User Reviews

The first ep of season six of "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" begins with a bunch of comely young girls dressed as cheerleaders doing their thing with Gary Owens then introing the returning cast members before then mentioning the newbies as they all come on stage. And for the first time since the first season, the audience and cameras are in full view on the show. Dan & Dick then bring the first guest who's John Wayne. Wayne seems really glad to be there though on some occasions, he pretends he's not like when he later comes on stage in a bunny suit! Jill St. John also returns in a running skit about a singles club. Boy, was she as hot as ever! As always, Ruth Buzzi does her Gladys and Lily Tomlin does her Ernestine and Edith Ann. The only ones of the new cast I recognized were Willie Tyler and Lester who I first saw on some Lola Falana specials when a kid of the mid '70s. They were pretty funny with what I saw so far. Also appearing were Isaac Hayes commenting on his Shaft fame as well as on some political matters and Wilt Chamberlain. Also appearing were Army Archerd whose comment on Barbra Streisand and Phyllis Diller wasn't funny and Frank Welker, perhaps best known as the voice of Fred Jones on the Scooby Doo cartoons, doing a funny bit as Donald Duck singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"! One more thing, Kent McCord and Martin Milner reprise their "Adam-12" cop roles on the show that they also did the previous season. This was a pretty enjoyable start for the new season. By the way, it seems during the Joke Wall sequence, the doors are now already opened before the cast tells their jokes and they stay that way during the closing credits. I watched this on Roku which I got a free subscription from so now I'll review the rest of the season like I had hoped to when I finished the fifth one on DVD just a couple of days ago...

I'm surprised to see Decades is airing the final season of Laugh-In (72/73). From what I have heard, the creator of the show George Schlater held the rights to the final season. He was so displeased with how the final season went, that he held the copy write and refused it to be shown. About 13 years ago, a Canadian network call Trio aired some of the early episodes. It appears that Decades has acquired the full catalog of show completely re-mastered in digital format.

As far as the quality of the show goes, it's hard to watch these last episodes. Aside from Ruth Buzzi, the whole cast has changed and not for the better. Seasons 4 & 5 were still okay with some interesting guests like William F. Buckley, and Truman Capote. You could tell the show was reaching and starting to become a parody of itself. I think that when Arte Johnson left the show at the end of season 4 (70/71), it was never the same and may have been a good point to end it.

The season debut of Laugh-In for 1972-73 went off to an interesting start with what was essentially a football-style kickoff with Gary Owens announcing a new cast, as well as the returning regulars.

Two things stand out: The new cast and, for the first time since Season 1, a view of the audience. And for the first time, we get to see the audience participate in the show.

The problem is that the cast changeover is so extensive that there's no real sense of continuity. Sure, we have Ruth Buzzi and Lily Tomlin, but it would have helped to have had a few more veterans to lend some continuity. But maybe the other problem was that the show was showing its age, and devolving into a pseudo-Bob Hope comedy show. And the times were changing.

But the episode also has its hits. It has a great lineup of guest stars, starting with John Wayne, who is given quite a bit to do. Same with Jill St. John, who isn't a talking head in this episode, but actually has some fun moments. And we get to see the cops of Adam-12 get to crack up as they blow take after take! Finally, the dancing girls are real eye candy.

Overall, it's hit or miss, and a far cry from early 1968.