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The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour: Season 3

This superb DVD release is a Paul Brownstein production so you know going in it will be the best possible product; this one's is no exception. You get 11 third season Smothers Brothers Comedy Hours including the one that CBS ever aired, the episode that got them fired in 1969, supposedly because David Steinberg's sermonette routine was deemed offensive.

That episode also contains some interracial romance between Tommy and Nancy Wilson and a shout out to Martin Luther King's dream at the end of the show that surely would have been considered edgy in and of themselves.

While CBS cancelled other highly-rated series (like the Jackie Gleason & Red Skelton shows) at the time, that was an attempt to drop programs that attracted a primarily older audience. Demographics was the hot advertising buzzword in 1969 and the Smothers, with a top 20 show, had the coveted 18-34 age bracket locked in. Renewal from a business point of view was a no brainer, the contracts were already signed when CBS abruptly dropped the show.

(How serious CBS was that Steinberg's bit had crossed the line is undercut somewhat when you consider the network gave Steinberg his own summer variety show 3 years later where he did more sermonettes.)

If you're expecting to be shocked at how controversial the series was you may be slightly disappointed, by today's standards they never got really far out, the network muzzle was very tight. That the Smothers were poking fun of the establishment at all is what was amazing and the firing undoubtedly sent a chill and a strong message to other television producers to avoid anything that smacked of political satire.

And, indeed, with minor exceptions, it wasn't until The Daily Show debuted in 1996 that political satire returned to television. Even Saturday Nite Live, which owes a huge dept to the Smothers, rarely ventured into any real biting political satire outside of the Weekend Update segments.

The Smothers sued CBS for breach of contract and won but their career was irreparably damaged.

These episodes come with the wonderful intros and outros filmed for the E! Network in the early-1990s and there are extended interviews with the show's personnel, folks like David Steinberg, Bob Newhart, Allan Blye, Bob Einstein, and others included.

I can't recommend this amazing collection more highly, it's a fabulous trip back to a time that seems so far away, so long ago, yet so fresh as reflected in this series.

Sadly, the episodes aren't all complete. On one show, musician John Hartman is listed as a guest but there's no Hartman, which is odd since he was a Smothers regular and it couldn't have been that expensive to get the rights to the tune he performed.

Tom Smothers has stated that he doubts these shows will appeal to the modern audiences. I found the experience a rich and highly enjoyable one and can't wait for the best of season 2 collection which is reportedly in production.

You get 11 episodes of the Comedy Hour on 3 discs while the fourth disc is devoted to Pat Paulsen with the very funny (and trippy) Pat Paulsen For President special along with the comic's standup act, public appearances as he was running for office at various times, some hilarious outakes from the special, and more cool stuff.

There are tons of other extras - new audio intros by Tom Smothers, 2 show promos, excerpts from the Smothers' 1969 press conference after their firing, hundreds of network & government memos, and more. This one's a treasure!

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The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour: Season 3

Product Description
This 4 DVD set includes 11 star packed episodes from the third and final season of the hour-long variety show, uncensored, just as they were originally meant to be aired. The guest list reads like a '60s who's who, including comedy stars like George Carlin, Bob Newhart, Steve Martin, Jackie Mason, Jonathan Winters, David Steinberg and musical performances by The Doors, Ike & Tina Turner, Donovan, Harry Belafonte, Ray Charles, Judy Collins, Liberace, Joan Baez, the cast of Hair and more.

Actors: Smothers Brothers
Directors: Bill Davis;Stan Harris
Format: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Number of discs: 3
Studio: Time Life Entertainment
DVD Release Date: September 16, 2008
Run Time: 840 minutes

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