This brand-new DVD features the best bits from the multi-award
winning talk show featuring Graham Norton and many of his guests,
including Dustin Hoffman, Elton John, Cher, Orlando Bloom, Gillian
Anderson, and many many more (like 70 of them)! And that's not to
mention Graham's infamous web surfing, crank calling and
jaw-dropping audience chats.
CRITIQUE
This
is a pretty funny talk show! Much like Conan O'Brien's late night show
on NBC, Graham Norton likes to display a more outrageous and silly
attitude when conducting interviews, introducing skits, talking to the
audience, and so on. However, Norton is a completely different
character than O'Brien. He's gay, funny, and not afraid to talk about
anything. Norton's skits and questions are cool, and the way he
conducts interviews is simply very funny. Plus, there's no bleeping
out the words like "shit" or "fuck," and no subject matter appears to
be taboo, all of which immediately makes this talk show a cool and fun
experience. "So Graham Norton" covers uninhibited topics and adheres
to no specific format, although the show does follow a script;
introduction, Norton interviewing audience members, interviews, skits,
etc.
This
DVD presents "The Best of So Graham Norton," a two-hour special that
compiles memorable and very funny moments from the talk show, which
ran for a while on BCC Three. One of the funniest moments, I think, is
when Norton and Elton John talk to a guy on the phone who likes to
pleasure himself with a certain contraption (I won't go into specifics
here). You know, there's just too much funny stuff going on in this
two-hour special I can't even begin to list it. With all the funny
stuff going on, some interview bits aren't as funny as others. A few
bits in this special are harmless and only slightly amusing. However,
the balance of comedy and laughs is achieved very well, through
editing, for example, as well as a very good compilation of moments
from the show. In effect, this two-hour special show deserves a 9
rating.
THE VIDEO
BBC
presents So Graham Norton in 1.33:1 fullscreen format, the
show's original aspect ration. Video quality is perfectly fine without
any major flaws. It looks like TV, and that's good enough for me.
THE AUDIO
BBC
presents So Graham Norton in an English 2.0 soundtrack. Nothing
remarkable to speak of here, dialogue is easy to understand most of
the time. Music cues and some sound effects can be heard clearly,
although the sound of the audience is a bit off sometimes, mainly to
do with some noise. Optional English subtitles are included, which is
helpful.
THE EXTRAS
The
only extras here are interviews, one with Graham Norton,
who makes fun of things and is generally funny in his rather brief
discussion here, the other with audience member Betty, who
talks a little about the show. That's it, and frankly I didn't expect
anything more.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If
you like funny talk shows and/or see celebrities get embarrassed, do
odd things, or get surprised, "The Best of So Graham Norton" comes
highly recommended. Host Graham Norton is a riot, and he now tapes
"The Graham Norton Effect" in New York for Comedy Central, the US
version of "So Graham Norton," although I can tell you the original
talk show is better (most notably the 2-hour special). At any rate,
the DVD edition presents a good quality. If you like to laugh,
definitely check out this DVD.
