Chicago – Do young people know of the importance of Steve Martin to the history of comedy? In the ’70s, he helped revolutionize the form through his unique, smart, daring approach on-stage and in his TV comedies and on “Saturday Night Live.” Much of the material that made him a superstar has been collected in a stellar three-disc set from Shout Factory, now available on DVD under the banner “Steve Martin: The Television Stuff.”
Rating: 4.0/5.0
I must admit that some of this material doesn’t play like it did on its initial airdate. It’s a style of comedy that’s a bit dated and I imagine felt much more anarchistic to the entire form when it first aired. There are large chunks of “The Television Stuff” that I found more interesting as history than as comedy. But is that really a problem? This is a great box set to have for TV and comedy historians,...
Rating: 4.0/5.0
I must admit that some of this material doesn’t play like it did on its initial airdate. It’s a style of comedy that’s a bit dated and I imagine felt much more anarchistic to the entire form when it first aired. There are large chunks of “The Television Stuff” that I found more interesting as history than as comedy. But is that really a problem? This is a great box set to have for TV and comedy historians,...
- 10/1/2012
- by [email protected] (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Steve Martin has been making people laugh so hard for so long that some — especially younger audiences — might not fully appreciate just how pure and fresh his early comic work was. Before the Oscars, before Father of the Bride, before Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, even before The Jerk, Martin was a total force of nature whose main platform was television, beginning with writing for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. In his wild and crazy prime, an appearance by Martin on Johnny Carson or other primetime showcase was insane, yet so carefully crafted. When he hosted Saturday Night Live or had a stand-up special,...
- 9/18/2012
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside TV
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