Top Ten #170

1) Magnum P.I.: The OG Magnum--you know, what, forget it, we don't need to distinguish here; this is just Magnum, and the other one can be Reboot Magnum--is now on Blu-Ray thanks to Mill Creek. The company has a spotty record, but Cereal at Midnight says this set is pretty good:

2) Academy Awards: We have a gentleman's bet with the producers about whether the show gets a higher rating than the Battys. I doubt anything as interesting as what happened on the show that aired this date in 1973:

3) Al Michaels: The veteran broadcaster is gonna get paid--straight up P-A-I-D for calling Thursday Night Football for Prime next season. I hope he replaces his patented sly references to the point spreads with sly references to  The Jeffersons reruns on Prime.

4) Candid Camera: Shout! Factory bought the rights to the long-running franchise and plans to start airing episodes on its streaming service later this year. The joke will be on me if they are all from the 2001 PAX run.

5) Mannix: Stop me if you heard this one before: Decades' Weekend Binge features Mannix. I guess ol' Joe does well for them.

6) ABC Double Feature: 50 years ago tonight, the network used this fancy title to burn off two unsold pilots: Wheeler and Murdock and The New Healers. The former stars Jack Warden as a P.I. who teams up with his slain partner's son (Christopher Stone) to solve a crime involving "the syndicate." In the latter, Leif Erickson is the main doctor in a rural community, aided by Robert Foxworth and Kate Jackson. Lee Goldberg's Unsold Pilots quotes series creator Sterling Silliphant saying he hoped to sneak in an attack on "the good ole boy (BS) of the AMA" in the guise of a standard medical show.

7) National Joe Day: Hey, is this why Mannix is featured again this weekend? Here is one of my own favorite Joes:

8) The Wizard of Oz: The classic film, a venerable favorite even then, aired 40 years ago tonight on CBS. I keep thinking the network aired the movie around Thanksgiving each year when I was growing up, and I keep being proven wrong!

9) National Scribble Day: Here's one fellow who might participate:

10) Scoey Mitchell: R.I.P.