Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

happipuppi13 If you think that Jerry Seinfeld was the first man ever to play a comedic,alter-ego version of himself on TV...you'd be wrong of course. That slice of genius was originally served up to us by Mr. Jack Benny and cast. Not just on TV from 1950 to 1965 but on his radio show that ran for over 20 years,starting in 1932. I noticed there had not been a review here since 2013,so I thought a new perspective was needed. I know most here are happy to see that Mr. Benny's show is on ME-TV and has been restored to almost a near perfection. ME-TV is the kind of home this show deserves,a network that truly cares about classic television. This,coming after years of cable TV hogging our favorite programs to themselves. (An inconvenience to those of us who don't wish to have cable/satellite etc.) But....Along with the re-runs,I also watched a few on a low-budget DVD set that had 4 discs w/ about 11 shows each. (Some are not this program but are a newsreel,a short subject & an episode of Bing Crosby's Show. If you come across this set,be forewarned,the films are straight off VHS tape and are of poor quality.One thing's true here,the quality certainly didn't take away from the comedy. Jack,as we know,presents himself comically as a penny pincher,an egotist and a very demanding boss (to the point of almost being unreasonable.) Of course,everyone's in on the joke and Rochester,Mary,Dennis Day and Don Wilson & guests play it to the hilt. Especially pot-shots taken at Jack's expense. You think you're tuning in to a typical variety show but it's only the first step into the comedy Twilight Zone of Jack Benny's fictional world. Which for the 1950s,is something one could almost call "radical" & "unconventional". There's literally times when it seems all are trying to see how far they can push the envelope in the face of 1950s censors. The funniest 3 of all I've seen are :#1. Jack's Maxwell Is Stolen - A crazy look into the Beverly Hills Police Dept. #2. Jack & Bob Hope in a manic "In the jungle & captured by cannibals" sketch. (With the 2 breaking up on live TV,through almost every moment of it. #3. Jack can't sleep and decides to play the violin in the middle of the night,waking up most of Beverly Hills & southern California to boot.One thing that's also great is that yes,Rochester is Jack's butler but he's also his friend. While not stated out loud,it came through loud and clear to me in the 1961 New Year's Eve episode where (*Spoiler*) in the end,Rochester ends up staying home with him,so he wont be alone at midnight. Given the racial feelings at the time,it's great to see Rochester living so freely,as if there's no such thing as racism. Benny & he mix words sometimes,but it's never about his color. The only thing that's off putting, is the cigarette advertisements. Not just the separate ones but the one's that are slipped into the entertainment. This and jokes about Don Wilson's weight and a somewhat disturbing hillbilly sketch,where Jack's hill character points to a 9 year old girl and says,"This is my wife". (Commentary on the age girls from the hills,sometimes,wed then.)But...don't let the politically incorrect things ruin your enjoyment of the show. That's what the times were 50 to 60 years ago.That's my only reason for taking one point away,otherwise it would surely be ten stars all the way. What do think Jack? - "WELL!" > (END)

John T. Ryan Jack Benny brought his long standing and carefully developed world to television following a long and highly successful run on the Radio Networks. Between 1932 and 1955, Benny & Company campaigned in the Laugh Wars under various banners such as 'The Grape Nuts Show', 'The Canada Dry Show', 'The Jello Show' and The Lucky Strike Program'. These were indeed the days of very strong sponsor identification; and indeed the various commercial establishments did indeed "own" the various air-time slots that carried whatever program that pleased the company suits. It was a prime example of Capitali$m or Free Enterpri$e, if you will, flexing its 'evil' muscle, throwing a collective tantrum and having its own way with the Airwaves and the American Peoples.* Mr. Benny and his troupe of repertory supporting players spent that 1932-55 Radio Period bouncing back and forth between the NBC and CBS Networks. His regulars included Announcer Don Wilson, Band Leader Phil Harris, Singer Dennis Day, Girlfriend Mary Livingstone (the real life Mrs. Benny), Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, multi-voiced talent Mel Blanc, "Yessssssss Man" Frank Nelson, Dialectician Supreme Benny Rubin and others. They all had been assembled one by one as they appeared on the show only to become regulars or recurring players portraying any one of many various characters as called for by the stories.Once on TV the various sponsor named shows' titles were jettisoned for good. From then on it was THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM (1950-65, CBS until '64, the last season of 1964-65 on NBC). After that, Jack and the gang did a number of hour long specials on NBC, such as the aptly titled "Jack Benny's 40th Birthday" (1969). One very important part of the Jack Benny comedic persona and central to his supposedly being given to major bouts of vanity is his ever claiming to be 39 years old.Although we always think of Jack as having a fine comedy-variety show in the same tradition as Sid Caesar, Jackie Gleason, Bob Hope, Red Skelton, Danny Kay, Carol Burnet and even Tom & Dick Smothers; it was that and something else too. Jack's show was highly complex and hence was not all so easily classified. Read on, Schultz! In a typical season of THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM featured two different sorts of half hours. The first was In Studio, On Stage, with a Studio Audience and done at first truly "Live" then later (after 1958) via the wonders of Video Tape. As far as we can tell, Jack did maybe a half-dozen of these per season; yet they are the ones that have made the most lasting affect to our collective memory.The second type was filmed episodes that went far beyond the stage; often getting us glimpses of what Jack's life was in the "real" world. These often began at the Stage during a fictional presentation of the Show; but followed the action after the "Show's" conclusion; or began at Jack's home and followed the storyline in such subjects as "The Beverly Hills Beavers" (Jack's kids' club.) or the Jack Benny Fan Club, which was composed of Females who were as enthusiastic as any of Elvis' followers; albeit not as youthful.But there was one thing that all of Jack's shows had and that is plenty of laughs. Jack was obviously very unselfish and not at all a vain man as his miserly character; his famous cheapness being another comical invention. Mr. Benny didn't care who got the laughs as long as there were laughs. He very often made himself the object of the joke; and in doing so, established all of his regulars as first rate comedians in their own right.And any installment of THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM was masterfully constructed. The slow, deliberate pacing was an outgrowth of the Great Comedian's own Stage Personality. The jokes in the monologue always fit him like a well tailored suit. The gags were always slowly and meticulously developed and milked for all they were worth. And, most usually, a gag introduced early in the proceedings would be referred to once again later; often time being the shows ultimate "punch line." All of this seemingly simple formula did was to make Jack Benny a household word for two separate and distinct generational types. The first being on the Radio with the children of The Great Depression-World War II Generation and of their kids in the Post War Baby Boomer period via the magic of Television. **NOTE: * C'mon, Schultz, I was just funnin' ya! Whatever our complaints about the price of this or the cost of that, our way sure beats any Socialist way of having the State owned Television deciding what we're to view and hence think. Can you say "PBS" or "NPR"? NOTE ** We haven't even mentioned Jack's Film career. And just remember, NONE of his movies were as bad as he always makes us believe that THE HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT (Warner Brothers, 1945) was. It was just another example of the now famous Jack Benny self deprecation.POODLE SCHNITZ!!

dantiger02 To me "The Jack Benny Show" was a classic and the man himself a genius. Hewas the absolute king of timing. He would always start a skit so optimistic and calm.. Then little by little his innocent world would begin to unravel. Lines that were not really funny became classic such as "Oh Rochester, oh Rochester?His dates with Mary were a favorite of mine. He was so well intentioned andseemed to always loose control of the situation. I am so sad that great shows like this are not there for my son andgrandchildren. I can not imagine growing up without "Laurel and Hardy" or "The Little Rascles." Who owns these shows and how dare they not make themavailable to a world that so badly needs laughter?

Kalaman I have to disagree with the other user who said Jack Benny blew. What? Benny is a comic genius and one of the funniest comedians ever. I saw his classic TV show, "The Jack Benny Program", last night and I must admit I loved it, it is very, very funny. Keep in mind this is early 50s TV variety show and yet it is still hilarious. Jack brings back his radio performers to perform his comic acts and sketches. It was awesome! I will be watching it again.