Rating: 
Summary: Pink Lady Performances Are Highlight
Review: The "comedy" skits are really, really bad for the most part. They're made all the more difficult because of Kei's mangling of English beyond recognition (Mie's English is better). But if you're a fan of Red Buttons or Sid Caesar, this one's for you.
The best part about this series is the performances by Pink Lady. Whether their garbled version of "Knock On Wood," or a good rendition of "If My Friends Could See Me Now" surrounded by pink-wigged puppet-like dancers, the girls do exude a real charm. Pink Lady was first and foremost a disco group in Japan. And most of their songs in this 1980 series are disco hits from the two years previous: "Le Freak," "Shame," "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy," "How Deep Is Your Love," "MacArthur Park," and "Last Dance" are among those performed.
Liking disco music, and appreciating the bizarre and campy in television, I really have enjoyed this series! With better comedy writers, and if Pink Lady were kept out of the skits and if Jeff Altman were funny, this show could have worked in the longer term.
Rating: 
Summary: Pink Ladt At Their Best!
Review: A wonderful, 3 DVD boxed set containing the complete 6 Pink Lady variety shows from 1980. Easily the most exciting DVD release of the year.The image quality and sound quality are average for an early 80s television show. However, be warned: Oddly, the discs' chapter stops are spaced mainly to give the viewer easy access to the terrible comedy skits. To find the brilliant musical numbers, you'll have to scan past the skits to locate the musical numbers. The included index card doesn't even list the song titles. But rest assured- the discs do contain the complete shows, with all musical numbers intact.One of the most exciting moments of the entire series was guest star Greg Evigan's solo number, "People I Know", in which he not only sings but plays saxaphone. He later duets with Mie and Kei in the same episode.The bonus interview with Jeff Altman is entertaining. However, as was the case in 1980, he's easier on the eyes than on the ears. It's wonderful to see him shirtless in the hot-tub sequences at the end of several shows. If only he'd have done the skits that way...Other bonus features fail to show Pink Lady to their best advantage. There are seveal websites devoted to Pink Lady which offer more interesting information.However, this set remains an incredible value. No fan will be dissapointed. Place your order at once!Craig
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Shows Ever!! [ Contrary to popular belief ]
Review: Have all of the skits on Saturday Night Live been funny? NO. Have all of the musical numbers on SNL been great? NO. Okay so here was a show with skits that weren't always funny and musical numbers that weren't always great. But when Pink Lady and Jeff was good it was VERY good. It seems as if Jeff Altman was paid money to say bad things about the show on the DVD intros like it was important to distance himself from this "disaster" as he put it. Whatever Jeff. Unless you did those intros for free, you were paid to say negative things as if everything was tongue in cheek like you were smart enough to think at the time that you were doing a bad show. Again, I refer to SNL. I can't tell you how many of the sketches in the early years when the show was supposed to be "cutting edge" that were not funny in the least. At least Pink Lady and Jeff was fun to watch at all times. Jerry Lewis was funny. Red Buttons was funny. Jim Varney and Anna Mathias were funny. Sid Caesar was funny. Roy Orbison performing Live....what a treat. Yeah, the show missed the mark a few times but did anyone see that stupid episode of Seinfeld that wasn't funny. Which one? Yeah...my point exactly. Too many unfunny episodes of Seinfeld to name but THAT was named the best comedy ever. The Pink Lady and Jeff DVD will have you in stitches... irrespective of what Jeff says in his paid intros. You would think he would be smart enough to embrace the show. If you buy the DVD's go past Jeff's intros. He contributes nothing of value. Mie and Kei were VERY GOOD at singing corny American songs like Macarthur Park and Yesterday. But they are even better at singing their own songs. Especially UFO. The studio audience goes nuts at the end of that one. This DVD will be a collector's item soon. Buy it now, keep it in good condition and make those fools who don't have it now pay out the nose for it later. I have 3 copies.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth it
Review: Hey, I love watching bad TV. I loved The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, I'll waste the occasional afternoon watching everything from Kroft Supershow to Diff'rent Strokes to Saved By The Bell. But I found this to be uninteresting and unwatchable. Jeff Altman's impression-based comedy is stale and uninspired, which I suppose is the point, but that only makes it sadder because he as a comic, unlike Donny and Marie, or the Brady Bunch actors, should've known better. If you love bad TV and 70's Variety Shows, pick up The Brady Bunch Variety Hour or the Kroft Supershow box set, and don't waste your money on this. It's not so-bad-its-funny, it's just bad.
Rating:
Summary: Why, Rhino, why?
Review: I don't drink, so I was sober when I bought this DVD, hoping I could get some unintentional laughs out of it. Unfortunately, the only thing funny about this disc set is why I bought it at all. The "so-bad-it's-funny" element of PL&J wears thin about 10 minutes into the first episode. By then it's easy to see why this show is so infamous; the sketches were lame, the running gags never got any better with age, and the whole premise just needed working out before this went to air in the spring of 1980. What's really bad about this is how some great guest stars such as Sid Caesar, Red Buttons, Larry Hagman, Sherman Hemsley (of "The Jeffersons") and more are wasted here. On the positive side, Red Buttons' "Abraham Lincoln Roast" on episode 5 and Byron Allen's monologue on episode 6 are worth viewing, but they are the exception, not the rule. In the interview segment, Jeff Altman (who gets zero laughs in all six episodes) admits that the premise was faulty and that the execution was inept. Krofft Entertainment should have erased the tapes of this disaster immediately after NBC pulled the plug, but they had to let it turn up on DVD two decades later instead. If any ambitious and/or sadistic TV station has an anthology series called "Disasterpiece Theater," expect to see this on it. Caveat emptor (buyer beware).
Rating:
Summary: Atrocious
Review: I fondly remembered watching the first episode of Pink Lady and Jeff when it first aired. So, I bought the dvd boxed set. I was a pre-teen when this abomination first aired, and I admit I had pretty lousy taste. So now I own this thing. I haven't been able to get through a whole episode yet because it is absolutely horrible. It might be fun to play in the background at a party, but it's physically painful to actually sit down and watch. Beware of those who say it's so bad that it's funny. It's so bad, it's worse than you can imagine.
Rating:
Summary: The *Worst* TV Show Ever? It's Better Than You Remember!
Review: I know, I know, I know...This series is regularly regarded as one of the worst (if not THE worst) television series in US history (yada, yada, yada). If you are looking at this page, then you know that's *not* true! Sure, this is one of the most bizarre TV shows ever made, but it's highly watchable! (If nothing else, Mie and Kei are VERY easy on the eyes!) The comedy skits aren't very funny, but you will find yourself laughing at the disco-era outfits and the Ed Wood-like atmosphere that permeates the entire production. You'll be wondering *why* NBC and the Krofft brothers made this show, but glad that they did! The bonus materials are pretty sparse. While the recent interview with Jeff Altman is insightful, it would have been a treat to catch up with Mie and Kei themselves. (Maybe they're finally learned some English over the years since the show was made!) The picture quality is good for a 20+ year old videotaped show. The DVD transfers aren't that bad, and it's almost like being tuned in to NBC for those magical few weeks back in 1980! (Now, all we need are DVDs of "Supertrain" and "The Big Show" to truly re-live the "glory" days of NBC! And while we're at it, how about DVDs of David Letterman's morning show, which premiered a few months after Pink Lady!)
Rating:
Summary: At least they meant it!
Review: I remember tuning into this show in 1980 to catch the Blondie vids, "Shayla" and "Eat to the Beat". I didn't know what to make of Pink Lady then, and I still don't! I think Camp Appreciation is at an all time high, so I would imagine lots of people would enjoy this set now more than ever. In a hideous way, the skits are funny--although you feel guilty laughing at them--you find yourself laughing at how unfunny they are! You might find yourself screaming out loud at the production numbers--like a roller coaster ride through embarassment! Blood curdling choregraphy mixes with the sight and sound of the two women (and their backup dancers) trying to sing rock, pop, and disco standards in English so bad that often you can't understand what they are even saying. Their dance moves are Abba-esque. My favorite was a futuristic space number with Pink Lady dancing the robot in their mylar space costumes. Because of the earnestness here, it manages to entertain even as it fails--television is so cynical now and so in on the joke, that it's refreshing on the merits of it's innocence alone. Also, it really was the "last variety show"--so it bears the distinction of symbolizing the end of an era of television.
The aforementioned Blondie videos make it a must for Blondie fans who finally get a chance to see the "Eat to the Beat" video in it's entireity (the first verse was obliterated by opening title graphics on Blondie's home video version). And since "Shayla" wasn't included on the recent Blondie DVD compilation, it's a great way to get pristine copies of these two clips. Also, Cheap Trick's "Dream Police" video is alot of fun. The only dud is Alice Cooper's "Clones" video. (Why was he trying to be new wave?) Pink Lady themselves are strangely absent in the DVD extras and commentary....where have they gone?
Rating: 
Summary: Could've Had a Lot More Potential
Review: I've always heard that words couldn't describe how awful this show was. Curiousity got the better of me and I decided to subject myself to all six episodes in this set. There's no doubt about it that this is hands down one of the worst variety shows ever made. It make the Brady Bunch Variety Hour look like an Emmy award-winning masterpiece. One thing that makes this a nice period piece is the guest stars. Where else but on an early 1980s variety show could you see Donny Osmond, Larry Hagman, Boomer the dog, Hugh Hefner, Sherman Hemsley and others? Pink Lady are actually a very interesting piece of Japanese pop culture but NBC failed when they brought them to the American television audience. Instead of letting the girls do what they do best-singing in Japanese and dancing with cloned robotic precision, the writers tried to give Mie and Kei distinct personalities and made them sing mostly in English. Add in the fact that they were paired with unfunny supporting actors and that the girls could barely speak English and you have a recipe for disaster. NBC could've truly had an usual cult show if they would've created a different format for Pink Lady. They could've shown it late at night (perhaps in the timeslot for SNL or David Letterman) and had a Neo-Tokyo Anime style set. Mie and Kei could've spoken in Japanese with subtitles (like Kaga in early episode of "Iron Chef") or with a futuristic robotic translator. The real show featured some early video clips from Blondie and Cheap Trick. Perhaps if Pink Lady had introduced video clips instead of guest stars, MTV (which didn't even exist when this show was aired) would be very different today. As you watch these episodes, try to image what could've been. If you want to minimize your exposure to Pink Lady, check out Episode 3. It has Mie and Kei singing their Japanese hit "UFO" with great dance moves and it has Greg Evigan from "BJ and the Bear" performing a halfway decent song. Audio commentary from Sid and Marty Krofft and Jeff Altman should've been a MUST on this set. I'd love to hear their explanations for putting this on the air and how they would've reacted after having to view these shows after 20 years. A "Behind the Music" style documentary could've helped U.S. viewers to see how popular Pink Lady were in Japan and presented a different side to them from their variety show. The extras in the set are minimal. Jeff Altman introduces each show and there is a small gallery of TV print ads. The box promises the history of Pink Lady as one of the extras but some of the text pages seemed to be missing when I viewed them.
There only 2 episodes on each disc and the box is very bulky; it's thicker than some VHS cases. There are also no captions. Sometimes Mie and Kei are hard to understand and subtitles would've helped. Chapters for each Pink Lady song would've been useful also. The curious who wish to watch this are warned to take it in small doses. If you are looking for something to clear out a room of partygoers that have overstayed their welcome, this is the DVD for you.
Rating:
Summary: Could've Had a Lot More Potential
Review: I've always heard that words couldn't describe how awful this show was. Curiousity got the better of me and I decided to subject myself to all six episodes in this set. There's no doubt about it that this is hands down one of the worst variety shows ever made. It make the Brady Bunch Variety Hour look like an Emmy award-winning masterpiece. One thing that makes this a nice period piece is the guest stars. Where else but on an early 1980s variety show could you see Donny Osmond, Larry Hagman, Boomer the dog, Hugh Hefner, Sherman Hemsley and others? Pink Lady are actually a very interesting piece of Japanese pop culture but NBC failed when they brought them to the American television audience. Instead of letting the girls do what they do best-singing in Japanese and dancing with cloned robotic precision, the writers tried to give Mie and Kei distinct personalities and made them sing mostly in English. Add in the fact that they were paired with unfunny supporting actors and that the girls could barely speak English and you have a recipe for disaster. NBC could've truly had an usual cult show if they would've created a different format for Pink Lady. They could've shown it late at night (perhaps in the timeslot for SNL or David Letterman) and had a Neo-Tokyo Anime style set. Mie and Kei could've spoken in Japanese with subtitles (like Kaga in early episode of "Iron Chef") or with a futuristic robotic translator. The real show featured some early video clips from Blondie and Cheap Trick. Perhaps if Pink Lady had introduced video clips instead of guest stars, MTV (which didn't even exist when this show was aired) would be very different today. As you watch these episodes, try to image what could've been. If you want to minimize your exposure to Pink Lady, check out Episode 3. It has Mie and Kei singing their Japanese hit "UFO" with great dance moves and it has Greg Evigan from "BJ and the Bear" performing a halfway decent song. Audio commentary from Sid and Marty Krofft and Jeff Altman should've been a MUST on this set. I'd love to hear their explanations for putting this on the air and how they would've reacted after having to view these shows after 20 years. A "Behind the Music" style documentary could've helped U.S. viewers to see how popular Pink Lady were in Japan and presented a different side to them from their variety show. The extras in the set are minimal. Jeff Altman introduces each show and there is a small gallery of TV print ads. The box promises the history of Pink Lady as one of the extras but some of the text pages seemed to be missing when I viewed them.
There only 2 episodes on each disc and the box is very bulky; it's thicker than some VHS cases. There are also no captions. Sometimes Mie and Kei are hard to understand and subtitles would've helped. Chapters for each Pink Lady song would've been useful also. The curious who wish to watch this are warned to take it in small doses. If you are looking for something to clear out a room of partygoers that have overstayed their welcome, this is the DVD for you.
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