More reviews and commentary on Lost Episodes of the Carol Burnett Show found on my Christmas present--The Carol Burnett Show Lost Episodes Ultimate Collection. As noted in previous blogs, MeTV has moved beyond seasons 1-5 (the seasons no one has seen in over 40 years) and is now broadcasting seasons 6-11 (which we've all seen 100 times in syndication). There is no way of knowing if they will go back to the beginning once all those episodes are used up. How will I ever see the episodes I missed which are not on DVD anywhere? There is another DVD collection called The Best of the Carol Burnett Show featuring several segments from the early years, which I intend to purchase later but there are so many other episodes I can't find. Anyway, here are my thoughts on the segments spread across the three DVD collections in the Lost Episodes Ultimate Collection (The Lost Episodes, Treasures from the Vault and Classic Carol. BTW, Carol's Lost Christmas which contains three yuletide hours was not included in this set, though I have seen it as part of the package on some sites. I will have to buy that one separately through Amazon or eBay.)
Season One:
Jan. 8, 1968
Lana Turner, Frank Gorshin
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| Frank Gorshin and Carol in the weird scuba finale |
This one was probably included in the DVD collection because the guest star was Lana Turner, a glamorpuss from Hollywood’s Golden Age and a veteran of such soapy classics as Peyton Place and The Bad and the Beautiful. The only problem was she really couldn’t act, sing, or dance. She looked gorgeous in a blonde movie-star kind of way. There are weak hijinks with Carol and Lana acting jealous over Lyle and Turner featured in a romantic waltz where she sing-speaks syrupy lyrics to "Greensleeves" and competently waltzes with lead dancer Don Creighton. Frank Gorshin displays his mimicking skills in a number with the girl dancers, each dressed as a different movie legend with Gorshin imitating their male co-stars. He really isn't a great singer either, but his impressions are spot-on including a very rare imitation of Joseph Cotten. Gorshin was a big deal to me as a kid because he played the Riddler on Batman. Now as an adult, I realize he was doing Kirk Douglas the whole time. Gorshin appeared with other impressionists such as Rich Little, Marilyn Michaels, and George Kirby on a short-lived variety series called The Kopykats. The material was pretty lame, but the imitations were brilliant. Perhaps I'll do a blog on that show under the heading of Lost TV.
The direction is pretty poor during a sketch called The Sound of Murder with Frank and Lana as a pair of crooks scheming to murder Carol. The stars appear underrehearsed and the camera angles focus on the wrong spots, missing the punchlines. The whole show wraps up with a bizarre aquatic extravaganza to "By the Beautiful Sea" with Frank, Carol, and the chorus in scuba gear and flippers.
