What is it? The Hee Haw Collection, five episodes on three discs from Time Life
When? Tuesday
How much? $39.95
What's the story? There is no story. Or, I should say, there is no plot. Hee Haw was a variety show.
See, it all started on CBS way back in 1969 as a sort of rural version of the hit Laugh-In. You know the sort of thing: jokes, quick-cut comedy bits, a pair of genial hosts (in this case Buck Owens and Roy Clark instead of Dan Rowan and Dick Martin).
But Hee Haw didn't have the edginess of its more sophisticated cousin. It also didn't have the emphasis on pop cultural and political references which, in a way, makes it less dated.
And when I say rural, I mean rural. Set in fictional Kornfield Kounty, Hee Haw amps the "country" factor to 11: more gingham, hound dogs and overalls than you've ever seen outside a Li'l Abner cartoon.
There were regular bits, like KORN News (a spoof of unsophisticated rural news reports), The Culhanes (a continuing soap opera parody about a family who seem to do nothing but sit on their sofa) and Pickin' and Grinnin' (Owens and Clark playing guitar and banjo while throwing out jokes and one-liners).
There's also a large cast of various ages, from kids all the way up to Grandpa Jones, and regular appearances by animated farm animals holding signs or otherwise reacting to whatever's happened on screen.
A significant portion of each episode is spent on music, performed either by cast members or by guest artists such as Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard and Hank Williams Jr. Occasionally one is treated to the utter absurdity of an animated kickline of bikini-clad pigs dancing across the screen while someone performs.
The show was a hit in its original run, but CBS canceled it in 1971 when it "de-countrified" its image. So, Hee Haw moved to syndication, where it continued to make new episodes up through 1992, making it one of the longest-running weekly syndicated TV series.
What's it like? Corny. Sometimes literally. One of the regular "bits" is cast members popping up and telling bad jokes in a corn field.
The whole series acts as both a send-up and an embracing of rural stereotypes. People who are fond of old-fashioned tall tales and jokes, classic country music and easy-going good-humored attitudes should be happy with it.
This set only has five episodes, most from the early CBS years, but it's a taste of what the show had to offer. It's not like it changed all that much over the years.
Are there bonus features? You bet. There's a 30-minute compilation of comedy bits over the years and seven interviews with former cast members.
New this week: Blue Bloods, Season 5; Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Season 2; The Goldbergs, Season 2; Gotham, Season 1; Haven, Season 5, Volume 1; Hill Street Blues, Season 6; Homeland, Season 4; Mr. Belvedere, Season 4; Supernatural, Season 10.
Next week: Aquarius, Season 1; The Big Bang Theory, Season 8; CSI, Season 15; CSI: Cyber, Season 1; Empire, Season 1; Family Guy, Season 13; Lost in Space, Complete Adventures (Blu-ray); Midsomer Murders, Seasons 16-17; NCIS, Season 12; The Returned, Complete Series; Sisters, Seasons 1-2; Sleepy Hollow, Season 2.
Style on 09/06/2015