The opening, with Carol spontaneously joking with the audience, is the funniest part. Burnett even did a popular tour just before the pandemic, recreating that.
Conway remains the next most reliably funniest part of the show. There are also some amazing guest stars like Steven Martin and Robin Williams very early in their careers.
Some parts have aged poorly, the musical numbers that were already corny in the 70s. Some of the guest stars like Ken Berry seem trapped in that time.
But the crown jewels in the series were all the Eunice and Mama's Family skits. Somehow, in an at times corny show, the most popular characters were like watching Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf. Abrasive and raw, a deeply dysfunctional family tearing each other apart, yet still funny and touching.
Can you imagine an audience watching an old time musical number suddenly hearing a woman telling her mother that she married her husband because she "had to"? That she got pregnant. And her mother answering "Welcome to the club." And the most midde America audience laughing loud, in recognition of how many of them it happened to.
Conway remains the next most reliably funniest part of the show. There are also some amazing guest stars like Steven Martin and Robin Williams very early in their careers.
Some parts have aged poorly, the musical numbers that were already corny in the 70s. Some of the guest stars like Ken Berry seem trapped in that time.
But the crown jewels in the series were all the Eunice and Mama's Family skits. Somehow, in an at times corny show, the most popular characters were like watching Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf. Abrasive and raw, a deeply dysfunctional family tearing each other apart, yet still funny and touching.
Can you imagine an audience watching an old time musical number suddenly hearing a woman telling her mother that she married her husband because she "had to"? That she got pregnant. And her mother answering "Welcome to the club." And the most midde America audience laughing loud, in recognition of how many of them it happened to.