Kitten Confessions

I know that I have promised posts on DC and on the virtues of Borders versus Barnes and Noble, but...

1. I haven't loaded my DC pics on my computer yet, and
2. This was more important for me to get off my chest.

I had plans tonight to go to a concert at the Wadsworth Mansion tonight, and I was planning to be home by 9 PM. In fact, I had to be home by 9 PM to watch a TV that I had to watch. (Yeah, I know, you're thinking, "Tivo!" Well, I don't have Tivo, and having a DVR would mean another $20 on my monthly cable bill).

Now, I have a pretty full life, and there aren't many--hell, there aren't any--shows that are prime appointment viewing in the Bookkitten household.

Except for this one--the American Masters edition on Carol Burnett, which I missed when it had originally aired last November.

I missed the concert because I took a longer-than-usual catnap and woke up at the time the concert began. After briefly cursing myself for my laziness, I perked up, knowing that I didn't have to rush home for the PBS special I had so looked forward to seeing for months. And I felt really guilty that I had to be home just in time for a TV show. Really gulity--OK, maybe not that much.

Was it worth the wait? Yes...and no. This show was chock full of clips from The Carol Burnett Show and The Garry Moore Show that haven't been seen in years, quite possibly since their original air date. That alone made this American Masters presentation worth every minute. There was Harvey Korman, in his last television appearance--and sadly, you could tell that the poor man was in ill health. But he managed to pull it together for this special. And Lyle Waggoner was interviewed--and he is still very handsome. :)

I didn't like that this documentary didn't chronicle too much about Carol's family, which has been a tremendous part of her story for years. It just seemed to gloss over her family tragedies and tribulations, especially the parts that had to do with her early childhood. It barely touched upon her divorce from Joe Hamilton, but did acknowledge his influence on her career.

The special didn't even touch upon Burnett's career post-Carol Burnett Show. In the 80s, Carol did many TV guest appearances, several TV movies, and even a couple of theatrical roles. (Miss Hannigan, anyone?) And in the 90s, she made a couple of Broadway appearances in Moon Over Buffalo and Putting it Together. It mostly concentrated on her career up to, but not past, The Carol Burnett Show. It did include portions of the last episode of the show, which I admired.

Towards the end of the show, Lyle Waggoner admitted that he gets choked up every time he hears the lyrics, "I'm so glad we had this time together..."

Well, Lyle, so do I.

Unfortunately, The Carol Burnett Show is no longer in syndication, so I can't catch her on a daily basis. Fortunately for me, there's YouTube, and I've caught what I can off the Internet. Still, when the DVDs are back in production, you can bet I'll be the first in line to purchase them!

And I won't have to miss a Wadsworth Mansion concert to do so.