LITTLE ROCK — What is it? Steve Martin: The Television Stuff, more than six hours of material on three discs from Shout! Factory
How much? $34.93
When? Now
Who’s Steve Martin? You’ve never heard of Steve Martin? The wild and crazy, balloon-animal-making, banjo-playing, happy-feet dancing guy with the arrow through his head? Well, excuuuuuse me!
Ahem. Sorry. Allow me to enlighten you.
Martin has been one of the kings of comedy for decades and now fans can indulge in his thoroughly silly brand of humor with this DVD set.
As the name indicates, this set is a collection of Martin specials and other TV appearances.
You get:
On Location With Steve Martin (1976): This special, which aired on HBO, is a filmed version of Martin’s stand-up act at the Troubadour in Los Angeles in which he pulls out all the stops and throws in most of his famous bits.
Steve Martin: A Wild and Crazy Guy (1978): Martin’s first network special for NBC is part stand-up material and part sketch comedy. He introduces the world to the concept of ballet parking and shows exactly how effective he is as a Scout leader.
Steve Martin: Comedy Is Not Pretty (1980): Martin sticks to sketches for his second NBC show, showing off his diving and skiing skills and letting us all know how important it is to keep plutonium away from terrorists.
All Commercials ... A Steve Martin Special (1980): This collection of real and fake commercials and advertising theme comedy includes ads for products such as Truman Capote jeans and Okra Cola. It’s funny, but probably funnier if you have some memory of commercials pre-1980.
Steve Martin’s Best Show Ever (1981): Eric Idle ponders the origins of Stonehenge, Martin sings and dances to “Fit as a Fiddle” with Gregory Hines and the Festrunk Brothers visit an art gallery.
Homage to Steve (1984): This last special includes the Oscar-nominated short The Absent-Minded Waiter, a lesson in comedy and a 1979 stand-up performance.
The final disc, called Bits and Pieces, is a conglomeration of award show acceptance speeches, a couple of brief Saturday Night Live sketches and Martin’s first TV appearance in 1966.
Expect appearances by quite a few famous faces throughout.
Would I like this? Unless you’ve lived in a media blackout for the last 40 years, you probably have some sort of familiarity with Steve Martin. If you can’t stand him, you won’t like this either. If you love him, this will be a dream come true.
Are there extras? There are interview segments with Martin on each disc and the set’s booklet has a lengthy essay by Adam Gopnik.
New this week: 90210, Season 4; The Abbott and Costello Show, Season 1; Bonanza, Season 4; Downton Abbey, Seasons 1 and 2 Limited Edition; Happy Endings, Season 2; Hart of Dixie, Season 1; House, Complete Series; How I Met Your Mother, Season 7; It Takes a Thief, Season 1; New Girl, Season 1; Nikita, Season 2; The Six Million Dollar Man, Season 2.
Next week: Bones, Season 7; It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Season 7; The Lucy Show, Season 6; Whitney, Season 1.
Style, Pages 51 on 09/30/2012