Retro Review: The Paul Lynde Halloween Special

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Synopsis
'60s/'70s television mainstay hosts a Halloween show that is filled with singing, "humorous" skits, and everything else that was a staple of those gawdawful 1970s variety shows...

Review
...and that's what I love about it.

Where to begin, where to begin? Well, for starters, I wasn't super familiar with Paul Lynde, though I'm sure I'd caught his appearances on Bewitched in re-runs when I was a kid (we had a local station in the area that would show sitcoms from that era in syndication). But the first I'd heard of this special was while reading something about the band KISS. They had appeared in the special. I'm a fan, and my brother-in-law is a real die-hard, one of those people who buys pretty much anything the band releases, be it music or other merchandise. After I'd learned about this special, I was over his house one day and asked if he knew about it. He replied that not only was he aware of it, he owned a copy, and asked if I'd like to watch it.

Given this was during one of those family get-togethers that seem to just drag on for hours, I answered that yes, I would like to watch The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, and we descended into my brother-in-law's basement with my son in tow (we roped him into this as well). We watched the entire thing, all 52 minutes or so of it. Every time I mention it, my son rolls his eyes.

Words cannot describe this masterpiece of awful '70s television, but I'll try. 

For starters, it was written by, among other, Bruce Vilanch, who I'd never heard of, but have since become familiar with. He's written jokes for the Oscars and Hollywood squares, as well as having worked on The Donny and Marie Show, as well as The Star Wars Holiday Special (so you know what you're getting into, should you decide to give this a shot). 

It's got guest stars galore, with '70s icons such as Florence Henderson, Tim Conway, as well as the aforementioned Donny and Marie Osmond and KISS. Margaret Hamilton, who played the evil witch in The Wizard of Oz, plays Paul Lynde's housekeeper.

Then there's the sketches, including one in which Lynde plays a truck driver ("The Rhinestone Trucker"), and another where he's a sheik intent on seducing Florence Henderson. And did I mention KISS is in it? KISS is in it! They lip-sync a truncated performance Detroit Rock City and appear in the background of another scene, though I didn't know that until someone else pointed it out years later.

It really is quite terrible...I love it. I make it a point to try to watch it each Halloween season.


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