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5.0 out of 5 stars
More Breathtaking Moments, April 3 2004
For me, the defining moment of the first series was Garland's rendition of "Cottage for Sale." In the second series, her performance of Steve Allen's "I'll Show Them All," defines this package. It is absolutely electrifying, and not to be missed by any serious Judy fan.Despite what Coyne Steve Sanders says in his book about the show, she seems much more confident in this second package. Specifically, she tells her hilarious anecdotes in a louder voice, but she still speaks in those charming, characteristic half-sentences that get her point across more clearly than full sentences ever could. However, no anecdote in this series matches the exquisite telling of "Judy's Oscar Story" in the first series. She does, however, impersonate Marlon Brando in "The Wild One," and her delivery of the line, "Where you come from, While Wun?" is fall-down funny. It gets the same huge laugh that Rooney got with his Carioca drumming in the first episode. The Steve Allen/Mel Torme episode deserves its reputation as the best of the variety-format portion of the series. Although it lacks the nostalgic quality of the Rooney episode, Torme and Allen obviously spruced up the usually weak, sometimes even nonsensical comedy material seen in this series. Garland is less nervous with these two sure-footed (and highly competitive) performers, and the "Be My Guest" sequence is, in my opinion, inarguably the strongest of the entire series. Allen is charming beyond words, and yes, Torme's "Comin' Home Baby" is as pretentious as Judy said it was. It's great to see it at last, and hoot! Garland always relaxes and works best in the variety format with very confident performers, don't you agree? There are many delicious secondary audio programs in this second series. They're fascinating in their diverse viewpoints. Jayne Meadows babbles on with alarming candor and endearing reverence for Garland, and gets so far-afield with her charming commentary that she even throws in her spot-on perfect impersonation of Katharine Hepburn. Others tell hair-raising tales, and some, like Bob Mackie and the assistant choreographer and others, give enlightening insight into the day-to-day workings of the show. Mort Lindsay is very interesting, and not fawning. There isn't much that you haven't read in the Sanders book, however. Norman Jewison totes out his weary old "Calling JFK" anecdote, but he throws in a lots more, too, about the Garland/Sinatra/Martin special, and other things. I loved the Secondary Audio. There is much more of it than there was in series one, and everyone seems to be trying hard to give a balanced viewpoint. Most sort of echo Vic Damone's wonderful comment in the book, "Yes, she was late, but she was getting ready!" There is a "Legends" compilation that seems unnecessary if you've purchased both series. It includes Judy with some of her various guest stars, and the stars alone. There is also one whole DVD devoted to indexing the songs, stars and shows. I paid for that?! The last show is shown with all of it's many starts and stops. Honest to Pete, if she was upset or drunk or drugged, I can't see it. It's a real lesson in how people can twist the truth. She is a good-natured pro throughout, but the taping is obviously riddled with problems and fatigue on the parts of many who participated, not just Judy. The die-hard fan will be fascinated to see how her funny little quips after her own mistakes and others' technical failures have been twisted around to make her seem upset, or drunk, or downright insane during this taping. She is fine! Anyone who knows that Judy Lindsay was her "singing stand-in" gets her cute joke about how Judy Lindsay is making all of the mistakes, not Judy Garland. And yet, how many times have the Judy books tried to turn this into mentally ill person's third-person reference to herself? And the one time she really swears, she apologizes to the audience with brief, believable sincerity: "I really am sorry." What can I say, if you love Judy, you must have this. If you're really a die-hard fan - run don't walk. It's delicious. If you're on a budget, get the Allen/Torme show, and the Donald O'Connor show. If you love the singing and aren't curious about the variety format, buy the concert DVDs.
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