Dean Martin Christmas

A truly EXCELLENT Christmas special with Dean Martin . . . . .
This DVD what just exactly what I was wanted and exactly what I was expecting. I truly couldn't be happier. You just can't go wrong with this DVD if you are a big fan of the Dean Martin Show and especially if you want to turn the clock back to December 1968, when every major star of the day had an annual Christmas Special on TV. The 50 minute DVD is basically a typical great episode of the Dean Martin show from NBC, with the main theme being Christmas. A few skits are just a tiny bit slow, however seeing Dean singing Christmas songs, especially the songs with the Gold Diggers and Dean sitting on the piano and singing with Ken Lane, truly brought back so many good old memories from that timeframe. Even Bob Hope drops by for a few good lines. And the quality is even really great for a TV show that was taped in 1968. I can't actually say much more than I loved it, and now that it's added to our collection of Christmas DVDs, it will surely become one of our true favorites to watch each...

Dean's 1968 Christmas hour is a very pleasant surprise
Other reviewers have noted that past "Dean Martin Show" releases have been plagued with music-clearance problems and edited segments, so this writer expected this Christmas show to be a paste-up of quick excerpts, as has been done with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby "Christmas TV" DVDs. To my great surprise this turns out to be one continuous episode, aired the Thursday before Christmas in 1968. There is at least one noticeable edit near the beginning but the balance of the show appears to be complete, and it's a treat for vintage-TV enthusiasts and Dean Martin fans.

Dean Martin's variety shows were carefully staged and rehearsed -- but without Dean, who showed up for the tapings. The viewer enjoys the jokes and surprises, and so does Dean! A highlight of this show is a department-store sketch, with Dean playing straight as a complaint-department clerk, and Bob Newhart as an embarrassed customer. Newhart sets the dialogue up according to plan, with Dean reading the straight lines...

No Jack Webb
I just watched this, and there's NO Jack Webb - Dom DeLuise sketch as indicated by another reviewer.
However, there's lots here to enjoy!
The short version of the NBC Peacock opens the show. A quick glimpse of a kooky "The Dean Martin Show" logo perched high on the wall above the stage. Dean being whisked offstage by the leggy Golddiggers on a giant round bed, similar to the bed seen in his Matt Helm movies! And those 39 movie and TV stars announcing which children's hospitals will be receiving their share of $10,000 worth of gifts! (There's at least one male star I don't recognize.)
The opening is edited strangely, with a freeze-frame of Dean-as-Santa segueing right into a peculiar adoption joke, then a very fleeting "The Dean Martin Christmas Show" graphic. This could've been done much more smoothly. The Station Identification break halfway through is much better.
Time-Life is to be applauded for putting this out on DVD at an excellent price. To see these faces...

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