Review of Saturday Live: Best of Series 1

Introduction

Saturday, S-S-Saturday. Live.

Just a few seconds of Paul Hardcastle`s opening theme music plops you slap bang into the middle of the 1980s. 1985 to be precise, which is when this first series hit our screens, followed by a few more series, including a mutation into Friday Night Live.

The brainchild of Paul Jackson (Red, Dwarf, The Young Ones and more classic comedies) it was heavily based on the format of American show Saturday Night Live, which had been running for years at this point. The "alternative comedy" scene was at its height around this time, and Saturday Live was riding on the crest of this wave.

Saturday Live is probably most famous for launching the careers of Harry Enfield, whose Stavros, Loadsamoney and Buggerallmoney characters first arrived here, and Ben Elton (who had already found acclaim as a comedy writer). Loadsamoney is still seen as the epitome of Thatcher`s 1980s Britain, and Elton`s shiny suits and Mrs Thatch rants are also famous 1980s moments.

Featured on this disc are Ben Elton, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson (appearing as The Dangerous Brothers), Harry Enfield, French & Saunders, Fry & Laurie, Pamela Stephenson, Peter Cook and many more.

Video

A standard full frame transfer of a typical piece of 1980s studio television. Sadly time has not dulled the shiny suits of Ben Elton or his giant comedy spectacles!

Audio

A DD2.0 stereo transfer, which is the original mono replayed over both channels. Nothing special, but nothing wrong with it.

Features

Sadly nothing, but I can`t really imagine what extras there would be apart from commissioning some interviews with some of the artists.

Conclusion

I absolutely loved Saturday Live. I can still remember watching it and memorising the Stavros routines. It was the perfect antidote to some of the dreary 1980s comedies like Last of the Summer Wine. Exciting new talent (Enfield, Fry & Laurie) mixed with legends like Peter Cook to create a zany live show. I`ve been waiting for a DVD for years, as my memory is not what it was.

You should watch this and remember that Harry Enfield used to be funny. If you`ve only ever seen "Ruddy Hell It`s Harry & Paul" you`d never imagine that Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse can write comedy, but Stavros was a great character. Fry & Laurie went on to get several series of sketch shows at the BBC, French & Saunders still have them.

My only complaint is that there isn`t enough Stavros on this best of compilation, but your mileage may vary. It may contain plenty of your favourite acts from the show. If you love 1980s comedy, you`ll love this. If you loved the show, you`ll love this. So go and buy it and hopefully we`ll get series 2 soon!