Running Time: approximately 1 hour, ten minutes per weekly episode
Perceived Running Time: 40 minutes (depending on the episode)
Replay-ability: high
Estimated Durability: 4 generations+
Audience: Wide. Fifth grade and up (some mildly dirty jokes).
Why:
This is one of the best and most entertaining time-windows into the late 70's you'll ever find. It features some of the funniest, most talented performers, at their height, hungry, raw and energetic. This is about the time when they'd polished off the rougher edges, but before the show became tiresome formulaic. Watching each episode in it's entirety is important as each one had an overall rhythm and flow like a good music album or symphony. My 6th grader has found a cornucopia of inspiration from this trove of forgotten excellence in performance and modern vaudeville. I predict that the material herein will remain fresh and highly entertaining long-after my generation is dead and gone. The Charles Grodin episode alone was hysterical from beginning to end, in a weirdly post-modern way. My son's watched that single week several times over.
Without the commercials, the episodes fly by. They can also be enjoyed in chapters if you need a some quick entertainment.
This is also a great time capsule of Americana, reflecting the mind and matters of the late 70's. If you want to get a cultural feel for that time, or share it with someone else, this is better than any history book. While it does mock timely events and make timely references, it does not rely on them to the point of alienating subsequent generations; about as much as classic Loony Tunes or Monty Python.
In addition to the comedy, it also features some very candid performances by famous musicians, also in their early prime.
Why not:
The jokes do get a little dirty here and there; it is a late-night product of the swinger culture of NYC. It would be considered racy even by today's broadcast standards. It periodically makes references to people and events that are long-forgotten, even by those of us who were active in those days. The most intolerant youth might call it dated, and the pacing is of course slower than modern comedy. The skits that do rely too heavily on the forgotten are easily skipped.
Further, the quality is not strictly consistent. Some "weeks" are funnier/better than others. Some skits soar while some bomb. But even the weakest weeks are quite entertaining. But this is the result of it's organic nature. As it grew in consistency in the 80's, it lost genius.
If you like That 70's Show, you're going to LOVE this. It's the real deal.
Kudos:
Raw, hungry, fresh, energetic talent.
Demerits:
Occasional out-dated references.
A blu-ray edition would be appreciated with more special features, bookmarks and the ability to play only the musical segments.
Notes:
You might be given to buy one of the "Best Of" volumes, but you'd be cheating yourself. Again, each week had a flow. At the risk of comparing SNL with immortal classics, it would be like attending a Best Of Shakespeare. It would be like only watching the highlights of a sporting event. Too much of the overall experience is lost. Several youth I know never "got" the classic SNL until they sat down and watched complete episodes.
Verdict: Don't bore younger people with your old-people stories of how great the 70's used to be. Show them some of this and then just answer their questions.
