Judy Garland is in the running as one of the greatest entertainers of the Twentieth Century, living in show business since she was two years old. Much has been written about Judy's unhappiness during her short 47 years, as she never seemed to please the most important person in her life, herself. Her bouts with drugs and alcohol made major headlines. This four disc set from Pioneer Home Video, is a labor of love for all Judy fans. Carefully remastered sound and picture make these television performances from her short one season television enterprise of the early 60, s show Judy at her best, being Judy as singer and entertainer who loved her craft.

Where do I begin? Fifteen hours of television's finest moments. Pioneer has broken the set up into 4 DVDs. Disc One-A special treat known as Just Judy, is a compilation of her finest performances throughout the entire series. Songs on this disc are all solos of Judy and her orchestra singing old favorites and popular contemporary numbers. Each song is presented ala MTV with a reference to the show, its original air date, and disc number for indexing convenience. Also included on disc one are outtakes from the show, an extensive photogallery, a song index, show index, and guest index. This disc is worth the price of admission by itself! Side Two of Disc One contains shows 21 and 22, with guests Diahann Carroll, Mel Torme, Jack Jones and Ken Murray. Judy's guests always were appealing for the time and read like a Hollywood who's who. The songs on these two shows that are highlights include: Come Rain or Come Shine Smile I Can't Give you Anything But Love (Baby) Swanee Just In Time A Foggy Day Hey Look Me Over. One of the regular features of the shows was the "Born In A Trunk" song series, featuring Judy standing or sitting in back of a large theatrical trunk. The theater is completely dark except for Judy and the trunk and runway lights. The trunk really symbolized Judy's love of the theater and her life in show business. Disc Two-Shows 1,2,3,4 with guests Mickey Rooney (naturally for her first show), Judy Henske, Mel Torme, and Count Basie. Jerry Van Dyke, a repeat guest on her show, gets a spotlight on show two as well. Shows three and four feature Judy's daughter, Lisa Minnelli (just seventeen), Lena Horne, and Terry Thomas. Songs featured on these discs include: A MGM medley with Judy and Mickey When The Sun Comes Out Old Man River Maybe I'll Come Back Keep Your Sunny Side Up I Believe In You Put On A Happy Face Come Rain Or Come Shine Memories Of You I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm April In Paris A Foggy Day Honeysuckle Rose The Man That Got Away Disc Three-Shows 5,6, 10, 12 Guests include Dick Shawn, Tony Bennett, Steve Lawrence, June Allyson, Ray Bolger, Jane Powell, Vic Damone and George Jessel. Highlights include: duets with Tony Bennett Stormy Weather Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries San Francisco A Lot Of Livin' To Do On The Sunny Side Of The Street (with Ray Bolger) Moon River Rock-A Bye Your Baby Other highlights of these shows contain dance numbers featuring Judy, June and Ray. Disc Four-Shows 13,16,17,18 Guests include Peter Lawford, Peggy Lee, Ethel Merman, Carl Reiner, Shelly Berman, Rich Little, Louis Nye, and Ken Murray. Murray was known throughout Hollywood as the keeper of stars home movies and features Judy at home in his segments. Songs include: It's A Good Day (with dancers) Never Will I Marry How About Me Duets with Peggy Lee Shenandoah Puttin' On The Ritz The Battle Hymn Of The Republic A Glen Miller Medley All Alone Oh Lord! I'm On My Way The show made several format changes during the season in an attempt to draw away from the powerhouse it was up against-NBC's Sunday night hit "Bonanza". This is evident in the episodes here, as it went from a song format to song and dance to comedy skits in its later shows. In the end, nothing worked and the show was canceled much to everyone's disappointment, including the critic's of the day.

Pioneer Home Video deserves an award for its efforts on this set. While the price is very high, it shows one of the greatest stars of the century at her finest, restored beautifully by those who cared. The beautiful picture and sound, accompanied by the extra materials make this set a real showcase for the DVD industry of how the medium can be used to preserve some of the most energetic and memorable performances on television ever made. Judy put everything into this show. I'm glad Pioneer Home Video did the same.