It's Garry Shandling's Show to Come Out on DVD
Shout! Factory and Shandling to Release the Complete Series
Aug 12, 2009
Fans will be delighted to know that they'll soon be able to watch and rewatch the entire series, thanks to a new DVD set to be released on October 20th. Some would argue that Shandling was ahead of his time, given that his show was about a neurotic self-obsessed single comedian. Sound a bit like Seinfeld? But that isn't even what really made the show innovative.
Breaking the Fourth Wall
It was the sitcom that broke all the rules. For one thing, Shandling would always talk to the camera and the studio audience, a concept known in show business as breaking the fourth wall. Shandling brought this concept to a new level as he went so far as to involve the studio audience in many of the storylines. In doing so, he found a way to poke fun at the mundane nature of other TV shows.
In one hilarious scene, Shandling and his neighbour Pete Schumaker are sitting in a restaurant having a conversation when the two suddenly become upset with one another.
"If you're in a bad mood about work, don't take it out on me and my audience" Garry yells at Pete. "They've been here since 7 am."
The line generates cheers from the crowd.
"Oh! Oh!" Pete snaps back. "Oh pardon me, like they had something better to do all day right!"
Immediately following this remark, a whole bunch of bread rolls are hurled at Pete from off camera. Of course, there are two reasons why the scene is funny. Not only does it suggest that the studio audience was offended by the comment and decided to retaliate by throwing food but it also has the absurdity to imply that Garry brought the entire studio audience to the restaurant with him and that they were somehow able to order a meal.
And how about that opening theme song? Could you imagine any other show on TV that would have music and lyrics over the opening credits that go, "This is the theme to Garry's show... Garry called me up and asked if I would write his theme song."
Contrary to what some people believe, however, Shandling was not the first performer to break the fourth wall. Not only have earlier TV shows, such as Moonlighting, done it, but examples can be found as far back as the days of William Shakespeare. At the end of A Midsummer Night's Dream, there's a character who speaks directly to the audience and tells them to pretend that they disliked the play they just saw and that the entire production was only a dream.
But with It's Garry Shandling's Show, breaking the fourth was central to the whole series, while the concept in other TV shows was rarely ever used. What Shandling did wasn't just a case of breaking the fourth wall but rather ignoring it altogether.
Networks with Nothing to Lose, Put Something Different on the Air
It's Garry Shandling's Show had a uniqueness which enabled TV networks with nothing to lose, to put something different on the air. It originally aired from 1986 to 1990, on Showtime, which, as a premium network, was available only to viewers who were willing to pay extra. As a result, the audience was already on the hunt for alternatives to offerings from the big three networks.
Edited reruns of the show also began airing on Fox when that network was still relatively new and struggling to find content. If you're trying to visualize a timeline, the show's Fox debut in March of 1988 would have occurred about a month after the premiere of America's Most Wanted and well over a year and a half before the debut of The Simpsons, the show which put Fox on the map.
Garry Shandling's Career as a Comedian
Interestingly enough, It's Garry Shandling's Show was launched at a point when Shandling's career was already doing quite well. Not only had he been doing stand-up comedy since 1978, but he had also guest hosted The Tonight Show on a number of occasions. Eventually, he would get an offer to become permanent guest host, but according to The Musuem of Broadcast Communications, It's Garry Shandling's Show had already been on the air for a year by that point. Thanks to the early critical success of his new gig at Showtime, he decided to not pursue any offers from NBC.
As a result, some fans can't help but wonder if perhaps there's a parallel universe out there where Garry Shandling was the host of The Tonight Show up until 2009, and not Jay Leno. In any case, Shandling himself never really seemed interested in being a full-time talk show host. He also turned down an opportunity to host NBC's Late Night, when Letterman vacated that slot by moving to CBS.
Fortunately though, It's Garry Shandling's Show did help bring his career to new heights and eventually led him to star in another popular cable show, known for poking fun at television. HBO's The Larry Sanders Show was about a late night talk show host, played by Shandling, and provided a humorous behind the scenes perspective of a fake talk show, the entertainment industry and the people who work in it---a show right up his alley given his work experience with The Tonight Show.
What to Expect
The DVD box set will include 16 DVDs, featuring all 72 episodes. The people at Shout! Factory are promising "a payload of bonus content and much more – all collected in a lavish package" as well as plenty of extensive featurettes, commentaries and bloopers. Look for It's Garry Shandling Show, The Complete Series on October 20th.
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