The Gong Show starring Chuck Barris

The Gong Show was a parody of television variety shows. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976 through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication in the U.S. from 1976 to 1980, and from 1988-1989. The NBC incarnation and the later years of the syndicated version were emceed by Chuck Barris, who also produced them.

Each show presented a contest between amateur performers of often dubious talent, with a panel of three celebrity judges. The program's frequent judges included Jaye P. Morgan, Jamie Farr, Arte Johnson, Rip Taylor, Phyllis Diller, Pat McCormick, Steve Martin, and Anson Williams. And of course, making frequent appearances, there is the THE UNKNOWN COMIC. Rex Reed was notorious for being the harshest critic, often giving acts a 9 when they received perfect 10s from the other judges. If any one of the judges considered an act to be particularly bad, he or she could strike a large gong, thus forcing the performer to stop. Most of the performers took the gong with sheepish good grace, but there were exceptions.

When an act was on the verge of being gonged, the laughter and anticipation built as the judges patiently waited to deliver the coup de grace: They would stand up slowly and heft their mallets deliberately, letting everyone know what was coming. Sometimes, pantomimed disputes would erupt between judges, as one celebrity would attempt to physically obstruct another from gonging the act. The camera would cut back and forth between the performers onstage, and the mock struggle over their fate. Sometimes an act was "Gang-Gonged", meaning it was so bad that it was gonged by two or even all three judges at once.

Don't miss the fun in these two great sets of wild comedy. Every show is complete and features a celebrity panel of judges. This rare set was acquired from a collector who had carefully transferred the set from a VHS set.

83 Episodes plus Movie - 11 DVD Set.