The Don Rickles TV Specials: Volume 1

This pair of long-forgotten TV specials starring the comically infamous “Mr. Warmth” finds the zany putdown artist at his best and his not-best. In both the 1970 ABC offering The Many Sides of Don Rickles and the 1972 CBS effort Don Rickles: Alive and Kicking, the star shines when he is spontaneous: shooting one-liners at audience members (who react with gales of laughter at his wisecracks) and trading barbed quips in unscripted conversations with the likes of Don Adams, Harvey Korman, and Robert Goulet. Rickles is also wildly unpredictable when he is “analyzed” by a trio of psychology experts— brilliantly ping-ponging between his trademark humor and genuinely warm and sincere commentary. Alas, Rickles is not at his finest when shoehorned into the clumsy sketch comedy and kitschy musical numbers that were de rigueur in TV specials of the 1970s. Really, who wants to see Rickles as the song-and-dance partner of leggy Juliet Prowse? The CBS special features some fine uncredited guest appearances by Johnny Carson, Carroll O'Connor, Bob Newhart, and—as hapless audience recipients of Rickles' jokes—Tim Conway and McLean Stevenson. Extras include new intros by Rickles, and a clip of Rickles being given a TV Land Legend Award and launching into a very funny acceptance speech. Despite its flaws, this is recommended. (P. Hall)