Celebrating 50 Years of Carol Burnett

It took us more than three months to get around to watching it, but boy am I glad I finally saw "The Carol Burnett 50th Anniversary Special." Not only did it kindly remind me that my childhood all but revolved around the show -- my friends and I used to re-enact skits from the show for my annual "Christmas at Harvey's" Christmas spectacular -- it tickled me to learn that I was in good company with Jane Lynch, Jim Carrey, Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader, Amy Poehler, Stephen Colbert, Harry Connick Jr. and others. ("The Family" sketches should not be underestimated for their searing portrayal of dysfunction families, with nuances that require multiple viewings to fully appreciate that often get missed in all of the more obvious yelling and name-calling .)

The special also reminded me that Lyle Waggoner was to partially "blame" for my sexuality.

They showed this clip of Lyle undressed as Mark Spitz -- who should have had to turn over his medals after Waggoner's portrayal. 

The only negative thing I have to say about the special was that it opened my eyes to something very disturbing about another sex symbol from my childhood: it would appear that Tom Selleck is now one piece of confetti away from being Rip Taylor. 

Next up for Carol? After her Amy Poehler-produced pilot, "Household Name," didn't get picked up, the comedy legend inked a 12-episode series order with Netflix to star in "A Little Help With Carol Burnett," an original unscripted comedy starring Burnett and a panel of straight-talking 4-8-year-olds as they demonstrate how different generations solve life’s biggest dilemmas. 

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