The BEST Episodes of The Carol Burnett Show
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
Last Updated: Apr 23, 2021
Network: CBS
A variety / sketch comedy show starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. It originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967 to March 29, 1978 for 278 episodes, and originated from CBS Television City's Studio 33 (known today as the Bob Barker Studio). The series won 25 prime time Emmy Awards, and in 2007 was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All Time."
#1 - with Ken Berry, Tim Conway, Kay Medford
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired Oct 20, 1969
In a vaudeville segment, Tim Conway plays a bumbling acrobat. Carol is a dance hall Mom to daughter Vicki Lawrence in a tearful melodrama. Ken Berry dances to "Down By the Winegar Woiks". Also, Carol and Ken Berry play a computer-matched couple singing love songs. Tim and Harvey do a skit about a homesick truck driver. Kay Medford pops up as a sister-in-law in the weekly "Carol and Sis" routine.
10.00 #2 - with William Conrad and The Jackson Five
Season 8 - Episode 16 - Aired Jan 25, 1975
The Jackson Five perform "The Life of the Party," returning for the musical finale, a rousing salute to such musical groups as The Mills Brothers, The Andrews Sisters, The Coasters, And The Supreme's. Guest William Conrad shows his versatility by singing a "Movies Were Movies" tribute to silent-comedy stars, then slipping into a mime routine as Oliver Hardy. He next shows his flair for comedy in a sketch with Harvey (they're doctors and golfing buddies). But the highlight is his portrayal of Willy, the widowed Mama's wealthy suitor in the "Family" sketch titled "The Gentleman Caller."
10.00 #3 - with Eydie Gorme
Season 9 - Episode 13 - Aired Dec 6, 1975
Guest Eydie Gorme plays a hospitalized TV star with Carol as Stella Toddler for an old lady roommate. There's also a mini-musical revolving around the music of Richard Rodgers. In other skits, Carol is a plant shop owner with Tim Conway as a customer who wants to return a plant that hates him; spoofs of TV commercials; and a foppish prince tries to torture a woman into marrying him. Gorme sings "As Time Goes By".
10.00 #4 - Family Show
Season 9 - Episode 24 - Aired Mar 13, 1976
Ed takes flak from Eunice and Mama after he tries to sneak his assistant along on a business trip to Chicago in "The Family"; Mr. Tudball attempts to surprise Mrs. Wiggins on her birthday; a married couple takes to pinpointing each other's physical defects; and the dancers perform to "Baby Face" dressed in children's clothing.
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#5 - with Eydie Gorme
Season 10 - Episode 19 - Aired Feb 12, 1977
Eunice prepares for an appearance on "The Gong Show" and bickers with Ed and Mama over the clothes she should wear for her appearance; Mr. Tudball tries to teach Mrs. Wiggins the ropes about Las Vegas gambling; a wealthy woman whose husband has been kidnapped is coached by a TV reporter who is interviewing her about the abduction; guest Eydie Gorme sings "What I Did for Love" and, for the finale, participates in a medley of movie music featuring such numbers as "Hooray for Hollywood", "Over the Rainbow", "San Francisco", "Born Free", "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" and "The Way We Were".
10.00 #6 - The Four Funns Of Broadway
Season 1 - Episode 31 - Aired May 23, 1968
Special guests Mickey Rooney and John Davidson join Carol and Vicki to tell the tale of "The Four Funns Of Broadway," a show-biz chronicle of a vaudeville family packed with songs and laughs.
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#7 - with Jim Nabors
Season 9 - Episode 1 - Aired Sep 13, 1975
Eunice leaves Ed after she catches him going into a massage parlor in "The Family"; an eccentric military hero does not want his latest commendation; and a Bicentennial salute to America's cities and towns. Nabors sings a medley of saloon songs, and duets "I Feel at Home with You" together with Carol.
9.33 #8 - with Tim Conway, Valerie Harper
Season 6 - Episode 20 - Aired Feb 17, 1973
Skits include: a blind date sketch with Korman and Harper as swingers and Burnett and Conway as wallflowers; Conway as the world's oldest fireman; and another installment of "As the Stomach Turns". Valerie Harper solos "The Last Blues Song". Carol, Valerie and Vicki sing "The Ladies Who Lunch". The whole cast performs "The Good Old, Bad Old Days".
9.00 #9 - with Carl Reiner
Season 7 - Episode 17 - Aired Jan 19, 1974
A musical version of "Little Red Riding Hood" performed in the manner of a Mexican folk story for children. In another skit, an accident-prone woman (Carol) and her husband (Carl) attempt to buy insurance before her next accident. Also, Burnett as a spoiled child star, and a supermarket checkout sketch. Miss Burnett performs "I Wonder What Became of Me" and "Send in the Clowns".
9.00 #10 - with Tim Conway, Bernadette Peters
Season 7 - Episode 20 - Aired Feb 16, 1974
In "As the Stomach Turns" Marian's possessed niece (Bernadette) is exorcised by priest Tim Conway; two Japanese soldiers (Tim and Harvey) argue underwater; and a salute to musicals of the 1930's. Bernadette performs "I Can't Get Started with You" and "Blame It on My Youth".
9.00 #11 - with Tim Conway
Season 8 - Episode 15 - Aired Jan 11, 1975
Tim Conway plays a bumbling waiter in a Japanese restaurant; in a boxing sketch, Conway is in a match with first woman boxer Carol; Bert tries to convince Molly to see an X-rated movie in "The Old Folks"; a spoof of "The Pirates of Penzance". Carol sings "All of Me", and the whole cast performs "Mack the Black".
9.00 #12 - with Bernadette Peters
Season 11 - Episode 11 - Aired Dec 3, 1977
Guest Bernadette Peters sings "You Never Done It Like That"; Mr. Tudball nudges Mrs. Wiggins to clean up her desk before a prospective client arrives; an office girl introduces her two best friends to one another during a lunch; a series of skits about doctors advertising on TV; Carol and Dick pantomime a candlelight dinner where they can't open the wine bottle; and a salute to Betty Comden and Adolph Green.
9.00 #13 - with Dinah Shore
Season 10 - Episode 8 - Aired Nov 13, 1976
Business professionals (Carol and Harvey) discuss his marriage proposal in the style of a business meeting. Dinah Shore sings "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover". Tim's plays the oldest living butcher with Harvey as an impatient customer. "Went With The Wind," a "Gone With The Wind" spoof features Carol as Starlet O'Hara, Vicki as Sissy, Tim as Brashley Wilkes, Dinah as Melody, and Harvey as Capt. Rat Butler. A musical salute to New Orleans with "Basin Street Blues" as the centerpiece.
8.97 #14 - with Cher
Season 9 - Episode 3 - Aired Sep 27, 1975
A husband has trouble deciding between his glamorous wife and his homely mistress in "The Not So Eternal Triangle"; the 9th Annual "Carol Burnett Show" Awards for the most unforgettable commercials of the year; in "As the Stomach Turns", Cher is the town's half-breed and Tim is the town's beautician; two classical pianists (Harvey and Tim) prepare for a duet; guest Cher sings "Just This One Time" and duets with Carol on "Variety"; for the finale, a spoof of '70s rock music.
8.60 #15 - with Ruth Buzzi, Richard Crenna
Season 7 - Episode 13 - Aired Dec 15, 1973
A salute to movie bad girls with spoofs of such films as "Mrs. Robinson", "All About Eve", and "Born to Be Bad". Other sketches include Burnett and Crenna as a husband-and-wife cop team; a game show parody called "Celebrities and Peasants"; a production number about the mimeograph machine and women's voting rights. Ruth Buzzi performs "Oh, You Beautiful Doll".
8.50 #16 - with Telly Savalas and The Smothers Brothers
Season 8 - Episode 5 - Aired Oct 12, 1974
In a spoof of "Algiers", Savalas plays a great lover at the Casbah, facing Carol, the world’s most beautiful woman. In "The Family" skit, Eunice, Ed and Mama visit brother Jack (Tom Smothers) in the hospital. Also, Savalas and Korman play two men discussing a business merger as if it were a love affair. Savalas croons "Rubber Bands and Bits of String" and the Smothers Brothers perform "Love Me with All Your Heart".
8.50 #17 - with The Pointer Sisters
Season 9 - Episode 12 - Aired Nov 29, 1975
Comedy sketches include "The Noisy Speech," with Harvey Korman trying to overcome the noise made by his friend (Tim Conway), and "Miss Nobody," with Carol as a meek woman having lunch with her friend (Vicki Lawrence). The Pointer Sisters sing "Save the Bones for Henry Jones," returning for a rock retelling of the Cinderella story.
8.33 #18 - with Lana Turner, Frank Gorshin
Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired Jan 8, 1968
Carol's guest Lana Turner sings "Heavenly Music" while dancing with the Lester Flatt troop. Frank Gorshin does impressions then becomes Bluebeard with Carol his 13th wife. Carol and Harvey are a bickering couple on a game show.
8.25 #19 - with Richard Chamberlin, Gloria Loring
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired Nov 13, 1967
Carol and guest Richard Chamberlain attempt to make Lyle jealous; an airport interview with a "Mother of the Year"; musical numbers from Carol and the dancers ("Everybody's Gotta Be Someplace"), Richard with the dancers and singers ("Lazy Day"), and guest Gloria Loring ("A Taste of Honey" and "I've Gotta Be Me"); Carol and Vicki perform "Sisters Galore" sketch, and they and the dancers perform "Ballin' the Jack".
8.20 #20 - with The Pointer Sisters
Season 9 - Episode 7 - Aired Oct 25, 1975
The Pointer Sisters sing "How Long", perform with Korman in a disc-jockey comedy sketch, and team up with Miss Burnett and Miss Lawrence for an all-girl musical number, "Get Me to the Church on Time". Other comedy highlights include Miss Burnett as a romantic dropout telling her troubles to a bartender (Korman) who would rather dwell on his own problems; Mickey Hart (Tim) joins "The Family" for a game of charades; Carol and Tim in a silent sketch as a hungry couple.
8.20 #21 - with Nanette Fabray, Sonny & Cher
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired Nov 6, 1967
A spoof of French, Polish and Japanese airline service; A "V.I.P." interview sketch with Carol as a nudist; an office triangle sketch; Carol and Nanette perform "Bosom Buddies"; Cher performs "You Better Sit Down Kids"; Sonny & Cher sing "Living for You"; and the whole cast performs "Take Me Along".
8.11 #22 - with Phyllis Diller, Gwen Verdon, and Bobbie Gentry
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired Oct 16, 1967
Carol plays the wife of a monster in "Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde"; a routine from guest Phyllis Diller; musical numbers from guests Gwen Verdon ("The 59th Street Bridge Song") and Bobbie Gentry ("The Look of Love"); Carol and Vicki in a foreign exchange sketch; and a "Sgt. Pepper" production number.
8.06 #23 - with Sid Caesar, Ella Fitzgerald
Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired Dec 25, 1967
Highlights of this Christmas edition include: guest Sid Caesar demonstrating self-defense; Carol and Sid as a couple who quarrel on Christmas night; Sid, Carol and Harvey in a sketch that takes place in ancient Rome; guest Ella Fitzgerald sings "A Foggy Day" and "Always True to You in My Fashion"; Carol performs "Bare Necessities", and as the Charwoman sings "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas; and a cameo by Jonathan Winters.
8.00 #24 - with Lynn Redgrave, Mike Douglas
Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired Jan 1, 1968
A sketch about a tourist couple at an airport; Carol and Vicki duetting on "Puppy Love"; Mike singing "On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)" and "Born Free"; and a Shakespeare production number.
8.00 #25 - with Trini Lopez, Ken Berry
Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired Jan 15, 1968
Highlights include: "The Swinging 6 O'Clock News"; a "V.I.P." interview with the wife of the Jolly Green Giant; and musical numbers from guests Trini López ("Sally Was a Good Old Girl" and "Sonny") and Ken Berry ("Mack the Knife"); and a takeoff of "Show Boat".
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