TV Comedy

Family Guy: Blue Harvest kicked off the sixth season of the animated sitcom. The episode, the first hour long broadcast in the show's history, featured a nearly episode long spoof of Star Wars with each of the show's characters portraying one of the famous heroes or villains from George Lucas' revered science fiction film. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

It's time to clock in for Season Two of The Office, the hilarious and witty TV-mockumentary starring Steve Carell (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) in his Golden Globe Award-winning role. From sexual politics to performance reviews to email espionage, the employees at Dunder-Mifflin are there to get the job done…or not. Join earnest but clueless boss Michael Scott (Carell), Assistant to the Regional Manager Dwight (Rainn Wilson), receptionist Pam (Jenna Fischer), sales rep Jim (John Krasinski), and the office temp, Ryan (B.J. Novak), as they make the daily grind a lot more laughable. Fully staffed with 22 outrageous episodes and hours of side-splitting bonus features, it’s the must-own collection that caused Time magazine to declare "Never has a lousy job been so much fun."

The astonishing success of The Beverly Hillbillies enabled producer Paul Henning to pitch another "rural" sitcom to a most receptive CBS. Debuting September 24, 1963, Petticoat Junction (original title: Whistle Stop) was, in its first few seasons, a vehicle for Bea Benaderet, an old friend and colleague of Henning's since The Burns and Allen Show, and most recently seen as Cousin Pearl on Beverly Hillbillies. Benaderet was cast as Kate Douglas, the widowed owner of the Shady Rest, the only traveler's hotel in the Illinois farming community of Hooterville. Edgar Buchanan co-starred as Kate's uncle Joe Bradley, self-appointed manager of the hotel, who, when not hatching his latest get-rich-quick scheme, was figuring out new methods to expend as little energy as possible. Kate was the mother of three beautiful, curvaceous daughters: Betty Jo (played through the series' run by Paul Henning's daughter Linda Kaye Henning), Billie Jo (played during the first two seasons by Jeannine Riley, during season three by Gunilla Hutton, and from season four onward by Meredith Mac Rae), and Bobbie Jo (played by Patricia Woodell in seasons one and two, and by Lori Saunders thereafter). The town and hotel were connected (more or less) to the outside world by the Hooterville Cannonball, the last and oldest steam engine in the C.F.&W. railroad line, run by engineers Charlie Pratt (Smiley Burnette) and Floyd Smoot (Rufe Davis). Other Hooterville residents over the years included storekeeper Sam Drucker (Frank Cady), town gossip Selma Plout (Virginia Sale, then Elvia Allman) and her gangly daughter Henrietta (Susan Walther, then Lynette Winter), barber Bert Smedley (Paul Hartman), and train conductor Wendell Gibbs (Byron Foulger). The most omnipresent of the recurring characters was Charles Lane as Homer Bedloe, the delightfully flint-hearted vice president of the C.F.&W., who never tired of hatching sinister schemes to put the antiquated Hooterville Cannonball out of business.
After two black-and-white seasons, the series switched to color for season three in 1965, the same year that Petticoat Junction's spinoff series Green Acres made its CBS debut. Thereafter, the casts of the two series made innumerable crossover appearances, with Petticoat Junction's Frank Cady and Green Acres co-stars Tom Lester (as handyman Eb Lawson) and Kay E. Kuter (as farmer Newt Kiley) virtually becoming regulars on both shows. At the beginning of season four, Mike Minor joined the cast as Steve Elliott, a pilot whose plane had crashed just outside the Shady Rest. After a lengthy courtship, Steve married Kate's oldest daughter Betty Jo -- just as actors Mike Minor and Linda Kaye became husband and wife in real life. In addition to the aforementioned turnover in the actresses playing Billie Jo and Bobbie Jo, there were several other cast changes and dropouts during Petticoat Junction's eight seasons. Sadly, two of these were dictated by mortality: supporting player Smiley Burnette died in 1967, and series star Bea Benaderet passed away at the beginning of the 1968-1969 season (upon Kate Bradley's departure, Uncle Joe assumed ownership of the Shady Rest). In the course of the same season, June Lockhart joined the cast as lady doctor Janet Craig, who had arrived in Hooterville to replace retiring town physician Dr. Barton Stuart (Regis Toomey). The producers had hoped that same rapport which existed between Bea Benaderet and Edgar Buchanan would be replicated by Buchanan and Lockhart, but this was not to be. After 221 episodes, Petticoat Junction was canceled on September 12, 1970, the first casualty in CBS's drive to "de-ruralize" its network demographic and appeal to a more urban, sophisticated audience. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While many Americans are familiar with British comedian Benny Hill from his long-running Thames Television sketch comedy series (which was widely syndicated in the United States), few are aware that Hill starred in an earlier series for the BBC from 1964 to 1967. This video in the Benny Hill: The Lost Years series collects highlights from these early black-and-white episodes; here, Benny satirizes Shakespeare, plays a hapless newsman, impersonates the world's fastest filmmaker, and portrays a German folk dancer with lecherous appetites. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This animated NBC show's humor is centered around the eternal battle between God and Satan. In this incarnation, God is depicted as a laid-back aging hippie type (voice of James Garner) while Satan (voice of Alan Cumming) is slick, effete, and British. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Season one of Chappelle's Show is highlighted by one of star Dave Chappelle's most inspired character creations: Clayton Bigsby, a blind man who doesn't know he is black and has become a race-bashing member of the Ku Klux Klan! Also good for laughs are Dave's faux "outtakes" from the miniseries Roots; a dramatization of what will happen when blacks finally get all that "reparation" money; the bigoted viewpoints of Hollywood's biggest animal stars; a crack addict's anti-drug speech at a grade school; the time-traveling "Player Haters"; Dave's recurring feature "Great Moments in Hook-Up History"; and funky revisionist versions of Ghost, Pretty Woman, and The Matrix. Guest stars include comedian Chris Rock, talk show host Carson Daly, musical performers 50 Cent and Mos Def...and Stephen King (!?!?). ~ All Movie Guide

The British sitcom A Fine Romance aired for four seasons from 1981-1984 on London Weekend Television and has since been syndicated on PBS in the States. Judi Dench stars as Laura Dalton, a quirky independent woman who meets the equally eccentric Mike Selway, played by Dench's real-life husband Michael Williams. The mismatched pair is introduced by Laura's sister, Helen Dalton-Barker (Susan Penhaligon), and brother-in-law, Phil Barker (Richard Warwick). Laura and Mike humorously suffer through day-to-day turmoils, eventually finding romance. In 1984, Judi Dench won a BAFTA TV award for Best Light Entertainment Performance. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

After Season 2 concluded with GE exec Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) accepting a post with the Bush administration, Season 3 kicks off with his return to the company and swift climb back to his old post. At "The Girlie Show," hapless head writer Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) continues to wrangle her two biggest stars: Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), who makes contract negotiations -- and pretty much everything else -- more difficult for Liz, and Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski), who has shifted all her focus to preparing for a knockoff Janis Joplin biopic. Jack, meanwhile, is distracted by family issues throughout the season. In a parody of Mamma Mia!, paternity tests lead Jack to his long-lost father-liberal professor Milton Greene (Alan Alda), who just happens to be in need of a kidney transplant. And Jack's controlling mother, Colleen (Elaine Stritch), becomes even more of a burden after he "accidentally" backs over her with his car. The incident results in Jack's latest romance, as he falls for his mother's live-in nurse, the passionate Elisa (Salma Hayek), whose deep Catholic faith and devotion to her large Puerto Rican family frequently prove trying. Unlucky-in-love Liz thinks she's finally found the perfect man in handsome pediatrician Drew Baird (Jon Hamm). But she soon discovers Drew has been "living in the bubble," thinking the world revolves around him because he can always get by on his looks. Season 3 features the series' usual parade of guest stars, including Steve Martin as an eccentric businessman who woos Liz; Jennifer Aniston as Liz's college roommate, who develops a romantic obsession with Jack; and Harry Anderson, Markie Post, and Charlie Robinson, playing themselves in a Night Court reunion organized by Tracy to cheer up NBC page Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer). ~ All Movie Guide

Love and reinvention -- sometimes touching, other times cringe-worthy -- are major themes in Season 5 of the acclaimed mockumentary that perfectly captures the petty agonies and daily lunacies of corporate America. The first episode sets up story arcs that resonate throughout the season. Repressed party-committee peon Phyllis (Phyllis Smith) reveals her scheming side by blackmailing Angela (Angela Kinsey), whom Phyllis witnessed having an interpersonal encounter of the illicit kind with Dwight (Rainn Wilson) at Season 4's end. But it's the coveted party-planning power Phyllis desires, not money. She later uses her newfound authority to plan a Moroccan-themed holiday fete that she promises will not be "your grandmother's Christmas party...unless of course she's from Morocco." A not-so-humbled Ryan (B.J. Novak) returns to Dunder Mifflin as a temporary replacement for new art-school student Pam (Jenna Fischer), and later participates in an ill-conceived business venture by dunderhead boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell). A relationship develops between Michael and new human-resources associate Holly (Amy Ryan), possibly the only person in the world who doesn't think he's an idiot. Interfering with the budding romance, however, is the cold corporate machine that is Dunder Mifflin -- not to mention Michael's very pregnant (and, according to Oscar, "certifiably insane") ex-girlfriend Jan (Melora Hardin). There's also a few surprises concerning the relationship between Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam, and Idris Elba has a deliciously deadpan seven-episode arc as Michael's new boss, a no-nonsense manager who makes Jan look like a softy. ~ All Movie Guide

If you thought you'd seen the last of Robot Chicken: Star Wars, then brace yourself for the most hilarious sci-fi spoof this side of the universe. It's take-you-daughter-to-work day at the Galactic Empire, and the At-At races are about to get underway. The Ewoks have gone completely mad, and with a little luck, perhaps even Boba Fett will turn up for a surprise appearance. Seth Green takes the helm for a parody featuring the voices of Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher, Ahmed Best, Andy Richter, and more. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

All fourteen uncensored episodes from South Park's twelfth season are now available in this exclusive three-disc set. In this collection, South Park follows the new President-elect from his acceptance speech to his first official day of duty as Commander in Chief. The boys keep busy helping a pop-princess who's down on her luck, negotiating a truce for striking Canadians, and preventing giant rodents from destroying the world. For them, it's all part of growing up in South Park.

Returning for a fourth season (1978-79), the cast and writers of Saturday Night Live maintained their reputation for hilarious characters and innovative sketch-comedy, creating characters such as the Blues Brothers (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd), Nick the Lounge Singer (Bill Murray), Candy Slice (Gilda Radner), the Loud Family (Jane Curtin, Murray, and Radner), Fred Garvin: Male Prostitute (Aykroyd), and the Nerds (Murray and Radner). Other favorites include the return of iconic host Steve Martin (with Aykroyd as the "wild and crazy" Festrunk Brothers) and Buck Henry's inappropriate Uncle Roy. The 20 episodes of Season 4 feature classic performances from hosts Fred Willard, Carrie Fisher, Kate Jackson, Milton Berle, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Elliott Gould, Frank Zappa, Gary Busey, and Walter Matthau. Unforgettable musical guests include Peter Tosh, Mick Jagger, the Doobie Brothers, Bette Midler, Talking Heads, Devo, Van Morrison, Grateful Dead, Rickie Lee Jones, James Taylor, and the Rolling Stones.