Courtesy: Time Life/NBC Universal
Time Life and NBC Universal have unearthed a nice piece of holiday television history with the release of The Dean Martin Christmas Show. This holiday special is a relic of a bygone era. It’s another prime example of everything that was once right with television. Much like with the recently released Carol Burnett Show sets, this unearthing shows that there is still love and interest for classic television. As great as all of the annual holiday specials are, this once forgotten special reminds audiences that there is still much more out there that is just as enjoyable as the aforementioned specials.
The Dean Martin Christmas Show runs at less than an hour long. The majority of the material in this special is musical numbers. Although there are some skits tossed in for good measure, too. OF the few skits included in this show, the best of them is the cop skit with acting legend Dom DeLuise. DeLuise plays a street cop who tries to give Santa a ticket for parking his sled in a no parking zone. While audiences never see Santa, the ability of DeLuise to interpret what would have been Santa standing there before him shows his talent. And his reaction after Santa gives him a present, despite the attempt to give him a ticket, brings the whole skit together. It makes for lots of laughs even years after its original airing.
Dom DeLuise isn’t the only star who gets his chance for laughs in this special. Fellow veteran actor Bob Newhart also gets his time to shine. Newhart stars alongside Martin as a customer trying to return a toupee. Martin plays the part of a clerk in the complaint department in the store where Newhart’s character is returning the toupee. The chemistry between the pair is obvious as Martin can’t even hold back his laughs throughout the course of the skit. Yet by contrast, Newhart somehow manages to maintain his character’s deadpan persona, which is probably why Martin was unable to contain his laughs. It’s just one more moment that viewers yearning for that nostalgia will enjoy and appreciate with every watch.
The skits included in this roughly forty-eight minute holiday special make for their own share of enjoyment. The musical numbers add even more nostalgia and enjoyment, too. Martin and company share their own renditions of a number of Christmas carols. Home viewers won’t be able to resist signing along a little bit, too. When it’s all said and done, audiences of all ages will realize that what they’ve experienced is something very special. Add in the original quality of the broadcast and that feeling gets even stronger. Audiences can experience that feeling for themselves now as The Dean Martin Christmas Show is available now on DVD courtesy of Time Life and NBC Universal. It can be ordered online direct via Time Life’s store at http://timelife.com/products/the-dean-martin-christmas-show.
To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it or its companion page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reel-Reviews/381028148587141. Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at http://philspicks.wordpress.com.
