Sexual Astrology - VHS : The Best of Ernie Kovacs

All ProductsApparelBabyBeautyBooksDVDDigital MusicHealth & Personal CareJewelryKitchen & HousewaresMagazinesMiscellaneousMusicMusic TracksPhotoSoftwareToysVHSVideo (DVD & VHS)Video Games

 View Shopping Cart or Checkout 

starring: Ernie Kovacs See Larger Image Used Price: $1.79 Collectible Price: $39.95 Third Party New Price: $4.91 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 9781561275601 Format: Box set, Black & White, NTSC ISBN: 1561275603 Label: Kultur Video Manufacturer: Kultur Video Number Of Items: 5 Publisher: Kultur Video Release Date: April 29, 1992 Running Time: 300 minutes Sales Rank: 3272 Studio: Kultur Video Theatrical Release Date: 1950 Related Items: The Sid Caesar Collection - The Fan Favorites - 50th Anniversary Edition The Best of Sid Caesar The Unknown Jonathan Winters: On the Loose The Sid Caesar Collection - The Buried Treasures - 50th Anniversary Edition Best of Jack Benny see more Editorial Review: Amazon.com: For anyone interested in the history of television comedy, The Best of Ernie Kovacs is indispensable. This five-part series, originally broadcast on PBS, is a six-hour guided tour through Kovacsland, and a more surreal or cockeyed landscape has never been broadcast over 'the orthicon tube.' The best cigar-mustache combo since Groucho, Kovacs, who perished in a car wreck in 1962, was one of the fledgling medium's pioneers. He turned staid television convention on its ear and satirized the medium itself (David Letterman is a kindred spirit). The Best of Ernie Kovacs offers a generous sampling of more than 100 blackouts, musical diversions (including a simian version of 'Swan Lake'), sketches, and technological dalliances. The macabre game show 'Whom Dunnit,' in which a panel must determine the identity of the mystery guest who has wounded an unfortunate studio audience member, would not be out of place on 'Saturday Night Live.' Another highlight is 'Eugene,' a 1961 broadcast in which not a word is uttered. And let's not forget the musical gorilla-costumed Nairobi Trio, one of Kovacs's signature creations. The DVD edition has a few noteworthy additions, including a clip from Kovacs's 1959 quiz show, Take a Good Look. In another memorable clip, Edie Adams, Kovacs's wife, performs her definitive impersonation of Marilyn Monroe (singing 'The Ballad of Davy Crockett'). Though this footage dates back to television's early days, this is no antiquated museum piece. Some of it is dated, but much of what Kovacs unleashed on an unsuspecting public is fresher, funnier, and more original than most of what passes for prime-time programming. Boy, do we need him now. --Donald Liebenson Customer Reviews Average Rating: Rating: - Classic 50's Comedy Ernie was one of the comic minds that defined zany & funny. He stood tall in the company of many 40's thru 60's comic giants. Rating: - For fans of comedy and vintage television... This collection was my first encounter with Ernie Kovacs as PBS first aired this series during the late seventies. "The Best of Ernie Kovacs" is a collection of skits and gags from Ernie's various television shows and specials that aired on early television from the early fifties to 1962 (the year of his accidental death.) Even though some of the tape is badly faded and some of comedy is predictable and dated, this man was a true television pioneer -- especially with trick camera shots ... Read More Rating: - Percy Dovetonsils sez buy you must! If you've gotten any laughs out of TV over the years, you've probably seen his disciples: Monty Python, Mad TV, Laugh-In, Johnny Carson's Carnak, etc., etc. Ernie Kovacs hasn't been on the planet for some 45 years, so there aren't too many opportunities to see the real thing in action. Other than going to NY's Museum of Radio and TV, this is your shot. That mobile, expressive face--watch him pantomime laughter and you'll swear you can hear him roar--the way he tosses props around with total abandon, ... Read More Rating: - A TIRE COVERED IN WHIPCREAM A GLASS FULL OF SAWDUST....AND FOR DESSERT If your saying "HUH" To my title you are absolutely correct! Though I came up with the title myself I think it is the best way to complement the genius ERNIE KOVACS. He did on T.V. things that had never been seen before(and sometimes since) and would be so off the wall you'd think about the show hours after and start chuckling to yourself. He started the blackout on a skit and was way ahead of his time for sketches. His three piece gorilla band would play ... Read More Rating: - The man who opened the TV toybox Ernie Kovacs did what no one on TV had done before and precious few have done since. He recognized TV has its own criteria for what works, just like any other form of expression. He set out to experiment with what could be done on the tube, and he often succeeded brilliantly, with sketches or mood pieces that defy description. Watch this set and see how Ernie pioneered music videos by choreographing office furniture to a couple of Esquivel records. This is a kinder, gentler sort of humor than we see ... Read More see more Browse for similar items by category: Comedy - Genres - VHS - Video - General AAS Television - Genres - VHS - Video - Classic TV Television - Genres - VHS - Video - General AAS Boxed Sets - Formats - Custom Stores - Specialty Stores - VHS - Video - Comedy Boxed Sets - Formats - Custom Stores - Specialty Stores - VHS - Video - Television