This week we have a loaded edition of It Was a Thing on TV for you. We have it all from Herman Munster to Michael J. Fox to Bob Denver to Nolan Ryan to a dancing robot.

 

First, Around Halloween 2012, a pilot to a rebooted version of The Munsters aired.  If you were expecting campy humor that worked in the 1960s, you're solely mistaken.  Mockingbird Lane was a very dark comedy which was not your Munsters from 50 years ago.

 

Then, NBC's young stars came out to shine in this NBC TV movie, which also acted as a reunion of sorts for two other much older TV shows.  It was had star power, it was funny, it had too many plots, and most importantly, it has a connection to our pilot month.  Stay tuned...(Note this is best enjoyed while watching the movie on YouTube, starting at about the 74:55 mark in the drop.  We give about an hour of commentary while watching the movie.)

 

Finally, May 1st marked the anniversary of Nolan Ryan's final no-hitter for the Texas Rangers. On that night for some odd reason the game wasn't carried locally in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, however the local NBC station in Dallas thought it would be a good idea to carry the 9th inning live on-air to start the 10 O'Clock News. Enjoy as we listen in on this strange simulcast and explain the strange story as to why this occurred which wasn't revealed until recently.

 

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This week It Was a Thing on TV is taking a trip to Saturn in the TARDIS because we're going on a Sci-Fi theme because it's lonely out in space.

 

First, we continue Pilot Month 2021 with a look at K-9 and Company. Doctor Who has had its fair share of successful spinoffs.  One whose pilot aired but didn't get picked up was K-9 and Company in 1981 at the Beeb.  It looked good and they brought back Elizabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith for it, but something happened...

 

Then, with the Oscars having passed we look at an award show from years past. 1977 was a big year in science fiction movies, thanks to two little movies called Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  Those films might have been the big winners that night, but The 1978 Science Fiction Film Awards also gave us one of the most memorable performances in history.

 

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And I think it's gonna be a long, long time.

This Week on It Was a Thing on TV, the gang looks at an unsold pilot with a familiar name in the game show world along with looking at a TV movie about the Titanic.

 

First, does this remind you of anything?  Does this remind you of many things?  Mark Goodson's last original format, TKO was a little bit of a number of shows, from Jeopardy! to Blockbusters to Couch Potatoes.

 

Then, with the anniversary of it's sinking having just passed, we take a look at S.O.S. Titanic. A made-for-TV movie that aired on ABC in 1979 which until it's Blu-ray/DVD release last year hadn't been seen by many in it's original broadcast length.

 

It's a star-studded TV movie featuring David Warner, Ian Holm, Helen Mirren, Cloris Leachman, David Janssen and Susan St. James (UH-OH!).

 

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Pilot Month 2021 continues on It Was a Thing on TV as the gang looks at two very weird pilots that will have you saying WTF?

 

First, we start with a show submitted just based on its ridiculous open.  It may have been the most entertaining part of The Nerd, a pilot for NBC done in 1989 which aired on the network.  It didn't air in 1989, though.

 

Then, it's time for some revisionist history on a sci-fi channel with The Amazing Screw-On Head.  A star-studded cast couldn't get this out of pilot stage.  Maybe it was ahead of its time?

 

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We're coming for you America!

This week on It Was a Thing on TV we have a very star-studded drop for you here on Place to be Nation.

 

First, in honor of Zack Snyder's Justice League dropping on HBO Max we look at the 1979 DC/Hanna-Barbara offering Legends of the Superheroes. It was like Superfriends became a live action show with a horrible laugh track.  If you thought the laugh track was bad, wait until you hear about the production values.

 

Then, we begin Pilot Month 2021 in our 150th Episode. A favorite movie of ours from 2001 was Not Another Teen Movie.  So what happened when Comedy Central tried bringing it to the small screen six years later?  It was an unorganized mess which was nowhere as entertaining as the movie.  One plus is it had numerous stars, in 2007 and in the future.

 

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This Week on It Was a Thing on TV, the gang discussed a pair of adaptations of famous TV shows that got lost in translation while taking a visit to Alabama.

 

First, this leprechaun story was one of the first viral YouTube videos, from back in 2006.  This story got significant media attention and was soon spoofed on shows including Key and Peele and South Park.  Was it really a leprechaun?

 

Next, we look at the import from the UK, Coupling, which was to be the next big thing after Friends, but was off the NBC schedule after just 4 episodes.

 

Finally, Married with Children lasted over 10 years and 259 episodes in the United States.  When it was exported to the UK as Married for Life, it lasted 7 episodes, utilizing the same scripts as the original version, modified with British references.  Talk about another show which got lost in translation.

 

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This week on It Was a Thing on TV we've got you covered from Mario to Betty White to Rowdy Roddy Piper to Don Cheadle.

 

First, in honor of Mario Day last week, we pay our respects to this non-holiday by looking at the unforgettable Super Mario Bros. Super Show!  One of us never watched this on Fridays for reasons.

 

Then, we look at the short-lived sequel to The Golden Girls in The Golden Palace. It looked good on paper.  Minus Dorothy, it was, for the most part, its predecessor.  But hoo boy, Urkel roflstomped The Golden Palace into foreclosure.

 

Just a note the following episodes might have a hiccup here and there with hot mics while we were recording these episodes.

 

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This week on It Was a Thing on TV we look at two short-lived flops from two different comedy legends.

 

First, Tim Conway is a legend but it seems he's only best known for The Carol Burnett Show and Dorf on Golf.  One of his post-Burnett flops is Ace Crawford...Private Eye, a detective show in a similar vein to Police Squad!, but with a horrible laugh track.

 

Then, it was to be Paul Reubens' bounce back role after Pee Wee's Playhouse was cancelled.  You Don't Know Jack is but a blip in TV history, a deviation from what TV audiences were used to seeing.  Mike used his Money in the Bank on this and by the end of this episode, he regrets selecting this show.

 

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This week's drop on It Was a Thing on TV has it all from Dick Clark to Louis Gossett Jr. to Larry King and to ..... Tommy Heinsohn? WHAT? We explain it all as we discuss this week's topics of Obscure TV.

 

First, we start with the short lived NBC Sci-Fi show "The Powers of Matthew Star" This show tried to be something at first, but then the format changed halfway through its only season.  Apparently the only power Matthew Star had was to become a footnote in history. But hey, at least we got Louis Gossett Jr. on this show.

 

Then, To Tell the Truth is seemingly eternal, having been on television every decade since the 1950s.  We look at the 80s version, which didn't last long despite some quality central characters and visits from numerous old friends on the panel.  We also make a plea for Betty White to get on a game show before she turns 100.

 

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This week on It Was a Thing on TV we're honoring 'Merica with a look at the Presidents and some good ol fashioned American Football.

 

First, we thought Lil' Bush would be a fair topic for a President's Day episode.  Boy, were we wrong.  For the most part, this aged like bad cheese.  What seemed like a good idea in the 2000s ended up having a very short shelf life, running on one-note political gags from 15 years ago.  We apologize in advance.

 

Next, we continue the President's Day theme by looking at a commercial for an inaugural keepsake.  There's something about a gold plated commemorative plate of Barack Obama which we find odd.

 

Finally, there have been numerous attempts at football outside of the NFL season.  None exist any longer.  A recent attempt in 2019 was the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which we remember fondly. Listen as we blame the owner of Chico’s favorite hockey team for the demise of the league.

 

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Did you enjoy Valentine's Day? Well if you didn't, we got the perfect medicine with these two love-themed episodes of It Was a Thing on TV.

 

First, Vanna White was everywhere in the late 80s--Wheel of Fortune twice a day, touring the country by train, a best-selling writer, and scantily clad in an adult magazine.  NBC tried to capitalize on her success with a made-for-TV movie starring Vanna called Goddess of Love, which was downright bad.

 

Then, the love theme continues with a fun little game that didn't have the run it deserved, the late-90s Annie Wood speed dating game Bzzz!

The game may be over but It Was a Thing on TV presents a very special musical inspired football themed episode of the podcast.

 

In 1985, the Chicago Bears earned a place in pop culture history with their iconic song and music video during their Super Bowl winning season. Over the years, several teams and companies outside of football have tried to replicate the Bears magic with not much success. We cover a variety of these songs in the longest episode of the podcast yet!

 

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Nick Bockwinkle f'n rapping folks!

This week we have a "super" episode of It Was a Thing on TV here on PTBN POP.

 

First, I'll trade you my Fonzie for your Vinny Barbarino!  We offer a primer to TV trading cards, a smattering of shows which made their way to cardboard, and what types of cards are available nowadays.

 

Next, famous TV chefs include Julia Child, "The Galloping Gourmet" Graham Kerr, and "The Frugal Gourmet" Jeff Smith.  One chef whose legacy is as good as the above people but wasn't as big of a name is Art Ginsburg, who went by the moniker "Mr. Food."  We spend this installment looking at the career of this underrated icon, as well as some of the secrets to his 90-second cooking segments.

 

Finally, it's the week of The Big Game!  You know which one, that Superb Owl.  Like last year, we're looking back at something regarding that event.  The 1989 edition had a halftime show which wasn't the marching bands or Up With People from years past.  It also hadn't reached the era of epic musicians.  Instead, it was magic tricks and 50s music, all in glorious 3D.

 

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This week on It Was a Thing on TV it's on like Donkey Kong.

 

First, who didn't love cartoons and video games in the early 80s?  Pac Man was successful.  But the anthology with cartoons of Pitfall, Space Ace, and Kangaroo?  Not as much.  We talk about the cartoon cavalcade called Saturday Supercade in this installment.

 

Then, from 1961 to 1989, CBS affiliate WBNB-TV served TV audiences in the U.S. Virgin Islands with an eclectic mix of programming. Sadly the station went dark permanently due to Hurricane Hugo, but the station's legacy lives on YouTube thanks to an ex-employee who saved various clips from the station.

 

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This Week on It Was a Thing on TV we have plenty of traps for you.

 

First, Oh Madeline had plenty of quality guests, the versatile and multi-talented Madeline Kahn, and had its moments.  It also had three unique theme songs and was revamped in its sole season.  It was Carsey-Werner's first TV series, before they hit it big a year later with The Cosby Show.

 

Then, when is a right answer not a right answer?  When it's a trap!  That was the original premise of Trivia Trap.  Once that format was viewed as flawed, most of the game changed.  It didn't help; the show was gone in 6 months.

 

Finally, the 1980's was the age of MTV and Miami Vice. So naturally the star of Miami Vice, Don Johnson would try his hand at music with an album called Heartbeat. The song from the album of the same name would be featured on MTV and it's one of the weirdest music videos we've ever seen. Follow along to the video at this link as we do a live watch of it. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CR4lSORZ_Q

 

Remember to follow us at our social media feeds over @ItWasAThingOnTV and send us an e-mail for any feedback or show suggestions over at contact@itwasathingontv.com