September 26, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 21 DVD set offers pleasant stroll down Memory Lane by Dennis Seuling “The Carol Burnett Show: Carol’s Favorites” (Time Life) is a 6-DVD set containing 17 complete, unedited episodes featuring popular sketches and characters from the long-running series. Prominently featured are Burnett’s comedy ensemble: Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence, and Lyle Waggoner. “The Carol Burnett Show” was unusual for many reasons. It had a time slot for a good part of its run on Saturday, which was then a desirable night for programming. The show emphasized comedy rather than the singing and dancing that were the staples of other period variety shows. Few other 1970s variety shows lasted more than two seasons, while the Burnett show was on for 11, and TIME magazine named the show one of the “100 Best Television Shows of All Time.” The 17 shows in the set are from various seasons and include many of Burnett’s specialty: the movie spoof. “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Airport,” “The Sound of Music,” and the Judy Garland/ Mickey Rooney MGM musicals are given good-natured send-ups, but the best spoof of them all, “Went with the Wind,” is a hilarious parody of “Gone with the Wind.” The highlight of this lengthy sketch is the moment “Starlet O’Hara” (Burnett) makes her entrance on a staircase wearing a drapery dress complete with curtain rod across her shoulders. The audience howls. Listen carefully to Burnett’s line when the laughter subsides. It’s a great example of building a gag on a gag. The sketch is inspired, and illustrates the tone that characterizes most of Burnett’s movie spoofs. They were never mean-spirited, always funny, and always performed with affection for the originals. Star power abounds in this set. There was always a guest star on the show, which attracted some really big ones. Featured in these episodes are Vincent Price, Shirley MacLaine, Pearl Bailey, Carl Reiner, Maggie Smith, The Jackson Five, Joanne Woodward, Sid Caesar, Rock Hudson, Phil Silvers, and Roddy McDowall. All perform in comedy skits. Several of Burnett’s recurring sketches are well represented. In “Mr. Tudball and Mrs. Wiggins,” Carol plays an inept, blonde office worker with a frustrated, constantly suffering boss played by Tim Conway. In “Ed and Eunice,” Burnett and Korman are an uptight married couple forever at odds with Eunice’s mother, played by Lawrence. Years later, this sketch morphed into the NBC sitcom, “Mama’s Family.” “As the Stomach Turns” was a continuing soap opera satire. Some exceptional extras include the Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman in a spoof of ‘Gone with the Wind,’ one of many comedy sketches featured on ‘The Carol Burnett Show: Carol’s Favorites.’ March 1962 episode of “The Garry Moore Show” (where Burnett became a TV star) containing the “Supergirl” sketch -- the first time Burnett did the Tarzan yell on TV; a 10-page booklet listing the contents (continued on Crossword page)