RetroFan #37

TwoMorrows Publishing seems to have had some issues of late, what with losing Barnes and Noble as an outlet and the bankruptcy of Diamond distributors, but I am glad to be one of the supporters of my favorite magazine, RetroFan. I'm a little late with this peek at issue 37 (cover-dated March 2025), but here it is anyway (The company has experienced publication delays since the Diamond situation, but it seems to be about to release mags again soon).

The editorial switch at RetroFan (Michael Eury retired) has been a smooth transition, and the latest issue is another great effort. Here are a few highlights for BOTNS fans:

The cover story is about TV staple The Jetsons, which I remember as a weekday rerun but was of course originally a Sixties program. Will Murray's article does get into the Eighties revival and movie. For me, it just feels like the show was always on at one time or another, whether weekend mornings or weekday afternoons.

On the heels of Mark Arnold's previous look at real rock bands on Saturday mornings, Andy Mangels covers fictional rock bands. Mangels' work is always a highlight, and here he discusses not only famous bands like The Banana Splits, but lesser-known outfits like The Nutty Squirrels.

It's not directly TV, but Scott Shaw! writes about the life and times of prolific toy producer Marvin Glass. What Saturday morning back in the day was complete without a toy ad or two?

Speaking of commercials, Scott Saavedra delivers a funny story about various retro kitchen gadgets, and of course he talks about this one:

Dan Murphy contributes a somewhat offbeat piece, a history of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling focusing on the 1980s era. It's not my favorite piece of Eighties pro wrestling, but the subject matter fits well with the magazine.

You get all this and more (Speaking of commercials again...) in issue 37. It comes, as always, with my strong recommendation!

Top Ten #354

1) The Real Trivial Pursuit: I remain fascinated by this 1985 ABC special combining celebrities and the megapopular board game. I can't find any footage, but at least I can look up how many bones there are in the human body. I don't WANT to, though! I want Ted Knight to tell me!

2) Friendly Persuasion (1975): 50 years ago tonight, ABC aired this TV movie, an adaptation of the novel by Jessamyn West. Starring Richard Kiley and Shirley Knight, the project was conceived as a series. The 1950s film directed by William Wyler starred Gary Cooper.

3) Stepfanie Kramer: In my post yesterday, I forgot to mention a cool profile TV Guide ran on the Hunter star, who comes across very well. The story even justifies/explains the odd spelling (an Actors Guild thing), which always bugged me. Sorry, Stepfanie! Here's a look at the piece:

4) Darkroom: Kino Lorber's Frank Tarzi has confirmed the 1981 anthology, which we talked about here, is coming to Blu Ray eventually. We talk about the show here.

5) Cinemax Comedy Experiment: Mothers: 40 years ago tonight, the premium network aired this special hosted by David Steinberg (It premiered about a week earlier). Various celebs including Richard Simmons talked about and interviewed their moms.

6) NFL schedule release: Give it to the National Football League for making a big event out of unveiling the dates its games will be played. Mike and I have thought about doing a podcast schedule release, but, hey, it's not all about money for us, man. How cool would it be if the NFL didn't announce the games until the day before they happened?

7) Bill Carter: The veteran chronicler of late-night TV was on Mark Malkoff's Inside Late Night podcast recently, and they had a great discussion. I note that Carter gave a pretty strong endorsement of the new Lorne Michaels biography, too.

8) International Museum Day: One way to celebrate: Visit the TV Hall of Fame. Say hi to Paul Lynde for us!

9) Gunsmoke: The series keeps on making the Nielsen charts for acquired programs on streaming, proving people do like watching old shows.

10) Joe Don Baker: R.I.P., Eischeid!

Inside the Guide: May 4-10 1985 Features and Articles

We went through the heart of the issue--the listings--but what about the mind? Or is it the soul? The elbow? What portion of a TV Guide is the features/articles/reviews section?

I'll leave that up to you and report on what this issue offers. It's an odd mix of "serious" and frivolous, with the feature on the production of Lace II  a tongue-in-cheek look at the miniseries that is also the cover subject.

There is an article claiming popular TV shows are a good way to talk about values with teenagers. Some of the ideas therein are compelling, but it's funny to read this kind of discussion from a Ph.D. who uses examples from Charles in Charge and Gimme a Break.

The issue-closing review discusses Hour Magazine, calling it bland but OK for what it was.

A preview of the Kentucky Derby spans several pages.

Buried in the back with little fanfare is a piece by Jason Robards pointing out how television glamorizes drinking. Robards was a public alcoholic, and the perspective is interesting, but he seems to really have it in for Dynasty and TV in general in 1985.

The first feature is a provocative look at local TV news doing advocacy and involving itself in stories and doing things for the public good. I thought this was the best story in the mag, but it's telling that the cover touts Phoebe Cates and talking to your teens but has no mention of it. Too boring for the masses?

Inside the Guide: May 4-10 1985 Part 6: Friday night!

Friday, May 10, 1985 is a little slower than the last few days we've covered from this issue, but there is some cool stuff.

CBS starts the evening with a pair of Bugs Bunny repeats:

Things pick up at 9:00, though, with an even more exciting pair: DECEIT and DESIRE! Wasn't that a tag team in GLOW in the Eighties?

Check out this duo on NBC. Do you remember that Dean Martin was a regular on Half Nelson?

Here's a cool ad for Night Flight on USA. The cable network was a pretty aggressive advertiser in the magazine in the Eighties.

And finally, here's an ad that just says, OK, here's Clint. What more do you want? Does he look particularly beguiled in this shot?

Inside the Guide: May 4-10 1985 Part 5: Thursday night!

Thursday night, May 9, 1985, brings some big-ticket programming. Just look at this classic comedy lineup on NBC. Oh, but ignore that odd pic of Michael J. Fox.

CBS has repeats of Magnum and Simon and Simon before an all-new Knots Landing.

On ABC, as you see in the listings above, Dennis Franz guests on a rerun of Street Hawk (I sure wish there were a display ad for it), and then there is this awesome special:

At 10:00, is Henry out of control on Hill Street? Furillo's expression indicates HE IS!

After all this, ABC's puny, colorless ad for 20/20 looks like an afterthought despite the provocative subject matter:

I'd really like to see that Trivial Pursuit special. I loved Trivial Pursuit, I loved 80s TV stars, and I would have loved to seen a combination of those things, but I was probably watching NBC that night.

Top Ten #353: Special Mother's Day Edition

1) Mother's Day: To quote Ralph Kiner once again, to all you mothers out there, happy birthday!

2) The Death Probe: Brick Mantooth does it again with this outstanding look at one of the bestest TV-related toys of the Seventies! Reminder, you can click here for our podcast discussing the original Six Million Dollar Man episode with this fearsome menace.

3) The Twilight Zone: I don't know why today is Twilight Zone Day. It's not the anniversary of the show. It's not Rod Serling's birthday. It's not even the anniversary of the day they decided to reboot it in the 1980s. But let's just take the opportunity to enjoy the series (SYFY has a marathon today) and not worry if this seems odd or bizarre or...eerie.

4) TV Guide: We've been running some pics from a 40-years-old TV Guide this week here on the site, and what a treat it is to revisit the days when it was THE premiere periodical in the nation.

5) Lace and Lace II: The cover subject of that Guide is the sequel to the "must have been popular because otherwise, why would they do a sequel?" miniseries.

6) Letting Go: 40 years ago tonight, this TV movie paired John Ritter and Sharon Gless. I love how back in the day, you could out a star from this random TV show with a star from that random TV show, and, bam, you have your hook. "Together at last!" How many hapless viewers suffered through the early 1980s waiting for Ritter and Gless to join forces?

7) The Muppets Green Album: Disney is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Muppets with--well, not a lot of new stuff, but it reminds us of release of The Green Album, and it looks cool:

8) Dragon's Blood: 40 years ago this morning, CBS premiered this Storybook Special in which host Bob Keeshan introduced kids to the concept of the Red Wedding in a bloody fury heretofore unseen on Saturday morning television.

9) UFOs Past, Present, and Future: Oh, the psuedoscience was strong back in the 1970s!This 1974 documentary got a television broadcast this weekend in 1975.

10) R.I.P. Chet Lemon: The White Sox/Tigers outfielder was the guest star when we discussed The Baseball Bunch in Season 9.

Inside the Guide: May 4-10 1985 Part 4: Wednesday night!

Now we go to Wednesday, May 8, 1985!

What on Earth--or what in HEAVEN is going on here? Jonathan's look of concern is striking. I have to say, though, it's also strangely detached in a way, isn't it? Is he like, "Well, I didn't get to the church on time. Oh, well."

I didn't remember that Anthony Edwards played Olympic skier Bill Johnson in a TV movie.

ABC's powerful Wednesday combo is on display, and, hey, look, folks: They really did use "Very Special Episode" wording!

NBC has a comedy lineup of long-running Facts of Life and also-running Sara:

Maybe Sara had too many laughs and not enough surprises.

Finally, for fun, we have a look at Magnum, who gets a whirl in the CBS Late Movie spot: