IMHO "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List" (5.5): Maggie's bucket list

On this week's Very Special Episode of My Life on the D-List, Kathy Griffin tries to deliver on her mother's "bucket list", which includes meeting comedy icon Betty White and visiting California's wine "section".

Look below to find out why this episode earns a big up arrow!

This was by far the sweetest episode of D-List in five seasons, and beneath Kathy's sarcasm and gentle abuse, it's obvious that she wanted to honor her mom by making this "Maggie's Show".

Maggie makes her wish list of things she wants to experience before she dies and Kathy does her best to accommodate, starting with meeting the astonishingly well-preserved Stefanie Powers. Before long, Stefanie has Kathy and Maggie squeezing their buttocks. Allegedly, it has something to do with Pilates, but Kathy insists it's like being in a "gay bar on free drink night. A lot of ass exercising".

Up next is the incomparable Betty White, who meets up with Kathy and Maggie at Sizzler, where they have a brief and tragic game of Password. Betty proves why she's a national treasure by being the foul-mouthed but adorable grandma we all wish we had.

Maggie and Team Griffin (which includes guest stars Michael McDonald and Nicole Sullivan) board a party bus (complete with stripper pole) to visit California's wine "section". Before long everyone but Kathy is tipsy.

Lastly is legendary insult comic Don Rickles, who was a huge influence on Kathy, and one of Maggie's favorite comedians. Don and Kathy discuss the pitfalls of offending people for a living, and both she and Maggie mention how much he reminds them of Kathy's dad. It's a sweet segment, with Maggie becoming a bit misty at the end.

Below you can see a deleted scene from the episode that was supposed to follow the Rickles segment, but was cut for creative reasons.

Like I said, this was definitely the most gentle episode of D-List and Kathy obviously meant it as a tribute to her mom (and she laments that she never had the chance to pay tribute like this with her dad). But I enjoyed it, and next week's episode has Rosie, which should be another highlight of the season.

What did you think of the kinder and gentler Kathy?