|
|
 |
Pioneers Of Television (TV)
R1 - America - Paramount Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Rob Fields (27th January 2008). |
|
The Show
 Have you ever wondered where classic television first started? I know I've wondered about that myself. Okay, actually I've been wondering where the Golden Age of it all first began. While it's not a burning question that I'll lose sleep over if I never find out, I have thought about it. I know that there was much in television history that developed before 1971, the year I was born. Even then, there was still so much that passed me by. What I know about television history is definitely fragmented. As each of us are unique in what we like and don't like, I guess television of the day never really caught on with me. No, I was more interested in cartoons and a few select game shows. When this PBS DVD was presented to me for review, my eyes lit up. "Okay," I thought, "I just finished reviewing the "Oswald's Ghost" (2008) DVD that was produced by PBS. I really enjoyed watching that. This is going to be good." While I'm not into much of the presentations that are on display here, it's still nice to take a trip down memory lane and see what helped shape TV as we know it today. It may not go back as far as the Golden Age itself, but some gaps will definitely be filled and some questions may be answered. "Pioneers of Television" is a four-part series, which champions the entertainers who launched an industry. This series takes us back to TV's classic days and chronicles the icons who still keep us laughing, generation after generation. Packed with hilarious clips and nearly 100 new interviews, this is series television at its finest. These are the four parts as follows: 1) "Late Night" : (55:36) Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Merv Griffin, Dick Cavett, and Johnny Carson headline this episode about the performers who gave people a reason to stay up late. Here you will see how late night TV was invented, more importantly "The Tonight Show" which debuted in 1962. You will see interviews with Jay Leno, Phyllis Diller, Regis Philbin, and Betty White among the few... 2) "Sitcom" : (55:35) This episode focuses on the influential sitcoms that shaped the genre, including "I Love Lucy" (1951-1957), "The Honeymooners" (1955-1956), "The Andy Griffith Show" (1960-1968), and "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961-1966). You will see interviews with Jim Nabors, Andy Griffith, Mary Tyler Moore, and Dick Van Dyke among the few . . . 3) "Variety" : (55:37) This episode begins with Ed Sullivan, Milton Berle, and Arthur Godfrey and progresses through Carol Burnett, The Smothers Brothers (find out how their show was canceled) and "Laugh-In" (1977), among others. 4) "Game Shows" : (55:36) Tracing one of broadcasting's most enduring genres, this episode follows game shows from their origins in radio through to their heyday in the 1960s. See how shows such as "Wheel of Fortune", "Hollywood Squares", and others came about. I liked that PBS was able to get their hands on the classic footage to show what had taken place back in the day. You get some of the finest moments as they were originally seen. I'm glad that the segments were not digitally remastered. At least this way, you can see the footage and appreciate it for what it was. I also liked being able to find out things I never knew had happened. For example, I knew that Jackie Gleeson had starred in "The Honeymooners". What I didn't know was that he had had a variety show on before that. The downsides? I thought that when watching this, it wouldn't just be about comedy. But that's what the premise seems to be. PBS should have called it "Pioneers of Television: Comedy". While I liked this documentary series itself, I never really cared for TV comedies themselves. I'm hoping there will be similar releases for the other genres that were on TV. They should get their due just as the comedy did. Also, since there is so much TV history out there, having almost-an-hour segments does not do this series justice. After all, there's only so much you can get out there in so little time. For example, the game show segment talked about Chuck Barris, you don't see anything from "The Gong Show" (1976-1980) or any indications of the skeletons in his closet. I feel that each of these segments should have been around 90 minutes to about 2 hours in the least. This way, more history could be made known. My final word on this DVD would be that it's well worth watching, despite what I've said in my downsides. I'm sure there are those of you out there who would love to watch these classic clips. Some of you may even already know about what is being told in these four "Pioneers of Television" episodes. For those of you who are just getting your feet wet in classic television, myself included, it's a good history lesson.
Video
Each segment is presented in anamorphic widescreen format (1.85:1 ratio) for the documentary footage itself. The classic footage is presented in its original full screen format (black-and-white and color footage). When it comes to the interview footage itself, there are no noticeable defects. You can definitely tell the difference between the years of classic footage. There is no remastering for any of these segments. If you notice any defects in any of these segments (grain and dirt), it is more than likely NOT due to the DVD authoring. What you're seeing is television history in the making. You can see how bad the footage looked back in the day when compared to now. Each episode has its own chapter selection menu.
Audio
Each episode features an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack. There are no subtitles present. The interview segments are quite clear in terms of the dialogue. Even though the video quality isn't the greatest for the classic segments, the audio actually sounds better. In fact, it seems to be on par with the current footage when it comes to the sound level. However, when it comes to the way the classic footage sounds itself...Well, again, that's television history in the making.
Extras
Paramount has included only one featurette presented on this disc and a PBS info page, below is a closer look at these supplements. The one featurette "Insider Stories From Pioneers of Television" runs 15 minutes, 1 second and features additional interview segments with Betty White, Phyllis Diller, Dick Cavett, Florence Henderson, Merv Griffin, Jonathan Winters, and Tim Conway. They each get their own block to talk about a single moment during their careers. The video here is not 16x9 enhanced. The PBS.ORG option on the Main Menu takes you to a info page which gives you a web address for PBS.
Overall
|
|||||
|