Flashbacks and Great Laughs #MakingMyList

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The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.

Growing up, I spent many nights with my Nana.  One of my memories with her?  Watching her favorite "shows" and laughing at them.  It was good, clean family entertainment that keeps getting further and further away from the shows we see on television now.  Don't get me wrong, there are still good shows out there.. but they are few and far from what it used to be like.  I wanted to highlight a few more releases for the holidays...  This is the comedy edition.  Personally, I would LOVE to have The Carol Burnett show!  I can still remember that video of her pushing the mop across the screen... Just like it was yesterday!  (Hint Hint Hint!)

I included Mama's Family, another oldie but goody, and I had to include Dean Martin.  Dean Martin roast is one I have never seen, but I know that my mom has mentioned him before!
So, if you are still trying to figure out a few more gifts, check these out!

Housed in a collectible box, THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION ($249.95) contains 50 classic episodes hand-picked by Carol herself and more than twenty hours of new bonus features.  Along with a 18-page memory book, bonuses include three episodes from The Garry Moore Show where Carol got her start, including the "Supergirl" episode, where Carol did her Tarzan yell for the first time; rare sketches from the first five seasons of show, not seen anywhere in over 40 years with guest appearances by Lucille Ball, Jerry Lewis, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Betty White, Carl Reiner, Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, Joan Rivers, Bernadette Peters, Sammy Davis Jr., Dick Van Dyke, Shirley MacLaine, Rock Hudson, Vincent Price, Phil Silvers, Joel Grey, The Smothers Brothers, Stiller & Meara, Tony Randall and many others; and a raucous 3-part Cast Reunion with Carol, Vicki Lawrence, Tim Conway and Lyle Waggoner. Exclusive featurettes also include "I Want to Push That Button..."-The History of THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW"; "Leading Lady--Carol as a Television Pioneer"; and, "Breaking Up Is Hard...Not to Do -- The Ensemble Chemistry and Famous "break-ups" on THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW", a 90-minute, rarely-seen emotional and revealing interview with Harvey Korman and Conway at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles, and over 20 interviews with guests (including Betty White, Carl Reiner, Jerry Lewis), writers and current performers influenced by Carol (Ellen DeGeneres, Jane Lynch and Amy Poehler).

Set in the fictional city of Raytown, MAMA'S FAMILY revolves around the eye-opening escapades of the Harper clan, headed by formidable matriarch, Mama Harper, a fiery-tempered no-nonsense woman who does not suffer fools gladly.  In fact, she makes everybody suffer a little with her patented snappy retorts that truly put the "diss" in dysfunction.  Across 130 thirty-minute episodes spanning six seasons, viewers are treated to hilarious - and sometimes heart-warming -- family comedy of the highest degree.  MAMA'S FAMILY: THE COMPLETE SERIES arrives in a vintage photo album-style box featuring all 130 episodes on 24 DVDs.  The first two seasons feature the rare, original broadcast masters (the "Joe Hamilton" cuts) of the episodes which fans have clamored about for years; they also feature Harvey Korman's hilarious introductions as Alistair Quince (spoofing Alistair Cooke).  The set also contains over ten hours of specially-created programming including: a cast reunion roundtable with Vicki Lawrence (Mama), Ken Berry (Vint), Dorothy Lyman (Naomi), Beverly Archer (Iola), and Allan Kayser (Bubba), all-new cast and crew interviews, including the aforementioned cast, Betty White, executive producer Rick Hawkins, costumers Ret Turner and Bob Mackie and others, a very special one-on-one interview with Vicki "interviewing" Mama through the magic of split-screen; an exclusive new Carol Burnett and Vicki Lawrence interview, the 1982 CBS-TV movie "Eunice",  which takes the Harper Family on a 23-year journey; an introductory note penned by Lawrence, key "Family" sketches from THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW and much more.

THE DEAN MARTIN CELEBRITY ROASTS: COMPLETE COLLECTIONmarks the first time that most of these classics from the Golden Age of TV will be released on DVD and the set features all 53 roasts from both "The Dean Martin Show" and "The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts".  Featuring over 40 hours of top-shelf comedy from hundreds of iconic celebrities,

the program's notable roastees included many of the 20th century's most accomplished performers and athletes, politicians and personalities including: Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, Sammy Davis Jr., Jack Benny, Lucille Ball, Jackie Gleason, George Burns, Don Rickles, Kirk Douglas, Danny Thomas, Hank Aaron, Wilt Chamberlin, Joe Namath, Muhammad Ali, Ronald Reagan and Dean Martin himself, being roasted by the likes of   Phyllis Diller, Jonathan Winters, Dick Martin, Joey Bishop, Henry Fonda, Gene Kelly, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Redd Foxx, Ruth Buzzi, Flip Wilson, John Wayne, Angie Dickinson, Billy Crystal and many more.

The collectible set also contains over fifteen hours of bonus programming including comedy sketches from "The Dean Martin Show," rare Dean Martin TV specials that have not been seen since the original broadcast, over 30 exclusive interviews with roasters and roastees including Don Rickles, Carol Burnett, Ruth Buzzi, Abe Vigoda, Ed Asner, Fred Willard, Betty White and Jackie Mason, as well as Winters and Diller in heartfelt interviews taped before their recent passing.  The set also contains specially-produced featurettes, rare home movies with Dean, family and friends and a 44-page collector's book loaded with behind-the-scenes photos, classic quotes and production materials.  Adding hours of classic comedy to this superlative collection, also included are two bonus DVDs featuring seven episodes from "The Dean Martin Variety Show" featuring guests such as Bob Hope, John Wayne, Peggy Lee, Jimmy Stewart, Orson Welles, Michael Landon, Don Rickles, Don Adams, Dom DeLuise, Jack Benny, Rodney Dangerfield, Nipsey Russell, George Burns, Sammy Davis Jr., Andy Griffith and Paul Lynde.