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[randomness]

bedfull_o_books, earthling177, and tfarrell were watching the Carol Burnett Show's parody of Gone With the Wind, Went With the Wind. As I listened to the characteristically over the top comedy skit from the other room, I was struck by the similiarities between Harvey Korman and Rowan Atkinson, particularly in the latter's Blackadder work.

Never thought of them together at the same time before.

Comments

"I saw it in the window and I just had to have it"

[spatch]

That is one of the greatest sketches in the history of television. I can't even explain why, but it is just such a note perfect piss-take.

The comedy-variety style of the Carol Burnett Show was on its way out even as the show was at its most popular. The likes of Burnett and Johnny Carson weren't hip by the mid-70s; they featured Old Showbiz folks and trod the same ground that the SNL antiestablishment tried desperately to destroy. But the nice thing about comedy is that when it works, it works no matter how traditional. The straight-up burlesque of Went with the Wind is proof enough.

Also I love watching Tim Conway trying desperately to break Harvey Korman. (Well, perhaps "desperately" isn't the right word there; Korman was such an easy mark and it wasn't a matter of if Conway could break him on any given program, but when.)

EDIT: Yeah, Korman's supercilious characters are like Atkinson's, aren't they? Hedley Lamarr and Edmund Blackadder shared sneers, that much I can imagine right off the top of my head.

Re: "I saw it in the window and I just had to have it"

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Korman's supercilious characters are like Atkinson's, aren't they? Hedley Lamarr and Edmund Blackadder shared sneers, that much I can imagine right off the top of my head.

Yes! Funnily enough, I was able to recreate a lot of this from memory, just from bits of dialog from the other room. Both their characters leave an unforgettable impression.

I also feel like there's some character in Blackadder who has the Tim Conway role, although not to the extent of trying to break Atkinson. Perhaps that happened in outtakes. I can't remember who it was, though.