The Shows:

When Dean Martin's long running variety show started to wane in the ratings department, the production team decided to try and spice things up with a ‘Man Of The Week' segment in which Martin and many of his pals would pay tribute to a specific celebrity by giving them a good ‘roasting' similar to what had been going on at The Friars Club for a while. The idea was a success and for a decade lasting from 1974 through to 1984 Martin and company kept it going. The variety show would go off the air in 1974, but those roasts kept on coming and were often quite timely.

Time Life, two years ago, released a complete collection of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts and since then has repackaged the material a few times in lower cost versions with less material and extra features. Dean Martin Roasts: Stingers & Zingers is the latest repackaging effort, an eight disc collection focusing on movie and TV stars as well as the occasional athlete.

The celebrities and athletes that are roasted in this set are:

DISC ONE: Valerie Harper / Jack Klugman And Tony Randall / Michael Landon

DISC TWO: Carroll O'Connor / Senator Hubert Humphry / Wilt Chamberlain

DISC THREE: Danny Thomas / Ted Knight / Dan Haggerty,/p>

DISC FOUR: Mr. T / Joe Namath

DISC FIVE: Jack Klugman / Ed McMahon / Redd Foxx

DISC SIX: Joe Garagiola / Evel Knievel / Hank Aaron

DISC SEVEN: Peter Marshall / Truman Capote / William Conrad / Monty Hall

DISC EIGHT: Joe Namath (again) / Leo Durocher / Bobby Riggs

Of course, each roast follows the same basic formula. Martin provides an introduction and acts as essentially a master of ceremonies, bringing on each roaster to off their tribute to the ‘man of the hour' or ‘woman of the hour' (it started as ‘of the week' but changed once the variety show went off the air). This would make up the bulk of the running time but then, at the end of each roast, the special guest would get up and give it right back to the roasters. This material would often stray far from the realm of modern day political correctness but it didn't seem to matter to anyone, it was all done in good fun. Racial humor, sexist humor, crass comments and personal digs are common throughout the set making all of this very much a product of its time but a damned entertaining one regardless.

Of course, just as important to the show as the special guest is the cast of roasters put together for each episode. Throughout this set you'll see roast regulars like Don Rickles (always a stand out player), Red Buttons, Ruth Buzzi, Nipsey Russell and Rich Little but also some more decidedly esoteric choices. Maybe it's not so surprising to see Phyllis Diller show up or Norm Crosby or Charles Nelson Reilly for that matter but keep watching and you'll bear witness to roasts from Vincent Price, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Ernest Borgnine, Orson Welles, Bruce Jenner (timely as that one may be by modern standards) and even Gary Coleman. Part of the joy of watching the roasts is, unless you refer to the included episode guide or an online source, you really never know who will show up or what they will do!

While the material on display in each roast was definitely scripted, there's still an obvious element of improve that goes into quite a bit of the routines. Comedians and celebrities alike show a knack here for thinking on their feet, Martin in particular is always ready with a quip, his trademark cocktail seemingly glued to his hand and playing the part of the charming drunk for all its worth. You also get a sense from Martin's involvement here for those roasters and roastees that he really enjoyed working with on a personal level. Case in point? His reactions to Don Rickles or Sammy Davis Jr. tend to be far more sincere and appreciative than his reactions to Ricky Schroeder. The camaraderie that comes out of specific moments of interaction between the different participants can be pretty charming in its own right, and the unhinged enthusiasm and spirit of it all is generally as infectious as it is downright funny.

There are also some remarkably bizarre moments in here as well. The roast of Mr. T is a good example (and the last of the roasts that Martin would be involved with). At the time it was done he was a big star, The A-Team was a big hit on TV and he was absolutely a very famous man but you can tell that Martin and a lot of the other participants lack a real connection to the guy. The end result is… weird. Maybe a little awkward. Yet still funny. Seeing Coleman and Schroder sitting on the stage next to a bunch of grownups telling grownup jokes is almost surreal. But again, the humor comes quickly and efficiently and as such, it'll keep you laughing even if you're left occasionally scratching your head.

The end result here is that if you've got, or intend to get, the complete collection you really don't need this repackaged assortment. It duplicates material that would seem to have originated with that admittedly much more lavish (and expensive) collection. For the casual fan, however, and one more interested in seeing the stars of the screen and a few sports heroes tossed into the mix, this is a very fine assortment of comedy gold. It can occasionally get repetitive, particularly if you marathon the episodes, but no matter how many times you hear Red Buttons do his ‘never got a dinner' bit you can't help but laugh along with everyone on the screen.

Video:

The content in this set is taken from the original broadcast tape masters so it's only going to ever look so good. Expect some softness inherent in the source to wreak havoc with detail occasionally but for the most part, this is all more than watchable. Colors do tend to fade a bit but are typically defined well enough so as not to be a problem. Skin tones look fine and black levels are okay, if never perfect. These look like the old tape sources that they are, and there's no shame in that. Some mild compression artifacts do pop up here and there but outside of that, no real problems here, just keep your expectations in check.