I'm working here today with the TV tuned to TV Land's marathon of The Flip Wilson Show. They're rather pleasant with a nice "small" feel — no big sets, no line of dancers, etc. Whatever money they spent, they spent on guest stars…and having worked on a number of shows where the guests had no real affection or respect for the host, I can spot that on this one, they generally do. It's also nice to hear all (or most of) the singers singing live and to see sketches performed with few obvious edits.
These are half-hour versions of what were once hour shows. I'm not sure if they chopped some of the hours in half to create two half-hour reruns or if they just cut each one down. Looks more like the latter since there are few pure musical numbers.
Just noticed George Carlin listed among the writers of an episode in which he did not appear. I seem to vaguely recall that he briefly had a deal to be a frequent guest star and to contribute to the scripts of other installments.
Anyway, I'm going to keep it on while working this weekend. These shows hold up pretty well.