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As the Stomach Turns: The Exorcism

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

The setup

Marian Clayton's sugary visiting niece turns demonic, so a town exterminator turned freelance exorcist is called in.

Community rating

– / 10

The premise

Here’s the bit.

In this Exorcist-inspired chapter of the Canoga Falls soap, Marian pages through a photo album of her many misfortunes while awaiting her niece Raven, a girl she is certain will never cause her a moment's worry. Raven arrives from Washington bearing gifts, but her sweetness keeps curdling into shrieking fits that leave the parlor in ruins. Marian summons Otto Blackflag, the local exterminator who has rebranded as a freelance exorcist since the movie became a hit. After fumbling through his notebook, Otto has Marian pin Raven down while he brandishes a series of wholesome 'symbols of goodness' until the demon gives up, though the cure leaves Otto himself floating in the air. The announcer closes with a string of mock cliffhanger questions, including why handsome Lyle Waggoner was left out of the sketch.

The funny people

Meet the cast. 4

Say it with us

Highly quotable.

It's an x-ray of my broken heart.

Here's the first symbol of goodness. An 8x10 of Doris Day drinking a glass of milk.

Yes, he can get the devil out of a little girl, but can he chew crackers and whistle Yankee Doodle at the same time?

A little extra

Notes from the archive.

This installment is listed as season 7, episode 19 in the official clip description and Wikipedia’s As the Stomach Turns episode list, but as episode 20 (aired February 16, 1974) on TheTVDB and IMDb, whose numbering the catalog follows. Wikipedia notes that Tim Conway played Otto Blackflag with the same mock accent he later used for Mr. Tudball.

The rabbit hole continues

One more couldn’t hurt.

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