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The Old Folks

The Carol Burnett Show
SKETCH-O-VISION
A VERY GOOD USE OF YOUR TIME.

The setup

On a moonlit night, elderly Bert tries to coax some romance and adventure out of his wife Molly, who answers every overture from her porch rocker with a put-down.

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The premise

Here’s the bit.

Molly and Bert shuffle out onto their porch and lower themselves, with considerable effort, into their rocking chairs. The full moon has Bert feeling frisky and adventurous, but Molly deflates each of his ideas, from a midnight dash to the beach to a trip to the drive-in, with remarks about his age and his wandering attention. Bert tries to make her jealous with a story about a widow who dropped her handkerchief in front of him, and they swap news of a friend at the beauty parlor and his visit to the doctor before he needs a count of three to get up again. When Molly admits she is simply bored, Bert suggests a hobby, and her mishearing gives the sketch its final joke.

The funny people

Meet the cast. 2

Say it with us

Highly quotable.

I wish I'd have known, I'd have painted stripes on your thermal underwear.

You can't get much older unless you're a redwood.

Well, you may be wrinkled, but you're my tomato.

A little extra

Notes from the archive.

This installment aired in season 2, episode 22 (March 17, 1969), with guests Martha Raye and Mike Douglas; the official full-episode upload places it right after the opening question-and-answer segment.

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