The Best of The Carol Burnett Show

This hour belongs to Bilko and Dingbat-Phil Silvers and Jean Stapleton. Jean and Carol poke fun at Certs mints in a medley of parodies including Harvey's Moe DiMaggio's coffee machine. The finale finds Phil back in uniform trying to whip his drill team into shape. This evolves into a battle of the sexes against Carol's female squad, and hit songs and fancy footwork decide the outcome.

Harvey Korman once said, "We could always tell how funny a show was by how black and blue Tim was afterwards." Conway as "The Oldest Man" running a clock repair shop. A very pregnant Vicki Lawrence sings lullabies and nursery rhymes. Carol singing the full version of the show's theme song Also, Carol sidesteps audience requests for a Tarzan yell by running a montage of her best yells.

Roddy McDowall was one of Carol's favorite guest stars, and in this episode he displays an amazing facility for tongue twisters far beyond "She sells seashells...." The fun in a sketch like Foxies wasn't just for the audience-as Tim Conway once said, "At the end of this one we had four dead people on the floor, and they were all laughing."

With guest Shirley MacLaine, Carol took the opportunity to showcase her enduring love of musical theater in an elegant closing number aptly titled Gorgeous. Carol gets off one of her sauciest ad libs in the Q&A here: "Yes, I did work the Catskills-as a performer."

Guest star Bernadette Peters was already a star on Broadway, but Carol gave her some of her first widely seen TV work. This episode contains one of Carol's all-time favorite sketches, "The Pail," in which Carol, as a patient in therapy, has a surprising breakthrough with her doctor, played by Harvey Korman. The sketch was written by Barry Levinson and Rudy De Luca.

Maggie Smith has Carol speaking Cockney faster than one can say "Enry Iggins". Speaking of Higgins, in "The Family" sketch, Eunice and Ed Higgins-plus Mama-meet with son Bubba's teacher. Harvey finds himself caught in two absurd domestic situations.

The 1973 best-selling book The Secret Life of Plants ushered in a mini-fad of home gardeners talking encouragingly to their houseplants, and here Tim and Carol savage that trend with a bit that has Tim going fists-to-vines with an unruly shrub-the rare sketch in which Carol, as a somewhat demented plant store owner, gets to out-crazy Conway.

In this episode's funky fairy tale finale, "Cinderella Gets It On," Carol and guests the Pointer Sisters look perfectly Cher-fabulous in sequins, wigs, and platform shoes. This episode also contains one of the show's most cutting-edge comedic moments: a spoof commercial in which Tim as Adolf Hitler can't get recognized until he presents his "American Depress" credit card.

There's an auspicious bit of The Carol Burnett Show history in this episode-the very first appearance of Mrs. Wiggins and Mr. Tudball. The tribute to Universal Studios features a parody of the disaster flick Earthquake that showcases the kind of physical special effects and sound effects that Carol's crew executed live on stage every week.

Vicki needs a dance lesson real bad. She goes with the pros, the Jackson 5. In one of Carol's most charming Charwoman sketches, she encounters world-famous clown figure Weary Willie (Emmett Kelly). He hands the small spotlight to her and she consoles him with It's Only a Paper Moon, wherein the line, "It's a Barnum and Bailey world, just as phony as it can be," hits close to home.

Joanne Woodward joins "The Family" regulars as the free-spirited Midge Gibson, Fans everywhere loved this dysfunctional family so much that the writers had to create new roles beyond the basic Mama (Vicki)-Eunice (Carol)-Ed (Harvey) core to accommodate the special guest stars.

In this episode, Dick Van Dyke gets a chance to show off his amazing ability to combine dancing talent and physical comedy. The Odd Couple star Tony Randall, takes a great solo turn to recite the classic tale of witty wordplay and wine-fueled seduction Madeira. And the two stars get a sketch to themselves.

Jack Klugman and Carol entertain Carol's sister (Vicki) and her clairvoyant friend (Harvey). He and Carol also play a Dixie political team stumping for reelection in a big song-and-dance production. Conway never says a word, and also remains silent when his cat burglar character bungles a major museum heist. This is physical comedy at its finest.

Carol particularly happy with her hilarious spoof of swimming film star Esther Williams, shot on location in a Beverly Hills pool. The final appearance of an older, still-leaking "Esther," lowered from the rafters on a swing, got one of the biggest audience laughs in show history. "The Family" sketch also featured one of Carol's favorite actresses, Madeline Kahn, as Eunice's nemesis.

Carol starts her tenth season here with Nabors at her side, and features classic clips from that original episode. Soap opera fan Carol is having a great deal of fun doing a dead-on Louise Lasser impression in the show's takeoff of the then popular soap parody Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.