Home :: DVD :: Television  

A&E Home Video
BBC
Classic TV
Discovery Channel
Fox TV
General
HBO
History Channel
Miniseries
MTV
National Geographic
Nickelodeon
PBS
Star Trek
TV Series
WGBH Boston
The Best of Primetime Glick

The Best of Primetime Glick

List Price: $14.99
Your Price: $13.49
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Surprisingly Good Release of a Surprisingly Good Show...
Review: "Primetime Glick" has got to be one of the stranger spin-off ideas in television history: a character rescued from the short-lived "Martin Short Show" gets a late-night-style interview show on Comedy Central and makes it big. In it, Martin Short plays the title character, an overweight, hyperactive, half-fawning, half-obtuse interviewer that sits down with one or two of Hollywood's biggest comedic talents every week for interviews that are played as real - as long as the interviewees can keep from laughing.

In this collection, we get five episodes from the first season (2001) of "Primetime Glick" which actually amounts to half the season. Why they couldn't just give us the first five episodes of the season instead is beyond me - maybe they're using the release to gauge consumer interest. Anyway, along with four really funny episodes featuring Bill Maher, Steve Martin, Dennis Miller, Jerry Seinfeld, Janeane Garofalo, basketball star John Salley, Conan O'Brien, Eugene Levy - and a surprisingly bad episode featuring Kathy Lee Gifford and Darrell Hammond doing his "SNL" Dick Cheney - the disc also includes added material from the Seinfeld, Martin, Gifford, O'Brien and Garofalo interviews (in some cases longer and funnier than the stuff that was put in the episode) and a few other goodies from Comedy Central - a "Glick" segment featuring Julia-Louis Dreyfus, a "South Park" segment and a "Crank Yankers" segment.

In all, this show has been a pleasant surprise treat for me, and I was pleased at how good the DVD was given the rather low price. I hope that Comedy Central will get around to releasing full seasons at some point, but until they do, this is a surprisingly good "Best of" collection.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: "Glick-fix" THIS!!!
Review: I caught my first glimpses of Prime Time Glick a few years back, during the days when it came on right after South Park. Out of curiosity I decided to take a gander at the only Martin Short-created TV show that lasted longer than six seconds before getting cancelled. Sadly, I wasn't all that impressed by his chubby, self-absorbed, less-than-lucid, factual-error-prone, and shrill alter-ego Jiminy Glick. Now I'm well aware that the idea behind the show is about poking fun at self-absorbed, less-than-lucid, factual-error-prone, and shrill talk show hosts. But when the parody is far more annoying as the subjects it attempts to satirize, it's kinda hard for me to not change the channel to something that's relatively calmer and more soothing to watch-- like reruns of the Joan Rivers show, for example...

Then there's the far-too-overdone and boringly repetitive physical comedy that Glick throws at the viewer each and every episode. If he isn't pratfalling outta his chair in a supposedly hilarious fashion every other minute, or suddenly deciding to sit side-saddle in his chair (which usually results in more pratfalls), he's making nasty throat-clearing-type noises while choking on a gumdrop during his less-than-rousing quasi-improv interview with the guest of the week (usually a comedian or comedic actor). I find the former hackneyed schtick unfunny primarily because the ol' "fat-guy-falling-down" gag only works when a REAL fat guy is doin' it (the only exception to this rule is 'Weird Al' Yankovic in that one music video). Every time I see Chris Farley or Curly Howard from The Three Stooges experience the negative effects of gravity, I get goin' with the guffaws like I was workin' off a week's supply of nitrous oxide! But Martin Short in a Jabba outfit just doesn't cut the mustard. And I don't know if it's intentional or not, but Adrian Van Voorhees' "band" mates (none of them actually play their instruments, and they do a pretty lousy job of faking it) all seem to have this look on their faces like they're thinkin' to themselves, "What the [heck] I am I doing here, wasting my time with this loser?!" If it IS unintentional, I can't really blame 'em...

And let's not forget the interviews-- no wait, let's DO forget about them. That is, unless you actually LIKE watching celebrities try out their improv chops with the show's titular star, and (with the exception of Bill Maher and (in a few parts) Dennis Miller) fail spectacularly at it. Of course, the hilarity of the celebs' responses can only be as good as the lines & hints the interviewer throws at 'em to use. In other words, it's a two-way street-- and in this instance, both ways lead to abrupt dead ends...

After watching every Q&A session on this platter (including the 'outtake' footage in the Bonus Interviews section), the only ones I found adequately amusing were Eugene Levy and Dick Cheney (actually, a guy made up to look like Cheney). The former interview was helped by the appearance of an ersatz Bob Hope plugging his latest special and uttering the name of a particular, er, naughty male body part. I dunno why, but for some reason I find a centenarian saying this word hilarious. And the not-veep's concerns about the U.S. military "catching gay" wrangled a light-to-medium chuckle outta me-- it's the main reason I pushed my rating for this platter up a star. But Glick's back-stage piece with Kathie Lee Gifford was just downright painful to watch-- not so much due to it being a lame interview (which it was), but because you can tell she's had extensive work done on her face to try and keep that youthful appearance (not to mention keeping the Giff from giving in to temptation again). But the thing is, while her face may be stretched taut, her neck has gulleys that look about as deep as the Grand Canyon-- which of course blows the illusion straight to [heck]. This development actually got a light chuckle from me when she mentions menopause at one point-- I just loved the irony of the statement. Kinda sad when an instant of unintentional humor grabs more yuks than the stuff that's supposed to be funny, no?

Sadly, the selection of silly "La-La-Wood" storytime sketches and TV commercial parodies that roll between the interview segments are just as bereft of laughs as the rest of the show is, if not more so. The only ersatz ad spot I found even remotely amusing was "Malkovich in the Middle", starring a disturbingly bipolar John Malkovich (as portrayed by a heavily made-up Martin Short) emotionally scarring his kids at the breakfast table. There's also a segment featuring Tom Green (Short again) trying to pull a prank on Osama Bin Laden inside his secret Afghanistan lair. While I thought the concept of this sketch was interesting, its execution left a lot to be desired. And I don't even wanna go into the pieces that star Tommy Lee Jones (guess who, again?)...

Well, that's about all I hafta say about this mess of a DVD. Actually, I'm sure I could come up with a whole lot more to say if I really felt like it-- but since I DON'T feel like it, I won't...

'Late

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Glick OK, But Not His Best
Review: I expected to see Glick's best stuff on this DVD, but apparently it is being saved for some other time. I had seen some shows on Comedy Central that were very funny, including an interview with Steven Speilberg, but again, not included.

I also liked watching one episode of Glick every two or three weeks. Watching two+ episodes in a row makes Glick's humor mundane and hardly worth the 6 episodes on the DVD.

I like Short, but Glick is Short-lived in this house. Sorry, Martin.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Short is finally Funny
Review: I had always found Martin Short's over-expressive antics and routine comedies rather annoying and far from humorous. When Primetime Glick first came on Comedy Central, I had no desire to watch it. But then I kept seeing commercials where Glick (Short in a hideous fat suit) ripped into real celebrities during interviews. The clips were hilarious and I found myself tuning in.
How glad I was when I did.
Primetime Glick makes constant fun of Hollywood and the simple-minded morons who worship everything Hollywood does. The entire Entertainment industry is shredded by this mock talk show, and Short, as Glick, is the wonderfully obnoxious center of it all.
The interviews are the best part of this underrated show, where huge stars get insulted, interupted and even assulted by Glick who half the time doesn't know who the guest is nor does he care about them.
It's as if Glick speaks for the cynical at-home-viewer who always rolls their eyes in disgust when someone like Julia Roberst comes on TV and starts babbling about her latest movie. Glick simultaniously makes fun of Hollywood phonies (himself being one) and points out other Hollywood phonies for the insipid blowhards they are. And when he has a good guest on he still rips into them, all in good fun.

This DVD comes out right alongside the joyously surpirsing release of a third Season on Comedy Central. Just when everyone thought this show was dead and buried, it comes back with guests like Steven Spielberg, Ice Cube, Mel Brooks and Brandon Frasier.

Guests of this show have to have a good sense of humor and be a little masochistic, because Glick is ... relentless ...; fans of this show have to be a little hostile towards celebrity worship to truly get the humor of this.

For a great look at what makes the show so original and so excellent, pick up this reasonably priced collection. I'll get it as soon as possible, but I'll also be hoping for season sets.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: some of the funniest stuff i've ever seen!
Review: i ran out & picked it up the day it came out. if you are a fan of mr. short [or even if you've never even heard of him], you must own this dvd. unfortunately i don't get comedy central, so this has been my first opportunity seeing mr. glick in action. my only dissapointment was that this is not an entire season boxed in a set. it left me wanting more...much more!!

ps_when is "clifford" going to be released on dvd???
pps_just found out he's in development for a movie based on his character jiminy glick! this could become a trilogy that exceeds the funniest fat .... moments in austin powers! good luck martin & don't compromise with the script...keep it funny!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Pleasantly surprised...
Review: I'm not a huge fan of Martin Short. I think there are better Canadian comics out there, such as Jim Carrey and Mike Meyers, but I was pleasantly surprised by this DVD. Short is surprisingly funny doing his improv talk show host schtick, particularly when going head to head with comedic greats like Bill Maher and Steve Martin. Michael McKean is terrific in the stereotypical band leader/sidekick role. Some material works and some doesn't but, for the price, I would have to say it's a worthy purchase.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Glick OK, But Not His Best
Review: I'm writing this review to stress one main point: Comedy Central, release some more shows on DVD!!!

That said, this is a wonderful show. This may be the best "talk show" since Letterman was at NBC. And since the "real" talk shows have grown so oppresively stale, Glick is the best way to see celebrities. Primetime Glick is a very fresh, funny take on celebrity, and it rings oh so true.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: More, More More... How do you like it, how do you like it...
Review: I'm writing this review to stress one main point: Comedy Central, release some more shows on DVD!!!

That said, this is a wonderful show. This may be the best "talk show" since Letterman was at NBC. And since the "real" talk shows have grown so oppresively stale, Glick is the best way to see celebrities. Primetime Glick is a very fresh, funny take on celebrity, and it rings oh so true.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: More, More More... How do you like it, how do you like it...
Review: I'm writing this review to stress one main point: Comedy Central, release some more shows on DVD!!!

That said, this is a wonderful show. This may be the best "talk show" since Letterman was at NBC. And since the "real" talk shows have grown so oppresively stale, Glick is the best way to see celebrities. Primetime Glick is a very fresh, funny take on celebrity, and it rings oh so true.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: More Glick Please!
Review: I've been waiting for Primetime Glick to be released on DVD ever since I first saw it on Comedy Central. I pre-ordered this DVD when I heard it was coming out. After receiving it and viewing it, I must say it was worth the wait. The quality of this disc is top-rate.....awesome clarity with superb sound. The episodes selected as "best of" are great.......Miss Gathercole is hilarious as the vulgar, ever-present audience member as are all the other characters portrayed by the most talented Martin Short. Jiminy Click is a classic character, if ever there was one; Mr. Short's best creation. I highly recommend this disc for anyone who needs a good rolling on the floor laugh. Like the other reviewers here, I want to see the entire series to date released on DVD.....just can't get enough of Glick!


<< 1 2 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates