King of Cool: The Best Of The Dean Martin Variety Show [Collector's Edition 6 DVDs]

The eagerly-awaited follow-up to the first collection of material from The Dean Martin Show mined from the vaults of its originating network, NBC, and released by Time-Life last spring, this brand new 6-disc set contains 18 episodes culled from the 8 years that the program delighted audiences in the final hour of prime-time on Thursday nights (the series' final season, retitled The Dean Martin Comedy Hour, was moved to Fridays, with a modified format largely remembered for its introduction of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts).

But it's the episodes comprising this new "King of Cool" collection that offer a representative sampling of the series' heyday, spanning the last show of its fledgling season (1965-66) to the final episode of its 8th season, telecast in the spring of 1973.

What's not known as of this writing (10/24/11) is how much of the programs' original musical content has been able to be retained in the transfer to DVD. Last spring's first outing reminded us of some of the harsh cuts that can result from the high costs and myriad complications of licensing copyrighted musical works, and we may need to brace ourselves for some similar edits in this second edition. Even so, the promised inclusion of 128 musical performances, as well as the rarity and diversity of many of the episodes chosen, make "King of Cool" a hands-down must for true fans of both Dean and his series.

For an exclusive rundown of the original air dates and guest stars of all 18 episodes featured in this new 6-DVD set, simply copy and paste (or type) into any search engine the words: Updates/The Golddiggers Super Site.

Was there ever a show that provided so much fun..and spontaneity and laughs and brought in so many viewers..and we need to look at one thing it was a venue for stand up comics and other entertainers who were fortunate to be asked on and it was probably a boon to their careers even firmly established stars...but for those not so established it certainly increased your bookings and your value across north america and the world which takes so much of its entertainment here..and in california which has become and new york ina sense an entertainment mecca for the world..movie stars are not always popular on tv. At times its as if the public likes them in movies and accepts that role..but tv is a different medium..and the variety show like a talk show is like afriend. AS dean sais thank you for inviting me into your living rooms..then bedrooms. He was popular with males and females, and kids, young and old, and their were cue cards..and often spontaneous utterings and fun! Fun galore! It worked..Jerry lewis(who was never invited on) failed..and Frank sinatra wasnt a success either he lacked humour..bud Dean and the reputation he had with the public and the stars seemed to succeed and it was a big success and here we see only a sampling..and the bawdiness of the acts is apparent and its fun but for some reason after 8 years the show and it started from some flagship stations..when the news of his impending divorce was in the news..and his fling with a young girl and eventual marriage..despite the risqu humour..rumors about him especially during the divorce was at odds with those christmas shows and family image..and during the last year his ratings plummeted some say for this reason..whether it was someone in his wife's entourage or wherever we dont know..public personbalities and personal relations we can never keep them separate...and if we want to turn on any medium to get info..out of thousands of alternatives..the show was the dean of variety shows and over the years many tried to recapture the magic of these shows..the best is probably SNL which is similar in ways..the same type of format..is there a funnier comic than Jonathon Winters one of my all time faves..even Dean cant stop from laughing..and the children of celebrities..he seemed to like their children at times more than their fathers and mothers..and they are on this tape and thats good since thats really who he was and the divorce in ways ruined his reputation with some..the tabloid press..and also those Beverly Hills jokes..and Sunset BLvd..we take it all in fun..and they are on this tape and Orson Welles reciting Shakespeare the
only serious and solemn Orson was a big fan of dean..dean gives a hint he wouldnt mind making a film..there was no film...Recommended as a look back at the top rated variety show in its heydey..Flip wilson is also here I recall his show..

The Dvd's got here very fast must faster then expected, the content was ok, not as funny as I thought it would be but we enjoyed them I don't think I would watch them again or order again what I really wanted was Foster Brooks with Dean Martin and it's not on this set.