After Sonny and Cher ended their personal and professional partnership, she struck out on her own. This nine-disc set begins at the beginning, covering television shows, concert specials, and talk show interviews. The first four discs feature 10 of the 28 episodes that aired as part of CBS's George Schlatter-produced Sunday night variety show Cher (1975-1976), including the pilot with Elton John and Bette Midler. It seems likely that the missing episodes are due to music rights issues, so the set lacks a few of her more notable guests, like David Bowie (this is also true of the deluxe 18-disc version). In one of several bonus interviews, Cher's costume designer Bob Mackie enthuses that he got along so well with John, Midler, and fellow guest Tina Turner, that he would go on to design their stage outfits, too. The show's format resembles The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour in which sketches alternate with musical performances.
Though she would distinguish herself as a dramatic actress in movies like 1983's Silkwood, Cher always had a flair for comedy. If some sketches fall flat, inconsistent writing bears the brunt of the blame. It also helped when she collaborated with experienced comedians, like Carol Burnett and frequent guest star Teri Garr. Mackie adds that because Carol and Cher had similar measurements, the wardrobe department often rented costumes from The Carol Burnett Show for sketches.
After the series ended, Cher did two high-concept specials, ABC's 1978 Cher…Special and NBC's 1979 Cher… and Other Fantasies. The former features a battle for her soul between Dolly Parton and the Tubes, while the latter features Elliot Gould as a Wizard of Oz-like sign painter to her adult Dorothy. Neither look like Lewis Carroll characters, but the storyline follows a similar trajectory. The other full-length entries include two concert specials from her residency period, CBS's 1990 pop-metal extravaganza filled with black leather and guitar solos, "Cher… at the Mirage," and HBO's more wide-ranging 1999 MGM Grand affair ("Cher: Live in Concert from Las Vegas") showcasing her oldest and newest material, from 1971's "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves" to 1998's Auto-Tune dance hit, "Believe."
The set concludes with Lifetime's 2013 documentary, Dear Mom, Love Cher, a profile of actress and singer Georgia Holt featuring Cher and her half-sister, Georganne Walker. If neither relation hit the same career heights, they come across as a close-knit, supportive clan. Cher's sons, Chaz (with Sonny Bono) and Elijah (with her second husband, Gregg Allman) also appear to sing their grandmother's praises. Extra features offer interviews with George Schlatter and Lily Tomlin, along with Cher's talk-show appearances on The Dick Cavett Show, Dina's Place, and The Late, Late Show with James Corden, circa the 2018 launch of her jukebox musical, The Cher Show. The set comes complete with her soaring rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner" at the 1999 Super Bowl and a booklet of Bob Mackie's costume sketches. Highly recommended.