This March, lovers of landmark TV and classic comedy will be able to reacquaint themselves with one of the best hours ever on TV with the release of The Carol Burnett Show: The Lost Episodes, Volumes 1-3 to both iTunes and Amazon by Time Life. Never before available on any digital platform, the three ‘Best of’ compilations, featuring rarely-seen fan-favorite episodes from the first five years of Burnett’s eponymous series, will be specially priced the first week of release at $9.99, with individual episodes available for $1.99. Following that, the compilations will be available for $14.99.
From 1967 to 1978, The Carol Burnett Show tickled America’s funny bone on CBS with a blend of comedy, song and dance that made the irreverent, hilarious program “Must See TV” decades before another network coined the phrase. Carol and her madcap, uber-talented cast of comic actors — Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and later Tim Conway and Dick Van Dyke — took to the airwaves and entertained millions each week, joined by some of the biggest stars in the business. Ad-libs and the occasional flubbed line brought a spontaneity to the screen that was absent from most other variety shows. Little did they know that The Carol Burnett Show would become an Emmy Award-winning program and survive the changing tastes of TV audiences to run eleven seasons and become one of the most iconic TV Variety Shows in history.
Each digital volume of The Carol Burnett Show: The Lost Episodes includes vintage, hand-picked shows from the first five seasons of the series, and, up until 2015, these “lost” episodes had never resurfaced – no reruns, streaming video or DVDs.
Volume 1 includes such classic sketches as ‘Carol and Sis’, ‘The Charwoman’, and ‘As the Stomach Turns’; among the guest stars featured are Lucille Ball, Eddie Albert, Chita Rivera, Bob Newhart, Jim Nabors, Paul Lynde, Bing Crosby, Don Adams, Phyllis Diller, Andy Griffith, Bernadette Peters, Cass Elliot and more.
Volume 2 features a ‘Salute to Warner Brothers’ with Mel Tormé and Soupy Sales, Carol’s tour-de-force impersonation of Joan Crawford and the classic sketch, ‘The Ham Actors’. Showbiz icons and performers appearing include Jonathan Winters, Dionne Warwick, Joan Rivers, Sonny & Cher, Nanette Fabray, Shirley Jones, Ken Berry and a special cameo by Ronald Reagan.
Volume 3 includes more ‘Charwoman’, Harvey, Carol, Lyle and Lucille Ball lampooning modern morality in their version of the hit movie Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and Tim Conway’s ‘Oldest Man’ masterminding a jewelry heist that literally has him going in circles. Guest stars featured in this volume include Ray Charles, George Carlin, Mike Douglas, Martha Raye, Lana Turner and Ricardo Montalban.
In addition to The Carol Burnett Show: The Lost Episodes, Volumes 1-3, Time Life has also released The Best of The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts: Volumes 1-3 on iTunes. And even more TV classics will follow on leading digital platforms in 2018!
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