The George Burns & Gracie Allen Collection (1950)

The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show marked the pinnacle of their career for the much-beloved star couple who met in vaudeville in the 1920s before moving to radio and then to television. The show aired from 1950 to 1958 -- when Gracie retired for medical reasons (8 years before her passing and 38 years before his) -- once every other week for the first two years and weekly thereafter for a total of 291 episodes. This scant 5-disc collection includes barely 5 hours of programming -- just eight 29-minute episodes (First Show, Gracie's Tax Return, Speech Writer, Gracie's Checking Account, Gracie's Wedding Plans, Teen Visit, Swami, and Beverly Hills Society) plus the fairly informative 50-minute documentary Hollywood Couples: George Burns and Gracie Allen. You can't miss the folksy Carnation evaporated milk commercials woven throughout every show. For the most part, it's worth it to see entire programs with George's smart scriptwriting and innovative narrator/monologist introduction (always with the cigar) and Gracie's ditsy rejoinders (scripted and rendered with a master touch). George loved Gracie so much -- and it showed. She always got top billing and he always gave her full credit for his stardom. He wasn't just being humble, since on occasion he would prove he couldn't sing -- but (as seen at the end of Teen Visit) could they dance! The most successful comedians are realists and the best-loved ones know how to love life -- these two proved so in spades. There may be better episodes that could have been included so be aware that 1950s television was more about a loose gestalt of relationship than a concentration on patter and riposte, much less laughter. (There might be three really funny lines in an entire half-hour.) Either way, the Fifties shouldn't be forgotten since they remind us that society owes a huge debt to the social niceties and common sense. (Note: The episode called Swami has no audio and has been reported to Customer Service.) IW. 3 stars.