TV Party – The Time & Makeup Show / 2006 MVD / 59 Minutes / http://www.mvdb2b.com / http://www.brink.com / Reviewed 13 January 2006

The documentary about TV Party was the first step individuals had in being introduced to the allure that was the television show. There are two subsequent volumes put out by MVD that further give individuals some sort of idea why this was such a big deal in the late seventies and early eighties. For this DVD, a sharp version of the “Time & Makeup Show” awaits viewers. Added to this are a few other added features, including an essay on socialism, George Clinton, and a description about how drugs work. Debbie (now Deborah) Harry of Blondie is front and center during this episode.

The first thing that will strike listeners is the fact that the entirety of the material on this DVD does not break the hour mark. For the price, what would make more sense would be to package two separate shows on one DVD. I have a feeling that the entirety of the show’s run (or at least a large section of it) remains in the vaults somewhere, so to package another (or even a few extra) shows on a DVD would bring individuals in droves to the local record store to pick up this DVD. The footage present on the DVD is something that acts as a time capsule. While there are a number of phrases and parts of this show that individuals can identify with, there have been enough in the way of years that have passed for some of the approaches and pieces of this DVD to seem foreign.

There are high points to this episode, such as Glenn O’Brien rolling a joint blindfolded (while equal feats of skill have been regaled to me by individuals from the era, one has to see it to believe it), and for the time that individuals are glued to the DVD, TV Party entertains. The only thing that is in recent memory that is comparable to the random nature of TV Party has to be shows like Wonder Showzen or The State. While both of those shows are comedies, the ease in which they could bounce between subjects is similar to the absurdity and randomness encountered in this, the “Time & Makeup Show” of TV Party. For those individuals that miss the institution of TV Party, this and the “Crusades” show are a necessary purchase. If you like the DVDs but feel that there could be more in the way of material for the prices charged, email up Brink and try to get that changed for subsequent volumes of TV Party. The footage is not as grainy as one would think being over 25 years old. For those individuals that want to see counter culture in a time that most individuals know only the punk side of things, TV Party provides a rare gaze into something that is not all markered and tattooed up. Give it a go if you are familiar with the series or if it sounds in the least bit interesting; this will be a great distraction for the entirety of the DVD.

Rating: 6.2/10

[JMcQ]