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:
Charlie Brown has excitement, but so does NBC, and it's NON-STOP!
Here is something cool they used to do: AFI tributes to classic movie stars. I guess there aren't many classic movie stars around these days.
Comedy tonight on ABC! I love Tony's face in the Who's da Boss ad. And is that Susan Lucci? Looks like an ad for License to Drive or one of those other teen 80s movies.
It's time to go inside the Guide once again as we travel back 40 years to the edition dated (and covering) May 4-May 10, 1985. On the cover is personal favorite Phoebe Cates, then appearing in Lace II and a first-ballot member if we ever made an Eighties Trinity of Movie Brunettes:
ABC has what promises to be a WACKY hour of television. Interesting to me: The blurb in the listings mentions Milton Berle and Mary Cadorette, yet neither are in this display ad:
Opposing Life's Most Embarrassing Moments on NBC is this interesting-looking episode of Knight Rider:
On premium cable, TV Guide celebrates the debut of 1984's Police Academy, which is on both HBO and Showtime. That sort of thing happened more often than you might think back in the days before almost all studios locked into certain outlets.
Here's an intriguing close-up/ad combo. This NBC movie was the prelude to the full-fledged revival of the series in Fall 1985:
2) May the 4th: Celebrate the world of Star Wars all day today! I wish I could have a big bowl of this to mark the occasion:
3) Free Comic Book Day: Yesterday was the annual event in which people line up to get into stores they never visit during the year because FREE! I got a nice stack of freebies and old dollar comics, including this 1987 issue:
4) Kojak: Tubi added the iconic 1970s cop show to its library, meaning after years of MIA status on streaming, it's now on two outlets. It's good to have it on Tubi, both because it's free and because Prime Video has a tendency to license shows for short periods of time.
5) One Day at a Time: Tubi also added this sitcom, but only the first two seasons. Unfortunately, that's standard procedure for Sony (I assume it's not Tubi's choice to license only a few seasons at a time). Don't you realize that it lessens the chance of Mike and and I ever doing this on the podcast, Sony? What would Norman Lear think? Or, uh, what did he think, since this was happening while he was around?
6) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Mike pointed out this week that Chubby Checker now adds this honor to his Batty win. Other winners include Eighties megastar Cyndi Lauper.
7) Hawaii Five-0: I watched another 70s cop show episode based on our friend John's recommendation in our Facebook group, and "Two Doves and a Heron" is a doozy. There is some very interesting work by pre-fame John Ritter, a striking turn from Vic Morrow, and some flirtation with "social relevance" that is resolved in a very establishment-affirming manner.
8) American Video Awards: 40 years ago this weekend, stations around the country aired the third edition of this syndicated awards program. Casey Kasem was one of the big drivers of this event's creation. In 1985, bug winners were Weird Al and Cyndi Lauper and Huey Lewis & the News. Michael Jackson won a few lesser awards but didn't bother showing up. Instead, sister Rebbie accepted on his behalf. What a substitiution!
9) At the Movies: Also 40 years ago this weekend, Siskel and Ebert devoted a show to "Flex, Pecs, and Sex," "a look at muscles in the movies." The show asked, "Are the results worth the sweat?"
