Show Notes and Episode Playlist: Episode 12-4: Dan August

*We hope you enjoy our look at Dan August as Summer comes to a close. If only we could have released The Kid with the Broken Halo (with June Allyson) in June.

*We talk about Dan August and Robert Pine not in a standalone Pick Your Pine but at the end of our Celebrity Bowling episode!

*Shout-out to Jonathan Martin's book Quinn Martin, Producer.

*Dan August aired for 26 episodes in the 1970-71 season on ABC Wednesdays at 10:00 PM, then Thursdays at 9:30. After Burt Reynolds became a big movie star, CBS showed reruns in its late night lineup in Summer 1973 and Summer 1975.

*World Vision International is the Christian aid agency. Worldvision Enterprises was the programming distributor that emerged from the FCC's Fin-Syn rules that blocked original owner ABC from syndicating its own programs. Aaron Spelling's company was involved with it, and then Spelling's company was absorbed into Viacom.

*The episode with Richard Basehart and John Ritter is #12, "Quadrangle of Death." Robert Pine appears in episode 21, "Bullet for a Hero." Ricardo Montalban is in the second episode, "The Murder of a Small Town."

*Ralph Senesky's blog is here.

*Dave Grusin did not win a Batty for the St. Elsewhere theme song, which lost to Henry Mancini's What's Happening!! for Outstanding Instrumental. Cheers won that season for Theme with Vocals (Season 6 Battys).  Good Times did, however, win in the Season 4 Battys over Punky Brewster and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, giving Grusin his Batty.

*Grusin also created themes for The Name of the Game, It Takes a Thief, and more.

*Ena Hartman's lone role as a series regular is Dan August, but she is considered a trailblazer for her work in other TV series of the era. She is in the first Airport movie and stars in Terminal Island.

*Barney Phillips' coroner is named Mike Golden.

*"The Manufactured Man" premiered March 11, 1971, the 22nd episode of the series.

*Harrison Ford was 28 when this episode aired. Billy Dee Williams was 33. David Soul was 27, Mickey Rooney was 50.

*Keith Andes (Lawrence Merrill II) was the lead in This Man Dawson (1959) and NBC soap Paradise Bay (1965).

*Harry Harris of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who we quote on the podcast, wrote his own obituary, and you can see it here.

*Hawk is Burt's 1966 ABC series. Reynolds is an Iroquois NYC police detective.

*Join us at our Facebook group right here!

*And here is this week's video playlist! Click below for promos, commercials, a whole lot of theme songs and intros, and...cabbage?

And remember, you can always check out our official YouTube page for all of our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!

 

Episode 12-4: Dan August

After 12 seasons, we finally talk about a Quinn Martin Production--Dan August! Before Burt Reynolds was BURT REYNOLDS, he starred as the titular homicide detective Dan August for one season alongside Norman Fell, Richard Anderson, and in this episode a galaxy of guest stars. A murder of a young woman leads Dan into the dark alleys of California politics, where he encounters a scoundrel, an old smoothie, and a sparkplug political operative. If you're lucky, he might make a leaping tackle or three!

#podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #quinnmartinproduction #burtreynolds #burt #copshow #danaugust

 

Check out this episode!

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...

 

Top Ten #316

1) The Golden Girls: Thank you for being a listener! We took a brief pause in our Season 12 lineup this week to bring you an encore presentation of our Season 2 (Wow!) episode on The Golden Girls. In it we talk the series and special guest star (on the original episode, not our podcast) Burt Reynolds.

2) Burt Reynolds: Burt has since returned to BOTNS with his appearance on Entertainment Tonight promoting Paternity. Who knows, maybe he will return to the podcast someday.

3) National Banana Split Day: Enjoy!

4) Make Room for Granddaddy: This short-lived (13 episodes) reboot of Make Room for Daddy is now on Roku Channel, and odds are good it will show up elsewhere like other FilmRise properties. It's not peak Danny Thomas, but it's a true rarity that looks great, so I'm thankful to see it.

5) Blair Underwood: Happy birthday to the former L.A. Law star.

6) College football: The second-most popular form of American football returns this weekend with a handful of games that should be just the ticket to take your mind off transfer portals, NIL, and--Nope, didn't work. I'm still thinking of that. Maybe an old Penn State football game promo will take my mind off it.

It did!

7) There Have Been Some Changes Made: The most popular form of American football received a prime-time special on CBS 50 years ago tonight leading into a preseason game. Pat Summerall hosted a look at the rule changes in the NFL, and man, that title is pretentious even for NFL Films. 

In case you're wondering, the changes were mostly designed to increase scoring. The league went from encouraging utter mayhem to encouraging extreme violence.

(The below clip is not from 1974)

8) Tom Skerritt: Happy birthday to the star of a quite different David E. Kelly show, Picket Fences.

9) Rashomon: The film's Japanese premiere was on this date in 1950, and it went on to inspire countless TV plots (Actually, THIS is how it happened...), including--wait, Small Wonder?

10) R.I.P.: Phil Donahue, Roger Cook: You can listen to our Donahue episode right here. We also salute the longtime castmember of This Old House.

Promo Theatre: Report to Murphy on CBS

Here's another look at Report to Murphy, the short-lived Michael Keaton sitcom we mentioned last week when discussing The Kid with the Broken Halo.

Encore: The Golden Girls

This week, we revisit an episode from all the way back in season two. Tickets to the world premiere and after party for Mr. Burt Reynolds' latest movie land the Golden Girls in exactly the wrong place--jail...for prostitution. Will they get out in time to meet Burt and the rest of the Burt Pack? Will Rose ever get over losing Butter Queen? Will Burt lead a game of Win, Lose, or Draw? It all depends on the kindness of Sophia! Uh-oh.

#podcast #tv #retrotv #eighties #sitcom #goldengirls #beaarthur #bettywhite #burtreynolds

 

Check out this episode!

Tomorrow and Previously on Battle of the Network Shows...

 

Power Rankings: Gary Coleman TV Movies

After enjoying The Kid Trilogy, I needed to see the other Gary Coleman TV movies. Unfortunately, the one I have wanted to see for years, Playing with Fire, continues to elude me, but I saw a couple others. Here, then, is my exclusive Power Rankings of the TV movies Coleman starred in during the BOTNS era:

1) The Kid with the 200 I.Q. : To me, this is peak Coleman in part because it plays like an extended sitcom pilot as much as a movie. You could easily see his Nick Newell returning for weekly adventures with Robert Guillaume. The supporting cast is amusing, and the story combines elements of all sorts of teen movies of the era but in a wholesome way. If you see only one Gary Coleman movie...see Halo because we discuss it on the pod. If you see two, catch this one, too.

2) The Kid from Left Field: The baseball theme gets me on this one. It's fun, it has the Padres, and I just get a kick out of it.

3) The Kid with the Broken Halo: Yes, it's the one we covered, and I am glad we did. You, the listeners, demanded it! Yet it's my least favorite of the Kid Trilogy. This is all relative, of course, but I think the concentration on multiple storylines dilutes things a bit. The big thing is, I just like the other two a bit better.

4) The Fantastic World of D.C. Collins: This one features a number of whimsical (and budget-friendly) set pieces sending up Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and other pop culture phenomena. Collins is a diplomat's son who has an overactive imagination to the extent he spaces out while experiencing fantasy scenarios. He finds himself in a situation of real espionage and Washington D.C. intrigue.

This is less sitcom-ish than the Kid Trilogy and has more an emphasis on the relatively mild adventure and action. It's charming in its way but not as compelling as the Trilogy.

And by the way, while you may not find Jason Bateman in The Boy with the Cracked Horns, you WILL find him here, with a posh English accent, to boot!

5) Scout's Honor: Coleman is a lonely foster kid who finds his niche in Cub Scouts while Katherine Helmond finds hers when forced by her boss to be a den mother. This is not as entertaining as the Kind Trilogy, despite the presence of Meeno Peluce, but it has some really affecting moments.

It's not an exaggeration to say that one scene in which Coleman stands in front of a mirror and cries really hit me. His Joey has just received a cruel reminder of how little his foster parents care for him. Their attitude about a situation is shockingly dismissive in fact. When Coleman runs off and starts bawling, it's the actor as I never saw him before--not stage crying or being sad for effect, but just crying--a sad, pitiful boy whose heart is broken. The movie is worth seeing for that scene alone.

Power Rankings: Summer Olympic sports I always mean to watch but don't

Each Olympics I have an informal list of sports I intend to watch but don't really. This year the dissonance is even stronger since it is easier than ever to watch whatever I want. I have no excuse!

this list is not meant to demean the events, but it is based on which sport would beat another sport if they competed in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania:

(Note that there are sports that I somehow do end up watching, like swimming, gymnastics, basketball, and volleyball)

1) Team Handball: I enjoy this sport. I really do. Each time I see it, I wonder why it isn't more popular. So why don't I actually watch it during the Olympics?

2) Water Polo: Shout-out to one of my college roommates, a Water Polo-er who talked about how physical the game was.

3) Badminton: This is an awesome event, but maybe I'd watch more if it were in a backyard.

4) Breaking: I really meant to watch.

5) Rugby: To be fair, this is a fairly recent addition to the Summer Games.

6) Judo: The only combat-related spot I watched for years was boxing, but I think that was because boxing was so common on TV coverage.

7) Table Tennis: See Badminton, but replace "backyard" with "dingy basement."

8) Trampoline: It is kind of cool, but it's not the kind of thing I seek out.

9) Archery: They could be allowing trick arrows like Oliver Queen uses for all I know, and I wouldn't be aware.

10) Taeknwondo: See Judo.

Top Ten #315: Special "National Fajita Day" Edition!

1) Gary Coleman: We have had various people referred to as "The Queen of the TV Movie" over the years, but has there ever been a King? If not, I suggest we name one now, and of course that man should be Marjoe Gortner. But Gary Coleman could be a credible Prince!

2) Robert Guillaume: I still haven't discovered the whole story behind the Guillaume/Coleman partnership, but I can report that he executive-produced The Fantastic World of D.C. Collins, a non-Bob G. movie Gary made after The Kid Trilogy. So there's something there.

I can also report that Clayton Endicott is a turkey!

3) Rudy Desautel: I don't care if the star pro football wideout on The Kid with the Broken Halo is a fictional character. I NEED more Rudy Desautel. Why didn't NFL Films ever do a Rudy Desautel highlight film?

4) June Allyson: I think the longtime Hollywood star deserves a slot without a reference to her Depends commercials.

5) Mason Adams: Sure, he is great in Halo and on Lou Grant, but listen to his voice in countless commercials of the BOTNS era. He is the sound of our innocent childhoods, right up there with ice cream trucks, school bells, and Judas Priest songs.

6) Kate and Allie: The Eighties CBS sitcom, largely overlooked in recent years, made its streaming debut on Roku Channel this week. Check out a young Kelsey Grammer in the debut episode.

7) Ironside: Also new to streaming is this Raymond Burr crime drama, which originally aired on NBC from 1967 to 1975. Is it a coincidence that two Universal shows are just making it to streaming on demand? Might we finally see Quincy and Kojak soon?

8) The Karate Kid: Cinemark Theaters' Big in '84 promotion enabled me to see the 1984 film for a mere 5 bucks this week, and I was surprised how well it held up. Laurie and I watched an episode of the 1989 cartoon series later, and...Did I mention how well the movie held up?

9) The Incredible Hulk (1982): No, this cartoon isn't on Disney Plus yet, but given the fact that they are raising the price of the service yet AGAIN, surely they have to give us something from the archives, right? Right?

10) R.I.P. Afa, Peter Marshall:

YouTube Spotlight: Betcha Don't Know!

NBC has quite a rep for PSAs. The More You Know campaign was preceded by the One to Grow On series. But I BETCHA DON'T KNOW what came before that:

I run into these far less often than I do "One to Grow On," but there is the same kind of vibe here. That's character actor James Harder with Fields in this spot. Children's Television Workshop partnered with NBC for these segments, which ran Saturday mornings.

Show Notes and Video Playlist: Episode 12-3: The Kid with the Broken Halo (1982)

*The listeners spoke and decided we should cover this Gary Coleman TV movie, but fear not, we mention The Kid from Left Field and The Kid with the 200 IQ on the podcast as well. There is plenty of talk of what we affectionately call "The Kid Triology!" Thanks to all who voted in our poll.

*The Kid with the Broken Halo premiered Monday, April 5, 1982 on the NBC television network. Diff'rent Strokes was finishing its fourth season at the time. Halo is the second of the Kid Trilogy, following Left Field (1979) and preceding 1983's IQ. Also preceding this one: 1980's Scout's Honor.

*Robert Guillaume was starring in the third season of Benson on ABC when this movie premiered. Kim Fields was in the third season of The Facts of Life. Bosom Buddies with Thelma Hopkins had aired its final episode about a week earlier!

*The Paper Moon series Mike mentions starred Christopher Connelly (Not that one) and Jodie Foster (That one) and lasted a mere 13 episodes on ABC in 1974.

*Coleman was born February 8, 1968 and died May 28, 2010.

*Perhaps the upcoming Peacock original documentary, Gary, premiering August 29, will be that definitive biography we ask for on the podcast.

*As we mention, Hanna Barbera's The Gary Coleman Show cartoon ran a mere 13 episodes on NBC in first run in Fall 1982.

*Here is the archival UPI note on We Dare You!:

'We Dare You' is the title of a brand new 30-minute freak show anchored upon what the network calls 'a great American tradition -- the practical joke.' A joke it is. Practical it will never be.The show's premise is a clumsy cross-pollination of 'You Asked for It' and 'Candid Camera' in which hosts Terry McGovern and Jon Bauman - the 'Bowser' of Sha-na-na -- go around the country daring people to do stupid things to each other and filming them on the sly.It was funny when Alan Funt did it years ago -- but he did it and did it and did it. ABC really doesn't have to do it. But ABC is going to do it Monday from 8-8:30 p.m. None will den all.

*"Man proposes, but God disposes," is from Proverbs 19:21.
*Enjoy author Jeff Pearlman's ruminations on the great Rudy Desautel here.
*Among June Allyson's notable films are Good News, Two Girls and a Sailor, The Opposite Sex, and The Glenn Miller Story.
*Enjoy our discussion of Poor Devil from Season 8 here!
*Here's an example of those era Spalding comic book ads:

*The 1981 Cleveland Browns lost their last 5 games to finish 5-11 and last place in the AFC Central. It was a disappointing season after a playoff appearance in 1980.

*Ratings info:
Left Field  was #15 for the week with a 21.4 rating. I couldn't find specific info for the other two.

*And here is this week's video playlist! Click below for promos, a look at other 1982 shows and the work of the supporting cast, commercials, and a whole lotta Gary Coleman! We include the video we watched of the movie, too.
And remember, you can always check out our official YouTube page for all of our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!

Episode 12-3: The Kid with the Broken Halo

BOTNS proposes, our listeners dispose...or something like that. We held another listener poll, and as always, our listeners have spoken. This time we asked them to choose between the Gary Coleman-Robert Guillaume "Kid" trilogy. It was close, but the middle TV movie "The Kid With the Broken Halo" won. In it, Coleman's angel-in-training Andy has to solve three "cases"...or else he'll find himself hanging out with Sammy Davis Jr. and Christopher Lee. With the mild assistance of Guillaume's grumpy Blake, he heads to Earth to use his charms and street smarts to help a family have fun, a pro football player retire with grace, and a bitter Golden Age film star/widow find joy.

#podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #tvmovie #garycoleman #robertguillaume #angels

 

Check out this episode!

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...

 

Collectible Corner: Sam the Olympic Eagle

I no longer have the plush Sam the Olympic Eagle I had in 1984, but just this summer I found this at an antiques mall and added the mascot to my collection. It's a cool little statue in decent shape, and looking at the guy brings me joy:

Top Ten #314; Special "Olympics may be winding down, but BOTNS continues" Edition!

1) The 1984 Summer Olympics: As the 2024 Olympics come to a close, revisit the 1984 Games with this week's podcast, in which we talk about the ABC coverage, the notable moments of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and, yes, even some of the sports!

2) The 1984 Winter Olympics: Hey, why not? We barely mentioned them on the podcast. Sarajevo was not the resounding USA-fest that Los Angeles was, but it happened. It just didn't have poppers and lockers and Lionel Richie and possible extraterrestrial visitors (Really, check out the podcast).

3) Hot Lips Houlihan: Our friend Steve responded to last week's bowling-themed Power Rankings with an omission: Hot Lips Houlihan, who comes through for the 4077th against the Marines in "Sons and Bowlers." We give her (and Steve) props here! Her technique may not be textbook, but you can't argue with results. You can see a glimpse of her and others mentioned in the post in this cool clip I found:

4) Carl Lewis: I could have sworn Carl and Emmanuel Lewis collaborated together in, oh, 1985 or so. Maybe a Bob Hope special? If it happened, I can't find it.

5) Jim McKay: The consummate pro did his usual excellent work at the 1984 Olympics. Plus us he introduced a grateful nation to breakin'.

6) Showtime: I saw an interesting piece in The New York Times from 40 years ago today touting the success and prospects of the pay cable network. "I promise we will not be seen as merely a weak alternative to HBO for the next 30-plus years," then-VP Peter Chernin says. 

No, he actually praises an adaptation of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Jessica Lange and Tommy Lee Jones.

7) CBS News Special: The Trouble with Rock: 50 years ago tonight, this program took a look at the economics of the music industry and the corruption that plagued it. Also, Canadian Morley Safer explores what the heck BTO has to do to get a #1 single in the States.

8) Lionel Richie: I continue to marvel at what a sensational run Lionel Richie had in the mid-Eighties. After seeing The Greatest Night in Pop about the making of "We Are the World" and revisiting the '84 Closing Ceremonies and seeing him sing "All Night Long," I think I'm ready for a feature-length Lionel documentary. 

9) Saturday Night: The trailer for Jason Reitman's upcoming film about the debut of the show on NBC has me excited, and not just because J.K. Simmons is playing Milton Berle.

10) R.I.P.: Kevin Sullivan, Mitzi McCall:

YouTube Spotlight: Victory wasn't just for the Olympic team

Welcome to YouTube Spotlight, where we feature a video from the latest podcast's video playlist. This week, we talk about the glory of the 1984 Summer Olympics, and one related clip that catches my eye is this:

This clip raises so many questions, like the ones the reporters ask: "What charity?"

I hope that Jacko surprised his brothers with that announcement. They are all like, "Hey, we aren't giving anything away!"

All indications were that Jackson was a reluctant participant in this Victory Tour, and I am sure it won't shock anyone to learn that there were allegations of shady business practices in an event with which Don King was involved.

Here's a cool clip from L.A.'s KISS-FM promoting the tour:

Show Notes and Video Playlist: Episode 12-2: 1984 Summer Olympics

*Welcome back to BOTNS as we celbrate the 40th anniversary of the legendary 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics! 

*The Games of the 23rd Olympiad took place July 28 through August 12, 1984, with events spread out over the greater L.A. metro area.

*Jon Wertheim's excellent book is Glory Days: The Summer of 1984 and the 90 Days That Changed Sports and Culture Forever.

*The Games had first been in Los Angeles in 1932, as we clarify on the show. 

*Here's a scathing take on ABC's coverage of the 1984 Winter Games.

*Xu Haifeng of China won the first gold of the Games in the 50-meter pistol event.

*Cathy Rigby emerged on the national stage in the 1968 Olympics, then was hampered by injury in the 1972 edition.

*Konstantin Chernenko was running the Soviets at the time following the death of  Yuri Andropov in February 1984.

*One aspect we did not get into: The Eastern Bloc countries held "The Friendship Games" over 2.5 months and 9 countries, starting in early July and ending in early September. The Opening Ceremonies in Moscow took place weeks after the first event.

*Gymakta is a notorious 1985 movie featuring 1976 Olympic gymnast Kurt Thomas. Thomas was unable to compete in 1980 due to the boycott.

*"All Night Long (All Night)" is Lionel Richie's 1983 #1 hit from his Can't Slow Down album. We don't have to tell MIKE that, of course, but the rest of you might find the info helpful.

If you want more Lionel Richie, we suggest our Night of 100 Stars episode!

*Somewhat surprisingly, Dunk Tank was not a sport in the 1984 Summer Games.

*I just want to say that I forgot to mention the awesomeness of Summer Games and Summer Games II for Commodore 64.

*Final medal count: USA 174, West Germany 59, Romania 53.

Gold medals: USA 83, Romania 20, West Germany 17.

Note that Romania was the one Soviet Bloc country to show up at the '84 Games, and they got a warm reception from the crowds and other athletes for doing so.

*We're doing something a little different with the playlist this week. While we do have a few extended clips of sporting events we mention on the podcast, we have mostly news clips, promos, commercials, and more, but here we also include a couple of the other big lists we reference. That way you can search for the sporting events that interest you.

First up is our own assembled playlist:

Here is a list with a lot of individual events:

Here is a list with the complete Opening and Closing Ceremonies as broadcast and more:

12-2: 1984 Summer Olympics

 

Do you have Olympic fever? We do...for the 1984 Summer Games in L.A. We can't cover it all, but we try to hit some of the high marks of this peak eighties event: Carl Lewis, Mary Lou Retton, Mary Decker and Zola Budd, Al Michaels, Jim McKay and Peter Jennings, 84 grand pianos playing "Rhapsody in Blue," Lionel Richie, and a flying saucer!

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...

 

All in the Family Power Rankings: Top 10 TV Bowlers

This week's podcast talked about All in the Family and the Sport of Kings: Bowling! Archie Bunker loves bowling, we love bowling--Everyone loves bowling. That is, everyone used to love bowling, or you might well think that if you watched a lot of TV back in the day.

We are including the Fifties and Sixties for our All in the Family edition of the Power Rankings as we look at the greatest TV bowlers of all time (if time stopped at about 1990 or so). These rankings are not necessarily based on pure skill talent, but on a combination of love of the game, commitment to the craft, and mastery of "bowling culture." The ultimate standard is, who would win if these people rolled 10 frames in an alley in my backyard in Pueblo, Colorado?

1) Ernest Borgnine: There can be none higher. As we discussed in our Celebrity Bowling episode, Borgnine IS bowling in our world. If Ernie didn't show up at all the matches on that show just due to a love of the game, we don't want to hear about it.

2) Hazel Burke: The eponymous 1960s sitcom established many times that Hazel was a championship-level bowler--almost to a ridiculous level sometimes until you realize she was a championship-level cook, cleaner, shopper, surrogate parent, and advice giver as well.

3) Earl Anthony: He was really good! He dominated the sport back when it was a real "thing" on network television.

4) Fred Flintstone/Barney Rubble: Hard not to rank these as a pair. The fact is, Fred earns major style points--Pete Weber may have gotten some of his showmanship from the Twinkletoes of 10-Pin--but his game is inconsistent, which might keep him from being ranked higher.

(I hope I didn't botch that Pete Weber reference.)

5) Ralph Kramden/Ed Norton: Similar to the previous entry. Hey, did you ever notice The Flintstones has a lot in common with The Honeymooners? Anyway, the quality of Ralph's bowling seems to fluctuate a bit, but he is an anchor on his team, willing to compete even when injured, and clearly sees the pastime as a lifestyle, not just a game.

6) Diane Chambers: Saved the day when Woody couldn't go by walking out out onto the lanes with nerves of steel  in a key contest with Gary's Olde Towne Tavern. 'Nuff said.

7) Al Bundy: Yes, Peggy was the one who rolled a perfect game, but that happened in 1990.

8) Howard Sprague: When we see his methodical style in The Andy Griffith Show's "Howard the Bowler," he has only recently taken up bowling, or at least he has just started working on it. Yet he is able to jump in and replace a missing team member  in a key confrontation and carry the night. When a freak occurrence interrupts the match, he then resumes his pursuit of a 300 game! Despite getting the yips, Howard shows overall mastery of the lanes in an almost Zen-like manner.

9) Laverne Difazio: One of Laverne & Shirley's earliest episodes, "Bowling for Razzberries," shows Laverne is someone who bowls a lot, is willing to use the sport as a way to settle disputes, and is confident enough in her game to teach/criticize the games of others.

10) Paul Drake: One of Perry Mason's oddest episodes is in its eighth season. "The Case of the Bullied Bowler" does not have Raymond Burr, who is replaced by Mike Connors as a vacationing lawyer visiting Paul and Della. Drake gives a cool bordering on pretentious (But it's bowling, so come on) speech about how to bowl before being interrupted. Connors' character upstages him at the alley at the end of the episode, but it could be a lucky shot. We know Paul Drake cares about and works on his form, though.

Also receiving votes:

Archie Bunker was considered, but he couldn't come through in the biggest game of his life and seemed to consider bowling as a means to an end more than a pursuit in itself.

Sam Franklin: It's tempting to pick partner Alice Nelson--After all, they both advance to the finals in the big tournament mentioned in the episode--but she thought a bowling ball was a ridiculous wedding gift, and Sam rightly pushed back. However, I get the sense Alice is the better bowler but always lets Sam win.

YouTube Spotlight: Carroll O'Connor on "The Vin Scully Show"

One of the most intriguing clips in our YouTube playlist for All in the Family is this one, an appearance star Carroll O'Connor made on The Vin Scully Show. Who even knew there WAS a show Vin hosted? This daytime chat show has a cool theme song, an opening joke by Vin, and even some short comedy segments!

The heart of it is this amusing and relaxed (Maybe too relaxed; do they really need to be sitting that close to each other?) conversation. I enjoy this clip and admire Scully's work in this format. The series only lasted about 50 episodes on CBS' daytime lineup, though (airing weekdays at 4:00 PM from January to March), so maybe Scully wasn't as good as a fit as it seems to me. The humor snippets seem forced, but Vin seems game!

Top Ten #313: Special "Hey, we just got through 6 years of this feature!" Edition

1) All in the Family: Season 12 is underway with one of the iconic TV programs of all time, a show that was top rated 5 seasons in a row. It would be ungentlemanly of me to suggest we've been top rated eleven seasons in a row, so I will stifle myself.

2) Carroll O'Connor: His remarkable performance is not just the anchor of the program, but one of the notable bodies of work in the medium's history. I mean Archie Bunker, not Chief Gillespie, but give him credit for In the Heat of the Night, too; that series lasted 7 years and multiple TV movies.

3) Jean Stapleton: Of course we had to give love to her on the podcast, too. Her Edith character didn't need to steal scenes because many times she had them from the beginning.

4) The Norman Learverse: The enthusiastic response to this week's podcast negates the growing speculation that there was "Norman Learverse fatigue" and that "Norman Lear is in trouble."

Maybe we'll have a Hot L Baltimore cameo in the next episode!

5) The Summer Olympics: 40 years ago, the television landscape was dominated by the Los Angeles Games, including track and field and basketball in prime time.

6) Boone: On a night when other broadcasters didn't bother against the Games, NBC ran out a brand-new episode of this ill-fated show that we mentioned in our NBC 1983-1984 episode.

7) Classic (or at least older) TV cartoons: Warner Brothers Discovery announced it is folding its Boomerang app into MAX, though it certainly doesn't guarantee that anything but Scooby-Doo will be on there. I don't expect to see characters like Richie Rich, Captain Caveman, and the 70s/80s Flintstones to make their way over. I mean, we're talking about a service that booted Super Friends last year.

8) Walter Cronkite: The stories of CBS Evening News altering its anchor structure only reminds us how long it has been since any single person stood out as the face of TV news.

9) National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day: I'll have two, please!

10) San Diego Comic Con reveals: People are still buzzing over the announcements. Hopefully you didn't miss out on the chance to pre-order the BOTNS Limited Edition Ultimate Fred Silverman action figure.

Show Notes and Video Playlist: Episode 12-1: All in the Family

*Welcome (back) to Battle of the Network Shows! After a lengthy break, we are here each Thursday for our 12th season, bringing you discussion about the TV of the Seventies and Eighties!

*If you are new here, thanks for joining us! Wednesdays, we post a teaser for each episode, and Thursday is the big day around here with the episode release and this Show Notes post, plus the activation of a video playlist devoted to the episode.

*All in the Family, one of the biggest sitcoms of all time, is an appropriate way to kick things off. We have discussed several other Norman Lear shows, but not the Grandaddy of Them All until this week.

*Among the sources that proved useful for this episode: The TV Guide I mention at the beginning (September 3, 1983), Dynamite #7 from 1974, LIFE Magazine's All in the Family special, and Donna McCrohan's book Archie & Edith & Mike & Gloria.

*AITF ran on CBS for 9 seasons and 205 episodes (plus several pilots). We are counting follow-up Archie Bunker's Place (4 seasons, 97 episodes) as a distinct program although some might treat it as an extension of the original.

*It was number one on prime time broadcast TV for 5 straight seasons. 57 Emmy nominations and 21 wins, and it was the first show to have its 4 leads each win one of the major acting awards.

*Hoibert Hoover, AKA Herbert, was the 31st U.S. President and is name-checked by Edith Bunker in the series' opening theme, "Those Were the Days." The song is written by Lee Adams and Charles Strouse.

*Skipping ahead, closing theme "Remembering You" is written by star Carroll O'Connor along with Roger Kellaway.

*The Story of Us, directed by Rob Reiner, is a 1999 Castle Rock dramedy starring Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer.

*Senator Sam Ervin from North Carolina was famous for leading the Senate Watergate Committee.

*Till Death Us Do Part, the British show that inspired AITF, stars Warren Mitchell as Alf Garnett, patriarch of a working-class family in London's East End. It had over 50 episodes (many missing) from 1965 to 1975 and got a reboot and a spin-off.

*Archie's chair is still on display at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

*The episode we discuss, "Archie and the Bowling Team" premiered December 16, 1972 as the 13th of the show's third season. I mention the rest of the night's TV lineup on the pod, but I did find that Bridge Over Troubled Water  is a 1970 short focusing on a Jewish philanthropy's efforts to fight poverty in New Yorck City.

*Barney is a recurring character on AITF and ABP and is played by Allan Melvin, known as Sam the Butcher on The Brady Bunch, Henshaw on Sgt. Bilko, and Magilla Gorilla on The Magilla Gorilla Show.

*Moose is played by Brad Logan, who was a recurring player on Red Skelton's show and who popped up in other shows later, like Remington Steele and Punky Brewster.

*The Bowling Theory I mention on the podcast started back in 1995 with Harvard's Robert Putman, who wrote Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of Community in America. I should mention not everyone went along with Putnam's stats and findings.

*The complete series is on DVD, and as of now the series is available on Freevee (all 9 seasons) and Pluto (2 seasons at a time).

Other specific episodes we mention on the podcast:
*Mike breaks Archie's chair: "Archie's Chair" S7 E17

*Maude's first appearance: "Cousin Maude's Visit" S2 E12

*Archie is arrested during a U.N. protest: "Archie in the Lock-Up" S2 E3

*The one where Mike brings home a board game called "Group Therapy": "The Games Bunkers Play" S4 E8

*And here is this week's video playlist! Click below for promos, award wins, commercials, music, and more!

*And remember, you can always check out our official YouTube page for all of our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!

Episode 12-1: All in the Family

To open season 12, we finally turn to the foundation of the Lear-verse, the controversial, groundbreaking, list-making, terlet-flushing all-time great All in the Family. We've got Archie, we've got Edith, we've got Gloria, and, yes, we have Meathead...with a purse! Plus one of our favorite sports as Archie tries out for an "exclusive" bowling team and learns a thing or two about the way of the world.