Laugh-In was created by Digby Wolfe with George Schlatter and Ed Friendly as executive producers. The NBC show premiered on January 22, 1968 and was an instant hit, and considered at that time as "happening." It's Second Season began on September 16, 1968. The show would run for five seasons and end on May 14, 1973, after having completed 124 episodes. Laugh-In consisted of a variety of comedy including one-liners, schtick, sarcastic quips, satire of the times, sketch comedy, and cameo appearances. You Bet Your Sweet Bippy and catch-phrases such as Sock It to Me, Here Comes the Judge, Beautiful Downtown Burbank, and Look That Up in Your Funk & Wagnall's became familiar to the public. Politics were not off-limits, and commentary would be directed at corporations, politicians, the Vietnam War, and popular social issues. The show was a springboard for fame and entertainment careers, and became an innovative leader for future comedy shows.
Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In: The Complete Second Season rocked its television audience with the appearance of its first presidential candidate Richard Nixon in the Sock It to Me segment. This season once again has all of your favorite segments such as Sock It To Me; the Cocktail Party; Fickle Finger of Fate; Robot Theater; News of the Past, Present and Future; Here Comes the Judge; The News that Isn't the News with its News Girls; the sexy Body Painted Girls; Gladys Ormphby and Tyrone F. Horneigh; Mod, Mod World; the Joke Wall; Stranger Than Truth; Look It Up in Your Funk & Wagnall's; Big Al's Sports News; the Lone Ranger; Laugh-In Gets an Emmy; the Judy Wind-Up Doll; Blue Maxie; Very Interesting; Henry's Poetry; Goldie's Mistakes; Playboy Bunnies; Jo Anne's songs, plus so many others that you'll remember.
The Bonus features of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In: The Complete Second Season contain individual interviews with Dick Martin, Gary Owens, and Ruth Buzzi. There are also lighthearted salutes to higher education, machines, pollution, dancing class, police, the telephone company, the post office, and Raquel Welch. Sammy Davis Jr. is incredibly funny in Here Comes the Judge, while Tiny Tim sings and explores Beautiful Downtown Burbank. Skits also include Gladys and Tyrone on the Park Bench, plus an Ode to Walnettos, Rosmenko (Arte Johnson) duets in Russian with brother Bobby Darin, and of course, there's the classic long-running features running throughout the series.
Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In: The Complete Second Season contains 26 episodes on seven discs. The entertainment consisted of the an abundance of Guest Stars that are included below: Eve Arden, Barbara Bain, Billy Barnes, Chris Bearde, Jack Benny, Victor Borge, Mel Brooks, Johnny Carson, Rosemary Clooney, Perry Como, Joseph Cotton, Robert Culp, Tony Curtis, Arlene Dahl, Bill Dana, Bobby Daren, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jimmy Dean, Phyllis Diller, James Drury, Kirk Douglas, Nanette Fabray, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Peter Falk, Barbara Feldon, James Garner, Greer Garson, Mitzi Gaynor, George Gobel, Frank Gorshin, George Jessel, Rev. Billy Graham, Dick Gregory, Phil Harris, Laurence Harvey, Hugh Hefner, Lena Horne, George Jessel, Davy Jones, Rock Hudson, Werner Klemperer, George Kirby, Abbe Lane, Martin Landau, Murray Langston, Peter Lawford, Rich Little, Brothers LeGarde, Samantha Lloyd, Gina Lollobrigida, Guy Lombardo, Liberace, Marcel Marceau, Doug McClure, Ann Miller, Garry Moore, Greg Morris, Bob Newhart, Richard Nixon, France Nuyen, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Jack Lemmon, Otto Preminger, Vincent Price, Janos Prohaska, Don Rickles, Cliff Robertson, Nipsey Russell, Colonel Sanders, George Schlatter, Rod Serling, Connie Stevens, Nancy Sinatra, Kate Smith, The Smothers Brothers, Tiny Tim, Forrest Tucker, Sonny Tufts, Robert Wagner, Arthur Walsh, John Wayne, Michael Wayne, Wiere Brothers, Flip Wilson, Paul Winchel, Shelley Winters, Carol Worthington, and Henny Youngman.
Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In: The Complete Second Season is a perfect capsule of the hip generation of the 60's and 70's with talented writers, comedians, and top celebrity appearances. The rapid-fire comedy series was directed at social, personal, racial, political and moral subjects that had never before been attempted on prime time television. However, it did have an abundance of sexist and racist jokes that would never be able to pass the social conscience of today. Due to some of the mature content, parents should definitely be cautioned of the racy humor, sexual content, and some comments of pot in this series. Even so, Laugh-In has its place in history with its whimsical and satirical comedy pointed at the social and sexual revolution of the late 60's, and if you love classic sketch comedy TV, you should definitely add this DVD to your library.
