Gosh where do I possibly start with a review of The Late Show?
This is I think without question the finest hour from any of the team of comedians who started as the original D-Generation and split and regrouped into various other shows and guises.. (including the arch rival Fast Forward combination - which does rank v.highly nonetheless)
The show is legendary because as stated here each cast member is a comedic genius in their own right. eg. Tony Martin/Mick Molloy went off and did a hysterical radio show that also strangely lasted only a couple of years. Rob Sitch - who I agree with the comment is the funniest man alive! - Tommy G, Santo & Jane did the amazing Frontline & Castle/Dish movies.. and now the Panel.
But here they were all together with contributions from other friends so how could the results not be legendary. The list of funny sketches and segments is waaaay too long to list here.
Watching tapes of the best of Saturday Night Live even those guys at their combined peaks are not as consistently funny as the Late Show was over 40 episodes.
Late-Show fans simply must go out and get the recently released 'Champagne Edition' on DVD. It has SIX HOURS !! combining the 'Best Bits of.. ' Volumes 1-3 as well as a new 'Some more bits..', it also has still photos and Easter egg extras..
AND..
Most special, it features a commentary track for the entire SIX hours with *all* of the original crew reunited in 2001!! As well as special guests like old D-Gener John Harrison and Joan Kirner reliving her infamous Joan Jett performance! It's nirvana for Late Show junkies!
The commentary track is almost as funny as watching the show itself! Listening to the guys crack up at old bits they'd forgotten, laughing at how shonky and cheap (but still hysterical to us) most of the ideas were and how bad the clothes were! And lots of witty banter particulary from Tony Martin who put together the DVD.
Even after all that - 6 hours doesnt feel like enough! When will the ABC just bite the bullet and re-release the entire 40 episodes on tape? The DVD is of course missing other classics like Bargearese, Commerical Crimestoppers, lots of general couch banter etc.. Tony Martin makes a comment that really the DVD only contains about half the actual material on the show! Shame!
Thank goodness we are still seeing regular output from the various guys - Working Dog has the Panel & their movies. Mick Molloy has got a couple of movies out - Crackerjack (which I've just reviewed and is very funny, particularly with Judith Lucy and Tony Martin appearances!) and Kath and Kim is holding up the Fast Forward side of things with 'crossovers' in the form of Glenn Robbins & Tony Martin appearances on the show..
We'll probably never see another show quite like it - but as I said at least we have the best of's and the guys are still working!
