BUFFALO BILL (THE COMPLETE FIRST AND SECOND SEASONS)
This DVD compilation has a bad title, for two misleading reasons. One is that Jay Tarses’ bold NBC comedy lasted only two seasons, in 1983-84, so it might as well have been called Buffalo Bill: The Complete Series. Except, because of expensive music rights leading to the omission of a key scene in one of the most memorable episodes, this collection isn’t complete at all. Dabney Coleman plays the abrasive host of a TV talk show – providing the brilliant template for Garry Shandling and The Larry Sanders Show to follow – and in one scene, he sings a caustic “Hit the Road, Jack” in a show about firing a minority employee. In this DVD set, that show-stopping number is replaced by a more literal show-stopper: a written apology for its exclusion. Oh, well. Maybe next time. Meanwhile, this set does include the roomful of Jerry Lewis imitators – including a very young Jim Carrey – and other characters and situations that make this one of the most audacious and unapologetically trailblazing sitcoms of its time. Joanna Cassidy, Max Wright, Geena Davis and Charles Robinson co-star. –David Bianculli