The Dana Carvey Show (1996/Shout! Factory DVD)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Episodes: B
It should have worked.
You get Dana Carvey, one of the funniest comics of his generation, one
of the funniest men alive at his best, get him to do a variety show that spoofs
variety shows, let him loose, have the then big producing team of
Brillstein-Grey producing, add then-newcomers Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert
as part of the ongoing cast and The Dana Carvey Show should have been a big hit. There were some funny skits, controversy and
yet, even with Louis C.K. and Robert Smigel on board, it only lasted eight
half-hour episodes. Why?
For one
thing, the show was not being consistent, controversy over switching sponsors
backfired and the show may have been too off the wall off the bat when it might
have wanted to build to that point.
Either way, Shout! Factory has issued its single season on a double DVD
set and the show continues to be funny,
hold up well and has even appreciated in value.
Colbert’s success has some roots here.
Oscar Winner Charlie Kaufman even wrote for the show, so you can imagine
the experimental nature of the show.
It also holds up better than the many failed feature
films of Carvey including Master Of Disguise and Opportunity Knocks
and seems to be the next logical step after his work on Saturday Night Live. Glad it is on DVD and you should go out of
your way to see it. By the way, is it me
or is a controversial Taco Bell sequence missing?
The 1.33 X 1 color image was shot on analog NTSC videotape
and the image has its limits, but is not bad for its age, while the Dolby
Digital 2.0 Stereo sound is also not bad.
Extras include unaired episodes, a new long interview with Carvey &
Smigel and deleted scenes that are all also funny.
- Nicholas Sheffo
