It`S Gary Shandling`S Show: Series 1 (DVD)

Before the internet, before reality TV, what television series could be more humorous and with more vision than It's Garry Shandling's Show. In 1986 Garry Shandling was poised to become a permanent guest host on Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show. Instead he took a chance of an offer from fledgling network Showtime to create his own television series. The show was a surreal look at the daily life of a young single man who is a comedian. It's Garry Shandling's Show 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. Experimenting with the sitcom form meant inviting the audience onto the set, playing with the passage of time (it's now two weeks later) and generally exploding the genre and making art of the debris. Teaming up with Saturday Night Lives Alan Zweibel, Shandling 'put on a fourth grade play' every week for four seasons. With a crew of talented young writers including Tom Gammill. Max Pross, Al Jean, Michael Reiss and David Mirkin, who would go onto to Seinfield and The Simpsons and Ed Solomon who wrote Men In Black, television history was made. Over the years, guest stars (playing themselves) included Tom Petty, Rob Reiner, Vanna White, Red Buttons, Dan Akroyd, Martin Mull, Gilda Radner (in her last TV performance), Carl Reiner, Chevy Chase, Jeff Goldblum, Don Cornelius, The Turtles and many more. From its unforgettable theme song to its closing credits, It's Garry Shandling's Show was award winning, mind bending television for 4 seasons and its influence is clearly seen in the best TV comedies through the decades to follow Enjoy all 16 episodes from the first of four seasons of this much loved classic now on DVD.

All 16 full length episodes x 25mins
Commentaries on 5 episodes
'Getting There' The road to the show
Television parts-sketches: 'Garry dates Miss Maryland' and ' Garry's Car'
Information booklet
Outtakes