The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson - The Vault Series Volume 1

Incomplete Johnny Carson Vault Series
The Johnny Carson Vault series which professes to be complete is not complete. All of the original music(including the opening theme song!!)has been scrubbed and replaced with anemic smaller band recordings designed to fool the buyer. I would imagine that the company that is putting out this video doesn't want to pay the musicians in Doc Severinsen's orchestra so they just pulled the plug on the original music and dubbed in some cheap recordings that mimic the sound of the original. Johnny Carson loved the fact that he had one of the greatest orchestras of all time on his show every night. I guarantee you that Johnny himself would never consider these shows "complete". Buyer beware.

Pretty close to what I've been wanting.
While the box sets have been great, I think that what every "Tonight Show" fan has been hoping for is full-length shows. Not ones where the entire guest list is announced, then only certain segments are included, and not somebody else's idea of "best of".

This first volume includes two shows from late 1972 (the second show date comes first and the first date is second; a tad odd, but okay), plus a bonus clip from around the same time. One feature I wasn't expecting is that the menu allows you to select viewing each show with *or* without the commercials; if the commercials bugged you the first time they aired years ago, you can dispense with them now. Personally, I like seeing which ads I remember and what isn't being manufactured anymore. Nice walk down advertising's Memory Lane.

The editing of the band's original music has been a topic of some discussion; while I wish it had all been left completely intact, the substitution isn't uncomfortable or disruptive...

Almost There!
I wanted to give this 5 stars but because the Tonight Show band music is missing throughout the program and some "funky" little combo tracks are played that really discounts the authenticity of the program. Along with that the Ed McMahon's full introduction has been clipped, probably because of the music situation again. Other than these things the program's contents are a welcomed journey down the wonderful memory lane of the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. It is great to have the complete monologues, the guest interviews, the commercials, and the guest singers and musicians performances. We are almost there...let's hope that future issues will include "everything" and the show will really be "complete." Until then I will enjoy what I have in hand right now.

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