The Film:
Stand up comedy. One of those things where you'll either love the comedian or hate the comedian. There's no in-between. Now, being British, I do find that British comedians are much funnier than the well known yanks like Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy or even Richard Pryor. Granted, these are all great comedians, but they don't have anything on Al Murray, Bill Bailey and Peter Kay. As most people who love stand-up comedy will be aware, there aren't many shows dedicated to this fine and incredibly difficult artform, but back in 1971, a small show on ITV started called The Comedians which would eventually run right through until 1993 and become a runaway success for the channel, whilst also putting some British comedians on the map.
The Very Best of The Comedians: Series One, contains some of the nations most well loved comedians from the early seventies including some that would become legends of British culture like Bernard Manning and Frank Carson. Manning and Carson are just two of the handul of comedians that are included on this disc along with others such as Ken Goodwin, Charlie Williams and Colin Crompton. As with films, television was much more reserved back in the seventies, and The Comedians is no exception. The majority of the jokes are your typical ones about visiting the doctors and stories about your last visit to the pub all of which are clean and suitable for the whole family. This, though, actually becomes a problem for the disc. The jokes are a bit old and you've heard them a thousand times, then suddenly you get Carson on the screen and his famous catchphrase, 'You've heard the jokes before, it's the way that I tell 'em'.
Quickly, you notice yourself laughing at jokes that if a friend were to tell them you'd either tell them to shut up, or get their coat and go home. Perhaps it's the charm of these comedians that makes you laugh and not the jokes. Personally I don't know why I found the jokes funny, but I did. All in all, the jokes are old and unfunny, yet you just can't help but raise a smile and give a chuckle as some of the best known comedians from the era hit you fast and hard with the comedy. For me, the best thing about this release, and probably the reason it kept a fast pace, was the fact that the people who compiled the disc had chosen jokes that weren't topical of the time.
The DVD:
Video:
Network have provided us with the OAR of 4:3. The picture is fine and is pretty much, if not slightly better, what you'd expect from a television show from the early seventies. The colours are slightly washed out and their is noticeable grain throughout the show, but at the same time, it helps it keep a certain 'feel' to the whole proceedings. Distinctly average.
Audio:
The original English track in Dolby Digital 2.0 Dual Mono is provided here, and it's pretty good. The dialogue is clear and the music levels consistent. There is occasional hiss, but other than that, there are no problems to report.
Extras:
I'm so happy on these rare occasions that Network decide to include extras on the disc, as more often than not, they are of top quality. The Very Best Of The Comedians: Series One is no exception and although the release only has the one extra, it is exceptionally enjoyable. Entitled 'Ken Goodwin's Year', it is a TV special that was produced for ITV in January of 1972, and tells us about the type of year that comedian Ken Goodwin had in 1971, the best year of his career. It includes interviews with the man himself, his wife and a few other comedians, and gives us a great insight into the hard work that gets put in, to become successful in his chosen profession. Well worth a watch.
