Top Ten #341

1) Saturday Night Live 50: The big story in television this weekend is tonight's live special on NBC. Hey, wouldn't this be the perfect spot for Andy Kaufman to make his long-awaited return?

2) Super Bowl ratings set records: Well done, NFL. Now we have a target for the next Battys.

3) The 1984 Summer Olympics: Speaking of the Season 12 Battys, we took a quick look back at our Olympics episode this week. The so-called Batty insider doesn't think sports-themed episodes stand much of a chance at the Battys. Hey, no one ever made money betting against Al Oerter.

4) NBA All-Star Game: Let's keep the sports train running with a mention of today's event in the Bay Area. Hey, remember Lionel "L-Train" Simmons? Great player at La Salle, but he didn't make an All-Star Game.

I tell you who did, though: George Gervin.

Ok, that ad is out of the time frame. To make up for it:

5) Cher: Her solo series aired its first regular episode on CBS 50 years ago tonight and mere weeks after Sonny's solo series ended its brief run.

6) The Captain and Tennille: Seeing all the Donny and Marie episodes leave YouTube prompted me to pick up the Ultimate Collection DVD set from Hamilton Book. Don't worry, though, after the Osmonds and Sonny & Cher, we're taking a break from that variety format. So we don't have a Captain and Tennille episode planned...yet.

7) That's Life: We celebrated Black History Month this week by heading into Wink's Vault again for this 1979 game show pilot. It is very reminisicent of Family Feud and a few other shows, but I really enjoyed it. Russell is fun to watch and elevates the premise. Thanks again, Wink, for bringing these ratities.

8) House of Hanna Barbera: Me-TV Toons has a 3-hour special tonight launching its new showcase devoted to a lot of those TV toons we grew up watching on independent stations and USA Network's Cartoon Express. Squiddly Diddly makes his triumphant return to the airwaves!

9) National Do a Grouch a Favor Day: I really feel we owe Oscar a solid after not showcasing him in our Sesame Street episode.

10) William Katt: Happy 74th!

For Your Batty Consideration: Season 12, Episode 2: 1984 Summer Olympics

We celebrated the 40th anniversary of the 1984 Summer Games of Los Angeles by sampling a lot of the original American coverage on ABC, with a focus on the epic Closing Ceremonies in the Coliseum. This episode has it all: Sports, Eighties geopolitics, and breakdancing!

Links:

Our podcast episode 

Show Notes and YT Playlist

Anonymous Batty insider says: "I'm a showbiz guy, not a sports guy, not an international affairs guy, but I thought Mike and Rick did a good job of blending all that stuff. But sports-based material doesn't usually clean up at the Battys. Usually they get their noms in the Outstanding Performance as Oneself category and not much else, but there could be some surprises."

Top Ten #340: Special "Hey, what's on TV tonight?" Edition

1) TV itself: Here at Stately Brooks Manor, we had to get a new set this week, and I think we found a good deal on a great new television. In fact, it might be too good; it really exposes how bad these Season 5 "Alice" episodes I'm watching look.

2) The Streets of San Francisco: Head over to our Facebook group to see the thoughts Mike and I posted about Episode Club selection "Before I Die" from SOSF's second season. In short, it's a great episode with fine guest work by Leslie Nielsen, and it's still available for free viewing on Pluto.

3) The Big Game: After you watch "Before I Die," you can check out the Super Bowl tonight. I don't suffer from Chiefs Fatigue, but I do have a strong case of Irritated the Steelers Can't Get Backitis.

4) Commercials: The SB ads were better before they started appearing everywhere the week before. Actually, they were better, period. OK, I sound like a grumpy old man, but this is a site dedicated to 50-40-year-old TV shows.

5) Shows that debut after the Big Game: Shame on FOX for showing an episode of The Floor in that valuable real estate that has been used to launch the likes of Davis Rules and Brothers and Sisters.

6) Saturday Night Live: TBD is showing a marathon of the series next weekend to celebrate the 50th anniversary, and it includes some of the early episodes. See, I know what TBD is! I'm not that old!

By the way, it looks like pretty much every day has an SNL marathon on this channel. Not a lot of programming on there.

7) Jm J Bullock: Happy 70th birthday to the "funnyman," as he was introduced on Hollywood Squares.

8) National Pizza Day: I could use some pizza right now! Yes, no matter what time you are reading this, I could use some pizza.

9) Hubie Brown: The 91-year-old former NBA coach will call his final game as a broadcaster today. Brown began his career as an analyst in the Eighties, then went back to coach for several stints. 

10) R.I.P. Dick Button: The skating icon died January 30, and I missed it last week.

For Your Batty Consideration: All in the Family (Season 12, Episode 1)

As we navigate Batty season and prepare for the Season 12 Batty Awards, we will run a series of posts reminding you of this year's episodes and speculating on how they could fare at The Biggest Night in Retro TV Podcasting. First up: Our Season 12 premiere!

We began our most recent season with one of the most iconic sitcoms of the entire medium's history, let alone the BOTNS era: All in the Family. After talking about the Learverse on previous podcasts and dissecting  spinoffs like The Jeffersons and Maude, we finally got to the flagship.

We talked about our own relationships with the show and the point of view the producers and creative team took. We discussed the dim visual aesthetic. However, I think we were most impressed with the performances, although we were of course delighted to bring bowling back to the podcast with "Archie and the Bowling Team."

Links:

Our podcast episode
Show notes and YT playlist

Anonymous Batty insider says: Anytime you have a series that won 22 Emmys, it's gonna be a threat to win multiple Battys. Rick and Mike may not have embraced the show as it was on, but you can tell they were impressed by All in the Family, and I think the main acting categories could be dominated by this one, even though it wasn't a big showcase for Gloria and Mike. Expect AITF to be a big or maybe even the big winner.

Top Ten #339

1) FETV: This weekend, the cable channel debuts its new lineup and its new novel strategy: Showing most of its programs uncut! Let's hope this works for them. Right now they have Barney Miller, My Three Sons, Quincy, and more.

2) The Streets of San Francisco: In case you missed, BOTNS Episode Club this week spotlights this series and Season 2's "Before I Die" with guest star Leslie Nielsen!

3) Little House on the Prairie: First, it gets an award from Nielsen for being one of the most-streamed "legacy"  TV shows (Thanks to our FB group friend John for the tip), and Is this series...having a moment?

Well, if it is, it will surely be followed by a plague of locusts and a devastating natural disaster.

4) The Grammys: Tonight the awards celebrate...uh, a bunch of people. I will look back to the 1985 Grammys:

5) The Sullivan Years: A Tribute to Ed: As opposed to Susan, I guess. This special celebrated Ed's amazing run on CBS. It was hosted by Dick Cavett, who may have accidentally slipped in a tribute to Woody Allen at some point.

6) Gunsmoke: This is another show cited by Nielsen as being a huge legacy show on streaming. Believe it or not, this is technically a BOTNS-era show because, well, it spanned the entire history of the medium.

7) Tater Tot Day:

8) Police Woman and Police Story: I believe most of the two NBC 1970s cop shows, formerly on Crackle (and maybe even formerly on Roku), are now streaming on Roku Channel. Otherwise February looks like a lean month for "new" old shows.

9) The Nuclear Threat to You: 50 years ago tonight, John Chancellor hosted this NBC special talking about the chances for nuclear catastrophe and how to prepare for it. You mean on top of all the other misery going on in the 1970s, they still had to worry about the bomb?

10) R.I.P. John Erwin: He had the power!

BOTNS Episode Club #2: Streets of San Francisco

 BOTNS Episode Club #2 is here! This week's selection:

The Streets of San Francisco, Season 2, Episode 4, "Before I Die."

(Available free on demand on Pluto TV, uncut with ads)

From IMDB: Stone and Keller are forced to defend a mob boss from an inspector with a terminal illness and nothing to lose.

Guest stars include Leslie Nielsen, Joanne Linville, and Ray Danton.

I haven't seen this one, but it sounds like a winner! I'll share my thoughts here next Thursday in our Facebook group, and I invite all of you to join me!

Top Ten #338: "Can the Commanders do it?" Edition

1) Batty Season: It kicked off this week with voting in two listener-chosen award categories! Keep watching this space for info and announcements about the Season 12 edition of the biggest night in retro TV podcasting!

2) Jessica Fletcher: Our NECA Murder, She Wrote action figure--yes, you read that right--arrived, and it is awesome! I think it's too much to hope for Seth and Sheriff Mort, but we are happy with this:

3) Otherworld: Here is a rarity that has been discussed in our Facebook group! The series premiered 40 years ago tonight on CBS.

4) Chico and the Man: Our new Episode Club premiered this week, and I have to confess I picked a subpar example of the series. Don't judge the whole series on "Mucho Macho Ed!" Thanks to everyone who did participate, even if only by reading our comments. We'll reveal another selection later this week.

5) Saturday Night Live: As the show celebrates 50 years on the air, a Peacock docuseries premiered last week, and tomorrow night, a 3-hour special devoted to musical moments debuts on NBC. It may be weird to say this, but one of my personal favorite musical moments was when Eddie Murphy imitated Stevie Wonder. As a kid, I thought that was amazing and hilarious!

6) National Spouses Day: Let me take a moment to acknowledge, right here in public, one of the best spouses a guy could ever have, someone who has had a huge influence on my life. That's right, Alice Kramden on The Honeymooners! The woman was a saint.

Oh, hey, Laurie, you are great, too!

7) The Goodyear Blimp: I very much enjoyed this look at blimps from Fun Fact Friyay. He speculates there are "25 blimps in existence, with maybe 12 or 13 of them being used." After reading about the cost of operation, I appreciate the blimps we do have even more! I hope to see some blimp action in the football games today.

8) The Dukes of Hazzard: The series premiered on this day in 1979, and I can remember when the biggest controversy was the size of Daisy's shorts. This video by Secret Galaxy has a shot of an article by BOTNS fave Gary Deeb:

9) Mr. Rooney Goes to Washington: 50 years ago tonight, CBS' Andy Rooney unveiled this special, in which he went to the nation's capital and complained a lot.

10) Rudy Martzke: As I said on our Facebook group, I give myself either a Dreaded Glitch or an Oops for not catching the news of his passing several months ago until this weekend. His Sports on TV column helped make the weekend edition of USA Today essential, and his Monday column was a great way to start the week.