List Price: $35.98You Pay Only: $23.99 You Save: $11.99 (33%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9781415702147
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
ISBN: 1415702144
Label: Paramount
Manufacturer: Paramount
Number Of Items: 3
Publisher: Paramount
Region Code: 1
Release Date: August 17, 2004
Running Time: 417 minutes
Sales Rank: 29347
Studio: Paramount
Theatrical Release Date: March 17, 1998
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
Clever, funny, and occasionally groundbreaking, Lateline was a victim of its own intelligence. Had it been conceived as a bolder, more abrasive HBO series it might have caught on, but as a formulaic network sitcom (initially airing Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. on NBC) it offered a slightly schizoid combination of conventional comedy and cutting-edge socio-political satire. A few years before becoming a bestselling author, pundit, and Air America radio host, Saturday Night Live veteran Al Franken (with series cocreator John Markus) served up this sharp, topical send-up of TV news magazines like Nightline, about the on- and off-camera antics at Lateline, a Washington, D.C.-based news program anchored by Pearce McKenzie (Robert Foxworth), a wealthy egomaniac with a penchant for dating dim-witted supermodels. Franken plays a thinly-veiled version of himself as beleaguered correspondent Al Freundlich, while producer Gale Ingersoll (the wonderful Megyn Price) and sourpuss boss Vic Karp (Miguel Ferrer) struggle to deliver 'kick-ass' shows with the help of their overworked colleagues (Catherine Lloyd Burns, Ajay Naidu, and Sanaa Lathan).
The gimmick of Lateline--later used in the HBO drama series K Street--is the inclusion of real-life movers and shakers from politics, news media, and Hollywood--a long list of cameo appearances lending an unpredictable edge of satirical spontaneity. Most of these power players add to the fun when the writing occasionally slumps into familiar sitcom territory, and the show's fullest potential is triumphantly displayed in 'The Seventh Plague,' an classic episode in which Freundlich, in a stubborn quest for 'verisimilitude,' single-handedly ruins an epic-scale disaster film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Martin Sheen as (you guessed it), the U.S. President. Office politics and hot-button issues fuel the humor (the Christian right, social security reform, etc.), but despite the noble efforts of its writers, directors, and superb ensemble cast, Lateline suffered in the ratings, was briefly rebroadcast on Showtime after cancellation (including NBC's unaired episodes, also included here), and then died prematurely. As a prescient farewell, future presidential candidate John F. Kerry appears at the end of the final episode, suggesting that Lateline was slightly ahead of its time. --Jeff Shannon
Description:
LATELINE - THE COMPLETE SERIES, a spoof of the evening news program 'Nightline,' stars Al Franken as Al Freundlich, a correspondent for the late night news program called 'Lateline.' Best known for his stint as Stuart Smalley on 'Saturday Night Live,' Al Franken not only stars in LATELINE, he also is the creator, writer and executive producer. While the show is fictional, it features real-life special guests playing themselves in this show-within-a-show.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Better than average
Just saw the complete series and although I did enjoy it I'd have to say it's just better than average. I appreciate the effort made to try and cover real life topics but I just wish the story lines would have been written better (sorry Al). A similar but funnier series, in my opinion, is News Radio. Also, it doesn't hurt that Megyn Price is in it. Anyone seen her in "Love Happens"?
Rating: - Too Bold & Intelligent For Its Own Good?
*
I've never been much of a fan of TV "situation comedies." This is not to say that I haven't enjoyed my fair share of such mindless time-wasting offerings, but in the end they all quickly sank into the abyss of mental obscurity. Even the supposed 'bests-of-the-best' like "Cosby" and "Seinfeld" left barely a blip of an imprint on my memory -- they were watched; they were fun & entertaining; they were over; they were forgotten. Not one of all of the 'sitcoms' I was aware of was imaginative or innovative enough to prevent it from becoming almost completely unmemorable to me -- and certainly not anything that would cause me to even "consider" purchasing any of them to become part of my own personal viewing library.
So it comes as more-than a bit of a surprise that I would indeed single out ONE sitcom series to find a spot for among my personal DVD collection. What makes this even more significant is the fact that the purchase was of a sitcom series I HAD NEVER EVEN HEARD OF until very, very recently!
Former "Saturday Night Live" comedy writer and current "Air America Radio" talk show host Al Franken was apparently something of a visionary when he helped create a very short-lived sitcom called "LateLine," which satirized late-night "news magazine" programs (e.g. "Nightline"). After having been pleasantly impressed with another little-known Franken project -- a feature film called "STUART SAVES HIS FAMILY" (based on his "SNL" skit character "Stuart Smalley," whom I ... Read More
Rating:  - have these other reviewers never seen a good show?
One thing which should be obvious to anyone who reads these reviews: people who love a show will review it and people who don't generally do not. Personally, I did not care for this show at all. It was broad humor, slapstick humor, and all of the characters are over the top with over-exaggerated movements and inflection. I was expecting some insightful but dated political commentary as well as clever humor, since Al Franken was one of the show's creators...but none of that was to be found.
If you want to see a good show of roughly the same genre, try "Sports Night," one of the more brilliant shows of recent history. On that show, the characters are real, their humor is found within the confines of their character, and the stories are interesting. On "Lateline," instead of interesting, we have Al Franken playing a newscaster who is out in minus 100 F weather, freezing, and everyone in the control room is guffawing and seeing how long they can keep him out there. If you like slapstick, if you like characters who are, at best, over-exaggerations, maybe you will like this show. If you have recently attended a typical high school play where all of the "actors" are hamming it up, and you laughed, well, maybe "Lifeline" is the show for you. On the other hand, if you were drawn to this show by Al Franken and some of the better work that he has done, well, this show isn't it. My guess is, this show is probably a personal embarrassment to Al.
Rating:  - Is news ever so cooky? Includes 4 episodes NBC did not air.
I'm a fan of Ajay Naidu, so when I knew he was on "Lateline", I just had to watch this comedy tv series every chance I could. I had known Mr. Naidu from his earlier work, No Greater Gift, Lady Blue, Touch & Go (1986), Where The River Runs Black (1986).
Finally, I can throw away those old VHS tapes now that I own this DVD package. All 19 episodes (1998-99) are present including the 4 episodes NBC would not broadcast, but Showtime did. We get to see the changing Ajay Naidu's hair style change.
Guest stars: M. Joycelyn Elders, Candace J. Gingrich, G. Gordon Liddy, Ralph Nader, Laurin Sydney, Terry Murphy, Robert Prosky, Jimmy Breslin, Arne E. Carlson, James Lovell, Joan Lunden, Patrick Buchanan, Fred Graham, Barney Frank, Alan Dershowitz, Nancy Wells, Michael McKean, Dick Gephardt, Robert B. Reich, Michael S. Dukakis, Pat Harvey, Buddy Hackett, Bob Uecker, Pat Schroeder, Rev. Jerry Falwell, Conan O'Brien, Andy Richter, Regis Philbin, Kathie Lee Gifford, William F. Buckley, Robert Bennett, Barry Scheck, Allison Janney, Norman Ornstein, Former Senator Paul Simon, Alan Simpson, Rosemary Clooney, Martin Sheen, Rob Reiner, Vanessa Williams, Peter Riegert, Kristin Chenoweth, Dominick Dunne, Magee Hickey, Bruce Babbitt, Daniel Schorr, Frank Lutz, Debra Monk, Arianna Huffington and Senator John Kerry.
Not since the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Murphy Brown" has their been an interesting ensemble cast set in a newsroom. This Al Franken tv series perhaps was thought of as a Mel ... Read More
Rating: - Too Smart for Some, Funny for All
This show was without a doubt Overlooked.
NBC dropped the ball on this show which is sad 'Cause its so Good and ahead of it's time. Thanks Paramount for the dvd box set!
The Cast is Awesome The writeing is smart and funny
Without a doubt a Rare Gem to good for Network tv........
I Highley Recomened This Box Set to anyone who misses Good Sitcoms
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