Search - The Comeback - The Complete Only Season on DVD

Lisa M. (Dexterina)
Reviewed on 9/3/2011...

This was one of my very favorite shows. Lisa Kudrow is absolutely brilliant (literally--she has a genius IQ) and, together with Dan Bucatinsky and Don Roos, they created something truly extraordinary. So it's not TV for the masses...so what? Do television execs really know what the "masses" want? From the vast majority of programming, I think not.

It seems a bit awkward at first, but if you give it a chance, it's an example of some of the finest writing and improvisation I've ever seen. I could blather on for an hour about its many strong qualities, especially the amazing character development that made Lisa's character of Valerie sympathetic, even likable, and the relationship between Valerie and Jane, her production assistant (Laura Silverman--Sarah's sister and dryly hysterical).

Web Therapy, Lisa's newest venture (again with Dan Bucatinsky and Don Roos), was shown on the L-Studio (http://www.lstudio.com/) and just recently got picked up by Showtime. She'll finally get the exposure she's deserved since The Comeback's untimely death. I've been in mourning ever since.

If you get the chance to see Web Therapy--earlier seasons not yet available on DVD but available in iTunes--it is equally superb. Lisa plays a therapist who practices over the Internet in 3-minute sessions. (Why focus on thoughts and dreams and feelings when you can get to the crux of the matter in 3 minutes?) Again, an ego to choke a horse. But in the special features, Lisa seems so nice in person...

Highly recommend! And I don't have a copy on here because I'm not giving mine up!

2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Marianna S. (Angeloudi) from HOLIDAY, FL
Reviewed on 1/1/2009...

The Comeback is a show that was on HBO for one season, starring Lisa Kudrow as Valerie Cherish, an actress who was wildly popular about 15 years previously (kind of like she was in real life, on Friends)on a show called "I'm It". She is now appearing in a new sitcom called "Room and Bored" about 4 20-somethings who are roommates. The main difference this time is, she's playing the frumpy aunt, and is treated terribly by the writers and producers. At the same time, she is filming a reality show called "The Comeback," about her new comeback into acting. It's confusing, I know! A film crew follows her everywhere, even into the bedroom! There are many funny characters in her entourage, especially her hairdresser, who is very flamboyant. All in all, it is an interesting 2-DVD set with all 13 episodes of the first and only season.

2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Brilliant Niche Series

melodygoddess | usa | 06/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Perhaps the Producer, Michael Patrick King from Sex and The City and Lisa Kudrow, star from Friends were really expensive to get for HBO, since those shows were so big. However, those shows were made for the masses. Perhaps HBO was expecting another block buster ratings giant. It sounded like it, when they chose not to renew this show, saying the numbers weren't there and they didn't have any resources to put into promoting it further.



However, The Comeback was more of a niche show; subtle, intelligent, willing to embrace pain, humiliation in a point blank fashion. Willing to embrace phases we tend to avoid: those difficult moments in life when somebody says something in which you are not quite sure how to respond, socially awkward situations. A series this intelligent and insightful can only appeal to a few. The great masses prefer simple minded fair to distract them or prefer to see lots of things exploding with lots of pyrotechnics kind of like Homer and Bart Simpson, who are caricatures of "Everyman" on the Street".



But as Valerie (Lisa's character says in one episode); Reality TV is becoming "Coliseum mentality" and that she doesn't do coliseums. Valerie feared her show would not fare well in such a world. This thought proved to be prophetic.



Lisa Kudrow graduated from Vassar College with a degree in Biology. She's an extremely intelligent woman although you might not think so with all the ditzy characters she has played like Phoebe and the Romy and Michelle HS Reunion character.



In The Comeback however, as the main character and as Executive Producer, her intelligence is allowed free rein, as she is allowed to fully develop this Valerie character into a lightning rod for all manner of ridiculous situations...she still plays the part of silly and vain woman but does it so well in concert with the whole cast... We get to see humanity and all it's ridiculous foibles: vanity. prententiousness, selfishness, rudeness, vapidness, indifference, ego mania, self involved-ness...



Each episode allows us to see in subtle details and not so subtle details the dynamics of human/social interactions.



It was definitely not a show for the masses...I don't know if the 2nd season could have been as good as the first but at least we got 13 fantastic episodes of which I have watched at least 15 times each. I think Lisa and Michael should have tried to bring it to Showtime after HBO dropped it but Hey life is always changing...I hope you enjoy it as much as I did."

Kudrow brings brains and painful honesty to reality TV

M. Colford | Boston, MA USA | 07/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In Lida Kudrow's short-lived HBO series "The Comeback" we are forced to watch former "it-girl" Valerie Cherish as she embarks on a comeback, playing a Mrs. Roper-style character in a jiggly comedy while appearing in her own reality TV show, The Comeback. It all strikes a little too close to home for television celebs, I think, and Kudrow isn't afraid to go to those uncomfortable places making us cringe even as we laugh. At the beginning of the series we're laughing at Valerie and her obvious attempts to make herself look good in the eyes of her fans from the past. By the time the first season wrapped, we were with her every step of the way, rooting for her triumph and feeling her pain. I'm so glad we're going to get this show on DVD... now if we can just have a second season?"

"Give her another take!"

E.J. Disfarmer | New Orleans, USA | 05/16/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"FInally, HBO is doing right by "The Comeback" - one of the most hilarious shows ever to grace the TV screen and one which was criminally cancelled after only one season - with a double disk DVD. From tvshowsondvd.com:



The 2 disc set will include all 13 episodes from season 1, along with commentaries on 6 episodes, Valerie's DVD interview, and footage of Valerie backstage at Dancing with the Stars. Episodes on the set include:



Disc 1

The Comeback (Pilot) - Audio Commentary

Valerie Triumphs at the Upfronts - Audio Commentary

Valerie Bonds with the Cast - Audio Commentary

Valerie Stands Up for Aunt Sassy

Valerie Demands Dignity

Valerie Saves the Show

Valerie Gets a Very Special Episode



Disc 2

Valerie Relaxes in Palm Springs

Valerie Hangs with the Cool Kids - Audio Commentary

Valerie Gets a Magazine Cover

Valerie Stands Out on the Red Carpet - Audio Commentary

Valerie Shines Under Stress

Valerie Does Another Classic Leno - Audio Commentary

"