TV Talk Shows - Page 20

Manufacturer: Alpha Video Brand: Bayside ENT Dist Model: 2289725

Four hilarious episodes of the classic TV quiz show on each DVD, featuring the wit of Groucho Marx.

Manufacturer: Alpha Video Model: 2233310

Groucho Marx matches wits with the American public in four episodes of this classic game show. Starting on the radio in 1947, "You Bet Your Life" made its television debut in 1950 and aired for 11 years with Groucho as host and emcee. Sponsored rather conspicuously by the Dodge DeSoto car manufacturers, the show featured two contestants working as a team to answer questions for cash prizes. Another mainstay of these question and answer segments was the paper mache duck that would descend from the ceiling with one hundred dollars in tow whenever a player uttered the "secret word." The quiz show aspect of "You Bet Your Life" was always secondary, to the clever back-and-forth between host and contestant, which found Groucho at his funniest. It's in these interview segments that "You Bet Your Life" truly makes its mark as one of early television's greatest programs.

Manufacturer: HBO Brand: MOVIE Model: 9564

Da Ali G Show: The Complete First Season (DVD)The outrageous comedy/reality series stars British chameleon Sacha Baron Cohen, who travels across America in the guise of one of three totally different characters. Cohen's primary alter-ego is Ali G., who calls himself a "hip-hop journalist", but who's really a white rapper-wannabe. When Cohen isn't putting Ali G and his "guests" in unusual and often delightfully uncomfortable situations, he's shedding his yellow gangsta track suit attire and slipping into two other memorable characters: Borat, an impossibly naive TV reporter from Kazakhstan, and Bruno, a gay, Austrian fashionista. Each of these characters will be traversing America, exploring different aspects of our culture, and interviewing real celebrities and dignitaries.]]> "Keep it real" says Ali G (Sacha Baron Cohen) at the top of each show. Keeping it real is what the British comedian does--and doesn't do--during each episode. First, there's the character of Ali G himself. There's nothing real about this slang-slinging geezer. He's a poser, a white hip-hop wannabe from the 'burbs who aspires to be "gangsta" like Biggie and Tupac. His interview subjects, on the other hand, are the real deal: Newt Gingrich, Buzz Aldrin, Donald Trump, etc. Ali asks stupid questions, they attempt to provide intelligent answers. The humor comes from the disconnect between the two, which is to say: 60 Minutes meets In Living Color. Da Ali G Show was a hit in Britain before Cohen brought his act to the States, but Ali wasn't the only character who came with him. There's also Borat, a Kazakhstan TV reporter with a shaky command of English. His show-within-a-show is called "Borat's Guide to America" and he travels the "US and A" interviewing regular folks, such as matchmakers and rodeo riders. Then there's Bruno, a sexually ambiguous fashion reporter with "Funkyzeit Mit Bruno." His subjects include models and designers. Borat and Bruno have their moments, but Ali G is the star of the show and gets the most screen time. It's Ali G,...

Manufacturer: Lions Gate Brand: O'BRIEN,CONAN

Conan O'Brien takes a look back at the first ten years of his late night variety show.Genre: TelevisionRating: NRRelease Date: 10-AUG-2004Media Type: DVD "How did you get this talk show?", a seemingly perplexed David Letterman jokes with his successor, Conan O'Brien, in an early clip included on this primetime special. Conan was unknown to the general public when he took the reigns of Late Night, but he had already established his comedy cred in hipper comedy circles as a writer on Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons. And while the prospect of a tenth anniversary show might have seemed unlikely in those early years, Conan and company remade Late Night in the host's pop-culture savvy and self-deprecating image. While Conan's fifth anniversary special might have been a nice addition to this disc, this 10th Anniversary celebration is an uproarious recap, sure to have newcomers scratching their heads at such Late Night characters as Pimpbot 5000 and the Masturbating Bear. Along with the classic clips (William Shatner forgetting the name of his signature Star Trek character, a practical joke that sends former sidekick Andy Richter naked onto the set of Today), there are celebrity cameos by Ben Stiller and Mr. T and appearances by Will Ferrell and Jack Black, and breakout star Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. The generous bonus footage collects even more signature moments not included in the special. So, to quote O'Brien's huckster in a commercial spoof: You want to laugh? Late Night with Conan O'Brien has the guests, the costumes, all laughs, all the time. Come and get it! --Donald Liebenson

Manufacturer: Lions Gate Brand: Triumph

Viewers of NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" have long clamored for a collection of vintage poops from Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. Since his first appearance on "Late Night" in 1997 the raucous raunchy cigar-smoking bow tie-wearing poodle-humping pooch has made dog meat of everything from the esteemed Westminster Dog Show to his celebrity-trashing of Bon Jovi "Hollywood Squares" and the "Video Music Awards" to the infamous romp through Quebec and the legendary Attack of the Nerds at a Star Wars premiere. Throw in an additional 90 minutes of bonus footage including Triumph's very first appearance other in-studio collisions with guests like Jerry Springer and Simon Cowell his "I Keed" music video and never-before-seen outtakes and you have the ultimate anthology..."for me to poop on!"System Requirements: Running Time 61 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 031398159629 Manufacturer No: 15962 Life's a bitch, or at least it is to Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog. Since his first appearance in 1997, Triumph has emerged a breed apart as Late Night with Conan O'Brien's biggest breakout star. In fact, not even Conan himself has had a bestselling CD, or appeared on Hollywood Squares. Triumph gives new meaning to the honor "Best in Show" with this collection of his most memorable Late Night appearances, including his now-classic reports at the Westminster Dog Show (where he takes full advantage of backstage access, if you get my cruder meaning), his Red Carpet interviews at MTV's Video Music Awards, and, the pick of the litter, his visit to the Star Wars "uber-dorks" waiting in line for the opening of Attack of the Clones (To a Darth Vader impersonator in full regalia: "Which of these buttons calls your parents to pick you up?"). For Triumph fans, this DVD is a tremendous, exciting experience... FOR ME TO POOP ON! --Donald Liebenson

Manufacturer: IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT Brand: Image Entertainment Model: 2214410

Breathing life into an elderly curmudgeon, a purple human-like creature from the Micronesian islands, and a self-effacing talking jalapeno on a stick, Jeff Dunham is straight man to some of the funniest partners in show business! His comedic skill and impeccable technique serve as slight of hand however, drawing attention away from the fact that Dunham is a ventriloquist extraordinaire. It's Jeff Dunham along with his outspoken and often edgy characters: Walter, Peanut, Jose Jalapeno ("...on a steeek!"), Bubba J, and Sweet Daddy Dee in their full, uncut, and uncensored live stage show that will leave you on the floor laughing like no other! Arguing With Myself, a recorded live performance of ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, portrays a comedian whose revival of an old-fashioned art has made ventriloquism more relevant to modern societal concerns. Starring his six main characters, from Bubba Jay, a Nascar-obsessed hick, to Peanut, a flamboyant gay monkey, Dunham’s puppets have dirty but relatively inoffensive senses of humor that mock the American Dream. One can easily see why Jay Leno champions Dunham, as his skits contain a similar sly sarcasm disguised as wholesome teasing aimed at men indebted to their ugly wives, for example, or people who live their lives working in cubicles. At times, though, Dunham’s humor seems to lose its ironic distance, especially as he interacts with puppets like Jose Jalapeño, a Cuban chile pepper, or Sweet Daddy D, a Black pimp, both reliant on the antiquated humor once popularized in cartoons by racial caricature. Since the entire audience in the film is white, it is difficult to assess whether or not African-Americans or Latinos would find Dunham funny. In other words, Dunham’s humor isn’t overtly offensive enough to make fun of ethnic heritage. However, his skills as a ventriloquist alone make him a fascinating entertainer, and anyone interested in how puppetry and ventriloquism has progressed over the decades would benefit from watching Dunham bring lif...

Manufacturer: Shout Factory Brand: Universal Music

For more than twelve years, James Lipton has sat down with over 200 of the world's most accomplished artists for penetrating, fascinating interviews. Lipton's studious research and enlightened curiosity has inspired his guests to open up and confess their deepest thoughts about their craft since the series premiere in 1994. Dave Chappelle appeared as a guest on Inside The Actors Studio early this year - shortly after his dramatic exit from Chappelle's Show and his pilgrimage to Africa. Upon his return to America, he chose the freedom of this show to reveal why he was able to walk away from TV riches - and what was revealed to him in Africa. The sometimes hilarious, often touching and always intriguing answers to these questions are waiting here in this Emmy®-nominated episode. SPECIAL FEATURES: "James Lipton: Flashbacks" (new introduction with James Lipton) "Great Moments That Didn't Make The Cut" (previously unseen portions of the original Chappelle interview) Dave Chappelle's outstanding appearance on Inside the Actor's Studio is certainly one of the high points on that long-running interview series. Not long after his surprising exit from a hugely-successful show on Comedy Central, followed by a trip to Africa that became shrouded in media speculation about the comic's sanity, Chappelle agreed to talk to host James Lipton. Appearing before one of Lipton's typically educated crowds of acting students and others in the performing arts (a flight delay forced the guest to keep them all waiting four hours), Chappelle talks about his early life as a reluctant student yet inspired and daring son of progressive academics. His discovery at age 14 of his life's mission—comedy—is actually thrilling to hear described, as are subsequent anecdotes about feeling the joy of an audience's goodwill (and surviving their collective animosity at times). Chappelle talks about his early TV work and forays into film (he says cracking up Eddie Murphy on the set of The Nutty Professor meant more to him than awards ...

Manufacturer: Shout Factory Brand: Universal Music

Johnny Carson's First TV Show--Thought To Be Lost Forever--Comes To DVD! 10 Episodes of The Johnny Carson Show (1955-56) and Rare Bonus Material While working as a staff writer on The Red Skelton Show one night in 1955, Johnny Carson filled in as a last-minute replacement when Skelton was injured during rehearsal. Carson did such a good job that CBS created The Johnny Carson Show as a showcase for the young comedian. The 39-week series served as a precursor of what would come later for Johnny, planting the seeds for the sketches he would perfect on The Tonight Show with his Mighty Carson Art Players. The Johnny Carson Show features Carson in parodies of popular television shows of the era, including one of Edward R. Murrow's Person To Person, in which Johnny turns in a hilarious impersonation of Murrow. Carson also spoofs The Three Musketeers, Walter Cronkite, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Dragnet and the Russian ballet. Members of Carson's cast include Jamie Farr and Jack Albertson and guests include James Arness (promoting the premiere of his brand new series Gunsmoke), Eva Gabor and movie composer Dimitri Tiomkin. Ten long-lost episodes of The Johnny Carson Show, from its lone season in 1955 - 1956, have been digitally restored from the recently-discovered kinescopes for this release. Bonus features include a 1958 episode of Johnny's popular ABC quiz show Who Do You Trust?, a very rare episode of his short lived and little known 1956 CBS daytime show, and another recently discovered lost gem: a clip from Johnny's October 1958 stint as the two-week substitute host of The Jack Paar Show. Total Running Time: +/- 4.5 hours The 1950s were television's so-called Golden Age. But for Johnny Carson, featured here in ten episodes of The Johnny Carson Show from '55 and '56, the metal was a bit less precious--bronze, maybe, or iron, as he was just beginning to hone the style that would make him a bona fide legend of the small screen. Carson, 30 years old at the time, had spent a year hosting a...

Manufacturer: Guthy-Renker Entertainment

Greg Harrison Presents The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts: Man and Woman of the Hour: Lucille Ball and Danny Thomas

Manufacturer: PC Treasures, Inc. Brand: Pc Treasures Model: DPCI:234-03-0439