I might just skip the last set, as I never liked Joe Besser either.

I'll have to watch it at least once just to make sure the discs are OK. Plus I can't make myself skip them to get to that "Rare Treasures" disc because it was released last. That means for peace of mind I have to watch it last.

When I was younger it was Curly all the way, but as when I got older I've been a Shemp man.

I, too, was that way when younger. If we saw Shemp in the open we'd watch but not as intently. I now appreciate Shemp and his way of doing things. More importantly I now know that much of what we disliked about Shemp *wasn't* Shemp but the studio messing with budgets and forcing the reuse of old scripts and scenes making many of the later Shemp shorts feel redundant. I'd often think "Hey! I've think I've seen that before!" with a Shemp short. It was one fateful day the TV station ran a Curly short followed by the Shemp remake version that the light went off. Of *course* we'd seen many of them before! That lead to us not liking Shemp as much. I now watch them with a new appreciation for the subtleties brought to the character when it's Shemp instead of Curly.

Yes, Fawlty Towers is equally a sure thing, with every episode a gem.

I didn't like the small sample of Blackadder I tried, and have never heard of the Minister series. But if you all think they compare to Fawlty I'll have to check them out.

I too was Curly all the way, but as I grew older I began to have a fondness for the Shemp shorts. I don't even mind Curly Joe. I just always hated Joe Besser.

Fawlty Towers is one of my all-time-favorite comedy series.

Blackadder for me was somewhat a aquired taste. I didn't much care for it the first time around. It was several years after that first viewing when I tried again. In the mean time I'd also become more familiar with British history and *that* allowed me to understand, and appreciate, Blackadder more.

Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister I've seen *once* each and recall not caring much for either. *But* that was years ago before I developed a greater appreciation of and love for British comedy series. IIRC they require a bit of knowlege about British politics and that's primarily what turned me off at the time. I think I'd like them more today but they don't currently play on any channel we get so it'll take DVD purchases to find out.

Mark me down as another Joe Besser hater. I just can't decide if I hate him more for screwing up The Abbott and Costello Show episodes he was in, or the Three Stooges shorts he did.

I never understood why either team used him in their films.

I just got done with the controversial Fritz the Cat, which left me disappointed. Very empty social satire, that. What is it trying to say? Hippies are hypocrites and as empty as those they mock? Society's pretentious? People break laws and then complain about society's inability to protect them? Everyone's secretly racist? Is there something I'm not getting here? The only time I earnestly laughed was at the beginning, when Fritz basically got three girls to **** him through gobbledygook.

2/5.

Fritz the Cat is *very* much a product of its time. I agree that it's mostly "empty social satire." While it earned tons of money I felt then, as now, that the main draw was that it is a X rated animated film. Even though I was part of the original target demographic I did not care for the film, although many of my friends found it hilarious. I thought it was pretty juvenile in its "humor."

In a review for Rolling Stone magazine, Thomas Albright said:
I agree with that assessment.

That film was also the first time I saw the Bakshi technique of Rotoscoping used. However in Fritz it was limited to backgrounds where they'd trace a photograph to make the background more realistic. This technique also made backgrounds less expensive to produce. To me that made the whole thing look very odd as the backgrounds leaned towards realism and the characters were of the standard Saturday morning type.

Robert Crumb, the creator of the Fritz the Cat comic strip was also displeased with the film. Following its release he said in an interview that he felt the film was
Crumb also criticized the film's condemnation of the radical left, denouncing Fritz's dialogue in the final sequences of the film, which includes a quote from The Beatles song "The End", as
and stating that
I've read that it's held up fairly well and is a fairly accurate depiction/representation of the time but since I've not seen it since its original distribution I really don't know. It's also one of those films I don't think I'd even care to revisit to find out if it *has* held up or to see if the satire works better now than I felt it did then.

I was going to take advantage of the challenge to finally finish the first season of Bunheads, but it's been removed from Prime.

The four (plus) Blackadders are, as a whole, some of my very favourite TV shows - but I'm British, like History, grew up with them (more or less) and like almost-anything featuring either Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson, Fry & Laurie or Miranda Richardson. So I may be biased...! Plus, while there are elements (and cast) in common, the first series is VERY different, and the other three - barring the obvious change of time and setting - somewhat different from each other. Most have a favourite of the four, rather than automatically counting everything as strictly the same show. So it's certainly possible to watch a bit and be unimpressed... or to just not like it. But the best bits are up there with the best of anything, and while the first series is so different that many (and me) don't like it much to begin with, revisiting it - particularly with a grasp of the time - often causes positive reassessment.

Yes (Prime) Minister might be more of an acquired taste, revolving as it does around a politician, and therefore relying somewhat on an understanding of the political system in the UK. HOWEVER, just as Parks & Rec or Alpha House make everything funny regardless of deeper knowledge, so too does the comedy of Yes, Minister transcend. The comedy is clear even when the subtleties are unknown, and the lampoons and satire are common worldwide... and (somewhat sadly) also resonate worryingly some thirty-odd years later. Plus ça change, and all that...

And that many of the situations actually hew close to (and are less ridiculous than) reality, as much of it was inspired by/fed from Thatcher insiders elevates the whole even more!

Working my way through Volume 1 of The Three Stooges, and I have to say, so far I love the set. Already seen some shorts I remember.

It's for my in-laws, and they were big fans when it was on, so they should be suitably pleased... and if not, it comes right back!

.......but... there are two very expensive books coming out that I'd like to get AND Batman AND I've been hoping to save something to spend on Black Friday stuff... AND there's the Criterion sale at Barnes & Noble. I can't afford another WKRP at the moment! Stop making it harder than it already is.... :P

I remember being a bit baffled when I watched it (last year? year before?), too. But all of those thoughts sound perfectly plausible....

Good point - a lot of the in-jokes are mildly amusing on the surface, but significantly funnier and cleverer when you understand the mechanics behind them. (And, yes, I know that sounds a bit arse-y, but it makes sense to me.) On a more basic level, the bits with Samuel Johnson or the Scarlet Pimpernel spoof in The Third are obviously only really properly-funny if you know what and who they're getting at. They spell it out well enough just in case, and those are hardly obscure parts of history, but an example..

Also, the final scene of the final series is one of the greatest moments in TV history. Daring, poignant, almost absurdly out-of-place, but absolutely spot on in what it aims to do.

They're on Amazon Prime and Hulu, I think, so those are cheaper options. But they're (probably) definitely worth buying. It might be fair to say that they go for wit and satire over "comedy," but they are titans in the field of British comedy. Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne (and Derek Fowlds) have the sort of chemistry and interplay that makes every scene a delight (for me, at least) whether or not it's funny - which it always is - or makes sense - which it does. It's perfectly cast, exceptionally-well researched and plotted and the scripts are packed with minutiae and broad strokes.

I know a couple of people have baulked at the "not understanding the political system," but - never really having really been in that position, but certainly having once had less of a grasp - I find that position a bit strange. I maintain that a) it doesn't really matter, b) it's all explained in enough detail that even if some jokes and comments go over your head, it doesn't distract much, and c) it's both TOTALLY about politics (but not specifically the politics of one country) and not really about politics at all. It's about bureaucracy (maybe a fine distinction), and power and departmental interplay. It's about colleagues and how work with each other. It's about life, incompetence, bluffing, learning-on-the-job, trying to get one over on the system... from within the system. It's clever, witty, funny....... but also deeply distressing and worrying, because it is perilously close to depicting things with searing accuracy...

And disown them as well!

I have Batman on pre-order (actually S1, the DVD set, *and* the BR set - still trying to decide just which way to go and drop the other two). One of my friends at the LCS cancelled his pre-order because he's firmly convinced it'll be offered at a great savings during Black Friday sales so he'll get it for less. I just can't wrap my head around that... for me it's a *Day One* purchase.

My depression is hitting hard today. I can't even enjoy my computer games. I think this sounds like the perfect day to marathon some comedy. I don't know if it will help me feel any better, but I figure it's worth a shot. Be better than the combat sports I've been watching, like MMA, WWE, UFC, etc.

Besser substituted for Costello on the A&C radio show and they kept him for the TV show. I'm not much a fan of that 1st season all because of Besser's appearances.

On the Stooges, it was the studio who insisted on using him after Shemp died. Moe had "legal approval for new members" but the suits had "final say" and pretty much forced Besser on Moe and Larry as Besser was already under contract to Columbia.

Last week I finally ordered S2 of The Joey Bishop Show only to find out that Besser is part of this one too! Knowing that has put a damper on my enthusiasm for seeing the show. I *think* it's a blind-buy as I don't recall seeing it during the original run. If I had, I'm sure I'd have remembered Besser as I didn't like him as a kid either. That "whiny, bratty" schtick of his is what turns me off...

I understand why the Stooges used him as it was basically no choice if they wanted to keep working. But A&C must have liked his act as he was part of their entorage for several years. Even so, I don't recall him being in any of their films. If he was, it wasn't doing his "regular" stuff but a normal role.

Besser was also in Africa Screams, as the butler.

Here's an interesting tidbit. Mantan Moreland was actually considered as a replacement for Shemp. I imagine it was Moe's idea, but I don't know for sure. That would have been something to behold.

Just caught an episode of a show I had never seen before on KTV, The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty. I enjoyed it, and never realized of all people, it starred Howard Morris, of Your Show of Shows fame. I imagine he did the voice of Waldo.

FRITZ THE CAT, the movie, wasn't very funny. The comic book/strip was. I remember being disappointed in the movie at the time because of this. The whole tone of the movie was completely different from Crumb's version. I don't recall ever seeing FRITZ a second time although I might have.

RE: The Stooges...I don't recall ever seeing many Besser Stooges shorts as a kid. Maybe one as an adult. It was terrible, as I recall. I remember him from the A&C show, but don't recall how I reacted to him. Mantan Moreland as a Stooge? That would have been fantastic. Maybe in some alternate universe...

I didn't know that! Moreland would have been a *wonderful* Stooge! I'll watch just about anything in which he makes a appearance. He's one of the best character actors ever!

I'm considering whether it's worth it to get the DVDs from BatmanOnDVD for extra bits, and then get the Blu-ray set for those extra bits....

As for Day One vs. Black Friday, well....