The Glory that was Eunice and the Grandeur that was Mama:Carol Burnett's "THE FAMILY"

Cafe Society
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[QUOTE=Rilchiam]
Are you sure about McDowall’s character? (He was a cousin, I believe.) During the Monopoly sketch, he called to announce his engagement. Alan Alda was Eunice’s brother, the artist, about whom Eunice said his being unmarried didn’t mean he was “strange…necessarily.” Later, Ed was convinced of his virility when he asked for a beer. “And here Ah thought you was a bit of a nance! [flounces wrist]”

Oh, and the Monopoly game. When Philip called, the family was in the midst of a brawl about when exactly a player could buy houses. Mama brushed aside the news and demanded, “Can ya buy houses when it’s not your turn, or do ya hafta wait?..Can ya buy houses when it’s not your turn?!…IN MONOPOLY!!” Then she told the others that “he was so rude, drove the answer right outta mah damn head!”

I sometimes recall that when playing Monopoly. And pepper mills bring back the restaurant sketch. “It is a PEPPER MILL, Mama! Ya hafta GRIND it! [twists mill violently] You’d think the twoa ya lived under a ROCK!”

Yes, you can count me among those who see their family in the Harpers, even though we’re Italian-American, with roots in Pennsylvania. The best showcase for Mama’s nastiness is the one where she’s in a wheelchair, staying with Eunice and Ed indefinitely. “That’s your fourth beer today!” “And I’ll tell you suntin’, I’ve needed ever’ one of 'em! [Eunice takes a defiant swig]”

(That said, I’ve never thought Tim Conway was funny. The elephant routine goes right past me.)
[/QUOTE]

I’m still pretty sure there was some insinuation about Roddy/Philip. Btw, it was this episode & he was Eunice’s brother-

http://www.tv.com/the-carol-burnett-show/with-roddy-mcdowell-jackson-five/episode/180193/summary.html

Episode Number: 181 Season Num: 7 First Aired: Saturday March 16, 1974

“The Family” – Eunice (Carol), her husband Ed (Harvey), and Mama (Vicki) don’t appreciate the accomplishments of Eunice’s brother, Nobel Prize-winning writer Philip (Roddy)
I also found this bit of info at that site-

  1. with Eydie Gorme, Vincent Price
    Community Score10.0
    Perfect
    First aired: 2/9/1972
    · “The House of Terror” – horror movie spoof · “Desidirata” – recitation by Vincent · “Gypsy Medley” – Eydie and Carol sing · “The Way of Love” – sung by Eydie · “What We Really Need Is A Boy,” “Perfect Young Ladies” – sung by Carol, Vicki, and Eydie · Salute to the Twenties
    I KNEW I REMEMBERED SEEING VINCENT PRICE RECITE THE DESIDERATA ON THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW!!!

Now if I could find out what show had Boris Karloff doing “It Was A Very Good Year”.

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I actually cited the “Sorrrrrrry!” sketch in the recent “classic t.v. moments” thread. We use a lot of Eunice-isms when we’re with family, from “Sorrrrry!” to “You KNOW I wanted yeller.” I loved Mama’s Family.

I’ll have to watch a few of the episodes.

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Sampiro,
You are absolutely right concerning the brilliance and depth of The Family sketches. No, you aren’t the only person who never found Lily Tomlin’s Earnestine character funny.

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Quick hijack-

The Jonathan Winters Show

  1. October 30, 1968
    First aired: 10/30/1968
    Jonathan’s guests are Boris Karloff, Agnes Moorehead, Marjorie McCoy and the Craig Hundley Trio. Also joining him are Cliff Arquette and Pamela Rodgers. Comedy Sketches: Agnes Moorehead recites a scarry Halloween tale. A trick-or-treater (Jonathan) rings the doorbell of a mad doctor (Karloff) and his nurse (Moorehead). Jonathan plays elderly swinger Maude Frickert. Musical Highlights: Boris Karloff performs "It Was a Very Good Year." Marjorie McCoy and dancers do a “Samba” production number. The Craig Hundley Jazz Trio perform the “Theme from Black Orpheus.”

Guest star: Cliff Arquette (Himself (1968-1969)), Pamela Rodgers (Herself (1968)) , Boris Karloff (Himself), Agnes Moorehead (Herself), Craig Hundley (Himself)

GOD BLESS WWW.TV.COM!!!

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[QUOTE=Sampiro]
I think the dysfunctional aspect is one of the appeals. My family was, as I may have mentioned at some point, a bit on the “not altogether happy” side and it was due in large part to my mother’s occasional tirades and tantrums (“the Virgo Virago” as my father called her) and bitter old women (mainly my grandmothers). TV in the 1970s started with The Brady Bunch and Bewitched and other cheesy “no real problems” Stepford wives and metrosexual hubbies and beautiful homes in big city suburbs. When Norman Lear got involved you got All in the Family and Good Times where the families had real problems and the homes weren’t showplaces and women didn’t dust wearing nice clothes and with their hair perfectly coiffed, but the couples were ultimately happily married and supportive. Sanford & Son was great because it allowed us to see a family who lived in a total mess like my grandmother and aunts, but there again Fred and Lamont still didn’t go into “way over the top” hysterics and screaming matches and the like, and once again their home was in a big city.

THE FAMILY on TCBS was one of the things I could actually relate to…
[/QUOTE]
I’ve seen some of these shows (on the TV Land channel), and I’ve spent some free time watching Sampiro’s links. I have to say, “The Family” scenes differ from other old-time comedy in that it isn’t situation comedy. “I Love Lucy” was the epitome of situation comedy, and it’s amazing that they still show it, and it’s even more amazing to see that over half a century later most comedies strive for the same effect.

However, these sketches that Sampiro has linked us to are not situation comedy, and I think that’s why they stand out. In fact, I’m surprised that they even made their way onto to prime-time. There’s a live audience (it isn’t canned laughter), and they don’t laugh at the straight-forward jokes, but rather at the…well, I don’t know any other way to say it, but at the [CLICHE]humanity’[/CLICHE] of the characters.

When I watch these video clips, I don’t see comedy, I see Eugene O’Neil.

But there’s one thing that gives me caution; they’re putting on Southern accents. Are these accents believable?

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Saturday night used to be Mary Tyler Moore and Bob Newhart, followed by Carol Burnett. Okay, maybe a little Hee-Haw while Mom finished putting on her makeup and Dad told the 14-yr-old babysitter where the emergency phone numbers were.

Plenty of the jokes were inscrutable (I never could figure out why WJM didn’t just fire Ted), but you knew that when you were a grown-up yourself, they’d make sense. You’d probably understand the rest of the jokes on All in the Family then, too.

Those shows were political, and subtle, and about the human condition.

Then Aaron Spelling brought jiggle to prime-time and it’s been downhill ever since.

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[QUOTE=guizot]
But there’s one thing that gives me caution; they’re putting on Southern accents. Are these accents believable?
[/QUOTE]

Believable but exaggerated. I have relatives from Southwestern Kentucky who sound just like Eunice.

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thanks Sampiro, I was watching 'night, Mother and kept seeing Mama and Eunice in it. It’s now been either ruined or improved - I can’t tell?

What next? “Reflections in a Golden Eye” with the cast of “Major Dad?”

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[QUOTE=guizot]
I have to say, “The Family” scenes differ from other old-time comedy in that it isn’t situation comedy. “I Love Lucy” was the epitome of situation comedy, and it’s amazing that they still show it, and it’s even more amazing to see that over half a century later most comedies strive for the same effect.

However, these sketches that Sampiro has linked us to are not situation comedy, and I think that’s why they stand out. In fact, I’m surprised that they even made their way onto to prime-time. There’s a live audience (it isn’t canned laughter)…
[/QUOTE]
I Love Lucy was filmed in front of a studio audience, which is not to say that it (or the Carol Burnett Show) was never “sweetened” in postproduction. Carol Burnett used to do a brief Q&A at the top of each show, and I recall her explaining to an audience member that they ran through the whole show twice each week, once in front of an audience and once with just the cast and crew. The version that aired contained pieces of both performances.