The Best of Fridays

 The Best of Fridays is a 2013 issued 5 DVD set of material from the classic 1980 show.

There is much to enjoy with the late night, live from Los Angeles, sketch comedy program. The episodes offered on the DVD, all have outstanding moments, while a few are very solidly funny/compelling all through.

This show is basically a Saturday Night Live copy, except on Friday and the opposite coast, but it easily stands on it’s own and even exceeds the original. I preferred it over SNL. Of course Fridays was only on for 3 seasons, not long enough to get stale. And SNL, geez! It’s STILL ON?!?!?

It was really broadcast live from LA. It had a special cast in Michael Richards, Larry David, Melanie Chartoff, John Roarke, Brandis Kemp, Darrow Igus, Maryedith Burrell, Mark Blankfield, Jack Burns, Bruce Malher, and sometimes Rich Hall.
Franky I have a much warmer fan feeling about this cast than any of the Saturday Night cast configurations that I have seen (which is not all of them).

I saw these programs live when they were originally on. Much of it made a lasting impression with the stand out performances of Michael Richards, and Mark Blankfield in particular. Both of these two went to the edge and over with physical manifestation of recurring comedy characters. This physical work might just be what is key to make a real lasting impression on the mind of the viewer. In particular Mark Blankfields manic “Pharmacist”- (“Take a PILL!” “I can handle it, I can handle it.”) whirling around the set with the prop pill bottles flying here and there is unforgettable.
I remembered Michael Richards with his less manic but equally dangerous contained explosive feel of his performances as the narcissistic “Cool Guy”. He had a way of nervously moving which made the character feel kind of threatening and powerfully memorable even 40 years later. 
John Roarke had the ability to vanish from the show completely consumed in the celebrity imitations he performed including his Reagan imitation and a nicely done Woody Alan.

The women were not given as strong of characters to reenact as the men mentioned above, but it was a delight to see “Women Who Spit” on the DVD. As well as their secondary characters such as Melanie Chartoff’s “Little Sister” to Micheal Richards’s “Battle Boy”.
Melanie Chartoff is releasing an e-book of stories and essays in February 2021. I look forward to that. She had very dreamy eyes back then.   

The DVD contains 16 episodes plus some very interesting extra material. One of the extras is a sit down on-camera reunion with most of the cast in 2013 talking about the show that they all worked on 33 years before. This is a very enjoyable addition for fans of the show as the intelligent and creative cast reminisce and bring in backstage details on the classic show. William Shatner was a guest host in an episode included on the set. Michael Richards talks about how Shatner rehearsed. He doesn't really do the role until showtime, just reads flat.
The cast also mentions how they enjoyed hanging out with the bands that were on, particularly The Clash whose show is included on the DVD and is really good. 
There is also an extra that is an extensive reunion conversation with many of the writers. These reunion talks are really interesting to fans of the show plus provide a lot of insight into how a show like this is mounted and could work within commercial network constraints and local affiliate opposition to more edgy and political material. There are a lot of critical Ronald Reagan sketches on the show that got them knocked off of some affiliates in the south.

There is a good deal of talk about Andy Kaufman’s great “Fight scene” with the cast. A legendary TV moment from one of the best and most revolutionary comics ever. He has some excellent movement on the DVD besides the fight scene.

The trouble with these extras in the 5 DVD set is that they talk about episodes that are not included in the collection which stimulates interest the set can’t satisfy. For instance Michael Richards talks about Shelley Winters being guest host and we sure want to see that one.

I love Fridays. I wish they would put all of them within my access to watch again.