Old Hands

In her best bird-brained manner, Gracie floundered in malapropisms, clipped the top off a boxwood hedge with George's electric razor, soundly bussed a startled book salesman (so "snoopers" wouldn't catch her talking to a strange man). Using the reliable formula that won them more than 45 million radio listeners, George Burns and Gracie Allen were making their bow on TV with the first in a bimonthly series (Thurs. 8 p.m., CBS-TV).

Old Vaudevillians Burns & Allen are not likely to disappoint their fans. Pointing up Gracie's gags, Straightman George uses a slow-burn delivery and purse-mouthed pauses ("A man drowned once while I was pausing"). Compared to the machine-gun patter of most TV comics, his style gives the show a relaxed, almost leisurely pace. A high point of the program: Gracie's dubious plugs for Carnation Milk ("I don't see how they get milk from carnations").

What do Burns & Allen think about the new medium? "Well," says long-suffering George, never at a loss for a gag: "Now everybody can see and hear what I've been seeing and hearing for 25 years."

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