The Abbott & Costello TV Show: The Army Story/Efficiency Experts/Peace and Quiet/Honeymoon House [DVD]

The Abbott and Costello Show, Vol. 10 gets us 40 shows deep into the 52-program run, and it's still going strong, even with one really weak episode. "The Army Story" recreates several of the choice comic bits from the duo's 1941 feature film Buck Privates; best of all is the dice game, which shows that the their timing had slackened only the tiniest bit (if at all) in 11 years, and was so good that, if you look closely, you'll see that the extras in the scene with them can barely keep from laughing. There's also the added bonus (from the otherwise lackluster movie Little Giant) of the "Seven Times Thirteen" routine, with Sidney Fields replacing Bud Abbott from the movie version as the straight man/butt of the gag. "Efficiency Experts" is one of the lesser second-season shows, with a plot that had potential, but ultimately offered very little for either comic to do (and they oblige, in a big yawn). Its weaknesses are more than offset by the sheer lunacy of the next show, "Peace and Quiet." A variation on the classic "Crazy House" burlesque sketch, it puts insomniac Lou Costello into the care of two different psychiatrists (Sidney Fields and Murray Leonard), each making a serious try at being goofier than the other. (It's the kind of show where a man in the rest home asks Costello is he wants his palm read, then brings out a can of red paint, etc.). The scene of Fields' analysis of Costello's dream -- involving a salami sandwich -- is priceless as a parody of Freudian analysis, and resident player Bobby Barber gets a bit as a concert pianist in a psychiatrist's waiting room that's worth the cost of the disc itself. Veda Ann Borg also does a bit with a watering can in Costello's hospital room that's not far behind. "Honeymoon House" is an extended sketch involving the building of a dream house that works mostly thanks to the presence of nervous character actor George Chandler and nutsy comedian Renie Riano as Costello's would-be in-laws and the loony antics of Sidney Fields in a hypnosis scene. The source materials for these episodes are in impeccable condition, and the mono sound has been mastered at a high volume, which can actually be a problem when watching the second season episodes, most of which had an unrealistically loud laugh track. Each episode gets a perfunctory three chapters -- which doesn't begin to delineate the delights (or loopy highlights) of the first-season programs. The disc opens automatically on a simple, two-selection menu offering the options of "Play All" or a selection of all episodes and chapters on the same screen frame.