Product description
-------------------
It's not what you'd call high art, but there are some highly
enjoyable moments in this nicely packaged box set, featuring nine
complete shows (plus ample bonus material) spread out over three
discs. Beginning as a summer replacement in 1971, "The Sonny &
Cher Comedy Hour" earned its own regular time slot that same
year, running for three straight seasons and then returning in
1976 (as "The Sonny & Cher Show"), after the couple's divorce.
The show's formula, which had already been established both
onstage and on the small screen (their '69 pilot episode is among
the extra features), includes plenty of music (duets, Cher's solo
performances in typically outlandish Bob Mackie gowns, various
guest s); lots of shtick (consisting mostly of Cher's
put-downs of the minimally talented but good-natured Sonny); and
sketches and skits (ranging from lame to inspired, including a
mock-opera based on "All in the Family" and starring Metropolitan
Opera tenor Robert Merrill as a warbling Archie Bunker). Guests
range from the obvious (TV stalwarts like Harvey Korman, Ruth
Buzzi, and Don Knotts) to the downright weird (then-California
governor Ronald Reagan). It's all fairly middlebrow, but Sonny &
Cher's unpretentious, unself-conscious charm carries it; and once
in a while everything congeals into one surreally entertaining
package, like the '72 show featuring the Jackson 5 (led, of
course, by Michael, who was then 14 and still apparently normal),
who are followed to the stage by Reagan (telling jokes, sort of)
and singer-actor Howard Keel, veteran of numerous movie musicals.
Bonus features include 2003 audio commentary by a nostalgic Cher,
interviews with the producers, the '69 pilot, bios,
discographies, and a show history. The DVD set also comes with a
music-only CD, featuring live performances of "The Beat Goes On"
and "I Got You Babe." "--Sam Graham"
.com
----
It's not what you'd call high art, but there are some highly
enjoyable moments in this nicely packaged box set, featuring nine
complete shows (plus ample bonus material) spread out over three
discs.
Beginning as a summer replacement in 1971, The Sonny & Cher
Comedy Hour earned its own regular time slot that same year,
running for three straight seasons and then returning in 1976 (as
The Sonny & Cher Show), after the couple's divorce. The show's
formula, which had already been established both onstage and on
the small screen (their '69 pilot episode is among the extra
features), includes plenty of music (duets, Cher's solo
performances in typically outlandish Bob Mackie gowns, various
guest s); lots of shtick (consisting mostly of Cher's
put-downs of the minimally talented but good-natured Sonny); and
sketches and skits (ranging from lame to inspired, including a
mock-opera based on All in the Family and starring Metropolitan
Opera tenor Robert Merrill as a warbling Archie Bunker). Guests
range from the obvious (TV stalwarts like Harvey Korman, Ruth
Buzzi, and Don Knotts) to the downright weird (then-California
governor Ronald Reagan). It's all fairly middlebrow, but Sonny &
Cher's unpretentious, unself-conscious charm carries it; and once
in a while everything congeals into one surreally entertaining
package, like the '72 show featuring the Jackson 5 (led, of
course, by Michael, who was then 14 and still apparently normal),
who are followed to the stage by Reagan (telling jokes, sort of)
and singer-actor Howard Keel, veteran of numerous movie musicals.
Bonus features include 2003 audio commentary by a nostalgic
Cher, interviews with the producers, the '69 pilot, bios,
discographies, and a show history. The DVD set also comes with a
music-only CD, featuring live performances of "The Beat Goes On"
and "I Got You Babe." --Sam Graham