Is it too early in the morning to go watch The Carol Burnett Show? Gosh. You brought it all back — I can just picture us all, kids sprawled on the floor, parents on the couch (Mom) and in the recliner (Dad), watching Carol fashion a gown out of velvet curtains (the curtain rods still attached) a la Scarlett O’Hara in a Gone With The Wind parody. BTW, I wish I could hang out with your wife. I wouldn’t be smart enough for her, but I bet I could get her to laugh.
One of the few shows our entire family enjoyed. Tim Conway joining the show made my McHale's Navy loving dad very happy and we would set aside our Silent Generation vs Hippies differences for this one hour a week. Mom would make chocolate Jello pudding and we'd pour it over vanilla ice cream while still hot. Easily the best hour of the week.
Always got the impression that she *wanted* us to kick back, relax, and laugh, on purpose. So much of CBS's early '70s programming was wrapped around Norman Lear-like "message" stuff--not that there was anything wrong with that--that by the end of the week (my memory is of the Carol Burnett Show on Saturday nights but I'm probably wrong) you needed a *break*.
You have our leave to talk about it for days. (BTW, you’re right about LAUGH-IN, but I still love Alan Sues as hungover Uncle Al: “Hi kids. Uncle Al had too much medicine last night.”)
Re: Burnett and Bonell--At that time, TV was not only exploring but pushing the social boundaries, especially with regard to race. Black people went from characters being portrayed by White actors in blackface to actual POC playing POC characters. Shows centered round Black characters were greenlighted and ran (Diahann Carroll, for example), and scripting changed dramatically to show Black characters as full humans struggling with day-to-day existence in the capitalist paradise of America.
So it's not too surprising that Burnett would do such a routine. There was, after all, a lot of hope that America would finally start being a land of freedom and opportunity for all regardless of race.
It's moments like this when I can see better what the Muppet Show was trying to accomplish: celebrate the glory days of the TV variety show & lament its loss.
The Carol Burnett Show was appointment viewing when I was a kid. It’s one of those rare shows where everything comes together and you get way more than the sum of its parts. The players have great chemistry and talent to spare, the writing is sharp and the costuming and set design are spot on. The Eunice & Mama skits are IMO the best example of this but the whole show was just wonderful. And yeah I still watch the reruns whenever I can, too! Thanks for the AP tip!
Never saw those shows. We, a well off middle class family, didn’t have a TV. If we wanted to watch, we had to go upstairs to my grandmother’s, where there seemingly always was Lawrence Welk or Liberace on display. When I tell my kids that, their disbelief is obvious; like my tales of walking to school in the snow carrying my books and my sister’s. Unpossible! I was off to college before my dad broke down and bought a TV, which I think he turned on just so he could snort at whatever was on, then retreat to his study to read. Anyway, I appreciate that early TV shows are part of my generation’s social DNA and Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime can be a sort of mRNA vaccine for we few outliers, injecting pop culture retroactively. Maybe I’ll look into Carol when I’m done with Buffy and Veronica.
I loved watching the Carol Burnett show back in the day. It was a laugh riot so far as I was concerned. My evangelical parents wouldn't allow Rowan and Martin's on the household TV but I'd get to watch when I was at my friend's house sometimes. I loved it!
My Lampoon writing partner, Danny Abelson, grew up in Durban in South Africa. He was at Penn the same years I was (but we didn't know each other then). When we met working at the Strand bookstore, I learned that he was a huge fan of the Carol B. Show, which he watched both for the laffs, and to somehow learn more about the U.S. He said smart guys and gals growing up in S. Africa either oriented themselves toward England, or the U.S.
The Wikipedia page for the show is admirably detailed but doesn't mention ONE FUCKING WRITER. As though those actors improvised the show each week? I don't THINK so.
Is it too early in the morning to go watch The Carol Burnett Show? Gosh. You brought it all back — I can just picture us all, kids sprawled on the floor, parents on the couch (Mom) and in the recliner (Dad), watching Carol fashion a gown out of velvet curtains (the curtain rods still attached) a la Scarlett O’Hara in a Gone With The Wind parody. BTW, I wish I could hang out with your wife. I wouldn’t be smart enough for her, but I bet I could get her to laugh.
I love smartly done trash entertainment; anything done with some wit.
One of the few shows our entire family enjoyed. Tim Conway joining the show made my McHale's Navy loving dad very happy and we would set aside our Silent Generation vs Hippies differences for this one hour a week. Mom would make chocolate Jello pudding and we'd pour it over vanilla ice cream while still hot. Easily the best hour of the week.
Thanks for reminding me.
Always got the impression that she *wanted* us to kick back, relax, and laugh, on purpose. So much of CBS's early '70s programming was wrapped around Norman Lear-like "message" stuff--not that there was anything wrong with that--that by the end of the week (my memory is of the Carol Burnett Show on Saturday nights but I'm probably wrong) you needed a *break*.
Happy memories. And yes, Tim Conway was a great addition.
Conway could crack up a camel. His straight man was iron.
You have our leave to talk about it for days. (BTW, you’re right about LAUGH-IN, but I still love Alan Sues as hungover Uncle Al: “Hi kids. Uncle Al had too much medicine last night.”)
Re: Burnett and Bonell--At that time, TV was not only exploring but pushing the social boundaries, especially with regard to race. Black people went from characters being portrayed by White actors in blackface to actual POC playing POC characters. Shows centered round Black characters were greenlighted and ran (Diahann Carroll, for example), and scripting changed dramatically to show Black characters as full humans struggling with day-to-day existence in the capitalist paradise of America.
So it's not too surprising that Burnett would do such a routine. There was, after all, a lot of hope that America would finally start being a land of freedom and opportunity for all regardless of race.
How could Carol miss with a cast like that?
I thought Laugh In was a poor replacement for TW3, and much preferred the Smothers Brothers show, both for satirical content and musical guests.
It's moments like this when I can see better what the Muppet Show was trying to accomplish: celebrate the glory days of the TV variety show & lament its loss.
The Carol Burnett Show was appointment viewing when I was a kid. It’s one of those rare shows where everything comes together and you get way more than the sum of its parts. The players have great chemistry and talent to spare, the writing is sharp and the costuming and set design are spot on. The Eunice & Mama skits are IMO the best example of this but the whole show was just wonderful. And yeah I still watch the reruns whenever I can, too! Thanks for the AP tip!
Never saw those shows. We, a well off middle class family, didn’t have a TV. If we wanted to watch, we had to go upstairs to my grandmother’s, where there seemingly always was Lawrence Welk or Liberace on display. When I tell my kids that, their disbelief is obvious; like my tales of walking to school in the snow carrying my books and my sister’s. Unpossible! I was off to college before my dad broke down and bought a TV, which I think he turned on just so he could snort at whatever was on, then retreat to his study to read. Anyway, I appreciate that early TV shows are part of my generation’s social DNA and Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime can be a sort of mRNA vaccine for we few outliers, injecting pop culture retroactively. Maybe I’ll look into Carol when I’m done with Buffy and Veronica.
I loved watching the Carol Burnett show back in the day. It was a laugh riot so far as I was concerned. My evangelical parents wouldn't allow Rowan and Martin's on the household TV but I'd get to watch when I was at my friend's house sometimes. I loved it!
Call Columbo 'crap' one more time and it is pistols at dawn, sir.
My Lampoon writing partner, Danny Abelson, grew up in Durban in South Africa. He was at Penn the same years I was (but we didn't know each other then). When we met working at the Strand bookstore, I learned that he was a huge fan of the Carol B. Show, which he watched both for the laffs, and to somehow learn more about the U.S. He said smart guys and gals growing up in S. Africa either oriented themselves toward England, or the U.S.
The Wikipedia page for the show is admirably detailed but doesn't mention ONE FUCKING WRITER. As though those actors improvised the show each week? I don't THINK so.
I remember when Burnett would appear on The Garry Moore Show, and was not at all surprised when she got her own.