<p> The prodigiously talented Carol Burnett began on stage but is most remembered for her 11 seasons on prime time. “The Carol Burnett Show: Carol's Favorites” is a six-DVD set culled from the years when the CBS program racked up 25 Emmys and five Golden Globes. It was a variety show with a defined yet malleable format. Many episodes included a Q&A with the studio audience, which reveled the vivacious Burnett as fast on the draw, and all were built around skits that often evinced sophisticated, sly adult humor. There was usually a song-and-dance routine plus a musical performance to strike a serious note between the comedy. </p> <p>“The Carol Burnett Show” was studded with guest stars, many of them expected figures from the older generation (Dinah Shore, Carl Reiner) but also rising talents (Steve Martin, even George Carlin) and the occasional young musical act (the Jackson 5). Burnett had a stable of sidekicks: Tim Conway played hapless characters in the skits, Harvey Korman was the smooth operator under duress and Vickie Lawrence who often played the straight person. The spotlight was seldom far from Burnett, portraying a wide array of characters from floozy secretary to posh Englishwoman to a housewife with a serious hangover. </p> <p>The best is still LOL after all these years and the worst isn't so bad. </p>
