Carol Burnett was so glad we had this time together

Carol Burnett can sing, dance, act, mug, pratfall and clown around. If she attempted to showcase all those skills today on TV, she'd most certainly flop.

A new PBS "American Masters" profile reminds us how much fun we once had together, but it's also a sad reminder that the comedy-variety genre, once the dominant staple of prime time, would have less chance of success these days than "Woodworking With the Stars."

When "The Carol Burnett Show" debuted in 1967 she had the company of eight other similar programs, hosted by the likes of Jerry Lewis, the Smothers Brothers and Jackie Gleason. By the time she went off the air in 1979, there were none. With few exceptions, the genre has been dormant ever since.

"I feel sorry for anybody starting out today who might want to do what we did, because I don't think it can be done anymore," said Burnett, 74. "I don't think a network would have the faith in it, nor would they want to put the money into it."

Perhaps she's wrong. The success of "American Idol" proves that people still eat up singers belting popular covers, and sketch comedy occasionally sneaks onto the air, most recently with "Blue Collar TV." But the genial nature of "Burnett" would be as out of place today as a Henny Youngman routine.

Looking back at the best of the series, it's clear that it didn't hold a candle to "Your Show of Shows" or Jim Carrey's dumb and dumber characters on "In Living Color." It's no mistake that its most memorable moment, a spoof of "Gone With the Wind," hinged primarily on Bob Mackie's curtain-rod dress, not on any inspired dialogue or performances.

The most popular skits would dissolve into fits of laughter, not the most professional of reactions — Sid Caesar would have dangled Harvey Korman out the window by Week 3 — but it contributed to the sense that these goofballs were having a grand ol' time.

"I'm so grateful that I grew up in the '40s and '50s, because of the movies of the era," said Burnett. "You might look at them now and say, 'Oh, they're so old-fashioned,' but they gave this little girl hope. I never felt cynical, I never felt angry. I had a real Mickey [Rooney] and Judy [Garland] mentality. There is fun. There is music. There is laughter."