User:Metropolitan90/Sunday Best (1991 TV series)

Sunday Best was a American television series which aired on the NBC network in 1991. Hosted by Carl Reiner, the series was intended to be a humorous look at television of the past and present. The show ran for only three weeks, from February 3 to February 17, 1991. After that, the show was put on hiatus and did not return to the air.

Other regular contributors were Linda Ellerbee, Jeff Cesario, Merrill Markoe, and Harry Shearer.

A regular feature was a compilation of comedy clips from episodes of the preceding week -- primarily from NBC shows, because CBS and ABC declined to provide material (although Fox did allow use of clips from its shows ). Warren Littlefield, president of NBC Entertainment, denied that the use of clips from NBC shows was intended to save money, saying that even when using clips of current NBC programs, the network had to pay residuals to the actors, writers, and producers.

The show also included segments such as Shearer parodying Harry Reasoner from 60 Minutes, a production number featuring Jane Pauley impersonators promoting the series Real Life with Jane Pauley,  , and Markoe interviewing Hoyt Curtin, composer of cartoon theme songs such as those from The Flintstones and The Jetsons.

The producers had hoped to include a regular feature which would intercut NBC news footage with excerpts from Johnny Carson's monologues commenting on the news, but Carson declined to allow the use of clips from The Tonight Show, nor did David Letterman allow the show to use clips from Late Night with David Letterman.

Reviewing the year 1991 in television, John J. O'Connor of The New York Times called "Sunday Best" a "dud".