May 17, 1956

Saved from being erased, this 2nd set of Kovacs material will show you where Letterman Stewart, SNL and even Johnny Carson learn
In 2011 there was great joy among fans of the late comedian/actor/writer Ernie Kovacs when the first volume of ultra rare Kovacs material was released by Shout Factory. The volume garnered many five-star reviews (including mine here on Amazon) and introduced a whole new generation (actually TWO generations, since Kovacs died in 1962 and his name had all but been forgotten - except by those of us who grew up watching him on TV.)

We were told that there was more material "in the vaults" - meaning that it was held by Kovacs widow - Edie Adams - who bought all the original video tapes and kinescopes from the networks when they were ready to erase the tapes and re-use them. The time has come and we now have Volume Two, a somewhat smaller set (just three DVDs this time) but there is still a lot of VERY funny material.

But for those new to Kovacs, let me provide some background:

Long before Monty Python, Saturday Night Live, and David Letterman's late night...

MORE ERNIE! Not as Good a Starting Point as Set 1 but a Welcomed Treat
This is the 3rd Ernie Kovacs release from Shout Factory the others being the first lengthy set and a single dvd containing 5 of his ABC specials. This set is less enjoyable than the first because the scope of Kovacs' work is limited. The first set chronologically covers his afternoon show filmed in Philadelphia to his ABC Specials shot in California. That set offers a little of everything that led to where Ernie was going within the TV medium.

This set, while enjoyable feels more like a collection of material omitted from the first set so to keep the price down for the consumer. This isn't a complaint, I definitely recommend purchasing this set AFTER getting the first set, but does feel like the case.

I first became aware of these half hour morning shows via Comdey Central reruns back when the channel didn't have the budget to run their own programs. I became an immediate fan of his offbeat humor and even the liberal amount of interaction he has with his studio...

MORE COMEDY CLASSICS!!
Once again, an excellent package, though containing less material than the 1st collection. Helping immensely is the fact that it was obviously a labor of love (literally, for the late Edie Adams), and the actual content is of course just as zany and brilliant. Make a present of these collections soon and spread the laughter!!

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