Regurgitator

Just wondering if they'll ever release the Benny Hill show in season dvd sets?

I've been waiting a long time and I believe there are tons of fans out there who are doing the same.

I would like to know if this show is on the top of your list of dvds to get?

moviezzz

I would love to see them.

Unfortunately, the only DVDs out there are compilations of his mid 80's episodes which aren't as much fun as the ones that were syndicated in the early 80's.

mythmaker18

Benny usually only produced two or three new 50-minute episodes each year, so a "season set" would usually be a single disc with two or three shows on it!

The syndicated half-hours you would've seen in the early '80s were chopped down from the original 50-minute specials, when the American syndicator (D.L. Taffner) decided to trim out all the musical guests (from earlier shows) and all of the references that were felt to be "too-British" to be understood by American audiences.

As the show became a hit, though, later 50-minute specials were simply cut in half to make two shows.

I think it is very unlikely we'll ever get a complete run (and a completely unedited run) on DVD. If you have a friend in Australia, and if you can watch PAL tapes (or if he can convert to NTSC), you should have someone tape them for you from Oz's UK-TV channel. They're airing the entire run (all 58 hour-long shows, including the "down under" special) and running them unedited!

RichardW

I just came across this set on Amazon. It's a 3-disc set containing the first 11 episodes in their entirety. It's being released by A&E on August 24th. It's listed as Volume One, so I think we'll be seeing more. Looks very promising.

moviezzz

Does this set contain the episodes that would have been syndicated in the US in the early 80s?

joshualane

Here's the official description:

Irreverently and undeniably hysterical, THE BENNY HILL SHOW pioneered a naughty new direction for the sketch-variety show, one that pushed the envelope of television standards and inspired such contemporaries as "Saturday Night Live" and "Mad TV." Still considered a hoot and a half today, Benny Hill and his talented ensemble were unafraid to take a "tongue-in-cheeky" approach in satirizing society's taboos, from bawdy ballads and priceless pantomimes to dizzying double entendres and slaphappy head slapping. Benny's smirking antics, beautifully supported by his scantily-clad bevy of buxom babes, released a worldwide tidal wave of unrestrained laughter, winning THE BENNY HILL SHOW a hiller, mountain of accolades, including the British Academy's Best Comedy Show Award and two Emmy® nominations!

Never broadcast in full-length form in the U.S., the only way to see these vintage Thames episodes of THE BENNY HILL SHOW in their entirety is through this DVD collection. THE NAUGHTY EARLY YEARS: SET 1 features all 11 uproarious episodes from 1969-1971, including three rare installments filmed in black-and-white!

LorenzoL

Good news indeed.

UAIOE

Sweet! I can't wait.

I miss the theme music

RichardW

Great. You had to bring that up. Now it'll be going through my head all day at work.

pagansoul

Even my father liked this show and he could never understand my love of Brit TV. I guess slapstick smut passes all bounderies.

mythmaker18

The sketches from these older shows were in syndication in the early '80s, but so was content from later shows, too. You'd probably need to get specific about sketches, movie parodies, etc. that you remember.

A good place to see what was in the Thames episodes is my episode guide on TV Tome. Just look up "Benny Hill Show" and go from there. Some episodes have more information than others, but you should be able to get a pretty good idea what will be on this first set.

If you're looking for Hill's Angels, then you have a long wait ahead: they didn't join the show until 1980.

Damfino

Same here. I just ordered 2 copies at DeepDiscount (over half off!), so that I can give one of them to him.

Deep Discount is selling this for $23.98!

http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/redir...fier=ANE071387

dvduser6

I may have to buy this just for nostalgia. I watched this show with my Dad growing up. I think I was around 9 or 10 at the time. Kinda strange looking back at it now. I guess he didn't think I'd get half the stuff they were talking about. Some of it went over my head, but other things sure got my attention.

bhk

Anyone have it and see the episodes?
Does it have any sketches of Benny as Mr. Chow Mein?

Laser Movies

I received my copy yesterday but haven't had a chance to really look at it. However it does appear to have several of the Mr. Chow Mein sketches included on several episodes. Also I am assuming more sets will follow in the future since it is labeled as set one. And a review is available on DVDTalk.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=12002

bhk

Thanks for answering that. I love the one where he comes on and shows a Kung Fu movie.