Top Ten #377

1) The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything: OK, so it isn't the best TV movie we have discussed. Well, it's certainly ONE of them!

2) Richie Havens: His "Two Hearts in Perfect Time" is arguably the best thing about that movie!

3) Halloween: It's time to start serious preparations for the holiday. if you haven't started assembling your Exo-Man costume, you might already have run out of time!

4) NBA: Pro basketball returned this week and was immediately rocked by a betting scandal. I think I miss the good, old days when the league was plagued only by crippling drug problems.

5) Jaclyn Smith: Happy 80th to the star who, in retrospect, should have been in our trinity of brunettes along with Connie Sellecca, Lynda Carter, and Erin Gray! I just didn't watch Charlie's Angels much as a kid.

6) The Teller and the Tale: 40 years ago this weekend, this syndicated special aired. I don't remember it at all, but it features Vincent Price, Scatman Carothers, and Sally Struthers! I can't vouch for the recording below:

7) Mother-in-Law Day: Let's take time to celebrate all the mothers in law out there who may hate their daughters' husbands but who give us such comic gold.

8) Mighty Mouse: I know many of us growing up in the BOTNS era enjoyed Terrytoons in reruns, and now after years of neglect, they are getting a new showcase on the great MeTV Toons each Sunday at 3:00 P.M. ET.

9) Poindexter Yothers: I mentioned him twice this week in our Facebook group after commemorating the 50th anniversary of Afterschool Special "Fawn Story." Is he having a moment?

10) R.I.P. June Lockhart:

YouTube Spotlight: Joe Santos Is Me

Each podcast week, we take a look at one video from our video playlist here in its own post. We are discussing the 1980s TV movie The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything this week, and here is one of the associated clips:

Our guy Joe Santos from The Rockford Files (Shout-out to 200 Dollars a day Plus Expenses) starred in this short-lived NBC sitcom that happened to be on the night The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything premiered in syndication. In this one, "the girl" is Maxx, played by Melissa Michaelson, a precocious 11-year-old who surprises her dad by moving in with her bachelor father (Not to be confused with Bachelor Father). And by "moving in with," I mean her mom dumps her at his doorstep. Fun premise, huh?

Santos is a bit of a wiiiiiild and craaaaazy guy whose lifestyle is cramped by the new addition to the household, but they'll try to make this work together. Producer James Komack, NBC, and Fred Silverman couldn't make it work, together though, and it ran a mere 10 episodes from March-June 1980. It aired against The Incredible Hulk on CBS and movies on ABC.

Show Notes and Video Playlist: Episode 13-2: The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything

*We hope you enjoy this season's look at a TV movie. We don't give this particular one a strong recommendation, but we have fun discussing it.

*The full movie and its sequel are in our video playlist this week (See below for link).

*We talk about Operation Prime Time in our Entertainment Tonight episode, and you can read about its creator Al Masini  here.

*The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything premiered in many if not most markets June 13, 1980. On the podcast, you can hear what else aired that night.

*The credited writers on the theme song, "Two Hearts in Perfect Time," are Ayn Robbins and Hod David Schudson.

*John Moschitta Jr. may have talked "at regular speed" in some gigs, but I haven't seen them! Peter Kevoian, who is the actor we think resembles him in this movie, went on to appear as a fireman in two episodes of Cheers.

*The San Diego Padres finished in last place in the National League West in 1980, 19.5 gamed behind the Houston Astros.

*One of the goons is played by Peter Brown, who had a long acting career highlighted by regular roles in westerns Laredo and Lawman.

*I think we convey our attitude about the movie without much ambiguity!

*The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Dynamite premiered in 1981 and starred Lee Purcell (ss Bonnie), Morgan Fairchild, and Philip MacHale (as Kirby). 

*John D. MacDonald's original novel is readily available and as of this writing is available in a cheap ebook format!

*Please enjoy our video playlist for this episode with promos, intros, commercials, and more! ---Click below to go right to it, or you can always visit our official YouTube page for all of our past episodes and similar lists for each one of them!

Episode 13-2: The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything

What's the opposite of an all-time classic? The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything might provide the answer. Ths syndicated TV movie from 1980 stars Robert Hays (Airplane!) as its amiable if hapless hero, who inherits a gold watch and a lot of trouble from his eccentric uncle. He also gets involved with Pam Dawber (Mork & Mindy) after the worst meet-cute in film history. Other recognizable faces round out the cast, but can they salavage this one? Unlikely.

Read full show notes and more at https://www.battleofthenetworkshows.com/

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Check out this episode!

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...

 

Top Ten #376

1) The Bob Newhart Show: We kicked off our current and 13th season by talking about the classic 1970s Bobcom.

2) Newhart: We didn't make much mention of it this week, but here's a reminder that we talked about Bob's later sitcom, Newhart, back in our eighth season.

3) TV We Love: Haven't seen this new show on The CW, but it is examining classic TV series each Monday night, and it kicked off with a profile of The Brady Bunch. A press release says Barry Williams and Christopher Knight share "never-before-told stories" about the sitcom. I am rather skeptical that these guys--and I love their podcast--are sitting on more stories that they've never told!

4) John Candy and Stiller & Meara: Each act is the subject of a new documentary--the former on Prime Video, the latter on Apple.

Can a Leonard Frey documentary be far behind?

5) World Series: The 1985 Series began 40 years ago tonight on ABC. The "Show-Me" Series pitting Kansas City against St. Louis was filled with action, controversy, but not Howard Cosell. The sportscaster was booted from the ABC team, reportedly due to reactions to his book I Never Played the Game.

6) Mark Linn-Baker: The star of stage, screen, and, it must be said, Perfect Strangers; is listed as the narrator for Every Day Is Sunday, a new book about the modern rise of the National Football League. Uh, sure, would have been my first guess.

7) "Rock 'n' Zombies": This day in 1985, Hulk Hogan's Rock and Wrestling got into the Halloween spirit with an episode in which Bobby Heenan opens an amusement park where zombies apparently roam. The real shock is when Heenan "puts over" Hogan at the end of the story.

8) Angela Lansbury: She would have turned 100 this past Thursday, and Vogue ran a nice appreciation piece from a former assistant. I want to invite someone over this weekend just so I tell them, "Now how about a cuppa?" and "On your horse."

9) Love. American Style/Bridget Loves Bernie: Catchy Comedy runs a marathon of these two seldom aired (Except on this channel) sitcoms today.

10) R,I.P. Diane Keaton: She was not a TV actress, but what a great segment on Late Night with Dave interviewing her:

Ace Frehley: 

Ed Williams:

YouTube Spotlight: Suzanne Pleshette Is Maggie Briggs

Each podcast week, we take a look at one video from our video playlist here in its own post. It's Bob Newhart Show week here, and as a reminder, you can click here for all the videos for episode 1, but right here let's focus on this one:

It's not just something CBS said when promoting the show; it's the actual title of the show: Suzanne Pleshette is Maggie Briggs! So I presume it's not pronounced Suzanne Pleshette IS Maggie Briggs, but Suzanne Pleshette is MAGGIE BRIGGS! Briggs is a New York Examiner journalist demoted to the human interest beat.

I suppose someone thought it was important to let everyone know who the star of the series was. Make no mistake, viewers; It's not Shera Danese!

The series aired Sundays on CBS for only 6 weeks, following 60 Minutes and going up against Knight Rider and Hardcastle and McCormick. There is a good summary of the series, from someone who actually watched some of it, right here.