The Beatrice Arthur Special

The Beatrice Arthur Special is a 1980 American comedy-variety television special hosted by and starring Beatrice Arthur in her first and only prime time special. It was originally broadcast as a "CBS Special Presentation" on January 19, 1980 at 10:00 pm ET/PT.
Overview.
Arthur, along with guest stars Rock Hudson, Melba Moore, Wayland Flowers and his puppet character Madame, perform a series of skits and musical numbers, many of which have a distinct Broadway sensibility. The special was recorded using a single-camera setup without a studio audience, with a laugh track added in post-production.
Featured songs and skits.
The Paley Center for Media copy includes Moore singing "Miss Thing" as well; that song is not on bootleg copies of the over-the-air broadcast.
Reception.
A retrospective review by Phil Hall at "Film Threat's" "The Bootleg Files" cited Moore's performances as the highlight of the special, also noting that Flowers's segments provided some of the few moments of "genuine fun" in the show. Hall conceded he was not a fan of Arthur's voice or style and felt that Moore seemed out of place with Arthur, the openly gay Flowers and the closeted Hudson. In all, Hall concluded that the awkward mix of mostly unfunny comedy (citing the Martin sketch as a lowlight) with dramedy, poor choreography, and miscasting of camp icons like Hudson in straight roles made the special so bad, it's good.