If you read our recent feature on The Carol Burnett Show: The Lost Episodes Ultimate Collection and wished there was a more “bite-sized” version, you’re in luck! Coming out today from Time Life is The Carol Burnett Show: The Lost Episodes — Classic Carol, available in one, three, and six-disc sets. All three (like the ultimate set) feature episodes from the first five seasons of the series’ run (1967-1972), none of which have been available for viewing until now (and that includes re-runs, streaming, etc.). All three sets have the wonderful content the show has become famous for, such as sketches and movie satires (ex: “Once Upon a Water Bed,” “Scene Stealers,” “Tearjerker Theatre”) and caricatures of the wacky commercials from the 60s-70s. And of course rounding out the core cast of Carol, Vicki Lawrence, Harvey Korman, and Lyle Waggoner are the multi-talented guest stars (Lana Turner, Bernadette Peters, Robert Goulet, and others top a long list of five-star entertainers that appear…we even get to see Carol’s charwoman character do an awesome blues duet with the incomparable Ray Charles). The one-disc set has three episodes, the three-disc has seven, and the six-disc has fourteen.
The three and six-disc sets also have some nice bonus content via interviews with Randy Doney and Edward Villella (two of the show’s incredible dancers) and a group conversation with a selection of the writers. On top of that the six-disc set also has a few extra shows from Carol’s career, including some episodes from The Garry Moore Show (note: if you ever have a chance to read/listen to Carol’s autobiography, you’ll love how warmly she describes her start in television on that show and how it influenced her as she created her own).
As to pricing, the one-disc set is $12.95, the three-disc is $29.95, and the six-disc is $59.95, all of which divide out to around $4 per episode (plus the applicable bonus features). If you want to start building your personal library (or maybe introduce someone else to the show) a “bite” at a time, one of these may be the set for you.
