Search - The Hee Haw Collection - Episode 240 (10th Anniversary Celebration) on DVD

VERY ENTERTAINING . . . A LITTLE PRICEY

ABenz | Cincinnati, Oh USA | 10/22/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The previous reviewer gave this DVD only ONE star, but his complaint was that he "never received this product." How can you rate a program if you've never seen it?
He went on to say, "I have not ordered anything lately."--Obviously his problem is with Amazon--not Hee Haw.
If you enjoy Hee Haw, surely you will enjoy this DVD. However, it IS a bit pricey for a 96 minute show.

"

Hee...hee..hee...hee...hee...Hee-Haw!!

Jerry McDaniel | 03/05/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD contains the Hee-Haw special from 1978 that wasn't a part of the weekly line-up. In the special we see a star-studded gala at the Grand Ole Opry house which features the show's cast, producer, and others involved with the show hosting a clip-fest look back of the program. Junior Samples is highlighted with a series of clips showing his legendary bloopers and mispronouncing of words...there's a segment spotlighting the "Pffft...You Was Gone" skit in addition to a montage of clips with Archie Campbell.

There are exclusive skits performed on stage and then the actors afterward break out of character and talk directly to the audience, introducing clips from previous episodes. Kenny Rogers appears on the special singing "The Gambler". There are plenty of other performances as well...Conway Twitty, one of my favorites, appears on here singing "Your Love Had Taken Me That High". Tennessee Ernie Ford and Merle Travis perform "Sixteen Tons". Tom T Hall performs "What Have You Got To Lose"; Barbara Mandrell sings "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed" plus she plays in a group number, "Rattler". Charley Pride sings "Burgers and Fries".

The special ran 96 minutes...well, commercial free. The show was 2 hours when you factor in the commercial breaks during the original 1978 airing. There was a second celebration, in 1988, when the show turned 20 years old but as of now that has yet to be released on DVD.

Among all of the clips and look-backs from the cast, there are a few serious memorial segments. Buck Owens salutes Don Rich while Grandpa Jones salutes Stringbean.

This is a must for all Hee-Haw fans.

Hee-Haw aired as a weekly show for 23 years, 1969-1992, before going out of production in the summer of 1992.

Some technical information I gathered through the years: In 1991 the show fired all of their core cast-members, except host Roy Clark and a few regular cast-members, due to pressures from advertisers wanting younger demographics and a somewhat younger cast. As a result, the Hee-Haw most people recognize went out of production in the spring of 1991. There were no new episodes on the air that fall...instead, the show was casting actors and actresses to star in an up-dated, youthful spin on the show.

These episodes, called "The Hee-Haw Show" didn't have a country look, the cornfield was gone, and basically everything that made Hee-Haw a fan favorite was gone. The "new" Hee-Haw started airing in January 1992 and it quietly went out of production that summer.

The show returned in reruns in 1993...often on country music related networks. In some markets, fans were treated to "Hee-Haw Silver" during the 1993-1994 season. This show featured Roy Clark hosting clip-filled episodes of the show, mostly episodes from the 1970's, and Cathy Baker appearing at the end saying her "that's ALL" catchphrase.

The ratings of these retrospective programs improved over the dismal ratings the 1992 version of Hee-Haw had gotten.

TNN aired reruns of the show in the early to mid 1990's...it's success in reruns on that network directly or indirectly led to Opryland hosting a "Hee-Haw Live" stage performance show with a few of the show's regulars reprising their character roles. TNN stopped airing the show each Saturday for whatever reason around 1997...but they would air it as a filler program in case a regularly scheduled program was not available for technical reasons...or they'd air it for a few weekends and then they'd not air it again for months at a time.

After this took place, CMT started to air the show but they treated the show the way TNN ultimately did...airing it whenever, without any real consistency. After the CMT affiliation ended, the show was never to be seen on TV again until RFD-TV decided to pick the show up and rerun it, starting in 2008, knowing it still had a large audience all these years later. A lot of the sales successes of this DVD and others released about the show may have helped RFD-TV come to the decision to start airing the show.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Hee-Haw's debut.

The show is airing on the RFD-TV network on Sunday night but sadly that channel isn't offered in a lot of homes and I can't see it...but one day I hope my cable provider starts to carry the network."

Hee Haw, 10th anniversary celebration

Sam Dean | Flint, MI | 03/09/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the best Hew Haw episodes being sold today. It's a two hour, 10th anniversary special featuring an array of stars who have appeared on Hee Haw before, in addition to the regulars. Johnny Cash, Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, Tammy Wynette--this lady alone is worth the price. Believe me, you'll absolutely love her. Charley Pride outdid himself. His song, "Burgers and Fries," is one that will never get old. And nobody can sing it like Charley Pride. Please, do yourself a favor and buy this special edition of Hee Haw. It's worth 10 times the price. And thanks to Amazon for offering it."