A couple of weeks ago I was hanging out with a friend and he mentioned there was a DVD being released for "The Paul Lynde Halloween Special." As he was mentioning that he read it was a special that aired way back in 1976, that it included performances by KISS, and that he had no idea who Paul Lynde was… I was remembering having WATCHED that special when it originally aired. He looked at me like I was nuts, but then I mentioned that I had also seen Alice Cooper on "The Muppet Show", to which he said "No Way." Reminding myself that he was a full 20 years younger than me, I just shook my head at the obliviousness of today's youth. "The Paul Lynde Halloween Special" aired only one time, back on October 29, 1976. It has over the years been lost, I imagine only occasionally showing up in some form or another in bootleg copies. I had actually all but forgotten it until my friend mentioned it to me, but then the memories came flooding back.

I was a huge KISS fan back then and that was what originally led me to watch it. Sure I was a fan of Lynde from his appearances on "Bewitched", and I wanted to see Witchie Poo from "H.R. Pufnstuf", but it was the promise of pyrotechnics and blood spitting that drew me in.

When I received the DVD from S'More Entertainment, I almost immediately popped it into my player so I could be taken back to my days as a starry eyed 13 year old. What I had forgotten over the years was just how silly some television comedy specials were back then. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Lynde was able to pull together a veritable smorgasbord of 70's stars to appear on his special. Folks like Tim Conway, Billy Barty, Margaret Hamilton (dressed as the witch from "The Wizard of Oz" no less), Donny and Marie, Betty White and Florence Henderson all popped in to perform.

But the real draw again was KISS, who were actually allowed to perform a whopping three songs (that's one more than they allow you on "Saturday Night Live!"), which included "Detroit Rock City", "Beth" and "King of the Night Time World." Some of the performances were marred by having the video spin around, but annoying as it was they kept it to a minimum. I guess that was 1976's version of MTV's annoying camera work.

S'more put out a fairly decent DVD for this special; though don’t expect a high quality transfer. It's mostly clean, though looks a little more like a VHS transfer. There is even the occasional line at the bottom of the screen (which you get used to). I can't fault them for not going to far out on the transfer, I know it is an expensive endeavor and it might not have been worth it in the long run. They did add some amusing features, mostly in the form of written quips from Lynde's well-known sarcastic repartee. There is even an off camera interview with Peter Marshall about Lynde's years as the center square on "The Hollywood Squares." But the best feature is a kind of photo gallery of Lynde's personal pictures.

"The Paul Lynde Halloween Special" was not the kind of offering that would win an Emmy Award, and many of the skits are silly and dated, but its still fun to watch as a time capsule of the period.

Extras: Paul's Scrapbook, Photo Gallery from Paul's life, Notable Quotes...From The Mind of Paul Lynde, "Name That Quip" Trivia Challenge, Interview With Peter Marshall
Studio: S'More Entertainment
Release Date: 10/9/2007
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give The Paul Lynde Halloween Special a B-.