The Paul Lynde Halloween Special

I've seen this several times and every time it's an absolute treat!! Paul Lynde was pretty amazing in his own right but only he could assemble this collection of high weirdness for a 70's Halloween special...topped off by KISS!! Goofy and just plain bizarre...this needs to be seen to believed!! Try watching with a bunch of friends & turn it into a drinking game...or watch it stoned!! You won't be sorry you did!!!

Margaret Hamilton is absolutely spot-on in her reprise of the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz. That alone is worth enduring this hour -- she's amazing when almost 40 years had passed since that original role.

Otherwise it's campy and sometimes borders on creepy (singing about "Kids"?). And who the heck ever thought putting Kiss on a Paul Lynde show was a good idea?

But if you're a Wizard of Oz fan, then watch it for Margaret Hamilton.

Finally after many years watched this special from 1976 and I must say "The Paul Lynde Halloween Special" was well written, funny, with wit and well acted as it celebrated the moment of Halloween all while not trying to take things to serious. The late Lynde funny as ever is helped along by his housekeeper(the wonderful and super great Margaret Hamilton) The Wicked Witch of the West who just flies along is a clever and fun spooky way maker for Paul's Halloween dreams to come true with magic. Plus good old country pal Tim Conway gives a fine performance as a country trucker. Also good appearances are given from legends Donny and Marie Osmond and Florence Henderson who lighten the mood with feel good voice sounds of music. To top it off at a party disco the wild guys of the night "Kiss" rock up the party making a hot flame like feeling fun party! Overall well done fun special that's a must see if you like old vintage and classic times of the throwback TV era.

The planets align, the time capsule opens, and out pops Paul Lynde's 1976 Halloween special for ABC, finally released on DVD. Lay off the mind-altering substances if you watch this. This relic is enough of a mind-blower.

Avant-garde in its stupidity, the special features Paul in a variety of skits with a Halloween theme. See Paul trapped in a castle run by witches, played by Margaret Hamilton and Billie Hayes. See Paul as the Rhinestone Trucker, competing with Tim Conway for the affections of Roz Kelly (Pinkie Tuscadero from "Happy Days.") See Paul as the Chic Sheikh, wooing Florence Henderson. See Florence lip-sync her way through "That Old Black Magic," and see Paul bump and grind with Roz Kelly as she warbles "Disco Lady." Also lending a hand — as if that weren't enough — are Donny and Marie, Betty White and Billy Barty.

Of course, this special is best known as KISS' network debut, and they do "Detroit, Rock City," "Beth" and "King of the Nighttime World" on a bizarre stage with orange neon bats and dancers with fluorescent wigs. It would only be a matter of time before the band made "KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park," another surrealistically stupid masterpiece.

The bonus features on the S'More DVD are disappointing, with some unremarkable quotes from Paul's interviews, a collection of archive photos (with barely readable captions), and a "Name that Quip" trivia challenge. An audio interview with "Hollywood Squares" host Peter Marshall, however, is remarkably candid.

I can't guarantee you'll laugh – I did, though not always for the right reasons – but you're certain to be astonished. For better or worse, they don't make 'em like this anymore!

Unfortunately, it did not. This special showed that Paul Lynde was o.k. When taken in small doses; yet this film had too much Paul in one sitting. The show was stilted and contrived. You felt that you were caught up in a seventy's nightmare; perfect for Halloween. Donny and Marie Osmond did not make it into the introduction; they could have been much better presenters than "Kiss." Most of the skits were too contrived to be funny.

I waited through the complete presentation in the hope that the Osmonds would make more than a token appearance. They did not. And "the Kiss soundtrack was washed out or maybe they were washed out in reality. It was fun to see Tim Conway as Dynamite Dan/Long Haul Howard/Seymore as it made me think of "The Carol Burnett Show." The disco scene made me think of "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" or the disco scene in "Cactus Flower."

Florence Henderson sang "that old Black Magic" while displaying Dracula type fangs; you have to wonder if she grew those fangs for Halloween or if it was a fashion statement.

Anyway, enough reminiscing, the bottom line is I have no idea why other than as a historical documentary that anyone would want to reconstitute this particular Halloween special.