Edgar Bergen with Charlie McCarthy

This is Edgar Bergen's first attempt at television--a failed TV pilot that somehow the networks rejected. While I am not 100% sure why, I can only assume it was because there just wasn't enough comedy --something you'd expect in an Edgar Bergen and Charley McCarthy show.

This variety show stars off well--with an emphasis on Bergen and his alter-ego, Charley. The jokes come fast and I was expecting to enjoy the show. However, soon the program became bogged down and ended even worse--with a huge musical production number that just seemed ill-suited to Bergen and his sort of talents. In fact, aside from a surprisingly good musical interlude featuring Diana Lynn at the piano (this cute actress was a surprise, as I had no idea she was so accomplished ), ALL the portions without Bergen were slow and boring. The show COULD have worked--but with an insistence on it being a musical variety show, it was hopelessly miscast and dreadful.