If you haven't noticed, the country is currently resting in the firm grip of Betty White Mania. She's everywhere! However, while the world took some time to discover it's favorite foul-mouthed grandma, I've been a Betty White fan since I was eight - and I have people who will vouch for me. The Golden Girls will, in all likelihood, go down as one of my favorite television shows of all time, and Betty is a big reason for that. I mean, I love both of my grandmothers, but I'd also be lying if I didn't say just a piece of me didn't wish one of them could tell me a good old St. Olaf story before bedtime.

It would be hard to not see Betty White in Black and White as an attempt to cash in on Betty White Mania. But, at the same time, I'm entirely grateful for the opportunity to watch something I really never knew existed.

Betty White in Black and White is a sampler platter of her early career featuring episodes of Life with Elizabeth, A Date with the Angels, and, most prominently, The Betty White Show.

Life with Elizabeth is an odd cross-over between a sitcom and sketch comedy show. Characters are consistent throughout every episode, though each section of the show is its own self-contained "skit," usually revolving around a particular theme. For lack of a better comparison, think of it as a live-action show following the same episodic format as most cartoons.

The interplay between White and co-star Del Moore is sharp and still manages to hold up nearly 50 years later. I figure if something can get a group of college students who usually scoff at anything not made in the last five years to laugh, the show is doing something right.

A Date with the Angels is a more traditional sitcom revolving around Whte and Bill Williams, who plays her husband, Gus. The show features the same dead-sharp banter as Life with Elizabeth, but I was so in love with the former's format, I wasn't as impressed with this show.

A bulk of the disc is dedicated to The Betty White Show, a daytime variety show where White would interview guests, sing and tell jokes. She even had a band and would read viewer mail. It's an absolute riot and has even earned a spot in one of my classes when looking at early TV - a major feat for something I originally had pegged as a "cash-in" DVD.

If the DVD has any weaknesses, it's the lack of extra content. The episodes are a lot of fun, but some sort of historic context would have helped. For instance, Life with Elizabeth helped to position White as one of the first (and at the time only) women with complete creative control in front of and behind the camera. Short vignettes documenting this sort of information would have been perfect.

Even without the background information, Betty White in Black and White is an all-around fun DVD collection. I don't think it's something everyone needs in their collection, but if you're a fan of Betty White or just classic TV, it's more than worth the purchase.