[1] The special showcased Welch's talents as a singer, dancer and comedian, pitting her in a variety of skits with the Krofft Puppets, who were the only guest stars.
She suffered devastating blows to her reputation with the overlapping productions[5] and releases of the infamous 1970 film Myra Breckinridge, and her surreal TV special, Raquel.
With aspirations of starring in a lavish movie-musical, she'd worked hard to develop her voice, but that style of film had fallen out of fashion,[6] so the mod, music video-like TV foray was an attempt to showcase her talents.
[citation needed] Eager to prove the rumors were untrue, she debuted on the Las Vegas stage on the final night of 1972 with the successful cabaret show, Raquel Welch and the World of Sid and Marty Krofft,[7] which drew record audiences and won rave reviews.
[13][14] The Krofft brothers were not directly involved with the production of the TV special, but it provides a rare glimpse at many of the celebrity marionettes that were staples of their early live performances.
As the screen becomes a kaleidoscopic Busby Berkeley puppet dance number, Welch briefly segues into Rose's Turn and the credits roll.
Welch croons a sultry rendition of I'll Be Your Baby Tonight, does a partial striptease, and takes a seat on a distorted piano with a sloped keyboard.
The song takes on a Ragtime sound as 12 pairs of gigantic white puppet hands emerge from the strange instrument, pounding on the keys and comically interacting with Miss Welch.
"[16] The San Francisco Examiner remarked, "The show tended to drag when our heroine reminisced about her career, but otherwise it was a first rate, bouncy, lively hour, worthy of the fetching wench that Raquel Welch is.
"[17] Conversely, John J. O'Connor of The New York Times complained, "She slinks, she purrs, she bumps, she grinds, but it all comes out looking like a bad imitation of Rita Hayworth in Cover Girl.
"[18] The special was once rumored to have been lost, but in 2018, archival company Obsolete Video Services unearthed a rare recording of the broadcast on Los Angeles's KNXT.