The Carol Brunette Show

My mother passed away ten years ago this month, and along with many other people of her generation she loved watching CBS on Saturday nights. Especially the lineup that began in the 1973-74 season, with Mary Tyler Moore, followed by Bob Newhart and Carol Burnett. The color coding on this chart from Wikipedia shows that Burnett was only a top 30 show, but I think Mom enjoyed it more than anything else on television.

CBS TV Saturday schedule, 1973-74
CBS-TV Saturday schedule, 1973-74

I was starting college at the time, and watched next to no television, but if I had I would have enjoyed seeing Petula Clark as a guest on the Carol Burnett Show. Pet makes her appearance at exactly 14 minutes into the show. She returns halfway through for a funny a soap opera parody (except Tim Conway’s bit is too long) and a duet with Carol.


Season 7, Episode 9
Airdate: Saturday, Nov 10, 1973, 10:00 PM

Just last night the SNL 40th anniversary show included this soap opera parody.

Deep Purple, Smoke on the Water

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The water is snow on the roof and the smoke is coming out of the chimney. We are once again, for the fourth consecutive week, buried in Boston. I feel bad for people in the purple zone, with up to 24″ of new snow. We’re in the magenta zone, which is bad enough, with more than a foot added to the 4-5 feet we already have. The only upside is we won’t have to worry about a drought this summer, but the catch is the springtime melt will keep the sump pump busy.

Breaking Bad in New Mexico

One month after Veronica Rutledge was shot dead by her 2-year-old son in Idaho, a 3-year-old in Albuquerque managed to get his mother’s gun and shoot not only her, but his father as well. The only “accident” here is that, purely by luck, neither parent is seriously injured. “Gun safety” is a self-contradictory term.

What is it about field reporters on TV compulsively nodding like bobble heads when being introduced by the news anchor? Are they told to do that?