The Carol Burnett Show: The Lost Episodes

Carol sets the tone in her opening Q&A by inviting guest Jonathan Winters to join her onstage. Dionne Warwick, then in the midst of an incredible run of top-tier pop hits, adds poignancy to the mix with a sensitive, measured rendition of her 1968 smash (Theme from) Valley of the Dolls.

It's girls' night out on this episode, as Barbara Feldon and Joan Rivers. The priceless moment of the episode belongs to Harvey and Carol as a bickering elderly couple whose love shines through, as reflected in the 1908 popular song Cuddle Up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine.

"You better sit down, kids," as Cher sings in her 1967 pop hit. Carol deftly turns this hour into a short course on TV comedy history. "Office Triangle" finds Nanette Fabray. Carol and Harvey clumsily attempt to conjure the Sonny & Cher musical chemistry-much to the faux bewilderment of the real musical duo.

Satire abounds, starting with "Fireside Chat," a wickedly funny send-up of the actual occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue featuring America's "new chief executive" Marilyn Horne and Eileen Farrell, perform an operatic version of The Three Little Pigs. Lyle Waggoner plays the world's most good-looking man to arch perfection, Bob Hope, in a priceless cameo.

In a hospital sketch, Nurse Carol gives the heave-ho (again out a window) to her idol, entitled "international sex symbol" Harvey. Oscar winners Shirley Jones and George Chakiris offer classy musical interludes-Shirley with a Broadway medley of When Did I Fall in Love and Somebody Somewhere, and sleek George performing a smoldering Greek love dance.

Ken Berry, a consummate singer-dancer-comic, Berry not only became a regular guest on Carol's show but would later co-star, with Vicki Lawrence, in the Carol Burnett Show spinoff Mama's Family. His singing-tapping rendition of Mr. Bojangles is a classy highlight of the hour, and later he joins Carol and Nanette in a post-Civil War era love triangle sketch.

In this Thanksgiving show, a must-see installment of As the Stomach Turns, Harvey and Paul appear as the shifty Canoga Twins, who not only dress alike but also have mastered synchronized walking. Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Dyan Cannon delivers a beautiful rendition of Until It's Time for You to Go.

Guests Mel Tormé and Soupy Sales salute Warner Bros. Studios. Celebrity sightings include Bugs Bunny (Carol), Eddie Cantor and, notably, Carol's biting, tour-de-force impersonation of Joan Crawford. California Governor Ronald Reagan joins the Q&A segment and assures an audience member he has no intention of ever moving to Washington, D.C.

TV comedy pioneer Nanette Fabray returns with a powerful, poignant sign-language version of Over the Rainbow. Valley of the Dollars perfectly captures Valley of the Dolls' kitschy ennui among the beautiful and bored, and Guess What's Coming to Dinner? tackles prejudice of a different color when doting son Harvey brings home his new girlfriend-a green-finned, green-haired mermaid (Nanette).

Gwen Verdon, features choreography reminiscent of her husband Bob Fosse's sensuous style. Harvey and Carol's beloved "The Old Folks" sketch finds them engaging in a kind of geriatric Apache dance. Later, Carol, Harvey and Lyle are at their acid-etched best in satirizing troubled relationships in "The Ham Actors" Pat Boone provides a magical moment singing Biff Rose's Molly.

The fourth season's final show finds the fab four cast regulars (plus guests Paul Lynde and Nanette Fabray, who meld with Carol, Harvey, Vicki and Lyle playing together in almost every sketch and illustrating how tight-knit an ensemble they had become. Funny, yes-but abundantly life affirming too. Classic Carol.

Mickey Rooney finds himself in another mad world featuring Carol and Harvey. John Davidson co-stars with Carol, Vicki, Mickey and Harvey in the show's first backstage movie takeoff, The Funn Family of Broadway. Yankee Doodle Dandy, the sketch summarizes a theatrical family's rise, split, and touching reunion in their senior years. It's the start of something big.

Peter Lawford had, a telling fashion effect on Harvey and Lyle, who come onstage sporting psychedelic unisex outfits straight out of the Summer of Love. Grand Ole Opry sensation Minnie Pearl brought her slice-of-rural-life comedy monologue and greeting-"How-dee! I'm just so proud to be here!"-just prior to breaking out nationally on a wildly popular new CBS show called Hee Haw.

Bernadette Peters and Mike Douglas guest star. Carol performs a medley of hits from the Partridge Family and the Carpenters. Funt & Mundane go way off Broadway to Nebraska and battle the elements and the livestock. The whole gang unites as a "Gray Brigade" of ex-actors planning their return to the bright lights of Broadway.

The show's opening Q&A segment produces one of the coolest. Carol summons a game volunteer to help her demonstrate the stretches and sit-ups she says are responsible for trimming nine inches from her figure. The spotlight soon turns to Ernie Flatt Dancers, with guitarist Tony Rizzi. Fittingly, this 1970 season closer concludes with Carol's Charwoman reflecting on its indelible highlights.