Cape Breton still has - for now - video stores: not niche Tarantino-biography video stores but big ass family run ones. Glace Bay Video (on Brodie St.: represent!!!!) is closing. So I got me some.
No obscurities or gems, but good enough. The DVD has been great for comedy, as it allowed the same benefits of tracking that the CD brought to audio, allowing the viewer much greater liberty in dissecting and rewatching routines. Its great contribution has been the anthology, either repackaging (like Comedy Club Greats or Best of Comedy Central Presents), or the curated anthologies like the Jamie Foxx Presents series. VHS never really delivered on or encouraged these forms.
And Dana Carvey is a 2-disc set: special features, you are a delight!
With the shift to BluRay for film and television repackaging (but little stand-up among them) and with digital broadcasters like Netflix becoming the increasingly viable path for distribution, we may be seeing the end of the comedy DVD, along with its packaging and special features. Again, no Luddite me, but always a little sad to see the passing of something that has been a positive mediation of the form.