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I’ve always been one of the opinion that the Weekend Update segment of SNL(regardless what era) was always the best part of the show. NT9OCN is like an entire show built around Weekend Update sketches, all seamlessly edited together. Mr. Show comes to mind as one program that might have been inspired by this, but no doubt countless other sketch programs, like Kids In The Hall, took a nod or two from this as well.
On this two-disc set, we get a “Best Of” compilation. Or so they say, anyway. There were only 26 episodes of the program made, and eight of them are presented in their entirety here. All I know is, if the missing episodes are half as funny as those on this set, I am missing out on quite a lot of funny, and I don’t appreciate that much. “Best Of” compilations always bother me, especially in short run shows. Just release the whole set; the fans will pick it up, and the show can be properly assessed. But beggars can’t be choosers I guess, and what is included here is quite funny. If you like Monty Python or SNL, this is worth a spin. I’ve watched it through several times already. Much giggling has commenced.
The Bottom Line
Not The 9 O’Clock News is absolutely brilliant comedy. Anyone who likes British humor will love it unconditionally. A&E (or perhaps I should blame the BBC) really dropped the ball on this release though. With no show-related bonus features it’s hard for any newcomers to understand the cultural impact that the show had, as there is no context to place it in. I’m sure they could brought together some of the cast for a retrospective piece and, if they couldn’t do that, they could have at least made an attempt to release the complete series instead of this “best of.” As it stands, everything I know about this show came from Wikipedia (I hadn’t heard of the show before this DVD) and while I am glad I found some info somewhere, I think that this set should have done that job for me. Although, I admit Ido owe A&E a good deal of gratitude for introducing me to it to begin with.
Great little program, horrible disc execution. A&E usually does great releases; I hope a definitive release of this show somehow makes it into my possession. This certainly isn’t it though. A glorious missed opportunity.
