This Week, It Was a Thing on TV concludes their Olympic series of episodes with three episodes featuring hot dog eating, bears, chimps and Reebok Pump's.

 

First, we start our games by bringing you athletes and normal people competing against animals in two FOX specials--Man vs. Beast.  Come for Olympic runners going against jungle animals, stay for little people battling an elephant in a test of strength.

 

Then, we continue with men battling bears in bear-themed competition.  That's it.  We talk about other things like Bil Dwyer and Matt Vasgersian because...it's just men battling bears.  Did you know Honey Bump is a bear?  IMDb says so!

 

Finally, the Olympic Triplecast wasn't the only big flop in 1992.  Reebok ran an ad campaign with two highly touted athletes, only for one to not make it to Barcelona. One ended up eventually winning gold four years later though and hey at least it sold a lot of Reebok Pump's.

 

For the next two weeks It Was a Thing on TV goes Olympic as we talk about some Olympics related topics.

 

First, we start off our coverage is one of the biggest flops of all time.  Three channels of 24/7 Olympic coverage for $125 in 1992?  What's the catch?  There are a few.  At least those who bought in to the Olympic Triplecast have a Triplecast remote control which likely doesn't do anything nowadays.

 

Then, Our Olympic extravaganza continues with a look into the life and loves of Ryan Lochte, the semi-quotable and infamous star of the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympic games.  The first half of this edition is about What Would Ryan Lochte Do?, while the second half is mostly about Lochte's wit and wis-dumb including interviews and quotes said by the man himself.  Jeah!

 

Also, remember to follow our socials on @ItWasAThingOnTV and any e-mails or show feedback can be sent to itwasathingontv@gmail.com

 

Jeah!

This week It Was a Thing on TV Presents a mega jumbo drop for you with three action-packed episodes filled with singing, time travel and Larry "Bud" Melman.

 

First, everybody had a variety show in the 70s, or at least it seemed that way.  Telly Savalas was no exception, starring in this one-off special with Diahann Carroll, Barbara Eden, and Cloris Leachman.  Grab a sucker and contemplate the question, "Who loves ya, Baby?"

 

Then, we talk about  the 1980s time traveling cult favorite Voyagers!  This could have lasted more than a season, but NBC did a boneheaded move in 1983.  You can hear more about that decision in this episode.

 

Finally, we have honored TV celebrities in the past. We pay tribute to an icon from the 80s and 90s, Larry "Bud" Melman.  Not only was he a comic foil on Letterman's shows, he had bit parts in other TV shows and movies, he was a writer, he was a spokesman, and he even had his own workout video...sort of.  Grab your Toast on a Stick and enjoy this installment of It Was a Thing on TV.

 

This week It Was a Thing on TV presents what may be one of their best efforts yet as they look into the history of CBS' Bicentennial Minute segments produced between 1974-1976.

 

The butt of many a joke in its day and even into the 21st century, The Bicentennial Minute was an occasionally bland but also occasionally interesting minute-long segment delivered by a celebrity about what happened in U.S. history 200 years ago that day.  Celebrate your Fourth of July holiday listening about this patriotic throwback to the 70s.

 

Links to all the segments we referenced are down below. Remember to follow us on our socials @ItWasAThingOnTV

 

"Lucy's Bicentennial Minute" - https://papermoonloveslucy.tumblr.com/post/175503525253/lucys-bicentennial-minute

Betty Ford Bicentennial Minute Materials (Gerald Ford Presidential Library and Museum): - https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0126/1489543.pdf

Press Release for Congressman Butler Derrick's (D-SC) appearance on the Bicentennial Minute on November 12, 1975 (University of South Carolina Library) - https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/derrick/id/89/

April 1975: Janet Leigh (Partial) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tWIoa1lhuk

August 24, 1975: Congresswoman Bella Abzug (D-NY) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsnFrd63j4k

August 31, 1975: Jessica Tandy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUoto1lsX50

January 8, 1976: Laurence Luckinbill - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir6pabr4CD0

January 22, 1976: Gary Lockwood - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hai2OxMwl9w

March 9, 1976: Jim Hutton - https://youtu.be/zgwiC4TT9aM?t=499

March 18, 1976: Val Avery - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93s5mXL0WZk

May 7, 1976: Otto Preminger - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1HwX6TdHbk

May 12, 1976: Mitchell Ryan - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TpBK7tZc2k

May 20, 1976: Zubin Mehta - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7bt3SNBOrw

May 27, 1976: Garson Kanin - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgxOYH7fHX4

June 4, 1976: Senator Fritz Hollings (D-SC) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHDXxzuXBok

July 22, 1976: Will Rogers Jr. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfG8LHyRlNY

December 20, 1976: Emlyn Williams - https://youtu.be/8nUKzWGVWe4?t=1671

December 31, 1976: President Gerald Ford (Last 42 Seconds) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0TB76tc5Tg

This week on It Was a Thing on TV we're honoring Francis Scott Off-Key by presenting the good and the bad of the National Anthem over the years on TV with a look at some of the best and the worst renditions of The Star Spangled Banner.  The good are iconic.  Some of the bad are iconic as well, for all the wrong reasons.  Stay to the end for a little rant about an episode from last week.

 

Send any show suggestions or feedback to our e-mail at itwasathingontv@gmail.com or follow us on the socials over @ItWasAThingOnTV 

This week on It Was a Thing on TV we conclude our tribute to Conan O'Brien and pay tribute to a legend on what would have been his birthday this week.

 

First, we look at Conan's rough and all too brief era hosting The Tonight Show back in 2009. We look at some of the memorible moments of this era of Conan from the Twitter Tracker to Shatner recites Palin to In The Year 3000.

 

Then to conclude the Conan tribute on a happier note, 1995 was a tough time for baseball, in the middle of a strike and using replacement players in spring training.  Andy Richter lightened the mood by visiting the Mets in Port St. Lucie, FL, interviewing replacement players, informing people about the real St. Lucie, and visiting Butterfly World. Also, we meet, the man, the myth, the legend, DIESEL! (Not Kevin Nash)

 

Finally, Pat Morita was a star in the late 80s, thanks to two Karate Kid movies.  He got the title role in this ABC police procedural.  Ultimately, Ohara got his butt kicked by, in part, 4 old ladies who lived in Miami.

 

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This week on It Was a Thing on TV it's the first of two weeks that we honor Conan O'Brien as he wraps up his run on Late Night TV with the end of his TBS show this week.

 

First, we start at the beginning, with the first episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien.  He was nervous, he was unfinished, but some of what was seen was the Conan O'Brien comedy fans would love for over a quarter century.

 

Then, in 1997, Conan had an audience of just kids.  What kind of mayhem could happen?  Just don't end up in Naughty Land and don't awaken the Boredom Monster.

 

Finally, Houston's NBC affiliate did Conan real dirty, airing his show at 2:40 AM local time for a period.  Conan went deep in the heart of Texas to see it for himself, and encountered some interesting characters in the process.

 

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This week on It Was a Thing on TV we're talking about a beloved cult TV show and also we go off the beaten path to discuss a subject we've brought up multiple times in the past.

 

First, Misfits of Science might have been a little ahead of its time.  It sort of resembles a show from 20 years later, Heroes.  It had a cushy time slot between Knight Rider and Miami Vice.  Yet, it was still gone by February of 1986.  At least one of its stars went on to much bigger and better things.

 

Then, we have had two episodes devoted to TV themed video games (with a third coming in the future) and we have done a trading card show.  Now, we venture into pinball machines, virtual and real.

 

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This week on It Was a Thing on TV every answer to every question is right here before your eyes brother.

 

First, Now You See It is another beloved Goodson-Todman classic that doesn't get enough credit, partially due to a year run, then a 15-week return fourteen years later.  But OMG, those sets, those hosts, and that music.  We also talk about the 1985 pilot hosted by Jack Clark.

 

Then, put Hulkamania in a Baywatch setting with a boat like KITT but also like the TARDIS and it will bring the viewers!  But it didn't.  Thunder in Paradise lasted one season, but it ran long enough or was popular enough to justify a CD-i game.  If you listen to nothing else, listen to the last 15 minutes  about what happened to the boat.

 

Remember to follow us on our social media feeds over @ItWasAThingOnTV and listen to all of our episodes which are streaming on YouTube just search for "It Was a Thing on TV"

It Was a Thing on TV brings you a special pair of live shows here on the PTBN Pop Experience.

 

First, Press Your Luck is back for another season and just like last year we're doing a special live show for the start of Season 3. Enjoy as we finally learn just what the heck a Flokati Rug is, what we'd do with a hot dog cart and figure out why Dan O'Toole did an awkward run-in on our live show thanks to Greg hitting the wrong button on his phone.

 

Then, a week and a half before the official series premiere of The Cube, all three of us watched a sneak peek episode after TNT's coverage of the NBA playoffs.  Going in, at least one of us had high expectations for this much anticipated series.  Were we left fulfilled after the show?  Enjoy the first episode of this long-running UK series.

This week on It Was a Thing on TV we have a man who turns into a dog and Simon MacCorkindale and no it does not involve Manimal!

 

First, Greg uses his Money in the Bank pick on this sequel to The Shaggy Dog, which aired on ABC in 1987 as part of The Disney Sunday Movie. In this sequel to the Disney classic we learn some things like can dogs wear pajamas?

 

Then, usually we do not cover shows that ran as long as this one.  (Hello, Charles Stiles Mystery Diners.)  We could not avoid this show because of its two leads--the legendary Christopher Plummer and It Was a Thing on TV favorite Simon MacCorkindale.

 

This week on It Was a Thing on TV we are bringing you a variety of games from the roller rink to your touchtone phone at $4.95 a call.

 

First, it's the late 80s and action sports are big, like wrestling and American Gladiators.  Take roller derby and combine it with certain aspects of wrestling, then add a dash of rock and roll flair.  The result is 13 glorious episodes of the late 80s favorite RollerGames. 

 

Next, the mid-90s were a big period for game shows on cable, between Game Show Network's start, a possible Game Show Channel, and a foundation for that Game Show Channel--interactive game shows from Wink Martindale et al.  We look at the quartet of games which could be played at home on a telephone keypad.  Mike also shares his story about how he almost won some big prizes from one of those games.

 

Finally, everybody knows about the timeless Wheel of Fortune, but there was a show with that same title in the early 50s which had to do with rewarding good samaritans.

 

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This Week on It Was a Thing on TV the gang goes across the pond to look at a pair of topics related to two staples of British TV.

 

First, in 1996 Whovians got some closure seven years after the end of the original series in the form of the Seventh Doctor regenerating into the Eighth Doctor, whose lifespan was, more or less, this movie (minus Big Finish Productions).  The ratings weren't that great, a revival was passed upon, and the franchise would be dormant for another nine years.

 

After that, we're going way back with this one, but it's a goodie.  At Last the 1948 Show only ran for two series, but it was a primitive version of one of television's classic comedy sketch shows, one Monty Python's Flying Circus.

 

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Pilot Month concludes this week on It Was a Thing on TV as Mike, Chico and Greg also take a look at a beached whale in Oregon.

 

First, you heard about the TV movie in the previous episode.  The powers that be at NBC felt it was so successful that a pilot was made a year later.  It had its moments but alas, no Michael J. Fox, no Todd Bridges, and no Nancy McKeon only got High School U.S.A. to pilot stage, one which aired.

 

Next, The Coneheads was a staple of the early days of SNL and it was later a cinematic release, but there was an animated pilot in 1983 which was a one and done.  Get your sensor rings at the ready as we look at the wacky adventures of Beldar, Prymaat, and Connie Conehead.

 

Finally, in November of 1970, a story aired on KATU news in Oregon about a beached whale being exploded with dynamite to dispose of it. It ended up being one of the most unusual and memorable local news reports of all-time.

 

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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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