I remember 1977. I was still a youngster, just getting ready to go to high school for the first time. We had just gotten cable and were watching movies on a new-fangled channel called HBO. Not long after this, I happened to hear there was going to be a comedy special called “On Location” that was going to present a concert by a comic by the name of George Carlin. At this point, I had never heard of him, but I was intrigued. I knew I had to watch. So late one night I plopped down on the floor in front of the couch with my Dad sitting behind me. The show started, I laughed a little bit… then the language came. When Carlin uttered the first expletive I started laughing so hard, I thought I was going to throw up. My Dad, on the other hand, was not amused. Don’t get me wrong, my Dad was one of the funniest people I ever met, he just didn’t see the need for the use of strong language. I had to beg him to let me keep watching it. Fortunately, he did.

The thing I learned quickly that night about George Carlin was that he wasn’t using ‘foul’ language for the shock value. I took the time to listen; I mean really listen to what he said, and more importantly HOW he said it. Sure, the language punctuated some of the jokes, but what he was really doing was showing us just how silly the entire notion of a word being ‘bad’ is. They’re just words. The whole ‘Seven Words You Can’t Say on Television’ is still a classic routine, even if some of the seven are now allowed.

From that point on, I became a huge fan, buying up every album (remember those kiddies?) I could lay my hands on. I had ‘Class Clown’ and ‘AM/FM’, which included the hysterical ‘Al Sleet, The Hippy Dippy Weatherman’ (“If you take a look at our weather map……….. you’ll see we don’t haaavvve one…”). I knew every routine by heart.

It was only recently that I learned that Carlin started out as a much cleaner-cut stand-up comic. He was more like Joey Bishop, wearing a suit and keeping his hair cut short. Tired of the establishment, Carlin re-invented himself and followed more closely in the footsteps of Lenny Bruce, at least in terms of the use of blue humor. Over the years, his style changed which always kept the material fresh.

Though he continued to be popular on the concert circuit, he became a little lesser known to mainstream audiences until he recently began appearing in some of director Kevin Smith’s movies as well as having a short-lived TV series. This introduced his style of humor to a whole new generation of fans and now his name has become somewhat of a household word again.

Last year, when I received my copy of MPI Home Video’s “George Carlin Collection” I couldn’t wait to put it in and watch it. To think, I had in my hands not only 4 full HBO specials and a compilation from all of his 12 appearances, but the all-important 1977 concert I mentioned above. Watching it, even after all those years, I could actually remember each and every line as he said them. And best of all, I kind of felt like my Dad was sitting right behind me again (and he probably was) with that stern look on his face.

Well, now MPI has done it again. This year, they’ve released “Completely Carlin” which delivers 4 more HBO Specials, “Playing with Your Head”, “What Am I Doing in New Jersey?”, “Back in Town” and “You Are All Diseased.” If that’s not enough, there’s also another compilation of some of his best material as well as an all-new hour-long interview recorded earlier this year. It’s an awesome six-disc set that makes a perfect companion piece to the previous set.

As if it’s not obvious enough, I’m going to highly recommend BOTH sets to anyone who’s a fan of Carlin’s irreverent look at life. Let’s hope that MPI releases the other 4 specials, making all 12 available. As long as your intelligent enough to not be offended by the language, every single one of these HBO Specials is guaranteed to make you laugh at yourself, and even better… everyone around you.

Extras: George on George – A New Interview with George Carlin
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: MPI
Release Date: 9/30/2003
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Completely Carlin an A.