# George Burns Comedy Week

George Burns Comedy Week is a comedy anthology television series broadcast in the United States by CBS as part of its 1985 fall lineup, hosted by George Burns.

## Overview

As he was age 89 when the show premiered, George Burns was billed as the oldest person ever to "star" in a television series. Burns had been around television in one way or another since shortly after its inception; like many old-time radio stars he had brought his routine over more-or-less intact from the older medium. However, his actual role in this series was rather slight; aside from lending his name, introducing the night's program, and providing an occasional voice-over narration, Burns was not involved in any of the episodes as an actor and those who tuned in expecting to see him as such were disappointed.
Several well-known comedians appeared in episodes of this show, including Joe Piscopo, Robert Klein, Don Rickles, Martin Mull, Don Knotts, and Howard Hesseman. The show is probably best known for two particular segments, one being "Christmas Carol II: The Sequel" in which an adult Tiny Tim has come to exhibit many of the characteristics once defining his father's old boss, Ebenezer Scrooge, and another starring Valerie Perrine and Harvey Korman in what proved to be the pilot for their short lived sitcom, Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills.

## Episodes

| Nº | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 1 | "The Dynamite Girl" | Peter Bonerz | Story by : Steve Martin & Carl Gottlieb Teleplay by : Carl Gottlieb | September 18, 1985 (1985-9-18) |
| 2 | "Home for Dinner" | Carl Gottlieb | Larry Levin & Jonathan Day | September 25, 1985 (1985-9-25) |
| 3 | "Death Benefits" | Neal Israel | Amy Heckerling & Neal Israel | October 2, 1985 (1985-10-2) |
| 4 | "The Smiths" | Phil Alden Robinson | James Berg & Stan Zimmerman | October 9, 1985 (1985-10-9) |
| 5 | "The Couch" | Steve Martin | Story by : Steve Martin & Carl Gottlieb Teleplay by : Ed Scharlach | October 16, 1985 (1985-10-16) |
| 6 | "Disaster at Buzz Creek" | John Landis | Andy Breckman | October 23, 1985 (1985-10-23) |
| 7 | "The Assignment" | Phil Alden Robinson | Bruce Jay Friedman (based on his story "The Mission") | October 30, 1985 (1985-10-30) |
| 8 | "Dream, Dream, Dream" | John G. Fox | David Simon | November 6, 1985 (1985-11-6) |
| 9 | "Boris and Ivan Visit Las Vegas" | Carl Gottlieb | Story by : Carl Gottlieb Teleplay by : Paul Perlove | November 13, 1985 (1985-11-13) |
| 10 | "The Honeybunnies" | Peter Bonerz | David Cohen & Roger S.H. Schulman | November 27, 1985 (1985-11-27) |
| 11 | "The Funniest Guy in the World" | John Korty | Pamela Pettler | December 4, 1985 (1985-12-4) |
| 12 | "Christmas Carol II: The Sequel" | Carl Gottlieb | Carl Gottlieb & David Axlerod | December 11, 1985 (1985-12-11) |
| 13 | "The Borrowing" | Alan Myerson | Story by : Merrill Markoe Teleplay by : Pamela Pettler | December 25, 1985 (1985-12-25) |

## Reception

George Burns Comedy Week did poorly in the Nielsen ratings and was last broadcast on Christmas night 1985. It marked Burns' last ongoing role in a television series, although he continued to appear as a guest on programs for the next nine years, until suffering a serious fall at age 98 which ended his active performing career (Burns died at age 100).

## Ratings

Note: The "Rating" is not the 18-49 demo but the total rating.
Viewership and ratings per episode of George Burns Comedy Week :
| No. | Title | Air date | Timeslot (ET) | Rating (18–49) | Viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "The Dynamite Girl" | September 18, 1985 | Wednesday 9:30 p.m. | 14.5 (#31 of 58) | 12.4 |
| 2 | "Home for Dinner" | September 25, 1985 | Wednesday 9:30 p.m. | 10.8 (#55 of 64) | 9.2 |
| 3 | "Death Benefits" | October 2, 1985 | Wednesday 9:30 p.m. | 11.9 (#56 of 69) | 10.2 |
| 4 | "he Smiths" | October 9, 1985 | Wednesday 9:30 p.m. | 12.6 (#53 of 63) | 10.8 |
| 5 | "The Couch" | October 16, 1985 | Wednesday 9:30 p.m. | 12.1 (#57 of 67) | 10.4 |
| 6 | "Disaster at Buzz Creek" | October 23, 1985 | Wednesday 9:30 p.m. | 11.1 (#61 of 66) | 9.5 |
| 7 | "The Assignment" | October 30, 1985 | Wednesday 9:30 p.m. | 10.7 (#63 of 67) | 9.2 |
| 8 | "Dream, Dream, Dream" | November 6, 1985 | Wednesday 9:30 p.m. | 11.8 (#60 of 67) | 10.1 |
| 9 | "Boris and Ivan Visit Las Vegas" | November 13, 1985 | Wednesday 9:30 p.m. | 11.1 (#60 of 68) | 9.5 |
| 10 | "The Honeybunnies" | November 27, 1985 | Wednesday 9:30 p.m. | 9.2 (#64 of 68) | 7.9 |
| 11 | "The Funniest Guy in the World" | December 04, 1985 | Wednesday 9:30 p.m. | 9.0 (#69 of 72) | 7.7 |
| 12 | "Christmas Carol II: The Sequel" | December 11, 1985 | Wednesday 9:30 p.m. | 10.3 (#66 of 71) | 8.8 |
| 13 | "The Borrowing" | December 25, 1985 | Wednesday 9:30 p.m. | 9.8 (#62 of 67) | 8.4 |
Source: A.C. Nielsen Company via Los Angeles Times