Before the Internet and before reality TV there was It’s Garry Shandling’s Show. The series was a surreal look at the daily life of a young single man who also happens to be a comedian. This was not a typical sitcom. Shandling would break the ‘fourth wall’ to include the studio audience and the viewers at home in on the actual making of the show...

For those who were living in a cave in the late '80s / early '90s, the It's Garry Shandling's Show starred stand up comic Garry Shandling as the host of his own comedy series in which he regularly interacted with his TV audience and talked directly into the camera to the viewers at home, letting them in on some of the magic of making a television show. This was groundbreaking television as far as sit-coms were concerned. The show ran for four seasons (from 1986 to 1990) and continued to improve upon and experiment with the formula.

The history to the show? Well, in 1986 Garry Shandling was due to become a permanent guest host on Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show. However, instead he decided to risk his career on an offer from the relatively small network Showtime, which wanted him to create his own television series.

The first episode starts with Shandling moving into his new apartment. We are soon introduced to his neighbour, long time platonic friend Nancy (Molly Creek) and his best friend Pete Schumacher (Michael Tucci) and Pete's son and wife (Scott Nemes and Bernadette Birkett). Over the series we're also introduced to other show regulars including his mother (Barbara Cason) and the head of the condominium committee, Leonard Smith (Paul Willson), who will do anything to get on the TV.

The first couple of episodes are a little shaky as the cast and crew try to find their footing. It's also obvious that the studio audience are a little unsure as to what to make of it - remember this was a ground breaking format that Shandling was trying his hand at. But it soon finds its feet and once it does there's no stopping the writers from exploring new material.

Highlights in this season include:

The Graduate, in which Garry is seduced by a friend of his mother's. This episode pays homage to the movie The Graduate and even includes an appearance by Norman Fell, who has a cameo in the original movie.

It's Garry's Problem, But it's Jojo's Show, sees Garry entertaining a competition winner, who he's turned the show over to for the week. However more pressing issues develop and his guest spends most of the time off set watching the goings on from a monitor.

Garry Met a Girl Named Maria, in which Garry agrees to marry the studio cleaner so that she won't be deported.

The Morning After: Garry can't work out why no one will speak to him the night after a party.

Laffie: A spoof on the Lassie movies.

Force Boxman: The season finale in which Garry reveals he is quitting the show in order to play a cop in another show called Force Boxman. Brought in to replace Garry is Red Buttons, who soon wins the hearts of the other characters.

Extras include five audio commentaries; Outtakes for two episodes; Getting There - The Road to the Show (19 min, 10 sec interviews with creators Shandling and Alan Zweibel on their lives up to the point of working on the show); Television Parts - Garry Dates Miss Maryland (4 min, 19 sec sketch that was the genesis of the show); Garry Shandling's Car (5 min, 27 sec additional sketch that helped to cement the origins of the show).

The 16 episodes here are really an introduction to a series that would go on to much better things and it's certainly a collection worth owning.

8

Darren Rea