TV on DVD

Burnett show 'lost' episodes a trove of classic variety TV

The Carol Burnett Show: Lost Episodes
The Carol Burnett Show: Lost Episodes

What is it? The Carol Burnett Show: Lost Episodes, 16 episodes on six discs from Time Life

When? Now

How much? $59.95

Lost? Well, not so much "lost" as they were "tangled up in legal problems and therefore not available for release."

These particular episodes are all from the first five seasons (September 1967-March 1972) of the long-running variety series and were hand-picked by Burnett for the special release.

Other sets with episodes from later seasons have been released before, but this is the first chance fans have to see the show in its infant stage, as the cast comes together and they develop recurring sketches such as the loopy soap opera As the Stomach Turns.

This particular collection has the regular cast (Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner) joined by guest stars including Alan Alda, Carol Channing, Andy Griffith, Bob Newhart and two standout episodes with that other pioneering comic redhead, Lucille Ball.

In addition to recurring sketches like "Carol and Sis" and "The Old Folks," viewers are treated to Don Adams as a talk show host whose technical crew has been replaced by TV executives, Tim Conway anchoring a troubled (and information-free) newscast and Burnett and Ball inadvertently visiting a Nazi restaurant.

Each episode also has musical numbers by performers like Bing Crosby, Lesley Ann Warren, Cass Elliot and Gwen Verdon.

The show may have been in its early days, but it's funny and worthwhile, particularly for fans of Burnett and 1960s variety shows.

Extras? Absolutely. There are:

• Interviews with celebrities who appeared on the show or are fans: Don Rickles, Lesley Ann Warren, Jim Nabors, Alan Alda, Burt Reynolds, Bill Hader, Gloria Loring and Queen Latifah. There's also one with Burnett about the early years of the show and one with Julie Andrews, who never appeared on the series but is a close friend of Burnett.

• The opening of Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center, a 1971 special starring Andrews and Burnett. Burnett does a brief introduction giving some back story.

• Three minutes of outtakes

• A 20-minute backstage tour with the cast exploring and reminiscing in their old stamping grounds at CBS Studio 33

• Writers and cast remembering the show's beginning and the origins of recurring sketches

• A 20-minute feature on the Q&A segments that opened each episode

• Bonus sketches, including the classic "The Dentist" with Korman and Conway

All the featurettes are loaded with clips from the show and interviews with fans (like Tina Fey, Shirley Jones and Kristin Chenoweth), cast and crew.

New this week: Bones, Season 10; Fresh off the Boat, Season 1; Grimm, Season 4; Inspector George Gently, Season 7; Jane the Virgin, Season 1; Law & Order: UK, Season 3; Outlander, Season 1, Volume 2; Reign, Season 2; The Slap, miniseries; Vera, Season 5.

Next week: Bewitched, Complete Series; The Code, Season 1; Happyish, Season 1; Heartland, Season 8; I Dream of Jeannie, Complete Series; The Leftovers, Season 1; Little House on the Prairie, Season 7 and Complete Collection; Mission: Impossible, Complete Series; Party Down, Complete Series; Penny Dreadful, Season 2; South Park, Season 18; Tut, miniseries; Vikings, Season 3.

Style on 09/27/2015

Upcoming Events