Henry Rollins is certainly opinionated so it’s no surprise that he was given a chat show on the Independent Film Channel. He has an interesting calvalcade of guests and is never short of things to talk about (sometimes too short).
What the back of the box says: “Leave your preconceived notions at the door and take a seat at The Henry Rollins Show, where politics and pop culture are explored with an uncensored, independent and hilarious approach.
Brilliantly balancing humor, angst, art and intellect, this must-own 3-disc set contains all episodes from Season One of The Henry Rollins Show. No thinking person's DVD library is complete without The Henry Rollins Show, which the San Francisco Chronicle heralds as "... a hipper, more culturally aggressive chat show."
Disc 1: Episode 1: Guest: Oliver Stone, Musical Guest: Sleater-Kinney Episode 2: Guest: Chuck D, Musical Guest: Jurassic 5 Episode 3: Guest: Werner Herzog, Musical Guest: Frank Black Episode 4: Guest: Ozzy Osbourne, Musical Guest: Ben Folds Episode 5: Guest: Bill Maher, Musical Guest: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Episode 6: Guest: Jeff Bridges, Musical Guest: Ben Harper Episode 7: Guest: P.T. Anderson, Musical Guest: Aimee Mann
Disc 2: Episode 8: Guest: Eddie Izzard, Musical Guest: Death Cab For Cutie Episode 9: Guest: Penelope Spheeris, Musical Guest: John Doe Episode 10: Guest: Patton Oswalt, Musical Guest: Damian Marley Episode 11: Guest: Perry Farrell, Musical Guest: Deadboy & The Elephantmen Episode 12: Guest: Adam Corolla, Musical Guest: Dinosaur Jr. Episode 13: Guest: Michael Chiklis, Musical Guest: Dinosaur Jr. Episode 14: Guest: Billy Bob Thornton, Musical Guest: Daniel Johnston
Disc 3: Episode 15: Guest: Peaches, Musical Guest: Ringside Episode 16: Guest: John C. Reilly, Musical Guest: Thom Yorke Episode 17: Guest: Kevin Smith, Musical Guest: New York Dolls Episode 18: Guest: Johnny Knoxville, Musical Guest: Slayer Episode 19: Guest: Stephen Gaghan, Musical Guest: Ani DiFranco Episode 20: Guest: Matt Dillon, Musical Guest: Rollins Band
Henry Rollins has long been known as a singer and has branched out into many other areas, including talking performances (I recently reviewed Henry Rollins: Uncut from NYC) and movie appearances. He’s become somewhat of a counter culture icon from his ability to say what he thinks.
So in a sense, he’s a natural fit for the talk show format and also a fine fit for the Independent Film Channel. There are usually a few comedic bits, the guest interview, and then music hostess Heidi May introduces the musical guest(s). What’s odd is that in Rollins’ first Teeing Off (which is like his opening monologue on a differing subject) he talks as if the show has been on before and refers to the “new season.”
This confused me since I thought that this was the first season. Whatever the case, the show has an interesting roster of guests. Unfortunately, sometimes it seems that Rollins is just getting the quests warmed up and then the interview is over.
I wish he could spend the whole time with the guests and cut out the comedy bits, but it’s his show and he can do it any damn way he wants (as I’m sure he’d tell me).
The Henry Rollins Show is presented in fullscreen as it was originally aired on television. Sadly, there are no special features.
Henry Rollins is an interesting chap and invites some very interesting guests on his show (which is now in its second season) but you’d wish that he’d spend more time with them instead of doing comedy bits.
The Henry Rollins Show: Season One is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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