Last April, when I wrote about the pioneering TV comedy of Ernie Kovacs, I lamented the fact that the just-released box set The Ernie Kovacs Collection was so big: running about 13 hours on six DVDs, it collected the gold but also a fair amount of dross, especially from the comedian’s years slugging it out on live daytime television. Well, ask and ye shall receive: Shout! Factory, which released the box, has just announced a single-disc release of the classic prime-time specials Kovacs taped for ABC just before his untimely death in a car crash in January 1962. A landmark in TV comedy, these shows are exactly the place to start if you’re curious what all the fuss is about but don’t want to spring for the box. Ernie Kovacs: The ABC Specials is scheduled for release April 17; a clip follows after the jump.