The Best of the Best of Electric Company

This was not only a great way to learn to read if you grew up in the 70s, but it also provides some wonderful nostalgia from the 70s. On a side note, when I'm having a 70s day, I often watch one of these episodes.If you know anything about the "Electric Compnay," you know that it is geared towards helping children learn to read. But it's more than that. These lessons make it not only funny, but they hold your attention with a clever exchange of wits, and the lessons often end on a joke to make sure we retain the lesson.Because children often have short attention spans, the lessons are usually quite short. (Sometimes even shorter than the length of a commercial.) "This word will self destruct in 10 seconds. Can you read it before it does?"Another good thing about this show was that it divided itself well between adult actors, and the children actors. The Short Circus is not exactly made up of Hollywood Polished children, but they are really talented. And while the adult cast may not look like Hollywood Picked actors, they do their job really well.Another thing I should point out about this show is that it doesn't shove diversity in your face and ruin the messge. Many other films (even today) feel a need to shove it in your face and expect a loud applause whenever a white man, a black man, and a hispanic man do something together. Here, you just have whites, blacks, and hispanics working together without expecting an applause.This DVD has 5 good episodes. Without going through everything, I'll try to point out some highlights.(1) "Fargo North Decoder"(2) "The Frog Price"(3) "China Salesman, Don't Break Anything" "The Creature-Preature" "Letterman" 'A Jarring Experience.'(4) "Spencer's Spanking," "My New Loud Speaker," "Marching Song," "Short Circus 'Who Was?' "The Super Is Having His Supper," "The Blob"(5) "Short Circus-'Why,'" "Cinderella 'If You Wash the Dishes,'" J. Arthur Crank explains Punctuaton to an obnoxious woman. "Goodbye...Goodbye? Goodbye!"I'll finish by saying there are 2 reasons to buy this.(1) If you have chilren who are still learning to read, this is a great way to help them.(2) If you are looking for some 70s nostalgia, this is a nice thing to have.

Trust me, you're gonna want more. I made the 'mistake' of buying this(the single-disc version of their 'best of' box set) awhile back because I remembered watching this when i was a kid back in the 70's, but didn't fully remember how much i enjoyed it. So i played it safe and bought this bargain-priced sampler dvd with 5 episodes(spanning the series entire run including the pilot episode). Anyway, when i first saw it again, i just had this big grin on my face as nostalgia of me watching this as a kid went through my mind. Unfortunately, after i exhausted the 5 episodes, i was craving for more. Then i realized...I should've bought the bigger, 20-episode, 'Best of'(@ about $40) box set. Solution? I'll just give this to my nieces to introduce them to this wonderful 70's 'kids' show, while i order the box set for me. Don't worry, i'll share the box set with my nieces as well.About the show though, it's been said that it was a show for kids to help them learn, and be interested in, reading. The reason why so many adults like it now and can still appreciate it though(outside of it being a nostalgic 70's time capsule), is because it taught its lessons through clever, interesting, or hip comedy skits and animations. It helps that you had a great cast of regulars too like Bill Cosby, Rita Moreno, Morgan Freeman, etc and even Spider-Man! And the list of memorable, long-running skits and animated segments is just too numerous to mention here. And that theme song...catchy as heck. And the ever-changing, opening montage credit sequences set to that theme song...cheesy and fun as heck.Ok, the dvd. It comes with a few minutes of outtakes, trivia to open and close the episodes, and a nice Rita Moreno interview(who also does the episode intros). I'm not a dvd-expert, but the picture quality looks great considering this is a 70's public broadcasting show. The mono sound you're gonna have to turn up, but hopefully you've got some type of enhanced audio system anyway(some good musical bits plus the theme song demand that you have a stereo hook-up at the very least). Overall, if you're unfamiliar with this show, the 5-episode $10 version is a great intro and highly recommended. But i can almost guarantee you're gonna want to see more and you're probably going to purchase the 20-episode $40 version at some point so keep that in mind. Die-hard fans(esp with kids) should go straight to the box set, or hope they release season sets soon.

I loved The Electric Company when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s. Why they took it off of television is beyond me. My husband and I loved watching the DVD and reminiscing over our favorite characters and sketches. Morgan Freeman is my all time favorite from this show. My 5 and 7 year olds were automatically hooked on the show after one episode! But I do have one complaint about this particular DVD. There is the offer to buy this AND the Best of Electric Company together. My advice...don't buy them together! They fail to tell you that the five episodes on "Best of the Best" are also included on the 4 disc set, so you will have 2 copies of these five episodes if you buy both. But the entertaining and educational memories from this show are priceless; I wouldn't return them for anything!

The packaging, the price and even the product itself were right on! Before I could wonder "Is it here yet?", I was watching & remembering how exciting it was to learn about new things & new people as a child. The show definitely displayed the signs of it's time, the 70's while being ahead of it's time by infusing cartoons, real people, situational comedy, singing & dancing into learning which made it must see t.v! And when I see celebrities like Bill Cosby, Morgan Freeman, Irene Cara and Rita Moreno, I recall where I saw them first...what a powerful impression! It's positively unhindered, educational relevance & appeal are a timeless asset that I will gladly pass on to future generations. Thanks so much!

This DVD collection has ALL of the old skits from the Electic Company from the 1970s. It includes Morgan Freeman, Rit Moreno, Judy Graubart, and more. This DVD shows many of the original episodes. This is a MUST have!

Funny as it may seem, I never heard of The Electric Company until I saw a youtube clip of Morgan Freeman doing his skit of a DJ (Can't Remember his name) but I thought this show was very well thought out and it reminded me so much of vaudeville shows of decades past such as The Red Skelton Show and The Abbott & Costello Show in the way it was presented. The DVD was delivered in a reasonable timeframe and I couldn't be happier with my purchase

ok, my computer is fixed. they call it a low battery. ok,i found that out on my own. well great price,classic hard to find show,item arrived quickly. as far as how good the show is i am guessing now because its a gift. it is a classic show though so there is no doubt on quality. i will get a review from reciepient later. all i remember is a cool spiderman that doesnt talk and the call of 'HEY YOU GUYS!!!' that alone should be reason to buy

Anyone who remembers The Electric Company, needs no review. For those who don't know the Electric Company, this TV series from the 1970's was created by the same producers of Sesame Street, at the request of the US Department of Education. It was made for 7-11 year olds, to teach kids to (want to) read, using funny little songs and skits. Bill Cosby, Rita Morena, and a young David Letterman are just a few of the staff members. A truly helpful way to learn to read and have fun at the same time. Also a good way to learn English as a second language (for a child of maybe 10+).

recu a la bonne date mon ami etait bien content de cette serie il aime bien sa il l,a écouter merci