I've been aware for a while that a DVD set of the entire series of "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" is at my local library, but it wasn't until the recent passing of cast member Arte Johnson that I had decided to check them out. So here I start with the special that eventually led to the eventual first season of the show. Among the familiar characters introduced here are Ruth Buzzi's Gladys Omphby and Johnson's Wolfgang the German Soldier both in the first "Cocktail Party" sketch though Wolfgang appears throughout the show always saying that eventual catch-phrase "Verrrry interesting!" The hosts are the comedy team of Dan Rowan & Dick Martin. We also get the first two of Henry Gibson's poems and the first time Judy Carne gets doused with water (but she's yet to say "Sock it to me!"). Among the guests are Ken Berry and Barbara Feldon who appears in more skits than any of the other guests maybe because she was also on another NBC show called "Get Smart" at the time. Quite amusing this first ep of the show though I'm sure it gets better as it gets going in subsequent ones. By the way, on the DVD version, there was also a Timex commercial with John Cameron Swayze and a skater who is doing what he does with that watch on his skate... P.S. During the "singing weather" segment, both Chicago and Baton Rouge-cities I was born in and live in now, respectively-are mentioned one after the other in that order.