When it comes to wacky, you can't do much better than Paul Lynde. And he really out did himself in 1976 with this television special. It's one of those shows you just have to see to believe. The plot, if you can call it that, finds Paul on Halloween night with his maid (Margaret Hamilton) contemplating the holiday and how much it irks him. He discovers on this, of all nights, that his maid is actually a witch when she takes him to her sister's (Witchiepoo from H.R. Pufnstuf) castle. He promises to keep quiet about it if they grant him three wishes. This leads to sketches of Paul as a trucker, and a sheik. The last wish takes them to a disco, where Paul meets the band Kiss.
This series is wrong on so many levels, but reaches the heights of wrongness in the clip above featuring the whole cast (which also includes Roz "Pinky Tuscadero" Kelly, Betty White, Tim Conway, Billy Barty and Donny and Marie Osmond) dancing to Disco Baby (to the tune of Disco Lady). The clip was uploaded by frenchjr25. The special is now available on DVD and I highly recommend it for the wonderful train wreck it is.
Obscurity factor: 6 (on DVD, known in some circles as a camp classic, largely unknown by the general public)
Showing posts with label Betty White. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Betty White. Show all posts
Monday, October 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Betty White in The Betty White Show (1977)
After Mary Tyler Moore left the air in 1977 the spin-offs that hadn't already been exploited started popping up. This was one of them. Joyce Whitman (White) is an actress who plays the lead in Undercover Woman, a cop show along the lines of Police Woman. It's directed by her ex husband John (John Hillerman) and features a sexy Caren Kaye as her side kick. At home, Joyce lives with her friend Mitzi (Georgia Engle). The plots revolve around both work and home issues and find Joyce balancing her temper with her desire to get along with everyone.
This series was on for only 14 episodes, and didn't fare well in the ratings. Aside from the fact that it was scheduled against Monday Night Football it also had the problem of overcoming the acidic Sue Ann Nivens character White had played on MTM. It's difficult to make a character like that palatable as the central focus of a show, but you don't want to deviate too much from what the public knows and likes to see the actress do, so it was a fine line to walk. The episode above was the second to air in the series and features guest star Janis Page. It was uploaded to YouTube by kentgraovac.
Obscurity factor: 7 (not on DVD, known primarily for it's revival on TV Land in the 90's)
This series was on for only 14 episodes, and didn't fare well in the ratings. Aside from the fact that it was scheduled against Monday Night Football it also had the problem of overcoming the acidic Sue Ann Nivens character White had played on MTM. It's difficult to make a character like that palatable as the central focus of a show, but you don't want to deviate too much from what the public knows and likes to see the actress do, so it was a fine line to walk. The episode above was the second to air in the series and features guest star Janis Page. It was uploaded to YouTube by kentgraovac.
Obscurity factor: 7 (not on DVD, known primarily for it's revival on TV Land in the 90's)
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