Tag Archives: Amy Poehler

DVDs, TV

Funny, “The Carol Burnett Show” turns 50!, yet it still is so fresh and funny!

The Carol Burnett Show turns 50!  To celebrate the momentous occasion, CBS honored the groundbreaking comedy series with The Carol Burnett Show 50th Anniversary Special, which aired to a whopping 15.4 million viewers on Sunday, December 3, 2017.
Nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special, the one-night event, which was filmed at the series’ original soundstage at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, features Burnett; original cast members Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner; costume designer Bob Mackie; and a slew of special guests, including Jon Batiste, Beth Behrs, Jim Carrey, Kristin Chenoweth, Stephen Colbert, Harry Connick Jr., Kaley Cuoco, Bill Hader, Steve Lawrence, Jay Leno, Jane Lynch, Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Amy Poehler, Tracee Ellis Ross, Maya Rudolph and Martin Short.
Now, with The Carol Burnett Show 50th Anniversary Special DVD home audiences can join the party and laugh along with Carol and her famous friends, as they revisit the show’s most hilarious clips, catch up with cast members, and enjoy brand-new musical performance.
Highlights include:
  • The most uproarious clips from the landmark series, including “Went With The Wind,” “The Dentist,” “Tudball & Wiggins” and “The Family”
  • Carol does a bit of her beloved Q&A with the star-studded 50th Anniversary audience including questions from Pat Boone and Tom Selleck.
  • Carol’s guests try out her famous Tarzan yell—Bill Hader, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Tracee Ellis Ross all give it a go, but a late, video entry wins the day . . . that of Steve Carell.
  • Jim Carrey’s 10-year-old self re-enacts receiving a reply to his Carol Burnett Show fan letter
  • Stephen Colbert, Steve Lawrence, Bernadette Peters, Kristin Chenoweth and Carol all come together for a brand-new musical number
  • Harry Connick, Jr. and Carol close out the night with an emotional performance of the show’s theme song – “I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together”

BONUS FEATURES
  • Exclusive new bonus features including red-carpet footage, backstage interviews and anniversary wishes from Carol’s friends and fans
  • A tribute booklet with production photos, notes from Carol’s guests,and a special message from Carol herself
DVDs, TV

TV pioneer Norman Lear is impossible to stifle. PBS celebrates his career in “Just Another Version of You”

We call it 90 minutes of good times. How else would you explain a PBS special–the first documentary about the television legend– celebrating the career of Norman Lear? Savor American Masters: Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You on Blu-ray and DVD.  Enjoyed the special on PBS? Take note that the home releases include more than 12 minutes of bonus features.

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Bea Arthur and Bill Macy in an episode of “Maude”.

Largely responsible for the explosion of bold American television in the ’70s, the writer/producer is synonymous with the sitcom. With unprecedented access to Lear, his work and his massive personal archives, the special combines stories from his turbulent childhood and early groundbreaking TV success (think All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Maude) and social activism.

The documentary also features colorful stories from Lear’s family, friends and collaborators, including John Amos, George Clooney, Alan Horn, Bill Moyers, Rob Reiner, Phil Rosenthal and Russell Simmons, as well as cinéma vérité moments with Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Jon Stewart, Amy Poehler and Lena Dunham.

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Rob Reiner and Carroll O’Connor bickering (as usual) in “All in the Family”.

Breaking down the fourth wall to create an evocative collage where past and present intermingle, Oscar-nominated filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady reveal a psychologically rich man whose extraordinary contributions emerge from both his personal story and his own self-professed childlike view of the world.

The documentary traces how a poor Jewish kid from Connecticut started writing for The Colgate Comedy Hour with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, created All in the Family and became one of TV’s most successful showrunners.

All character-driven, with theatrical sets and live audiences, Lear’s TV series changed not only the face of national television but the content of national discourse. Bringing provocative subjects like war, poverty and prejudice to 120 million viewers every week, Lear proved that social change was possible through an unlikely prism–laughter–and created some of the greatest moments in television history.

Co-produced by Ewing and Grady’s Loki Films and THIRTEEN’s American Masters series, Just Another Version of You doesn’t shy away from the controversies Lear stirred with his TV series and advocacy organization People For the American Way (PFAW). The documentary also highlights his later years touring the country with the Declaration of Independence and promoting his memoir Even This I Get to Experience, spending time with his tight-knit family, and developing new productions.

Look at this way: Lear can never be stifled.