The David Steinberg Show

Although he works today primarily as a TV director, back in the 1970s David Steinberg was a pretty hot commodity, initially as a comedian but later as a talk-show host. He employed both skills in The David Steinberg Show, an innovative series that ran on Canadian TV in 1976, utilizing the then-novel show-within-a-show format that years later had critics fawning over Garry Shandling's unabashedly imitative The Larry Sanders Show. Steinberg played himself, an amiable host whose popular program attracted an assortment of eccentric regulars in addition to big-name stars. The goofball guests included flamboyant lounge singer Johnny Del Bravo (played by Martin Short), hippie musician Spider Reichman (John Candy), and gas-station-attendant-turned-actor Kirk Dirkwood (Joe Flaherty). The off-stage antics were very nearly as hysterical, with deli owner Vinnie DeMilo (Bill Saluga) contributing to the mirthful mayhem, and Dave Thomas and Andrea Martin popping up in colorful characterizations. Steinberg let his regulars—all gifted improvisational comics—grab most of the laughs, and his bona fide celebrity guests were clever enough to play along. In the 21 half-hour episodes collected in this boxed set, you'll see ‘70s A-listers Jon Voight, Milton Berle, Ed McMahon, Tom Smothers, Robert Vaughn, and Adrienne Barbeau, among others. It's no accident that Steinberg's regulars all wound up on the similarly groundbreaking SCTV comedy show, another Canadian import that wowed American viewers and made its cast members marketable Hollywood stars. Nearly 30 years later, the extent to which this series influenced TV comedy remains almost incalculable. DVD extras include a half-hour interview with Steinberg. Highly recommended. (E. Hulse)