Review of
Timeless Moments From the Tonight Show
starring Johnny Carson, Discs 1 & 2, DVD
Five out of five stars
The master of situational improv
Although the
show was scripted, when Johnny Carson was delivering the monologue and interviewing
guests, there was always something unpredictable happening. When it did, Carson
demonstrated time and time again that he was the master of situational
improvisation. That is clear in the clips in this two-disc collection.
Some are from
his monologue where he responds to the crowd reaction, playing off them as well
as Ed McMahon and Doc Severinsen. While some of the guests are stars, many are
offbeat and unusual people. There is the man that makes jewelry from quail
droppings, the queen of polka, a woman that set the record for cutting wood
with a hatchet, two darling little girls that tell jokes and a weird segment
where Johnny steps into a shower so that women can, “shower with a star.”
My favorite was
the woman that played flutes through her nostrils. She was wearing a dress and the
show really went sideways when she stood on her head to play the flutes. Of
course, her dress dropped down to near her chin. Carson was known for being
willing to tolerate having animals on the show, knowing that they were
completely unpredictable. There is one segment with Jim Fowler.
Carson’s time
has passed, and others have taken his place in the talk show format that he
pioneered. Yet, none of them can match his ability to take an unusual or
difficult situation and milk it for laughs. You can watch these clips several
times and never fail to be amused.
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