It's Garry Shandling's Show - The Complete Series DVD Review - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TJ · 10-15-2009, 02:16 AM

Before the Internet, before reality TV, no one saw what television *could* be more humorously and with more vision than Garry Shandling. In 1986, Garry Shandling was poised to become a permanent guest host on Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show. Instead, he took a chance on an offer from fledgling cable network Showtime to create his own television series. No questions asked.

A surreal look at the daily life of a young single man who is a comedian, It’s Garry Shandling’s Show was not a typical sitcom. Shandling would break the fourth wall to include the studio audience (starting about 10 seconds into episode #1) and the viewers at home in on the actual making of the show. Experimenting with the sitcom form meant inviting the audience onto the set, playing with the passage of time (IE: Suddenly stating that “It’s now two weeks later”), and generally exploding the genre and making art of the debris. As a fan of series who generally disregard the fourth wall (Boston Legal being one of my most favorite modern shows to do this) it’s interesting to see the concept of a non-traditional comedy set within the framework nearly required for any comedy of it’s day. Teaming up with Alan Zweibel, a former writer for Saturday Night Live, Shandling “put on a fourth grade play” every week for four seasons. With a crew of talented young writers whose later credits include Seinfeld and The Simpsons, television history was made.

From its unforgettable theme song to its closing credits, It’s Garry Shandling’s Show was award-winning mind-bending television for four seasons, and its influence is clearly seen in the best TV comedies through the decades to follow.

Read our review by Seth here:
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/itsgarr...dvdreview.html

Please post any questions or comments about this set.

IGNTBone · 10-23-2009, 04:39 PM

There's one inaccuracy in the review. The baseball announcer in season 1, episode 4 was LA sportscaster Ted Dawson - not Ted Danson of Cheers.

IGNTBone · 10-26-2009, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IGNTBone

There's one inaccuracy in the review. The baseball announcer in season 1, episode 4 was LA sportscaster Ted Dawson - not Ted Danson of Cheers.

Oh, and the runtimes are accurate. Because it was on Showtime, they didn't have to stick to set time-frames for each episode. Once the jokes got over and the points across, the episode ended.

10-15-2009, 02:16 AM	#1
TJ Site Owner Administrator Forum Star Join Date: Feb 03, 2000 Location: Marietta, GA Posts: 10,648	It's Garry Shandling's Show - The Complete Series DVD Review Before the Internet, before reality TV, no one saw what television could be more humorously and with more vision than Garry Shandling. In 1986, Garry Shandling was poised to become a permanent guest host on Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show. Instead, he took a chance on an offer from fledgling cable network Showtime to create his own television series. No questions asked. A surreal look at the daily life of a young single man who is a comedian, It’s Garry Shandling’s Show was not a typical sitcom. Shandling would break the fourth wall to include the studio audience (starting about 10 seconds into episode #1) and the viewers at home in on the actual making of the show. Experimenting with the sitcom form meant inviting the audience onto the set, playing with the passage of time (IE: Suddenly stating that “It’s now two weeks later”), and generally exploding the genre and making art of the debris. As a fan of series who generally disregard the fourth wall (Boston Legal being one of my most favorite modern shows to do this) it’s interesting to see the concept of a non-traditional comedy set within the framework nearly required for any comedy of it’s day. Teaming up with Alan Zweibel, a former writer for Saturday Night Live, Shandling “put on a fourth grade play” every week for four seasons. With a crew of talented young writers whose later credits include Seinfeld and The Simpsons, television history was made. From its unforgettable theme song to its closing credits, It’s Garry Shandling’s Show was award-winning mind-bending television for four seasons, and its influence is clearly seen in the best TV comedies through the decades to follow. Read our review by Seth here: http://www.sitcomsonline.com/itsgarr...dvdreview.html Please post any questions or comments about this set.

10-23-2009, 04:39 PM	#2
IGNTBone Member Senior Member Join Date: May 03, 2000 Location: Tequesta, FL Posts: 1,201	There's one inaccuracy in the review. The baseball announcer in season 1, episode 4 was LA sportscaster Ted Dawson - not Ted Danson of Cheers.