What do you get when you put Johnny Carson and the owner of a nudist camp on the same stage? Comedic gold spun by the Queen of Comedy herself, Joan Rivers. Now you can watch her and tons of amazing guest stars in 47 of the funniest episodes from That Show s first season in 1968- 69 on 7 DVDs.

Long before Fashion Police and more than two decades before The Joan Rivers Show of the early 90's, Joan Rivers hosted her own syndicated daytime talk show on WNBC-TV of New York City called That Show. The half-hour show included a monologue by Joan before featuring a guest celebrity and an expert tackling a particular subject with hilarious results. Other guests include Steve Lawrence, Florence Henderson, Ed Sullivan, Rita Moreno and many more!

Both these sets include a total of 47 episodes of "That Show with Joan Rivers".  Each episode had a theme and Joan did an opening monologue based on the day's topic. The show also featured an expert on the subject and a celebrity guest. More than two decades before The Joan Rivers Show of the early nineties and when her daughter, Melissa, was barely a year old, Joan hosted her own syndicated daytime talk show on WNBC-TV of New York City called THAT SHOW. Commuting from her apartment on Park Avenue, Joan hosted and her husband, Edgar, produced THAT SHOW which aired five-times-a-week. The half-hour show would feature a guest celebrity as well as an expert guest tackling a particular subject-of-the-day. Joan would mix up a likely subject with an unlikely celebrity. Joan delivers 300 words a minute hilariously tearing into every subject from her own life to nudism or even buying a new car. THAT SHOW is a virtual time capsule of subject matters and personalities of the day, available to the public for the first time in over two decades! And it was the genius and tireless efforts of the young "working mother" who produced and captured it all for her new and old fans alike.

When confronted with BOTH these DVD sets, my first thought was: "Joan Rivers had a talk show in the '60's?"

But it's true. A lifetime before the Botoxed one slipped into reality shows, jewelry pitches and catty fashion commentary with her joined-at-the-hip daughter Melissa, Joan Rivers and husband Edgar Rosenberg tried to position the youngish comedienne and mother as a daytime talk show host with That Show, which ran in syndication for a single year in 1968-69. Given the fact that Rivers' humor has gotten increasingly toxic and bitter over the years (as evidenced in the 2010 documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work), it's interesting to see her in this setting as a manic yet friendly Nice Jewish Lady dishing on child rearing, catering, physical fitness and, of course, gossip.

Recorded and aired in 1968 and 1969, these 47 episodes on Synergy Entertainment's That Show with Joan Rivers give a good indication of what worked and didn't work with this lively little program. Each show was roughly structured in three parts, tied into a subject seemingly ripped from the pages of the latest issue of McCall's or Ladies Home Journal.

 Opening each show is a spotlit Joan riffing on that day's topic, milling about and playing off the audience. She's completely in her element in these segments, brimming with energy and a sense of humor that was comparatively much more homey and self-deprecating ("I have a weird-shaped head; I need to wear orthopedic wigs").

The bulk of these episodes consist of Joan interviewing people on a tiny set, decorated in a way that might be described as Louis XIV on a budget. Having established the day's topic in the opening monologue, she then introduces an expert on the subject along with a celebrity guest to dish and discuss. Granted, some of the celebrity/subject pairings are random (what would Phyllis Newman know about hypnosis, anyhow?), but they do provoke some memorable interactions. It's never so evident as in the first episode (topic: nudism), in which Johnny Carson seems completely gobsmacked by the pleasant middle-aged lady who runs a nudist colony sharing the stage. As for Joan's interviewing style, she ingratiating and thankfully doesn't turn the conversation into a personal joke-fest - not too often, anyway (also notable is the fact that she doesn't go all Kathie Lee on us, bringing up her kid at every turn - baby Melissa barely comes up at all). She has a genuine interest in the topics covered, something that is most well-demonstrated in the final segments where she ventures into the audience to facilitate questions for the guests (it must be a sign of the still-polite '60's that most of the audience queries are directed towards the experts, and not the celebrities).

If anything, BOTH sets are a neat little capsule of the 1960's. The topics covered tend to delve into matters ephemeral and dated, as evidenced by one show's efforts to answer the burning question, "Should a woman decorate to please herself, or to please a man?" That's part of the appeal, however. It's also a good opportunity to see celebs being shockingly casual about certain things, such as Jerry Lewis matter-of-factly speaking about spanking as an essential component of child rearing. Other highlights include a lithe 'n perky Florence Henderson demonstrating her post-pregnancy exercise regime and Nancy Walker's first order of business - lighting up a cigarette! The experts on hand tend to be just as interesting as their more famous counterparts, strangely enough. This was an era in which people didn't have to showboat or go into smarmy salesperson mode to look smart.

I have watched these episodes over and over again....Great time capsule of a TV Show! It was great seeing Johnny Carson as a guest on someone else's show for change.  Great 60's show, love all of the generational topics and guests....and the whole atmosphere is of a time long gone. LOVE this set!!

Over 17 hours of the Queen of Comedy's first TV show

47 episodes featuring the best guest stars and funniest topics

Watch Joan Rivers hone her comedy skills in hilarious monologues

Guests and experts take on subjects, such as Teenagers Today, Wallpaper, and Nudists Colonies.

First, we have Synergy Entertainment's three disc, That Show with Joan Rivers, Vol. 1-3 set that contains the following 18 episodes with subject, recording date, celebrity guest and expert guest:

This is the FULL 3 DVD set, VOLUMES 1-3......18 EPISODES!!!  OVER 5 HOURS Of JOAN!!!

But Synergy Entertainment wasn't done...next they released a full 4 DVD BOX set of THAT SHOW!!  A bombastic 11 more hours of vintage JOAN RIVERS!!

Between BOTH sets, I counted only FIVE repeat episodes!!  So that's a FULL 42 different episodes of this RARE show!!!

What a FANTASTIC way to own these incredible RARE gems from Joan Rivers!!!

 And the quality of these shows are TERRIFIC!!

All together you get 7 DVD's...over 17 HOURS of vintage, classic JOAN!!!!!

HAPPY VIEWING and RE-LIVING THE 60's!!!!!!

BOTH DVD SETS ARE BRAND NEW....NEVER OPENED.....STILL SEALED!!!!!!

Will be shipped VERY SECURELY!!!!!

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THANKS FOR LOOKING!!!!

                                                    ....Can we talk??? Ohhhh grow up!!!