Remind Magazine's Where Are They Now special issue

Just before the holidays, I snagged another special edition of Remind magazine, a budget magazine designed for the older and nostalgic among us. This one is devoted to "Where Are They Now?" a feature that often attracts interest. The Sports Illustrated WATN issues used to excite me each year. Most of the people featured in this Remind haven't exactly gone away, and these are bite-size profiles lacking depth, but it's interesting to see the latest info.

To be honest, the biggest apppeal of the feature is the quick glance at the ages of all the stars. Shelley Fabares is 78! Maureen McCormick is 66! Justin Timberlake is 41!

Wait, Justin Tim--Oh, yes, they have some Nineties stars in there, too.

It's all fluff, yes, but entertaining fluff, and the Time Capsule feature focusing on 1983 is cool You also get the usual mix of trivia (1960s child stars!), puzzles, and random cartoons like a 1971 Hi and Lois, all on (let's face it) cheap newsprint.

The big story for me is in the Erik Estrada (he's 73!) story: A note that Marie Osmond admitted in a TV interview a few years ago that she briefly dated Erik! Hey, that makes me want to watch this again!

It's all well worth a buck or so, and you may not find it anymore, but I thought it was worth mentioning even though I misplaced it for 3 months delayed production of this post.

Top Ten #221: "What, no awards tonight?" edition

1) NCAA Basketball: I am not participating in any bracket pools this year, but I have spent a lot of equivalent time trying to predict what Tubi will add in April.

2) James Hong: Did he own it at the Oscars last week or what? A: Yes! Yes, he did!

3) Still the Beaver: 40 years ago, the Beav returned to prime time in a CBS TV movie. We touched on the extended Beaververse (I will never write that again) in our TBS episode.

4) Bruce Willis: Hang in there, Bruno!

5) National Backyard Day: What was the grooviest backyard in TV history? I have a nomination:

6) Kate and Allie: The sitcom premiered on this date in 1984 but remains MIA on streaming.

7) National Poultry Day: This is your day, Chicken! I expect wacky but ultimately harmless mayhem.

8) Renee Taylor: Happy 90th birthday! Can someone create a project for her and James Hong?

9) Triple Play: 50 years ago tonight, NBC presented Triple Play '73, a trio of unsold comedy pilots. I question the title considering hitting into a triple play in baseball means 3 outs and the end of an inning--ultimate failure. Maybe they were looking at it from the defensive side.

Anyway, the pilots included a Topper revival with Roddy McDowell, a show about a struggling NYC writer with Todd Susman and Norman Fell, and Barney and Me. From the original newspaper summary: "Soupy Sales as television personality who discovers talking bear." 

Anyone else want to see that?

10) R.I.P.: On this day in 1979, British actor Richard Beckinsale, star of Porridge and Rising Damp, died at the age of 31.

Top Ten #220: Special "Awards again tonight" Edition

1) The Oscars: Tonight the Academy Awards honor a bunch of movies, but I get the feeling that most people are more anxious about the final ratings number than about any of the individual awards.

2) Flamingo Road: Finally, the 1980s NBC primetime soap comes to Blu-Ray this Tuesday! Wait, being told it's the 1949 Joan Crawford film. Yeah, I guess that makes more sense.

3) Frank Welker: Happy birthday to the voice of...everything.

4) A&E Network: They touted starpower at their upfront presentation this week, but I keep thinking about the old days when they were small time and proud of it:

5) Columbo: You know what IS getting a Blu-Ray release this year? Yes, Columbo, and Kino Lorber will pack it with extras, but better start saving now.

6) Girl Scouts Day: They're more than just thin mint vendors! The tagalongs are great, too!

7) Jane Doe: The TV movie about a hunt for a serial killer premiered 40 years ago tonight and starred Karen Valentine and William Devane along with Eva Marie Saint.

8) Larry Hankin: The character actor has a new memoir from Bear Manor Media, which has a Q&A with him in its latest e-newsletter.

9) Caren Kaye: Happy birthday! May Crackle honor you by adding the remaining It's Your Move episodes. Or how about this:

10) R.I.P.: Robert Blake, Topol, Bert I. Gordon: Gordon didn't have much to do with TV (except maybe MST3K), but he was 100! ANd he didn't kill anyone (that I know of). Here's a quick look at Topol in The Winds of War:

Top Ten #219

1) Silver Spoons: It's the 40th anniversary of the NBC premiere of the episode Mike wrote about right here. Yes, it's the return of BOB DANISH on the show!

2) Doc Elliot: The pilot for the show premiered 50 years ago tonight on ABC, with the series proper joining ABC's lineup that Fall (and leaving the next Spring). James Franciscus stars as a big-city doc who relocates to rural Colorado for a simpler life. Noah Beery, Bo Hopkins, and Neva Patterson co-starred, and the pilot featured Joe Don Baker!

3) Mrs. Columbo: The ill-fated, ill-conceived sort-of spinoff just showed up on Tubi.

4) SAG Awards: Congrats to some of the big winners at last weekend's SAG Awards, like Sam Elliott (The Yellow Rose), Jason Bateman (It's Your Move), Jean Smart (Teachers Only), Jamie Lee Curtis (Operation Petticoat).

5) National Multiple Personalities Day: Maybe a good day to rewatch the Mork and Mindy we talked about? Mork's emotions all came out in this one, and--OK, maybe it's not so appropriate, but wasn't every day on that show Multiple Personalities Day?

6) Marsha Warfield: Happy birthday!

7) Allan Melvin: MeTV ran a big story about the prolific character actor last week.

8) Fred Williamson: Happy 85th to The Hammer!

9) Courteney Cox: Let's pretend that at least one point of the star she just got on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is for Misfits of Science.

10) R.I.P. Tom Sizemore:

The Season 11 BOTNS Polls Control Center is live!

Hello, everyone. Reporting live (when you read this) from the Battle of the Network Shows Season 11 Polls Control Center, this is Hector Ramirez.

Voting is underway now to determine the series covered on two key Season 11 episodes on the podcast. You can go to our official Facebook group or send an email to mailbag@battleofthenetworkshows.com after checking out the candidates here.

Voting will close this weekend, so act now!

We won't disclose individual votes unless someone gives permission, but I have a few early ones with comments that I will share now.

*J. Tesh votes for Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, saying, "My wife always thought Robin Leach was the sexiest man on TV!"

*S. Grundy supports the selection of Star Search, or at least we think. His email read, "Grundy crush Budweiser man on Star Search just like on roast show!"

*An anonymous listener urges Entertainment Tonight, "but only if it's a Robb Weller episode."

*I investigated the Internet rumor of an influx of Donny and Marie votes from Utah ISPs but found no evidence to substantiate it.

*A Mr. Osbourne from Los Angeles says, "Captain and Tennille all the bloody way!"

*For another point of view, there is a W. Jack, who says, "Arooooooo! Gimme Sonny and Cher, daddy!"

*One Rip T. sent us a ballot that we had to disqualify for several reasons: 1) It was a printed ballot, which we aren't accepting (I plan to launch an investigation into how he got our address) 2) It was in the form of confetti 3) It was for Tony Orlando and Dawn, which isn't even part of the poll.

Let your voice be heard, if not read, by telling us the infotainment and variety shows you want to see in the Season 11 lineup!

What's new on streaming for March? Not much so far

I love the first of the month. Scanning the various streaming services for surprises satisfies me.

It's less fun now that so many companies have given up on adding library shows (Crackle?) or just decided to scatter them throughout the month (Prime Video). And what really vexes is when you go to a SVOD outlet to see what's new and it still has the "What's New in February" up (Shout! Factory TV until a short while ago).

The biggest surprise of the month is Tubi adding, of all things, Mrs. Columbo! Also "new" (I believe it was on there before and is now returning) is the late Seventies' How the West Was Won with James Arness.

Another surprise is Miami Vice, all 5 seasons' worth, appearing on Tubi. This is the only place the Eighties classic is streaming right now. Now, you might ask, why is that not on Peacock, which is asociated with NBC, and which is owned by Universal, which produced the series and retained the rights? Well, this is streaming in 2023: Rotational streaming! Watch it on Tubi while you can, or maybe just buy the discs if yo are tired of following programs around.

One Day at a Time joins Tubi, too, and notably it's all 9 seasons. In recent years, outlets have licensed a few seasons at a time.

Unfortunately, Tubi taketh away, too. Leaving this month and with little notice as far as I know: The Super Globetrotters, Maverick, McCloud, and The Man from Atlantis, none of which is available elsewhere. Of those, McCloud was on FreeVee/Amazon before.

Other than that, it's quiet so far, but we will have to look out for stuff to be sprinkled in throughout the month. In particular, I believe we can expect more Warners library shows on Tubi, and wasn't Roku Channel supposed to be adding some of that, too? We can hope for a surprise or two on Prime as well.

Top Ten #218

1) Variety shows and first-run syndication shows! If you haven't voted yet in our Choose the Show Season 11 polls, please do so! You can see this post if you aren't a member of our official Facebook group.

A clip from one of the choices (not meant as an endorsement):

2) The People's Court: It had quite a run, but the show was canceled this week. It's not I wish the Wapner episodes of the Eighties were available somewhere.

3) The Cheap Show: Check out this odd parody game show that aired in first-run syndication in 1978. Hosted by Dick Martin, the program is loaded with ideas, and it's often funny, but I wonder if this would be better as a weekly and not daily game show.

4) Wizards and Warriors: 40 years ago tonight, the show premiered on CBS. It was on the late and lamented Warner Archive Instant. The series added Jeff Conaway to the list of sword-and-sorcery legends.

5) Jackie Gleason: Born this day in 1916, and The Great One's lone Tonight Show spot was uploaded this week.

6) Bob Fishman: The longtime CBS sports director was honoted by the DGA. Among the moments he helped create:

7) Bill Duke: Happy 80th birthday! It's pretty cool that he directed 10 episodes of Knots Landing.

8) The Stranger (1973): Pilot film that didn't take off, starring Glenn Corbett, Steve Franken, and Cameron Mitchell. It premiered 50 years ago tonight.

9) National Tell a Fairy Tale Day:

10) R.I.P.: Barbara Bosson, Richard Belzer: