Carol Burnett was stupid to end this show - The Carol Burnett Show (1967) Discussion

[–] AdrianLePier 9 years ago

Paranoia over cancellation was silly. She could have renegotiated her contract for the show to continue on a yearly basis, per the ratings and her and the networks willingness to continue. Truth be told, it probably had lost some steam and a few of the cast members were already gone or probably would've wanted to leave...so I don't think it ended prematurely per se, but it could have easily gone another season. What's odd to me is that after TCBS ended in '78, she did a summer season spinoff for ABC called "Carol And Company" in 1979 that was essentially the same show with many of the same cast and recurring skits. Seems pointless in retrospect. They could've just done season at CBS.

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[–] Manna-Fest 9 years ago

Truth be told, it probably had lost some steam and a few of the cast members were already gone or probably would've wanted to leave...so I don't think it ended prematurely per se, but it could have easily gone another season.

We don't know how long the show could have gone on for, but I hope it would have been long expanding at most another decade.

What's odd to me is that after TCBS ended in '78, she did a summer season spinoff for ABC called "Carol And Company" in 1979 that was essentially the same show with many of the same cast and recurring skits. Seems pointless in retrospect. They could've just done season at CBS.

I didn't even know there was a spinoff and did a quick research after reading your comment. I came across the show, but it apparently came about in 1990 and lasted two seasons, not 1979. It would have been great if the Carol Burnett show had stretched out that far to 1991, or perhaps 1992 to give it that even 25 year run.

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[–] AdrianLePier 9 years ago

There were two Carol and Companies series. One ran in August/September 1979 on ABC that was essentially the same as TCBS.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0334837/
http://www.tv.com/shows/carol-burnett-and-company/

The other was the series you're referring to that aired on NBC in 1990, which was an anthology series, where the whole episode was centered around one a different weekly sketch.

I guess the names are technically different. The 1979 series was called Carol Burnett & Company, while the 1990 series was called Carol & Company.

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[–] Manna-Fest 9 years ago

Oh well thanks for that correction. I thought it was weird for you to be that far off, but it was actually me that didn't do enough research. All I know is when I google searched the name, that 1990 show popped up. And how interesting I caught your comment just two minutes after you posted it. 

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[–] mactach 9 years ago

Think you're foolish for feeling the way you do.

Not many shows last that long anyhow and why should she not quit if she wanted.

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[–] Manna-Fest 9 years ago

Think you're foolish for feeling the way you do.

Well isn't that sad? NOT! Don't really care. You're foolish for disagreeing with me.

Not many shows last that long anyhow

And? You act like this show had to also run short because so many others had ran short.

and why should she not quit if she wanted.

I believe I explain this in my comment why she shouldn't have ended it. I suggest you go back and re-read that.

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[–] mactach 9 years ago

Shut up.

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[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] zacariah-13826 9 years ago

Why don't you *beep* yourself, asswipe!

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[–] tinkerbell_jonna 9 years ago

I think Carol was LOOKING HEAD, and going my usual patterns.

The 70s were ending and the 80s were approaching. Usually shows do not do well and usually go down hill pretty fast when they cross from one decade to another.

AND at that time I think variety shows were becoming less popular, ppl were getting more into situation comedies. I think Carol saw all that coming and wanted to, in her words, leave before she was asked to. PLUS with Korman being gone, many saw season 11 as being one of the weakest. Which is why Season 11 is rarely ever shown, sadly IMO.

IMO, I think she could have probably gone another season or maybe even 2, but I think the rating would start declining as it started getting into the 80s, b/c ppl's likes were changing.

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[–] Manna-Fest 9 years ago

I think Carol was LOOKING HEAD, and going my usual patterns.

The 70s were ending and the 80s were approaching. Usually shows do not do well and usually go down hill pretty fast when they cross from one decade to another.

Well the show did good crossing from the 1960s to the 1970s. I don't see why it would have a problem crossing over from the 1970s to the 1980s. All they had to do was bring some 1980s style material into the show by then. It's not like they were having to stay 1970s. Besides, when the show had ended, it was 1978, so there was like a whole two seasons it would have needed to even touch the 1980s so Carol shouldn't have been concerned about the change in decade until the show reached it's 13th season.

AND at that time I think variety shows were becoming less popular, ppl were getting more into situation comedies.

Well considering you had shows like Saturday Night Live still doing awesome throughout the 1980s and then having MadTV dominating the 1990s and 2000s, I don't see how variety shows were losing their steam. Of anything, they were still gaining steam and getting lots of appeal. This show would have done just fine in the 1980s.

I think Carol saw all that coming and wanted to, in her words, leave before she was asked to. PLUS with Korman being gone, many saw season 11 as being one of the weakest. Which is why Season 11 is rarely ever shown, sadly IMO.

They could have either bribed Korman to come back or got some one that was just as good as them.

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[–] tinkerbell_jonna 9 years ago

I honestly liked Dick Van Dyke in season 11, but most ppl did not. Probably Steve Lawrance or Ken Berry would have become a regular to fill Korman's void, they were one many of the season 11 episodes.

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[–] mactach 9 years ago

Why can't we just accept the fact she decided to call it quits?

She could of thrown in the towel after 5 years or CBS could of canceled it after one season if the ratings were poor.

Most shows don't last that long anyhow.

Drop it.

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[–] Manna-Fest 9 years ago

Why can't we just accept the fact she decided to call it quits?

Um, no one is disputing that fact. It's clear she called it quits. I'm simply saying it didn't need to happen for the sake of how long the show could have still been on the air for. Why can't you just accept the fact that I have a write to state an opposing view on her decision?

She could of thrown in the towel after 5 years or CBS could of canceled it after one season if the ratings were poor.

Well she could have, but luckily she didn't because I would be even more mad. While the show could have been on longer, it's still great it ran past ten seasons. But FIVE? That's so little. As for CBS, I won't harp them for cancelling had the ratings were poor. It's not like they'll be canceling it for no reason or when the ratings are high.

Most shows don't last that long anyhow.

Key word here: MOST. Some still do, and this show could have been one of them. Go figure.

Drop it.

No. How about you get out of my thread if you don't like me complaining about this. I do have a right to complain about things I feel didn't need to happen.

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[–] Manna-Fest 9 years ago

Um, HELLO! I did reply to your ass three weeks ago. I know you got notified of my comment so where the hell are you? Don't go ignoring me!

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[–] zacariah-13826 9 years ago

Drop it on your own fu****' head, turdball!

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[–] Fatal_When_Swallowed 9 years ago

I remember when she decided to end the show. Mary Tyler Moore did the same thing in 1977. While I think MTM could have lasted a few more years, Carol Burnett's show was petering out. I don't think paranoia had anything to do with it. She wanted to go out on top, and the format was getting tired. The show never appealed to me after Harvey Korman left. The cost of production was rising, and Carol herself has admitted that they couldn't put on a show of that magnitude today--probably not even in the 1980s. Finally, Carol's family problems were taking their toll, with her divorce from Joe Hamilton and their daughter Carrie's battle with drug addiction. A lot happened behind the scenes that no one knew about then.

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[–] Manna-Fest 9 years ago

So there was a lot of things happening behind the scenes? Interesting. However, all that personal stuff is still no excuse to me why she had to end her show. Never let your personal issues affect your TV realm. I can understand production costs though, since a network would have to save money and thus canceling the show or at least being given a pay cut (but some actors probably would not have liked that). And I don't see how the show would not have worked in the 1980s when we had other sketch series of the same style made during then which were doing fine a I stated in my a previous comment.

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[–] zacariah-13826 9 years ago

Mactach is the rudest *beep* I've seen on this or any other thread. I hope his ass rots in hell, and soon!

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[–] anthny_platt 9 years ago

Carol Burnett said that after eleven seasons of keeping it fresh and keeping the content varied and high in quality, she was having trouble keeping that up. She said she wanted the show to be good right to the end, and didn't want it to have a period of pitiful decline.

Since I have seldom seen anyone do a better job of keeping any kind of show fresh for eleven years, much less longer, without changing the whole cast the way SNL has often done, and since I have seen more than one show decline into pitifulness for no good reason when they could have faded gracefully away, I completely respect the lady's decision.

Magic like that is not a given. It does not continue to happen forever just because the same formula is kept in place. Magic like that is created through a lot of hard work. And sometimes the time simply comes when it cannot be sustained any longer.

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[–] gia_smith 9 years ago

Carol Burnett gave an interview in which she said during the 11th season, she would get ideas for new scripts from the writers and most were the same ideas which had already been done over the years.

In addition, the drug problem with daughter Carrie was draining. Someone here (you?) said she should have been professional and left her personal life at home. Burnett and her husband both worked on the show - it wasn't as though one could give up their job and deal with their daughter full-time. Also, Carol did separate the professional from private for at least two years before retiring. She wrote about how she and Joe would work on the show and come home, not knowing what would meet them.

I admire Carol for working as long as she did while also dealing with Carrie.

I think we're all lucky she ended up working 11 years on the air - it could have been much shorter.

What I really wish is for the full seasons to be released.

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