Not Great, But A More Concise Compilation Than Radner's
Few "Saturday Night Live" castmembers have carved a greater niche in the show's history than Dan Aykroyd. His four years on the show gave us some of the most hilarious moments ever to grace our television screens. From his zany charatcers to his dead on impresions, Aykroyd was a force to be reckoned with.
On September 6th, 2005, "The Best Of Dan Aykroyd" was one of four new "SNL" dvds from the show's first five years released on dvd. It features 22 sketches and has a decent run time of 93 minutes. How does it hold up. Read on for the positives and the negatives.
Positives:
-You get most of Aykroyd's popular recurring characters on here. Beldar Conehead, Leonard Pinth Garnell, Elwood Blues and others are all on this dvd.
-They included the Nerds sketch where he's the refrigerator repair man with his [...] hanging out. I've always wanted to see that sketch.
-You get his most popular impressions on here as well, such as his note perfect impersonations of Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon and Tom Snyder.
-You get to see many forgotten sketches that will serve as a real treat for diehard fans.
-You get some great extras.
Negatives:
-The dvd's main flaw is this. A lot of the dvd's funniest sketches were on previous dvds as well. For example, the "Coneheads And The I.R.S." sketch and "The Festrunk Brothers" bit were both on "The Best Of Steve Martin". Similarly, the "Consumer Probe" sketch with Irwin Mainway was on the "Best Of Halloween".
-A lot of great characters were left off, such as Jason The Hippie, Mike Mendoza, one of half of the X - Police and many other great characters were left off.
-They don't include anything from the various cameos he made on the show between 1988 and 2003. He did a lot of funny stuff then, too. I was especially disappointed that his Bob Dole impression was not included.
-This next one is going to stir some disagreements. I did not find "Fred Garvin: Male Prostitute" very funny. I expected it to be much funnier, but I was disappointed.
-There were a few other sketches that didn't do anything for me. Howeer, this is almost always the case with most "SNL" dvds.
So, this is a far from perfect retrospective of Aykroyd's "SNL" career, but I'd definitely recommend you'd check it out.
Thee will never be another Gilda Radner & how fortunate we are to have some of her funniest moments captured on DVD. I'd be hard pressed to name my favorite sketch, but the one with her as Baba Wawa interviewing "Marweena Detrick," played hysterically by Madeline Kahn (yet another comic genius who left this life too early) brings tears of laughter to my eyes. More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 06 September 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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WHAT A RIP OFF!!! I expected my favorite skits and got unofficial history and gossip!!! It will be returned to the store. These people need to get a job. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Kenneth Bowser DVD Release Date: Released the 06 September 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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No other person has been a guest on Saturday Night Live as many times as the inimitable Steve Martin, which is what makes SNL's Best of Steve Martin compilation the finest of the series. This collection gives us not only clips of some of the show's funniest moments, but also a sense of how the show has evolved from the 1970s. Earlier monologues were rougher, less staged, but absolutely out of control in the best way, as Martin is given free rein to unleash his "happy feet," play the banjo, and generally explore his zaniness. The earliest clip dates from 1976 and the latest from the mid-'90s, showcasing the program's greatest players throughout the seasons--Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Mike Meyers, Dana Carvey, Nora Dunn, David Spade, Jon... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Dave Wilson - A.D. Miles - Christopher Guest - Mike Judge - Tom Schiller DVD Release Date: Released the 25 April 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Jon Lovitz was added to SNL right after a strong season. His troupe was castigated as poor in comparison to what had happened the season before, and, as a result, he sank with the ship (as it were).
At last we have a chance to see what a genius he was. One thing I really appreciated about this DVD was the inclusion of his "forties" productions. I share Jon's love for the period, and his ability to slip into a forties smoking jacket went far beyond "the Master Thespian."
And don't get me started about the Pathological Liar...yeah, that's the ticket.
I'm hoping to see more of Jon in the future; he was pretty much wasted in "Rat Race" and while I like his cartoon voice work, it's his physical comedy that adds so much. More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Jon Lovitz DVD Release Date: Released the 07 June 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Perhaps one of the greatest lights ever to shine on late-night television, Eddie Murphy has gone on to well-deserved international superstardom. Check out his earliest television work on Saturday Night Live: The Best of Eddie Murphy, a collection of his greatest roles, from Gumby to Stevie Wonder to Buckwheat. Of course, some would argue that his best role was as himself, and there is plenty of evidence for that--many of the skits feature Murphy au naturel and the opening sequence is taken from his monologue when he returned to the show triumphantly after leaving for Hollywood. Exploring the world around him and finding laughs everywhere, Murphy can take a simple idea (such as the "James Brown Hot Tub Party") and run wild with it, leaving the audience hysterically begging for... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 24 February 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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