THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW: CAROL’S FAVORITES
(not rated)
MOVIE: **** (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
Earlier this summer, Time-Life released the complete collection of “The Carol Burnett Show” on DVD. Granted, many of these episodes had been released before in separate sets, but the was the first time where all of them came in one single set. Like any long-running television series, this was really only worth paying for if you’re a huge fan of the series.
If you’re not ready to pull the rip-cord and buy the entire collection, there are still several sets that are worth picking up for the variety show laughs. “The Carol Burnett Show: Carol’s Favorites” was a disc I was afforded for review in the set, and it was a lot of fun to revisit these episodes.
I remember watching “The Carol Burnett Show” during its first run and on reruns and syndication in the 70s. It was classic variety show fare, but more sanitized than something like “Saturday Night Live,” which took over at the end of that decade. The players were great, featuring Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence and Tim Conway along with special guest stars.
Some of these episodes and sketches were corny or tired, relating more to the era in which they were produced so they don’t always hold up. However, there are still some timeless sketches we get to see, including Mrs. Wiggins and Conway’s decrepit old man.
If you grew up with these shows, “The Carol Burnett Show: Carol’s Favorites” is a nice sampling of the series. The episodes featured on this disc are all from the tenth and eleventh season, but that showed the actors after they had fully hit their stride and were in their comfort zone.
The disc also included some special features, including a couple reunion interviews – both before and after Harvey Korman passed – in which the cast enjoyed poking fun at Korman, whether he was there or not. There was also a bonus video of the infamous “Dentist” sketch, which is some of the finest on-stage physical comedy that Conway and Korman had to offer.