plain nutty folks every day, and those are just his friends and neighbors...wait 'til you meet his patients! Whether Bob is switching roles with his wife Emily to avoid a middle-age crisis, or hosting a booze-soaked Thanksgiving party, The Bob Newhart Show has your prescription for classic comedy. Time for a laugh-therapy session—Doctor's orders!Amazon.com
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" was clearly comedian Bob Newhart and company's motto during the fourth season (1975-76) of The Bob Newhart Show, all 24 episodes of which are preserved in this three-disc set. Even with the show's ratings dipping somewhat, there's no shark-jumping going on here; Newhart and producers Jay Tarses and Tom Patchett clearly understood what made this show tick, and notwithstanding a little tinkering, they stuck with it. "It," of course, largely depended on Newhart himself. A brilliant reactor, he continues to bring his array of deadpan takes and brilliant, understated timing to the part of Chicago psychologist Bob Hartley, who's surrounded by the usual group of family (primarily Suzanne Pleshette as wife Emily), friends (Peter Bonerz as best bud Jerry Robinson), neighbors (Bill Daily as the tactless Howard Borden), staff (Marcia Wallace is always a riot as receptionist Carol Kester), patients (Jack Riley is the standout as the neurotic Mr. Carlin, but they're all good), and various guest stars (including Rene Auberjonois, Tom Poston, and Lawrence Pressman). Carol gets married a few episodes in, and Emily is promoted to vice-principal at her school, but these are largely cosmetic changes that do little to alter the series' overall tone.

Aside from Newhart himself, props are due to the writers. As always, The Bob Newhart Show's humor is mostly low-key, with none of the raunch, tasteless sexual innuendo, and flamboyant idiocy of today's sit-coms. What's more, subjects as serious as death ("The Longest Good-bye" and "Death of a Fruitman"), obesity ("Heavyweights," in which Bob presides over a workshop for "people of the hefty persuasion"), professional ethics ("Who is Mr. X?"), and jealousy on the job ("A Matter of Vice-Principal") are broached without ever becoming sententious or heavy-handed. Of course, three decades after the fact, some things will seem a little dated: the clothes are cringe-worthy, and it's hard to imagine anyone these days getting away with describing Beirut as a place where "everybody looks like Danny Thomas." Still, Newhart's show remains one of the best of the several great sit-coms that emerged in the '70s. Bonus features include commentary (by Newhart and others) on five episodes, a gag reel, and a featurette. --Sam Graham

The Bob Newhart Show - The Complete Fourth Season

Product Description
Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 05/20/2008 Run time: 315 minutes Rating: NrAmazon.com
The 2003 debut of Chappelle's Show on Comedy Central marked a high point for the cable channel, and now the entire, wildly creative first season can be seen, with hundreds of bleeps removed. That's not to say Chappelle's Show is perfect entertainment: there are too many moments among the 12 episodes here that descend into pointless scatology and booty fever. But for the most part, Chappelle, a talented comic slowly growing into greatness, is trying to push the sketch-humor envelope and succeeds at surprising us with original concepts and merciless execution.

The merely clever material includes "National Geography's Third World Girls Gone Wild," basically an update on those topless-native-women gags of yore, and Chappelle's "Educated Guess Line," in which the sage comic eschews psychic powers to logically deduce racial insights from his callers' questions. Far more wicked is an in-your-face satire on such autobiographical film fare as Antwone Fisher and 8 Mile, in which Chappelle plays himself ascending from street hustler to rapper-comedian to bona fide savior of America. The best thing here, however, is a parallel-universe version of The Real World, in which the usual racial proportions on MTV's workhorse series are reversed, thrusting a token white guy into a Hoboken houseful of crazy African Americans. There are also laughs in "Ask a Gay Guy with Mario Cantoned," as well as a sketch about an "inner-thoughts cam" and a nasty piece about Chappelle's Make-a-Wish visit to a dying child, which decays into a cruel video game competition. Overlooking the series' weaker material, this is outstanding television comedy. --Tom Keogh

Chappelle's Show - Season 1

Product Description
Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 05/20/2008 Run time: 315 minutes Rating: NrAmazon.com
The 2003 debut of Chappelle's Show on Comedy Central marked a high point for the cable channel, and now the entire, wildly creative first season can be seen, with hundreds of bleeps removed. That's not to say Chappelle's Show is perfect entertainment: there are too many moments among the 12 episodes here that descend into pointless scatology and booty fever. But for the most part, Chappelle, a talented comic slowly growing into greatness, is trying to push the sketch-humor envelope and succeeds at surprising us with original concepts and merciless execution.

The merely clever material includes "National Geography's Third World Girls Gone Wild," basically an update on those topless-native-women gags of yore, and Chappelle's "Educated Guess Line," in which the sage comic eschews psychic powers to logically deduce racial insights from his callers' questions. Far more wicked is an in-your-face satire on such autobiographical film fare as Antwone Fisher and 8 Mile, in which Chappelle plays himself ascending from street hustler to rapper-comedian to bona fide savior of America. The best thing here, however, is a parallel-universe version of The Real World, in which the usual racial proportions on MTV's workhorse series are reversed, thrusting a token white guy into a Hoboken houseful of crazy African Americans. There are also laughs in "Ask a Gay Guy with Mario Cantoned," as well as a sketch about an "inner-thoughts cam" and a nasty piece about Chappelle's Make-a-Wish visit to a dying child, which decays into a cruel video game competition. Overlooking the series' weaker material, this is outstanding television comedy. --Tom Keogh

Chappelle's Show - Season 1

• Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs are two of the founding fathers of bluegrass music and their names are legendary to any fan of bluegrass. The "Best Of The Flatt and Scruggs TV Show" consists of live music performances with their group the Foggy Mountain Boys from a never before available TV show they did in their prime in the 1950s and early 1960s. These releases will be a major event in the

Description
Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs are two of the founding fathers of bluegrass music and their names are legendary to any fan of bluegrass. The "Best Of The Flatt and Scruggs TV Show" consists of live music performances with their group the Foggy Mountain Boys from a never before available TV show they did in their prime in the 1950s and early 1960s. These releases will be a major event in the bluegrass community and with bluegrass fans worldwide.

The Best of the Flatt and Scruggs TV Show, Vol. 1

Product Description
Identical in appearance, but diametric opposites in personality, Patty and Cathy Lane are back for more fun and antics with the second hysterical season of The Patty Duke Show, starring Academy Award-winner Patty Duke (The Miracle Worker), William Schallert and Jean Byron (The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis), Paul O Keefe and Eddie Applegate.

For the first time, all 36 laugh-filled episodes of the off-the-wall sophomore season are now available for you to own in one 6-DVD collection!

The Patty Duke Show: Season Two

• The release of the BEST OF THE FLATT & SCRUGGS TV SHOW Volume 7 follows up on the previously released, hugely successful Volumes 1 through 6. As with the earlier volumes, THE BEST OF THE FLATT AND SCRUGGS TV SHOW consists of live music performances by Flatt & Scruggs with their group the Foggy Mountain Boys from a never before available TV show filmed in their prime performing years in the 1950s a

Description
The release of the BEST OF THE FLATT & SCRUGGS TV SHOW Volume 7 follows up on the previously released, hugely successful Volumes 1 through 6. As with the earlier volumes, THE BEST OF THE FLATT AND SCRUGGS TV SHOW consists of live music performances by Flatt & Scruggs with their group the Foggy Mountain Boys from a never before available TV show filmed in their prime performing years in the 1950s and early 1960s. Flatt & Scruggs are two of the founding fathers of bluegrass music and their names are legendary to any fan of bluegrass.

The Best of the Flatt and Scruggs TV Show, Vol. 7

• The release of the BEST OF THE FLATT & SCRUGGS TV SHOW Volume 8 follows up on the previously released, hugely successful Volumes 1 through 6. As with the earlier volumes, THE BEST OF THE FLATT AND SCRUGGS TV SHOW consists of live music performances by Flatt & Scruggs with their group the Foggy Mountain Boys from a never before available TV show filmed in their prime performing years in the 1950s a

Description
The release of the BEST OF THE FLATT & SCRUGGS TV SHOW Volume 8 follows up on the previously released, hugely successful Volumes 1 through 6. As with the earlier volumes, THE BEST OF THE FLATT AND SCRUGGS TV SHOW consists of live music performances by Flatt & Scruggs with their group the Foggy Mountain Boys from a never before available TV show filmed in their prime performing years in the 1950s and early 1960s. Flatt & Scruggs are two of the founding fathers of bluegrass music and their names are legendary to any fan of bluegrass.

The Best of the Flatt and Scruggs TV Show, Vol. 8

• The release of the "Best of the Flatt & Scruggs TV Show" volumes 5 and 6 follows up on the hugely successful reception in the retail marketplace of volumes 1 through 4, released in 2007. As with the earlier volumes, the "Best Of The Flatt and Scruggs TV Show" volumes 5 and 6 will consist of live music performances by Flatt & Scruggs with their group the Foggy Mountain Boys from a n

Description
The release of the "Best of the Flatt & Scruggs TV Show" volumes 5 and 6 follows up on the hugely successful reception in the retail marketplace of volumes 1 through 4, released in 2007. As with the earlier volumes, the "Best Of The Flatt and Scruggs TV Show" volumes 5 and 6 will consist of live music performances by Flatt & Scruggs with their group the Foggy Mountain Boys from a never before available TV show filmed in their prime performing years in the 1950s and early 1960s. Flatt & Scruggs are two of the founding fathers of bluegrass music and their names are legendary to any fan of bluegrass. These releases will continue to be sought after by bluegrass fans worldwide.

Flatt & Scruggs TV Show - Vol. 5

Description
And now a show that needs no introduction, but here's one anyway... Go bonkers with Beaker, goofy with Gonzo and join the brave cast of "Pigs In Space" for one of the most revolutionary and acclaimed shows in the history of television. Garnering an Emmy® Award for Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Program in its hilarious second season, THE MUPPET SHOW redefined prime time and showcased a host of outrageous guest stars, including Steve Martin, Peter Sellers, Elton John, Julie Andrews and more. Experience all 24 episodes from Season Two – digitally remastered and restored – in this special 4-disc DVD set. With hours of bonus features, including THE MUPPETS VALENTINE SPECIAL and rare archival footage, THE MUPPET SHOW is even better than you remember!Amazon.com
Quick wit, slapstick comedy, excellent puppets and puppetry conceived by Jim Henson, an astounding array of guest stars, and a whole lot of backstage chaos made The Muppet Show a favorite family show for a whole generation in the mid to late 1970's and those same ingredients make it equally enjoyable for today's audiences. The 24 episodes of this second 1976 season of The Muppet Show represent the family variety show at its strongest, with familiar characters like host Kermit the Frog, his assistant Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Rolph the piano playing dog, and regular segments like "Pigs in Space," "Veterinarian's Hospital," "Swedish chef," and "At the Dance." Intermingled throughout are silliness, skits, and songs featuring an impressive roster of guest stars including entertainment greats like Judy Collins, Don Knotts, Bernadette Peters, Dom Deluise, George Burns, John Clese, and Bob Hope. The hilarious predicaments of the Muppets and their guest stars are absolutely timeless and the look back in time at the earlier careers of enduring stars like Steve Martin, Julie Andrews and Elton John is equally fascinating. Highlights of this second season are Kermit's emotional ballad "It's Not Easy Being Green," Judy Collins classic rendition of "Send in the Clowns," the two old men's curmudgeonly and witty criticism of every show, Miss Piggy's determined and amorous pursuit of Kermit, and the Swedish Chef's bumbling inability to catch up with the chicken. Bonus features include the rare 1974 Muppets Valentine Special featuring a young Mia Farrow and a host of virtually unknown Muppet characters including the enormous blue monster, Thog. Also included is Muppets' music video of "Keep Fishin'," and interview footage of "The Muppets on the Muppets." Whether reliving childhood evenings spent with family around the television or experiencing The Muppet Show for the first time, viewers of all ages will adore this second season. --Tami Horiuchi

The Muppet Show - Season Two