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Thursday, May 31, 2018

4-4: The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast "Peter Marshall"

The zingers fly when Dean Martin gathers a cavalcade of stars and celebrities to roast Peter Marshall, host of "Hollywood Squares," including Vincent Price, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Rip Taylor, Orson Welles, and Paul Lynde! Plus, the mysterious case of Jimmie Walker.



Check out this episode!

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Happy Birthday, Lisa Welchel!

I think I'm having another one of my brilliant ideas: Let's salute Lisa Whelchel on her birthday. You can check out our discussion of The Facts of Life right here.

Great Moments in 70s and 80s TV History #2: John Lennon at Arnold's Drive-In

This picture of John Lennon and son Julian on the Happy Days set during his "Lost Weekend" phase surfaced a few years ago, and, yes, it is genuine!



If you don't believe me, take it from Anson Williams!



Lennon's then-girlfriend May Pang posted the pic on her Facebook page. She and the Lennons visited Paramount Studios in 1974. I like to imagine John asking Fonzie to make the jukebox play some Chuck Berry, then being heartbroken at learning he can't actually get a burger and fries from Arnold's.

It's a shame John wasn't around years later to contribute material to the "American Musical" episode we discussed in season 1.

Friday, May 25, 2018

Dynasty YouTube playlist is now live!

Yes, enjoy John Forsythe and Linda Evans on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous! Steven Carrington (or is it Adam? I forget already) sings! Cameos by Phil Rizzuto and Ronald Reagan! And a pair of important PSAs from BOTNS to you!

Show Notes: Episode 4-3: Dynasty

*We discuss the season 3 finale of Dynasty, "The Cabin," which premiered Wednesday, April 20, 1983 at 10:00 P.M. on ABC. It was the highest-rated episode of the season and the top-ranked show of that week.

*Spinoff The Colbys aired 1985-1987 on ABC (two seasons, 49 episodes) and was a critical and commercial disappointment despite boasting a cast including Charlton Heston, Babs Stanwyck, and Ricardo Montablan.

*NBC primetime soap failures include The Yellow Rose (Cybill Shepherd, Sam Elliott) and Flamingo Road (Morgan Fairchild).

*Series creators Richard and Esther Shapiro also wrote for various television programs of the 1960s and 1970s.

*The infamous Krystle/Alexis lily pond catfight occurs in "The Threat," which aired a mere week before this one.

*According to babynames.com, The meaning of the name Krystle is Earth Mineral Or Brilliant Glass. The origin of the name Krystle is Latin.

*Emma Samms replaced Pamela Sue Martin as Fallon in the fifth season, moving from ABC's daytime soap General Hospital (her first series role).

*If you expect me to sort out the whole Carrington/Colby family tree, brother, you're in the wrong place.

*Did John Forsythe wear a hairpiece? We don't know for sure, but this 1979 People article quotes him as saying he as transitioning from leading man to character actor in part because "my hair’s getting snowier and I’ve slowed up a couple of steps, romantically.”

*Lee Horsley was already starring in Matt Houston at the time of this episode.

*Hank Brandt plays Morgan Hess.

*Kathleen Beller played Kirby Colby (what a great name) on the show and is most famous for Dynasty but made her screen debut with a minor role in Godfather II!

*Despite our speculation, Joan Collins is alive at the time of this post!!!

*Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fought 3 heavyweight boxing title fights in the 1970s, with Ali winning the series 2-1. The record of the Grant Goodeve/John Forsythe acting battles remains uncertain.

*Blake Carrington owns La Mirage, which was La Mirada until Krystle changed the name.

*To repeat: Joan Collins is still alive!


Thursday, May 24, 2018

4-3: Dynasty "The Cabin"

We knew next to nothing about classic primetime sudser Dynasty, but that didn't stop us from diving into season 3 cliffhanger finale "The Cabin." Characters scheme, characters seethe, characters threaten, but mostly they talk. Also, fire, a mustache, and surprise guest stars!


Check out this episode!

Monday, May 21, 2018

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Informal BOTNS poll

Is the world:

A) Blind
B) Just a little unkind
C) Don't know

Let's sort this out, folks. Leave your answers in the comments.

This picture of Henry stepping over a homeless guy is in no way intended to influence your choice.




 


Friday, May 18, 2018

What's gonna be? Guess we'll just wait and see!

OR you could watch our YouTube playlist for this episode!



In this selection of videos, enjoy Babe Ruth, Andy Gibb, Art Metrano, a young(er) George Gaynes, and get One (maybe even Two) to Grow On! And just what was the controversy over the Jacksons' 1984 Victory Tour?

Remember, on our official YT page, you can see playlists like this for all of our past full episodes, plus playable videos of our earliest episodes as well as recent bonus ones.

Show Notes: Episode 4-2 Punky Brewster

*Punky Brewster aired 4 seasons, the first two (1984-1986) on NBC and the second two (1987-1988) in first-run syndication.

*The two episodes we talk about on the podcast are season 1's Take Me Out to the Ballgame (premiered Sunday, October 21, 1984) and season 2's Urban Fear (Sunday, January 5, 1986

*Sadly, there is no epic printed biography of George Gaynes, let alone one written by David Halberstam.

*Silver Spoons, as mentioned on the podcast, aired on NBC 4 seasons and one season in syndication. The two series share an executive producer, David Duclon, who previously worked on The Jeffersons and Laverne and Shirley and later produced Family Matters, Malcolm and Eddie, and Eve.

Punky's friend Cherie is played by Cherie Johnson, who is Duclon's niece.

*Henry is indeed a widower--sad, but all the more joyous that he finds Punky, isn't it?

*The show Mike refers to with Michael Richards is the syndicated Marblehead Manor (1987-1988).

*Here is a fascinating piece that ran in the Los Angeles Times several weeks before the famous Punky episode dealing with the Challenger explosion (Season 2's Accidents Happen).

*And here is a Mental Floss piece looking back at Cherie Lifesaver, the infamous season 2 episode in which Cherie gets stuck in an old refrigerator.

*Before the Cubs became insufferable, they went 71 years between National League Pennants and 108 years between World Series wins. The franchise won back-to-back series in 1908, then lost the 1945 Series to the Tigers before finally winning a championship in 2016.

*Dick Gephardt was a Representative (D-MO) from 1977 to 2005, serving as House Minority and House Majority Leader during his time in office. He ran for President in 1988 and 2004. He was never on Punky Brewster but did make appearances on Lateline, Late Night with David Letterman, and The Daily Show.

*Ernie Banks, AKA "Mr. Cub," was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 1977 after a spectacular career in which he hit 512 home runs, won 2 MVP awards, and was a 14-time All-Star and legend of the game despite (or maybe partly because) never playing in the postseason.

*It's funny that the scalper played by Art Metrano mentions the Jacksons' Victory tour because there was some controversy over that one. Tickets were priced high and allocated through a lottery system requiring a minimum purchase of 4. The tour was plagued by financial and logistical problems and reportedly drove the Jackson family further apart. Check our YouTube playlist for a vintage TV report on the tour!

*We Got It Made is yet another sitcom that premiered on NBC and later ran in syndication (after a several-year-gap). Teri Copley co-starred with Tom Villard and Matt McCoy.

*Running Scared was a sort-of hit movie for MGM in 1986.

*My Two Dads  (NBC, 1987-1990) was set in New York, not Chicago. Dick Butkus did not play himself, but it would have been cool if he did. Let us know if you'd like us to cover this series in a future episode!

Thursday, May 17, 2018

4-2: Punky Brewster "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and "Urban Fear

This week, we look at two episodes of beloved kid-com Punky Brewster. First, Henry (George Gaynes) desperately wants to get tickets to the Cubs-Padres playoff game, but even Punky Power might not help him this time. Then, Punky (Soleil Moon Frye) tries to overcome...URBAN FEAR!


Check out this episode!

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Captain America in "Pugilism With a Side of Beef"


As mentioned on our episode about the Captain America TV movies, the first movie features an action scene in a meat packing plant where Steve Rogers actually uses the meat as weapons. To commemorate this momentous occasion, I've adapted it into a bronze-age style comics script. Fans of seventies and eighties action/crime shows might be happy to know that character actor Lance LeGault plays Harley. 

Comic scripts serve as a blueprint for the artists who will draw, color, and letter it, and different writers write them in different formats and with varying degrees of detail. I like to give the artists some room to do their thing while still laying out as clear an idea as I can.

Captain America in "Pugilism With a Side of Beef"

Adapted from a scene in Captain America the TV Movie, written by Don Ingalls, directed by Rod Holcomb.

NOTE: THIS SCENE FEATURES FOUR CHARACTERS:

STEVE ROGERS - MUSCULAR, BLOND. IN THIS SCENE, HE WEARS A LIGHT BLUE TURTLENECK, DARK BLUE SWEATER VEST, GRAY SLACKS, AND GRAY SHOES.

HARLEY - THE LEADER OF GROUP WHO'S ABDUCTED STEVE. SURLY-LOOKING. HE WEARS A BEIGE BLAZER, DARK BROWN TIE, AND DARK BROWN SLACKS.

TOUGH 1 - A TOUGH GUY IN CASUAL CLOTHES. GRAYING HAIR. HIS MOST NOTABLE FEATURE, A JEAN JACKET WITH A WOOL LINING.

TOUGH 2 - ANOTHER TOUGH GUY IN CASUAL CLOTHES. DARK HAIR. WEARS A LEATHER JACKET.

PAGE 1

TEXT ALONG TOP: After a near-fatal car accident, Steve Rogers received the FLAG serum his father invented. It saved his life, but it also might have done more!

PANEL 1

NIGHTTIME. A SEDAN SITS OUTSIDE A MEAT PACKING PLANT. HARLEY AND THE TOUGHS ARE LEADING STEVE ROGERS INSIDE. ROPES BIND STEVE'S HANDS BEHIND HIS BACK.

SIGN
Pearson Bros. Meat Packers

NARRATOR
Like criminals since time immemorial, Harley and his crew use the dead of night for their nefarious deeds.

PANEL 2

INSIDE THE MEAT PACKING PLANT, STEVE (LEFT SIDE OF PANEL) AND HARLEY (RIGHT SIDE OF PANEL) STAND FACE TO FACE. THE TOUGHS FLANK THEM (TOUGH TWO ON LEFT, TOUGH ONE ON RIGHT). ALONG THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROOM, SIDES OF BEEF HANG FROM HOOKS ATTACHED TO A METAL TRACK.

STEVE
Guys from the gas station, right?

HARLEY
So we meet again. Fun,huh?

PANEL 3

CLOSE ON STEVE AND HIS STEELY (IF A LITTLE CONFUSED) GAZE.

HARLEY (OFF PANEL)
I still need that film.

STEVE
I still don't know what you’re talking about.

PANEL 4

HARLEY GLANCES SIDEWAYS.

NO TEXT

PANEL 5

TOUGH ONE GUT PUNCHING STEVE.

STEVE
Ugh!

PANEL 6

BACK TO EVERYONE. STEVE ON HIS KNEES, HARLEY STANDING OVER HIM.

HARLEY
We've got as long as it takes, pal.

HARLEY (CONT)
Now let's try it again. Get him up.

PAGE 2

PANEL 1

SIMILAR TO PREVIOUS PANEL. TOUGH ONE IS PULLING STEVE BACK TO A STANDING POSITION. HARLEY FACES THE CURTAIN OF MEAT.

HARLEY
Your friend Hayden took some very important pictures for us.

HARLEY (CONT)
Then he got cute and hid the pictures... 

HARLEY (CONT)
and then he got dead.

PANEL 2

FOCUSING ON HARLEY. HE'S TURNED AROUND, SO MEAT FILLS THE BACKGROUND. HE LOOKS ANGRY.

HARLEY
Now we know he said something to you that night.

HARLEY (CONT)
We need to know what.

PANEL 3

SIMILAR TO PANEL 2, BUT NOW HARLEY LOOKS CASUAL, KIND OF AN "AW SHUCKS" ATTITUDE.

HARLEY
Ain't that simple?

PANEL 4

STEVE AND HARLEY FACING EACH OTHER AGAIN, HARLEY STILL CLOSER TO THE MEAT, HANDS ON HIS HIPS.

STEVE
What's in it for me?

HARLEY
You get to live a little longer.

HARLEY (CONT)
You want to live as long as possible, don't you?

STEVE (LINKED)
Yeah. I guess so.

HARLEY (LINKED)
Fine. Where's the film?

PANEL 5

HARLEY HAS GOTTEN CLOSE TO STEVE AND IS POKING HIS SHOULDER.

HARLEY
Once more, where's the film?

STEVE
I don't know.

PANEL 6

HARLEY GUT PUNCHING STEVE, WHO'S DOUBLING OVER.

STEVE
Oof!


PAGE 3

PANEL 1

STEVE HUNCHING OVER. HARLEY, ARMS SPREAD, COCKY, SMIRKING.

HARLEY
Well, Mr. Rogers?!

PANEL 2

TOUGH ONE AND TOUGH TWO GLARING.

NARRATOR
These hoods think they have the upper hand, but little do they know...

PANEL 3

CLOSE ON STEVE'S BOUND HANDS AS THE ROPES BREAK.

NARRATOR
that in this moment of need, Steve feels his mighty tendons tighten as if made of steel!

PANEL 4

STEVE THROWING TOUGH TWO AT HARLEY.

NARRATOR
He hurls his opponent as if throwing a sack of garbage away!

PANEL 5

TOUGH TWO CRUMPLED ON TOP OF HARLEY.

NO TEXT

PANEL 6

STEVE SHOVING TOUGH ONE THROUGH A TALL SWINGING DOOR.

TOUGH ONE
AAGH!

PAGE 4

PANEL 1

STEVE HOLDING ONTO A MEET HOOK AND SLIDING PAST SIDES OF BEEF, HIS FEET DANGLING ABOVE THE FLOOR.

NARRATOR
Steve makes a strategic retreat as he formulates a plan!

PANEL 2

HARLEY AND TOUGH TWO GETTING UP. TOUGH TWO HAS A REVOLVER DRAWN.

HARLEY
Get him!

PANEL 3

NOW STANDING (AND FURIOUS), HARLEY POINTS.

NO TEXT

PANEL 4

HOLDING A REVOLVER WITH A SILENCER ON IT, HARLEY IS CROUCHING AND PEERING IN THE GAP BETWEEN THE MEAT AND THE FLOOR.

NO TEXT

PANEL 5

TOUGH TWO BENDS OVER TO PEER UNDER A SIMILAR GAP.

NO TEXT

PANEL 6

LOOKING AT CROUCHING HARLEY FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM, MEAT BLOCKING MOST OF THE VIEW.

NO TEXT

PAGE 5

PANEL 1

WITH ONE ARM STEVE HANGS FROM A HOOK. HIS FEET REST ON SOME PIPES ATTACHED THE WALL.

STEVE (THOUGHT BALLOON)
They can't see me, but that means I can't see them! Wait a second.

PANEL 2

LOOKING DOWN TWO ROWS OF MEAT. THEY FORM A V-SHAPED TUNNEL, AND AT THE END OF IT, WE SEE TOUGH TWO STANDING NOW, HOLDING HIS REVOLVER STRAIGHT UP.

NO TEXT

PANEL 3

GRINNING, STEVE LOOKS AT HIS BALLED FIST.

NO TEXT

PANEL 4

ON THE GROUND NOW, STILL GRINNING, STEVE IS SHOVING SIDES OF BEEF ON THEIR TRACK.

NARRATOR
With a powerful shove, Steve puts the meat to work for him!

PANEL 5

TOUGH TWO HAS HIS BACK TO SOME MEAT, AS THE MEAT STEVE PUSHED IS SLAMMING INTO HIM, SANDWICHING HIM BETWEEN THE TWO.

SFX
FLAM!

PANEL 6

TOUGH TWO LIES ON THE FLOOR UNDER THE MEAT, HIS REVOLVER NEARBY.

NO TEXT

PAGE 6

PANEL 1

HARLEY SHOOTS AT STEVE DOWN A ROW OF MEAT.

NO TEXT

PANEL 2

STEVE IS PULLING A BEEF LEG OFF A HOOK.

NO TEXT

PANEL 3

STEVE FLINGING THE LEG ON THE FLOOR UNDER THE ROWS OF MEAT.

SFX
ZING!

PANEL 4

STEVE SHOVING ANOTHER SIDE OF MEAT.

NO TEXT

PANEL 5

HARLEY'S JUMPING AS THE LEG OF MEAT HITS HIS ANKLE.

NO TEXT

PANEL 6

HARLEY COWERING AS THE SIDE OF MEAT SLAMS INTO HIM.

HARLEY
Noooo!

PAGE 7

PANEL 1

THE TOUGHS HANG FROM MEAT HOOKS, AND HARLEY IS SLIDING ON ONE TOWARD THEM.

NARRATOR
Later...

PANEL 2

STEVE ON A TELEPHONE, CASUAL.

STEVE
Yes. I got a message for Agent Barber.

PANEL 3

THE TOUGHS AND HARLEY HUDDLED TOGETHER ON THEIR MEAT HOOKS.

STEVE (OFF PANEL)
Tell him there's three suspicious characters down here at Pearson Bros. Meat Packing Plant...

STEVE (OFF PANEL) (CONT)
and they may know something about Jeff Hayden's death.

PANEL 4

STEVE ON THE PHONE AGAIN.

STEVE
Oh, and, uh, tell him to hurry.

PANEL 5

SMIRKING, STEVE GLANCING SIDEWAYS (IN THE DIRECTION OF THE TOUGHS AND HARLEY OFF PANEL).

NO TEXT.

PANEL 6

STEVE GLANCING FORWARD AGAIN, SERIOUS AS HE LANDS HIS JOKE.

STEVE
I think they're getting a bad case of frostbite.

Friday, May 11, 2018

Show Notes: Episode 4-1: Captain America TV Movies

*We focus on the second of the two TV movies in this episode, but the first premiered on CBS on January 19, 1979, airing 8:00--10:00 P.M. against Donny & Marie and the movie A last Cry for Help (ABC) and Diff'rent Strokes, Joe and Valerie, and The Rockford Files (NBC).

The sequel, subtitled Death Too Soon debuted Friday, November 23, 1979 and Saturday, November 24, airing as a two-part event at 8:00 P.M. each night.  Notably, Fridays at 8:00 was the regular timeslot of The Incredible Hulk on CBS.

*The Cap movies came on the heels of a Dr. Strange movie that aired in 1978 as a possible pilot for a series (a la The Amazing Spider-Man and the Hulk show). The good Doc was clobbered by Roots and never made it to series. Nor did Cap, though it's unclear why they considered it good enough for a sequel but not to commit to a series.

*Reb Brown carried 2 times for 5 years on the 1967 USC Trojans' Rose-Bowl-winning football team.

*Comic legends Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created Captain America, who debuted in 1941.

*Reed Richards AKA Mister Fantastic developed "unstable molecules" in the Marvel Universe. They have made up many of the costumes in the MU over the years.

*Connie Sellecca appeared in The Bermuda Depths and short-lived TV stewardess show Flying High before starring in Death Too Soon. She went on to appear in The Greatest American Hero and Hotel.

*Former Entertainment Tonight co-host John Tesh married Sellecca in 1992. Tesh composed the classic NBA on NBC theme song and currently hosts a successful syndicated radio program but has yet to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

*Stanley Kamel was a mobster on 90210 and also had a recurring rule on Monk before dying of a heart attack at 65.

*If you'd like to hear our Voyagers episode and more on William Lucking, click here!

*Christopher Lee was 57 when Death Too Soon premiered.

*Bellville, Oregon, does not have a beach. This isn't surprising when you consider that, according to our research, it doesn't exist in real life.

*Rod Holcomb is a prolific TV director. His Blind Justice is a TV movie with Tim Matheson, though, not the Ron Eldard series of the same name that came up in our Steven Bochco bonus episode!

*Kenneth Johnson created V and The Bionic Woman in addition to shepherding the development of The Incredible Hulk.

*The Secret Empire storyline Mike refers to was written by Steve Engelheart and appeared in Captain America comics in 1973.

*The 1990 Captain America movie started as a Cannon Films production, was snagged by one of that company's founders in the wake of the company's dissolution, and sat on the shelf for a couple years before getting a direct-to-video release.

*Check out our YouTube playlist for this episode!

Thursday, May 10, 2018

4-1: Captain America, the TV Movies

Season 4 begins with a star-spangled bang! Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America starred in not one but two TV movies! We talk about both but focus on "Captain America II: Death Too Soon." Cap (Reb Brown) must stop the mysterious rebel general Miguel (Christopher Lee) before his de-aging formula takes out Portland, Oregon!


Check out this episode!

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Celebrating Teacher Appreciation Day!

One of our favorite teachers on the small screen is Coach Reeves, pro basketball great who takes his talents to Carver High and shares his hoops wisdom--and his life wisdom--with an ethnically diverse group of player-students.

Just look at Coach dropping some knowledge on the team:



 

And you can tell by the rapt attention they are giving him just how effective a teacher he is:


We talked about The White Shadow in our first season! Click here to get the MP3 of that episode or here to get it on YouTube.

Friday, May 4, 2018

Video Playlist for Fame Game #2 is now available!

Once again, Mike is in the hot seat on The Fame Game this week, and after you listen to see how he does, you can check out the newest playlist on our official YouTube channel. Remember, though, this playlist reveals the identity of ???, so if  you don't want to have the game spoiled, make sure you listen to the latest bonus episode before checking out these clips relating to ???

Thursday, May 3, 2018

The Fame Game 2

Join Rick, Mike, plus Bobby and the BOTNS Orchestra for another thrilling round of The Fame Game! Will Mike guess this week's mystery celebrity or go down swinging? Find out on The Fame Game!



Check out this episode!

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

it was 85 years ago today...

On this date in 1933, the first recorded sighting of the Loch Ness Monster occurred.

Of course, some 44 years later, Leonard Nimoy and In Search Of conclusively proved that there was no way to disprove the possibility that something may have at one time or another existed in that environment.




We talked about this episode (along with Amelia Earhart) in season one.

Click here for that show in audio format or here to check it on our YouTube page!

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...