TV on DVD: An Ernie Kovacs treasure chest

The Ernie Kovacs Collection'

TRIBUTE "Television's original genius" has inspired spirited comedy from Steve Allen to David Letterman, from "Laugh-In" to "Monty Python." An ebullient Hungarian DJ from Trenton with an ever-present cigar, Ernie Kovacs filled hours of 1950s airtime in the embryonic visual medium with both his explorations of its technical possibilities and his relaxed wit. He wandered down studio hallways, lampooned "new" products (the inchlong cigarette Briefy), created characters (effete bug-eyed poet Percy Dovetonsils), riffed to music (the instrument-playing apes of his Nairobi Trio), used split screens or tilted cameras (or 6-foot rag doll Gertrude) and generally did anything for a laugh -- never in moderation.

CONTENTS This six-disc treasure trove collects examples of Kovacs' shows from his busy early years in Philadelphia local TV and his later national shows for networks that never knew what to do with Kovacs' surreal meanderings. Among more than 20 varied episodes are 1957's original color broadcast of his legendary "silent" special ("Eugene"), whose playful effects vaulted Kovacs to industry esteem, and 1961's yet more inventive remake. Sit back to savor the smart, laid-back humor -- and marvel what else might have been, had Kovacs not died at 42 in a '62 car crash.

EXTRAS Oodles of additional skits, Kovacs' wild Dutch Masters cigar commercials, short films, home movies, lots more. Plus a superb 44-page booklet detailing the wonder that is Kovacsland. Go there!

LIST PRICE $70, out Tuesday from Shout.