What was your favorite 'The Family' episode on Carol Burnett?

The one where they're playing a game. Maybe charades?

The mysterious disappearance of Fluffy - -

Far too many to name, though I'd probably say the one where they all go over to Mickey Hart's for Chinese food. Funny as hell.

Regarding the Roddy McDowell segments, I liked them but always felt they were a missed opportunity because they chose to keep Phillip above the fray when they should have let him, when visiting home and re-exposing himself to the toxicity of Eunice and Mama, drop the facade of civility and get down and dirty with them. Unfortunately, they never let him go there.

By the way, the brilliance of the Carol Burnett Show skits were why I never cared all that much for "Mama's Family" -- it was just a watered-down version of the original sketches and could never live up to them.

R2, MeTV just showed that this past Friday night. That was one of the very best ones.

The one where Eunice tries to shock Mama by revealing that she was pregnant when she married Ed. Only for Mama to say that Eunice wasn't the only one who had to get married.

Alan Alda didn't play Philip. He played Larry, a commercial artist who hasn't seen his family for five years (it's soon evident why). Eunice persuades him to surprise Mama and Ellen at Christmas at Eunice's house. Ellen and her family don't bother to show up. Thelma acts thrilled to see Larry at first but soon begins criticizing him and berating him, as is her wont. In fact Eunice, Ed, and Thelma ALL put down Larry, casting slurs on his masculinity (he's not married so they assume he might be gay), don't listen to a word he has to say, and keep commenting on how he keeps getting fired (they're unable to comprehend that he works freelance). Finally he storms out. They don't seem too unhappy about it and comment on how he sure needs to learn something about the "Christmas spirit." I think it's one of the better Family skits, very funny and very dark.

Tommy Smothers played another brother of Eunice's. He played "Jack." Jack was in the hospital for a minor operation and The Family comes to visit him. They don't exactly cheer him up; they talk about the danger of having an operation and how he ought to get his affairs in order. Eunice even calls his doctor a "butcher" and a "quack." It's a funny Family skit; Vicki Lawrence almost knocks off Tommy Smother's toupee at one point.

Another good one is Mama’s Birthday. First one with Betty as Ellen. Ellen gives Mama a mink stole and Eunice/Ed give her a fly swatter.

“Jackass!”

Carol knew all the gays, didn't she?

The recital

I loved when Sammy Davis, Jr. was on too.

Eunice's face after the gong... was so sad.

SUPPLEMENTAL HARDWARE GUIDE

WAIT TILL THE SUN SHINES BELLY

I love the one where Tim Conaway just runs with his own shit and keeps cracking the rest of them up. Then Mama sums it up best, asking “is that lil asshole done yet?”

When they played the Sorry game.

The one where Bubba takes up stripping at a gay bar and gets taken home by his new sugar daddy.

R2, that one traumatized me as a child. The Gong Show one was also very sad to me as a child.

There's the one called "The Rehearsal" that featured Madeline Kahn as a C-list actress who is directing (or starring in) a play at the Pepper Pot Playhouse. Eunice has a role in it and Kahn's character is trying to help coach her but it all ends up a disaster and Eunice is booted from the play after Kahn storms out in disgust. Turns out Eunice got the part in the play because she bought a hundred tickets. Ed is appalled at the waste of money but Thelma tells him to lay off Eunice, poor thing, she's "failed again." Thelma attempts to comfort Eunice by saying "you've still got us." To which Eunice gets a look of utter hopelessness and resignation on her face.