Search - The Best of The Tonight Show - Stand-Up Comedians (2 Discs) on DVD

The Launching Pad For Today's Greatest Comics

Lemon | 06/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For three decades the dream of almost every comic was to perform for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. Carson helped launch virtually every important standup until he retired - and there has been no venue to replace him. This DVD set has all the greats we are still enjoying - Seinfeld, George Carlin, Steven Wright, Gary Shandling - and many of the greats that are gone, including Rodney Dangerfield. It is really interesting to see them with 70's suits and hair at the very beginning of their careers. A great collection."

A good compilation

M. Vitellaro | Portland, Oregon United States | 06/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Best of the Tonight Show: Stand-Up Comedians was a great purchase. My wife and I bought the box set last week and have enjoyed it very much. It's about 2 hours long and features a lot of great comics and memorable moments from the Tonight Show. I own the Ultimate Collection already, but bought this set because it compiles the stand-up routines that I enjoyed so much. It's not ALL of Johnny Carson's greatest moments but it's his greatest moments on shows where he had stand-up comedians on. If you enjoyed the stand-up, you'll appreciate this compilation."

A very funny collection

Walter Schulte | Portland, Oregon | 06/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The box set features a lot of great comedians of my time, as well as some of today's greats before they made it big. Jerry Seinfeld will always be my favorite, so it was nice to see him earlier on in his career alongside Johnny Carson, no less. This is a good choice for anyone who enjoyed The Ultimate Johnny Carson Collection - His Favorite Moments from The Tonight Show (Vols. 1-3) (1962-1992) or appreciates stand-up.
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Classic late-night standup is good, but not great.

K. Tryniszewski | Milwaukee, WI | 03/08/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"It should be known that, at twenty-six years old, I was not around/not old enough to stay up late to watch any of these clips live. That being said, I love stand-up comedy of all eras and I know that a lot of greats had made their marks on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

The DVD promises "classic routines," but what it really should have said is "first time on televsion for some comedians." Jerry Seinfeld, Roseanne Barr, Brett Butler, Steven Wright, and Drew Carey are among those making their TV debuts. As a sort of historical document, this is kind of cool. But as far as bringing the funny goes, some of these routines are lacking -- most notably in Seinfeld's case. It's easy to see that he got way better through the years.

The rest of the set is fairly uneven; George Carlin is off his game here (though that just may be the restraints of broadcast TV), but Gallagher's routine was one of the most enjoyable even without his Sledge-o-Matic. It really varied from one comedian to the next. It was also apparent that the less-well-known comedians (Ronnie Shakes?) were less known for a reason.

This two-disc set isn't really as bad as I make it seem. There were some surprises from comedians that I wasn't really familiar with (as in I haven't heard their material) like Louie Anderson and Garry Shandling. Rodney Dangerfield was hilarious as usual. It's just that the shortcomings of the DVD are so obvious: first-time apperances that weren't very good, unknown and unfunny comics, etc.

I would recommend this DVD for fans of older comedy because there are some gems to be found here, but at the same time tell them not to expect a whole lot from the set otherwise.

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