The Sonny & Cher Ultimate Collection

Product Description

Product description It's not what you'd call high art, but there are some highly enjoyable moments in this nicely packaged box set, featuring nine complete shows (plus ample bonus material) spread out over three discs. Beginning as a summer replacement in 1971, "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour" earned its own regular time slot that same year, running for three straight seasons and then returning in 1976 (as "The Sonny & Cher Show"), after the couple's divorce. The show's formula, which had already been established both onstage and on the small screen (their '69 pilot episode is among the extra features), includes plenty of music (duets, Cher's solo performances in typically outlandish Bob Mackie gowns, various guest shots); lots of shtick (consisting mostly of Cher's put-downs of the minimally talented but good-natured Sonny); and sketches and skits (ranging from lame to inspired, including a mock-opera based on "All in the Family" and starring Metropolitan Opera tenor Robert Merrill as a warbling Archie Bunker). Guests range from the obvious (TV stalwarts like Harvey Korman, Ruth Buzzi, and Don Knotts) to the downright weird (then-California governor Ronald Reagan). It's all fairly middlebrow, but Sonny & Cher's unpretentious, unself-conscious charm carries it; and once in a while everything congeals into one surreally entertaining package, like the '72 show featuring the Jackson 5 (led, of course, by Michael, who was then 14 and still apparently normal), who are followed to the stage by Reagan (telling jokes, sort of) and singer-actor Howard Keel, veteran of numerous movie musicals. Bonus features include 2003 audio commentary by a nostalgic Cher, interviews with the producers, the '69 pilot, bios, discographies, and a show history. The DVD set also comes with a music-only CD, featuring live performances of "The Beat Goes On" and "I Got You Babe." "--Sam Graham" Amazon.com It's not what you'd call high art, but there are some highly enjoyable moments in this nicely packaged box set, featuring nine complete shows (plus ample bonus material) spread out over three discs. Beginning as a summer replacement in 1971, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour earned its own regular time slot that same year, running for three straight seasons and then returning in 1976 (as The Sonny & Cher Show), after the couple's divorce. The show's formula, which had already been established both onstage and on the small screen (their '69 pilot episode is among the extra features), includes plenty of music (duets, Cher's solo performances in typically outlandish Bob Mackie gowns, various guest shots); lots of shtick (consisting mostly of Cher's put-downs of the minimally talented but good-natured Sonny); and sketches and skits (ranging from lame to inspired, including a mock-opera based on All in the Family and starring Metropolitan Opera tenor Robert Merrill as a warbling Archie Bunker). Guests range from the obvious (TV stalwarts like Harvey Korman, Ruth Buzzi, and Don Knotts) to the downright weird (then-California governor Ronald Reagan). It's all fairly middlebrow, but Sonny & Cher's unpretentious, unself-conscious charm carries it; and once in a while everything congeals into one surreally entertaining package, like the '72 show featuring the Jackson 5 (led, of course, by Michael, who was then 14 and still apparently normal), who are followed to the stage by Reagan (telling jokes, sort of) and singer-actor Howard Keel, veteran of numerous movie musicals. Bonus features include 2003 audio commentary by a nostalgic Cher, interviews with the producers, the '69 pilot, bios, discographies, and a show history. The DVD set also comes with a music-only CD, featuring live performances of "The Beat Goes On" and "I Got You Babe." --Sam Graham P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); From the Back Cover Sonny & Cher, the most exciting musical-comedy performers of the polyester decade, in the show that took America by storm. All the hits and all the fun of the 70's on three DVD's - with exciting extras you'll flip over. The DVD collection features 9 original, unedited shows plus many extras! DISC ONE - Best of the first season of the Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, featuring the thrilling concert segments, big- name guest stars and hilarious comedy dialogues that made the show so popular. Guests include Harvey Korman, Burt Reynolds, Merv Griffin and more. DISC TWO - Three choice episodes from the second and third seasons of the Comedy Hour, including the popular sketches "Vamp" and "Sonny's Pizza," opera parodies and more top-ten tunes. Guests include Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5, Governor Ronald Reagan, Howard Cosell, Danny Thomas, George Foreman and many more. DISC THREE - Back after a two-year hiatus and a divorce, these three star-studded programs are from their final variety show - The Sonny & Cher Show. Featured guests include Farrah Fawcett, Glen Campbell, Donny & Marie, Tina Turner and others. Featured music perfomanceds include "All I Ever Need Is You", "Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves", "The Way of Love", "A Cowboy's Work is Never Done", "Half-Breed", "Dark Lady", "The Beat Goes On", and "I Got You Babe".