This pilot episode of the long-running "Burns & Allen Show" is available to watch on YouTube. And, as I love pilots, I was sure to watch this one.
The format of the show is pretty similar to the regular episodes. There were a few differences. First, the sets looked cheaper...more hastily constructed. This makes sense for a pilot. After all, if the show wasn't approved, making fancier sets would have been a waste of money. Second, there were a few cast differences. There's an announcer other than the familiar Harry Von Zell and Harry Morton was played by Hal March, who ended up playing him on 11 early episodes. And, while the show sometimes did not have music, this one had a group singing the somewhat annoying "Hucklebuck" (a song also heard on an episode of the classic "Honeymooners").
So was this any good? Yes. I loved watching Gracie annoy and confuse the encyclopedia salesman and the made up card game at the end reminded me of Phizbin from the Star Trek episode "A Piece of the Action". Overall, clever and worth seeing.
The format of the show is pretty similar to the regular episodes. There were a few differences. First, the sets looked cheaper...more hastily constructed. This makes sense for a pilot. After all, if the show wasn't approved, making fancier sets would have been a waste of money. Second, there were a few cast differences. There's an announcer other than the familiar Harry Von Zell and Harry Morton was played by Hal March, who ended up playing him on 11 early episodes. And, while the show sometimes did not have music, this one had a group singing the somewhat annoying "Hucklebuck" (a song also heard on an episode of the classic "Honeymooners").
So was this any good? Yes. I loved watching Gracie annoy and confuse the encyclopedia salesman and the made up card game at the end reminded me of Phizbin from the Star Trek episode "A Piece of the Action". Overall, clever and worth seeing.