Carol Burnett: Her favorite TV shows

Your Show of Shows/Caesar’s Hour (1950 — 57)
”So many amazing talents came out of that. The writing staff, with Larry Gelbart and Neil Simon, was just amazing! I owe so much to [host] Sid Caesar. Variety shows are really what I love, and sadly, they just don’t do them anymore.”

Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970 — 77)
”Mary Tyler Moore was the star, but she would also give it over to Betty White and to Ed Asner so they could shine. It was a true ensemble piece.”

All in the Family (1971 — 79)
”I couldn’t wait to watch it when it was in its prime. To make Archie, who was so hideous, likable was just a triumph on the part of the writing and Carroll O’Connor’s acting.”

Frasier (1993 — 2004)
”In the average sitcom, if you’re going to do a joke, it’s setup — punchline — laugh track, and you see it coming miles away. But not in Frasier. The way they’d say a line got a laugh, as opposed to the fact that it was an out-and-out joke. Ed Wynn was once quoted as saying something like ‘Comics say funny things, comic actors say things funny.”’

30 Rock (2006 — present)
”I’d love to guest-star on it, I just think they’re so good. In a way, it feels like the successor to Mary. Tina Fey’s already on the road to being iconic.”