DVD Review: TV Sets: Forever Funny

TV Show Info:
Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: Various
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Paramount

Release Info:
Original Air Dates: October 15, 1951, October 1, 1955, September 26, 1969, September 24, 1970, September 12, 1978, September 30, 1982, September 16, 1993
DVD Box Set Release Date: May 26, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $11.99

I really enjoyed the Forever Funny DVD. The best part about it is that these are some timeless classics. Some of the shows on this DVD premiered over 50 years ago and yet the jokes are still funny in 2009. I laughed out loud while watching these episodes.

Prior to watching this disc, I had not seen some of the series that are included and the ones I had seen were in reruns. Yes, this is possible because all but one of these shows premiered prior to when I was born. (I was born in 1984!) However, I love that even though these shows are older than me, I was still able to relate to them. I am actually considering going out and trying to find some of these shows on DVD.

The one and only thing I would change about this DVD is that I would have had them play in chronological order when selecting the “PLAY ALL” feature. Probably the one that bothered me the most was that Cheers was after Frasier on the disc. Obviously, with Frasier being a spin-off of Cheers I would have liked to have watched Cheers first. Now it wasn’t too much to lose the storyline because Kelsey Grammer didn’t join the cast until 1984. However, I just feel that it would have been the way I would have liked to have seen it set up.

I am also very glad that they chose to include the pilot episodes of these sitcoms. I never once felt like I was lost in the storyline because relationships were being established. Yes, I bet there are some episodes from these shows that would have been just as funny, but they made a great decision in choosing the pilots.

To conclude, this DVD contains a lot of laughs and is a great addition to any classic TV show fan’s collection.

The Forever Funny Episode Synopsis
This one disc set contains the pilot episodes of seven classic sitcoms. The episodes are in order of their placement on the disc.

I Love Lucy
“The Girls Want To Go To A Nightclub”
Original Air Date: October 15, 1951
It’s Ethel and Fred’s 18th Wedding Anniversary and they each want to celebrate it in different ways.

The Odd Couple
“The Laundry Orgy”
Original Air Date: September 24, 1970
Oscar gets dates for him and Felix with two women from the building the same night as their weekly poker game.

The Honeymooners
“TV or Not TV”
Original Air Date: October 1, 1955
Alice wants Ralph to buy a TV, but he doesn’t want to spend the money on one. Then Ralph finds a way to get one for half price by splitting the cost with Norton.

Taxi
“Like Father, Like Daughter”
Original Air Date: September 12, 1978
The pay phone in the garage is broken and now they can make free calls to anywhere. After some persuasion, Alex decides to call his daughter in Brazil.

The Brady Bunch
“The Honeymoon”
Original Air Date: September 26, 1969
The Bradys become one big family when Mike and Carol get married.

Frasier
“The Good Son”
Original Air Date: September 16, 1993
Frasier has moved from Boston back to his hometown of Seattle. The move is a fresh start for Frasier until his father, Martin, and Eddie (the dog) move in with him.

Cheers
“Give Me a Ring Sometime”
Original Air Date: September 30, 1982
Diane visits Cheers for the first time and meets Sam and the rest of the crew.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
The DVD has an aspect ratio of 1:33:1. I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners are in Black and White as they were when they originally aired. The remaining episodes are presented in Color. The episodes have not been remastered and look as if you were watching them the first time they aired. Overall, the picture is good and not choppy by any means.

All episodes contain closed captioning. Subtitles are not available. The audio is Dolby Digital. Most of the episodes seemed to be in English Stereo. However, I believe The Honeymooners is in English Mono and is harder to hear than the other six. I did had to turn up the volume a lot more to hear that episode as opposed to the others.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
There are no bonus features on this DVD.

Bonus Features: [rating:]NA

Bottom Line:
I will definitely go back and enjoy these from time to time. I love the fact that these are all the pilot episodes of these shows. I never felt like I was missing something because I had not seen the series before. They chose some great sitcoms to include and this is definitely a great DVD for anyone who loves classic comedies.

Overall Rating:

Technorati Tags: TV on DVD, DVD Review, TV Sets: Forever Funny, The Honeymooners, The Brady Bunch, I Love Lucy, Fraiser, Cheers, Comedies, Paramount

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Written by Em - Visit Website
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Em is in her mid-twenties and loves anything having to do with politics and sports. She graduated from Bowling Green State University with a BA in Political Science. In her spare time, she enjoys hanging out with friends and family, watching TV and working on applying to graduate school.