Your Show of Shows

To understand why "Your Show of Shows" (YSOS) is so highly regarded, just take a look at the list of the cast and crew. The confluence of all that talent took place at a time when the industry was still being burped on the shoulders of its fathers. But, in retrospect, it was an experiment that worked.

If the episodes don't seem as hilarious today as they did when the show was originally broadcast, it's because so many subsequent programs have absorbed, borrowed and reused elements of YSOS. The brilliant Carl Reiner's "Dick van Dyke Show" was undoubtedly inspired by YSOS, but that's an obvious example, and a classic in its own right.

The strain of putting on a 90-minute live TV show, with the same lead characters in harness week after week, must have drained even the most sturdy contributors.

I recall the last show of the run. Pat Weaver was there to help say good-bye. I had tape-recorded about a dozen programs on a reel-to-reel machine. At least I had those episodes to soften the blow.

Fortunately today episodes aplenty are available for home viewing, and that's something to celebrate.