It's Garry Shandling's Show.

While not quite up to the quality of Shandling's later hit, "The Larry Sanders Show", this was also a very entertaining parody of television conventions. Shandling knew how to have fun with the idea of series television and this show never took itself too serious on the outside, but you could tell a lot of thought went into it behind the scenes. A unique blend of talk-show, sitcom & satire.

I have to start by saying I never had Showtime and don't remember ever seeing this show but somehow I knew every word to the theme song.That's a bit weird.Anyway, this is by far one of the best American sitcoms ever.The only show that even comes close is Seinfeld.Besides just being extremely funny, this show did lots of unique things that made it even better.First of all, they not only broke the fourth wall but it was a big part of the show.Garry did an opening monologue and was constantly explaining things to the audience.Not to mention that he frequently left the set.Another unique thing they did was make the kid actually be funny.On most sitcoms if the kids get to talk they are rarely funny.The kid on this show is hilarious every time he opens his mouth.I was worried about this show at first because Garry had the stereotypical 80s wacky friend who was a terrible character that didn't fit into the show.Luckily they rarely used him and he only lasted six episodes.One weird thing I noticed is that sick freak Ellen stole her delivery from Garry.If you listen to the show without watching you might actually think it is that sicko.But it would take a lot more than that to ruin this show.If you enjoy laughing, you must see this show.

I've just found out that the complete four seasons will be released on DVD on October 9, 2009. You can pre-order on amazon.com but not on amazon.co.uk. This news made my day. I can't say how much I love this show.

I remember watching this in the mid-80s when it was on UK TV. It was genuinely funny, warm, and innovative, even if Garry's teeth and hair were a little unusual for UK TV. A few full episodes were briefly on youtube a couple of years ago, but now they're gone. The only other time I've found it was when I spent a snowy afternoon in the Museum of TV and Radio in NY and you get to watch a couple of hours of video of anything in their archives. It was great - I watched four episodes back to back, and was transported. Worth the ?$10 admission.

Talk about an undiscovered treasure from sitcoms past!

This show's lifespan was entirely too brief. Only Showtime was smart enough to give it the initial start. And only FOX was adventurous enough to bring it to a larger audience.

A smartly written show that perhaps TV Land or Comedy Central would know what to do with (Nevermind Nick @ Nite, they're too busy shoving "The Jeffersons" down everyone's throat). ...And what about home video? Personally, I wouldn't mind having the uncut versions in my library. Columbia House, take note!

I watched this in Britain in the late eighties/early nineties, and though it was relegated to the graveyard slot on a minor channel it still has a mass fan base who would love to buy it on DVD, even Region 1. But there's no sign of it being released! Why is this? If anyone associated with the relevant network reads this please consider releasing it. You may find that very soon someone will 'borrow' the idea, have a massive success with it, and the new version will be considered more successful, and the show will simply be relegated to history. The time is ripe for a Garry Shandling revival! Who's with me!!