The Carol Burnett Show

This was definitely the finest variety show of the 1970's. The thing that made it great besides the cast were the various recurring sketches that were very expertly created. Sketches like Tudball and Wiggins, the Old Folks, As the Stomach Turns, the kid sister and, of course, Eunice, which was the inspiration for the series "Mama's Family", helped to make this variety hour a classic. Besides "Mama and Eunice" any one of these shows could have become a series on its own. The only thing that caused the show to go downhill though was when Harvey Korman left. He was probably the best player among the supporting cast and when he left the show declined from there. Still, Saturday nights for me would always climax with this classic show.

Was 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.

The 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.

Half of the fun of watching Carol Burnett and Friends was watching the actors and actresses try to maintain straight faces during their skits, even when on the inside they were dying to burst out laughing. What made this series funny is that the actors and actresses ad-libbed most of their lines. This way, even the other actors didn't know what would be said next. I've seen many episodes of this show and each one of them keeps me laughing. This is comedy at it highest, at a time when humor was based on slapstick humor and the totally unexpected instead of sexual one-liners. If you ever get a chance to see this show, watch it. You won't be disappointed--especially if you're fortunate to see the episode where Lyle Waggoner is a prisoner of war in WWII interrogated by German officers Harvey Korman and Tim Conway.

I loved the Carol Burnett show when I was a child. It was in half-hour reruns. After spending the last weekend watching TV Land marathon, I just learned why. It was one of the most entertaining experiences in television history. This was a great cast of highly talented people not just the beloved star, Carol Burnett. Her former husband Joe Hamilton produced the show. Her friends like Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence, and Lyle Waggoner were all uniquely talented and gifted. We can see why this show thrived. Most of the cast were there from beginning to end. After 11 years of superb Emmy winning and golden globe episodes, the show is available on DVD and can be seen on TV Land where it belongs with some of television's classics. It is still a classic. Sometimes Saturday Night Live and MAD TV can embrace the wholesome comedy as a risk in itself.