Last year, there was an infomercial for The Carol Burnett Show DVDs. All of the episodes in their full length, and Carol herself watched all of them and, I think, signed a few copies or did something special for the DVD release. Well, I think she also ended up writing this book.
This book takes you through the show's beginnings (and a little bit of Carol's beginnings, although I think she's already covered that in her other books) and gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at all that fun "in the sandbox". To write this book, Carol said she re-watched all of the episodes, and from that, she writes about her favorite Q&As with the audience, her favorite sketches, the favorite characters she played, her favorite guest stars, etc. There are stories in here that you may have never heard, unless you're a hardcore fan. And there are a few screenshots sprinkled throughout so that, as Carol says it, you can see the chemistry between the actors when they were performing.
What I thought was really interesting was the schedule for the show. They were hardly in the studio! Seemed like a dream schedule and not one you would see EVER in today's film and television industry.
What I didn't like so much was Carol's rehashing of certain sketches word for word. There's something MUCH different about someone telling you, "Here's how the sketch went" and actually watching it for yourself. I really wished that I could just watch the episodes or the sketches along with Carol, like watch the DVDs with Carol's commentary over it. Because I'm sure that these sketches she's printing word for word in the book are HILARIOUS when you see them. But the "funny" is kind of lacking when you're just reading the words on the page.
I think this book would be a great addition to the DVD release (if it's still available) for a fan of The Carol Burnett Show.
I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.
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