The Best of the Steve Harvey Show, Vol. 1

Steve Harvey and Cedric the Entertainer may be two of the hottest comedians working today, but you'd never know it from this tired showcase. Continuing in the long, undistinguished tradition of TV shows built around "personalities," Harvey (starring as "Steve") and Cedric (as "Cedric") are teachers at a pretend-tough urban high school, where the major crimes are the theft of homework and the double booking of dates on Saturday night. This disc contains the five highest-rated shows of the series' 1996-2002 run, including "That's My Mama," whose inclusion is apparently due to the guest appearance by The Jeffersons' Isabel Sanford, and "My Whole Left Side," featuring Cedric in drag, which is about the height and the depth that the comedy reaches here. Typical sitcom shenanigans abound: interfering mothers, romantic idiocy, clashes with coworkers, and hideous plaid jackets, while the laugh track gets progressively louder and more obnoxious as the jokes get worse. Scariest of all, though, is the "Vol. 1" in the title. Not recommended. (M. Johanson)