It was probably for the best. Mom would’ve cockblocked me from watching this because she always had a strong hatred for everything involving Hugh Hefner. Since it aired in late 1979, I would’ve protested or made the pitch to see it for the Village People. Yeah. I know. I didn’t know they were gay nor did I even understand what “gay” really meant. Back in the Seventies, calling someone or something “gay” was a kid-level insult with the connotation of “lame,” “dorky” or “uncool.” Keep in mind, kids aren’t very articulate. The other variable I should be grateful to my strict mom about? Dorothy Stratten was in this and if you recall her name, you know being Playmate of 1980 didn’t end well for the poor lady.
Back to this special.
It’s definitely a product of its time. Roller Disco was popular. Playboy hadn’t quite transformed into the disgusting shadow of its origin. Waylon Flowers and “Madame” (or ventriloquism) was still mainstream entertainment, not Red-State filler (Jeff Dunham isn’t funny). The Village People had hit records. Lastly, Richard Dawson was considered a class act, not the butt of Family Feud jokes/parodies…yet. Oh yeah. ABC hadn’t become Disney’s property so it continued to gamble on risqué programming until Fox appeared.