Being born in France in the early 70's, I wasn't aware of this show called "The Carol Burnett Show". I didn't even know this woman. I saw her for the first time last year in a ceremony where she received an achievement prize. But it is when I saw the 50th Anniversary Special hosted by Stephen Colbert last autumn that I started to really get interested because they showed sketches of the show. You Americans must stop hiding those talents from us! So I gathered so many shows I could find and I have to say that they are a delight to watch! There are some pretty awesome burlesque sketches in it and a lot of humanity too. And if you love the 70's, oh boy, you travel right back to that blessed period of time. And I have to mention the wonderful costumes made by a certain Bob Mackie. This guy is simply a genius! Some costumes look like Gaultier or Lacroix 20 years before! I love Carol Burnett and I am very happy to now know this great performer!
... View MoreWas there ever a better sketch comedy hour than this one. For eleven years, Burnett and fabulous company made each week a laugh fest. Only seldom did a sketch fall flat. Thus, success is also due the writers who had a firm grasp of cast and material. And what a cast— the infinitely versatile Carol, the perfect counterpart Korman, the inimitable Vicki Lawrence, and the goofy Tim Conway. Together, their chemistry year after year was darn near perfect. I did feel sorry for handsome Lyle Waggoner who never appeared to have a defined role to play. I'm glad he settled in with the Wonder Woman series. The icing on the cake, however, was when Conway replaced him, and the laughs really gelled.My favorites among the sketches—anything where a loony Carol descends stairs with a coat hanger for shoulders; the hilarious take-off on dysfunctional families with Eunice and Ed and snap-dragon Mama; and anything where Carol gets to do an eye- bulging impersonation. Guest stars also shone at times—Steve Lawrence was particularly good at tough talking thugs, while Jim Nabors did his slow-witted hick to perfection.I suspect one reason for the show's longevity was Carol's obvious rapport with ordinary folks, like her audiences. None of the Hollywood celebrity about her, and somehow I expected to find her in my supermarket checkout line. Thanks Carol and Company. You guys shone like a rare evening constellation, but never one above our heads.
... View MoreThe jewel in the crown on CBS's Saturday night comedies. In one night you saw All in the Family, MASH, Mary Tyler Moore, bob Newhart, and Carol Burnett. There was never that much great comedy on one evening, before or after. Must-see TV years before NBC. Me and my family stayed glued to the set from 8 to 11. A great cast and consistently funny; I found out later that several Mad magazine writers were on the staff. I did get tired of Harvey Korman breaking up very week... but opposite Tim Conway, who could resist? I remember a sketch where Harvey was in a dentist chair; Tim was the dentist. All was going well... until Tim injected the Novocaine into himself and not his patient. Various parts of his body went numb. I remember him slapping his dangling right hand with his left--the numb hand swung back and forth like a half-filled water balloon. Then the left half of his face went slack. Then the right. The his right leg gave out and he had to sit on the chair with Harvey. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard, and poor Harvey almost slid out of his chair with laughter. A class act, all the way. It's a shame Harvey Korman never went on to comedy stardom, when marginally talented folks like Adam Sandler became millionaires.
... View MoreThe Carol Burnett Show, a.k.a. Carol Burnett and Friends, is my favorite show in TV history, without question. It made me laugh endlessly with its sketch comedy. For me, the best comedy revolves around lines that often seem ad libbed; the spontanaety often results in some of the best humor around. What also made this show special was Tim Conway's deliberate ad libbing of lines and actions to try to make the other actors bust up laughing. A classic example of this is when Conway, playing a NAZI officer in one sketch, tries to interrogate a POW (Lyle Waggoner) with an Adolf Hitler Puppet doll.Whether its Tim Conway as Uncle Waldo, Carol Burnett as "Missus Uh-Wiggins" or "Eunice", Jim Nabors as Yung Fool, or Vicki Lawrence as Mama Harper, this show's absolutely priceless.
... View More