During the 1950s and early 1960s, Ernie Kovacs stood out from his comedy peers who approached television with a vaudeville and Borscht Belt vibe. Kovacs\u2019 ingenious use of visual sight sags and off-kilter sound effects created a new school of small-screen comedy, and his gallery of brilliantly warped characters \u2013 including the mincing poet Percy Dovetonsils, the hostile Hungarian cook Miklos Molnar and the musically violent derby-hatted simians of The Nairobi Trio \u2013 brought a subversive sense of humor to a comedy scene that was often a little too safe for its own good.
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In anticipation of next year\u2019s 100th anniversary of Kovacs\u2019 birth, Shout Factory has released a nine-disc, 22-hour collection of Kovacs\u2019 television output. Much of the material was previously released in different anthologies, but compiling his work in this output offers a fascinating study of how his style developed. For starters, Kovacs\u2019 early work on daytime television before a live audience offers a fascinating hit-and-miss evolution of his comedy, with the droll Kovacs gamely pushing ahead when the audience responded in a less-than-boisterous manner. Also of interest is a rare surviving color episode from his 1955 NBC prime time series \u2013 the color is a bit faded and the picture may not be pristine, but it is extraordinary to see how readily Kovacs embraced this early foray into color broadcasting.<\/p>\n
For those who are not familiar with Kovacs and those who need to be reminded of his genius, this DVD offering is an ideal tribute to a true original.<\/p>\n