Robin Williams: Comic Genius

Shazbot. Reality…what a concept. Mr. Happy. Robin Williams (1951-2014) truly was a comic genius, who introduced new words and phrases (not to mention beloved characters) into the pop culture lexicon. This mammoth 22-disc set serves up a whole lotta Robin—over 50 hours worth—including all five of his HBO specials, 11 episodes from his hit comedy series Mork & Mindy, a never-before-released MGM Grand Garden Arena performance, the best of his late-night appearances (Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!), numerous awards speeches, overseas USO performances, and much more. Perhaps the best place for viewers to start is with Marina Zenovich’s fine 2018 HBO-aired documentary Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind, which traces Williams’s career—from his early standup work in San Francisco, to his breakout role as an alien in Mork & Mindy, up through his early HBO specials (in which Middle America discovered that Mork had a decidedly blue tongue), and his impressive film work (Dead Poets Society, Awakenings, Mrs. Doubtfire)—while also chronicling the ups and downs of his personal life: marriages, children, drug and alcohol addictions, and friendships (especially with Billy Crystal). While some of the comedy shows and bits collected here feature some repetition and suffer from dated material, what comes through loud and clear is Williams’s incredible talent: no one had a more lightning-fast mind or one that could produce such brilliant associations. President Obama summed up his impact very nicely: "He arrived in our lives as an alien—but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit." Also featuring interviews with family members and comedy associates, as well as a color booklet, this is highly recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)