The Larry Sanders Show - The Entire First Season

Rating:
Summary: There has never been a better TV show
Review: Three words

Just Buy It

Rating:
Summary: how could anyone not like this???
Review: frankly, i'm amazed that anyone could find anything to complain about with this set. if you like larry sanders (which you obviously do if you sprang for this set), then why complain about the sound? (see first review). there were about 3 episodes that i hadn't seen before, the best of which was "spiders". i laughed so hard, i was actually crying. the interview with garry shandling is great, too. i've never seen him so serious! also, i didn't realize so mcuh had gone into the mere production of this brilliant show. i can't wait until all 8 seasons are out!

Rating:
Summary: A real mixed bag
Review: I've been waiting for the DVD release of this show for years (my VHS episode collection is getting very worn).

And as happy as I am to get the first season on DVD, I was VERY disappointed in the quality of the video itself. In some places it's not too much better than my SLP VHS recordings!

The interview with Gary is nice, though I was expecting a little more in the way of 'extras.'

I'm still hopeful that the entire catalog of shows will make its way to DVD. And - I hope - with something approaching good picture quality.

Rating:
Summary: 5 stars for the show, 0 for the DVD
Review: What can I say that hasn't already been said? I am an English Larry Sanders Fan and think that the show itself is second only to Seinfeld (fingers crossed for a Seinfeld DVD sometime soon!).
The DVD qualtiy however is abysmal! I can only hope that those responsible are made aware of the collective feelings of the reviewers here and don't make the same mistakes with future releases. I have an English 'Best of' compilation with about 7 episodes and the quality is not only far superior but the menus are more user friendly and it has the ability to select individual scenes - this omision astounded me!
On a more content oriented note the best episode for me has to be 'out of the loop' - Peter Falk is superb. Contemporary English Comedy still doesn't have anything that comes remotely close to the wit and inteligence of this - it's just a shame that the technical quality is so poor. Hopefully, better luck with the next one!

Rating:
Summary: so funny i pised in my pants
Review: Well it's about time it came out. This show is the one which started the streak of great programing on HBO. The humor is quite dry at times, but I love it. When Artey and Hank get drunk I almost lost it. The quality is somewhat bad, but it is well worth the purchase. And to the person who had problems with the 3rd disk. If you go to the screen episodes 9-10 you will see at the bottom an arrow next to the main menu. Scroll down to where it is highlighted and press enter. It will take you to the next screen with 11, and 12.

Rating:
Summary: not a lot of bang for your buck
Review: I was so excited when the 1st season was released last week and I immediately purchased it. I haven't really noticed any problems with the picture as per other reviews but I was most disappointed by the lack of extras. For the price of most boxed season sets, you get loads of extras but not much on the Larry Sanders DVD's. Hopefully, there will be an improvement on future seasons. Unless they have some archived behind the scenes footage, then I wouldn't hold your breath for future DVD's. But in regards to the actual episodes, I have to agree that this is one of the funniest t.v. shows in the last couple of decades.

Rating:
Summary: Great Show, Lousy DVD
Review: "The Larry Sanders Show" had a great premise. As a television show about a television show, it gave us a unique and bitingly humorous look behind the scenes of show business power politics, of inflated egos, creativity, the phoniness, in short, the sausage making that is late night television production. As is typical of such a format, a wide variety of guests are booked and as such, we are able to enjoy a facet of Carol Burnett, Billy Crystal, Peter Falk, David Spade, Robin Williams et.al. in ways network television can only hint at. Garry Shandling knows his business well and what comes across in each of these rather short episodes (something between 22-28 minutes each) can only bubble up from the fertile mind of someone who has paid the dues. Ideally, I would rate "The Larry Sanders Show" with 4 stars as far as entertainment is concerned, but must echo the complaints of those who have noted the poor DVD quality of this landmark television show. I also found that moving around the menu is awkward. Selecting a given episode could have been greatly improved by using much better color contrasting to highlight the selected show. Disc 3 is especially ambigious in that the last 2 of its 5 episodes are not readily apparent. It is almost as if the first season of "The Larry Sanders Show" was rushed into DVD release haphazardly with no thought or care to reflect the obvious quality that went into a remarkable television show that made the DVD possible in the first place.

Rating:
Summary: 5 Star show but 3 stars for the DVD
Review: I can't really add to the perceptive and appreciative reviews listed here for this great show but having enjoyed these episodes on the DVD I would like to comment on the disc.

First let me says it is just a joy that this series made it to DVD at all so the following are relatively minor points;

1. The packaging looks good but once opened the details of the shows are on a flimsy one-page insert which I nearly threw away mistaking it for advertising fluff. They could have made a better effort here and had a booklet with a place to store it.
2. There is one extra, the interview with Shandling, but again they could have done better and included a 'behind the scenes' etc.
3. I already own the UK DVD which has a selection of episodes with scene selection facility. This DVD does not, which is an odd omission.

Despite this I will continue to watch this DVD many times and I am already enjoying subtle jokes I missed the first time around.

Alot has been said about the quality of the picture in other reviews but having watched this a number of times I can honestly say the quality is absolutely fine and totally satisfactory.

Recommended for all Larry fans.

Rating:
Summary: Great Show -- Crummy DVD
Review: To echo what others have said, the video quality on this set of DVDs is pretty poor. Comparing it to S-VHS copies I made from the HBO C-Band satellite feed, the S-VHS is better! Much sharper and less "processed" looking.

Someone said it looked like they used the same "transfer" that HBO ran, and that's not exactly true -- there is no "transfer" available of this show, because it was a mix of film and videotape, and EDITED on videotape. Thus, there is no FILM copy that can be re-transferred -- whatever is on the original tapes is as good as the show will ever look. Sadly, these DVDs are BELOW the quality of the original tapes. Why that is, I don't know, but it is a bit maddening.

Rating:
Summary: The worst DVD transfer I've ever seen
Review: Love the show. Hate the DVD. Until now, the DVD release of Pride & Prejudice was at the top of my all-time worst DVD transfers list. But this title has replaced it. The image is astoundingly soft, and there is a mind-boggling amount of compression artifacting and pixelization. On my 57" set, it is virtually unwatchable. When there's a long shot of a character, the image is so pixelized and blurry, I often can't tell who I'm looking at. To top it off, colour levels are low, and contrast is poor. Shame on Columbia TriStar and Sony! Everyone who bought this title deserves a refund, or a replacement copy (once CTHV smartens up and releases the "special edition" version of this set, with improved picture).

Drew