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Better DVD Video

The Beverly Hillbillies was shot on film while What’s Happening!! was shot on videotape and this will generally tell you which will look better. Film will usually hold up a little better to the ravages of time and almost always allow for more detail and this is true here, but only to a point. The Beverly Hillbillies mostly looks excellent for its age, but I noticed quite a few instances of scratches and dirt on the prints which were made available exclusively for this set by the estate of creator Paul Henning. I’m certain that this show looks better on this release than the many public domain releases you may see on the shelves.

What’s Happening!! suffers quite a bit from the age of the videotape. It’s often blurry and the discs show occasional compression artifacts, but in general, it’s very viewable. Just don’t go into it with your hopes high and you won’t be disappointed.

Edge: The Beverly Hillbillies

Better DVD Audio

Both of these shows were recorded with mono audio tracks and they both sound fine. Neither will impress you with dynamic audio. They do sound fine and you’ll be pleased to be able to understand all of the dialogue on either show. That’s really the only important thing when it comes to old sitcoms.

Edge: Draw

Better DVD Extras

This one is no contest. The Beverly Hillbillies Ultimate Collection Vol. 2 is jam packed with extra features which are sure to be of interest to its fans. What’s Happening!! The Complete First Season unfortunately only features trailers for other Columbia Tristar television programming, which is disappointing because I’m sure that former cast members would have been glad to contribute something to this set.

While it’s obvious which set is the winner of this category, I’d be remiss if I didn’t go over what is included in this Beverly Hillbillies set. First, I should mention that this set contains 27 episodes, but strangely, the first eight episodes are from the first season and the remaining 19 are from the second season. I don’t know why MPI Home Video is not releasing this show in season sets as most shows are, but it is good that they are released in chronological order. This isn’t a “best of” kind of set, which is a good thing.

On to the actual extra features, what I thought was most interesting was the inclusion of Sponsor Commercials. At the beginning of each episode, the theme song would continue into a jingle for that episode’s sponsor, either Winston Cigarettes or Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. In addition to these added bits, which are never seen in syndication, there is an almost 30-minute feature of sketches the Clampetts did, in character, where they would talk up the benefits of their sponsors’ products.

The fourth and final disc also contains an Audio Commentary track on the episode The Giant Jackrabbit by Stephen Cox, author of the book The Beverly Hillbillies. This isn’t a particularly informative commentary, but big fans of the show may want to give it a listen. Also on this disc are brief interviews with Max Baer Jr. and vintage interviews with Irene Ryan and Paul Henning.

Edge: The Beverly Hillbillies

Conclusion – Who’s the winner?

What’s Happening!! had better characters, funnier stories, and I think it stands the test of comedy time in much better fashion than The Beverly Hillbillies. I really didn’t enjoy watching 27 episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies. In fact, I kinda hated it. But it has a very nice DVD release here and I hope I’ve pointed that out to its fans. Still, What’s Happening!! is where it’s at, and I don’t feel bad in saying so, despite its rather weak DVD release.

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