BUT...SERIOUSLY

BUT...SERIOUSLY (1995, Showtime, unrated, $19.95) Just because Shakespeare called his clowns fools doesn't mean he underestimated their ability to hang the emperor's new clothes out to dry. A similar debunking spirit charges this collection of political comedy, a made-for-cable compendium that glues news clips from the past five decades to the often indelible stand-up routines (from more than 20 comedians, including George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Whoopi Goldberg) they inspired. The producers' tastes tend toward the unnecessarily catholic (Argus Hamilton doing a Jimmy Carter impersonation?!), but when masters like Pryor and Robin Williams take aim at racism and war, their words lift a veil as heavy as the laughter that follows. A-