1) Mulligan Stew: Our podcast topic this week is this charming, eccentric live-action kidvid series from the Seventies. Maybe you learned something! We sure did. Just check out item 4.
2) Thanksgiving: Hope all who celebrated the U.S. holiday were able to have an enjoyable and festive weekend.
3) Macys Day Parade: I spent some time on the holiday watching the 2025 version, yes, but I also saw some of this edition hosted by Lorne Greene and Betty White:
4) Pizza: All hail the king of all foods according to Mulligan Stew. At least that's how we interpreted it. Pizza contains all the food groups!
5) Football: If only someone could figure out a safe and easy way to deep-fry a football, this holiday weekend would be perfect.
6) Teddy Ruxpin: The lovable and cuddly old bear debuted on ABC's Weekend Special 40 years ago today. I don't remember how much that toy cost when it came out, but I know that in today's money, it would be...even worse.
7) David Letterman's Holiday Film Festival: It wasn't all Saturday Night's Main Event when SNL took a break back then. 40 years ago tonight, Dave took over the 11:30 timeslot and presented films with Michael Keaton, Harry Shearer, Bette Midler, and more!
8) McCoy: 50 years ago tonight, the second episode of Tony Curtis' short-lived NBC Mystery Movie series aired, and it starred BOTNS fave Nita Talbot.
9) Dick Clark: Today is the late icon's birthday. He would have been 18, of course.
10) Ed McMahon: He's still the king of the holiday!
Due to the nature of this week's subject, Mulligan Stew, we don't have the usual assortment of material in our official video playlist. We do have some interesting nutrition-related clips, though, and a look at another educational program that aired on PBS stations.
Thinkabout, according to Wikipedia, was a Canadian/U.S. production from the Agency for Instructional Television in 1979. It aired well into the Eighties, though.
I didn't remember this one at all until coming across this clip and watching some other videos on YouTube. Maybe you saw it in the classroom or on your local PBS station back in the day.
We don't want you to miss our brand-new episode today, but we also want to share our traditional Thanksgiving favorite with you. Have a great holiday, everyone!
*I can't find the other series mentioned in the above article: 1986's "Blue sky below my feet adventures in space technology" from 4-H and NASA.
*Leesburg is in Loudon County in Northern Virginia, about 40 miles from Washington D.C.
*Please enjoy our video playlist for this episode with nutritional PSAs, commercials, and more! We put all 6 Mulligan Stew episodes at the front of the list, so just skip through if you don't want to watch all of them. Click below to go right to the list, or you can always visit our official YouTube page for all of our past episodes and similar lists for each one of them!
Just in time for Thanksgiving, we whip an episode about Mulligan Stew, the little-remembered but perhaps oft-seen early seventies show about healthy eating habits. Most of the kids of Mulligan Stew fall prey to the easy appeal of the Flim-Flam Man's fad diets, and only Mulligan and Wilbur can save them. Along the way, they sing some songs and teach us such vaulable lessons as 4-4-3-2, VITAMIN D FOR HEALTHY BONES AND TEETH, and meat comes from hogs!
One of the clips in this week's playlist for Kate and Allie is this promo for an issue of TV Guide.
I wish there were more of these ads where the cover subjects touted their own appearances in the issues. Usually we'd get a rundown of the contents, maybe a jingle, but not the stars themselves telling us to check it out! I wonder how far in advance this was planned. It would be great to hear Susan and Jane say, "And check out Robert MacKenzie's review of The Rousters!"
I was thinking about this week's subject, Kate and Allie, and pondering what would the world be like if it were named Allie and Kate? In my opinion, not that much different! However, Son and Sanford would be an abject disaster, and such a program would have flamed out and made NBC's 1970s even tougher.
So, then, we rank 10 shows of the BOTNS era that would not lose if the titular names were reversed. the course of TV history would not have changed. If you're thinking the trick is to have the old "one syllable name, conjunction, then two-syllable name" pattern, well, I ask you? What about Hutch and Starsky? Would that sound right?
Well, anything Ernie Anderson said in 1977 sounded right, but you get my meaning.
This list reflects how these reworked show titles would fare on a neutral field in Schenectady, New York.
1) Simon and Simon: Call me crazy, but...I think it sounds better this way.
2) TV's Practical Jokes and Bloopers: I mean, I think I said it this way a half-dozen times on the podcast, so...
3) Marie and Donny: Ladies first, right? I believe it's somewhat gallant to put Marie first. Sonny and Cher and Captain and Tennille are fine, though, because it's like you're rewarded for putting up with the first name.
4) Shirley and Laverne: Would this reversal intensify their feud or lessen it? I'm not sure.
5) Mindy and Mork: No problem at all with "leading up to" Mork.
6) Lacey and Cagney: I think only their agents would care.
7) Tina and Mr. T: The show was doomed to begin with, or was it? There's something pleasing about doing it this way instead of as Mr. T and Tina. I'm not sure what it is, but it's there.
8) Makepeace and Dempsey: I'm no expert on this British show, but does this lose anything? Absolutely not.
9) Alice and Ted and Carol and Bob: I'm gonna wager that unless you were of moviegoing age when the feature film was released, you'd need a minute or two to get the order right anyway for the 1973 ABC adaptation.
10) Alias Jones and Smith: I mean, how can it matter? They're aliases!
Also receiving votes: Bones and Fitz, Hart to Hart, McCormick and Hardcastle, Company and Charlie.
1) Allie & Kate: Yes, the subject of this week's podcast is actually Kate and Allie, but what's wrong with mixing it up every now and then?
2) Susan St. James and Jane Curtin: And I am only putting her first because the Emmys put Curtin first by giving her two Emmys.
3) Deli: Coming out of "Kate's Friend," which we focus on in our Kate and Alliei discussion, who doesn't enjoy a good assortment of deli meats (unless there is some kind of health, philosophical, or religious reason)?
5) The Legend of Valentino: Maybe you're not interested in Rudolph Valentino, the subject of this TV movie that debuted 50 years ago tonight. Well, how can you not be interested in this cast? Franco Nero has the title role, and he's joined by Suzanne Pleshette, Yvette Mimieux, Milton Berle, Lesley Ann Warren, and Judd Hirsch!
6) National Cashew Day: Still my favorite of all nuts.
7) Columbus Circle: 40 years ago today, ABC premiered this Weekend Special comedy which features Nancy Walker in a supporting role as a New York City bag lady.
8) Johnny Mandel: It's the 100th birthday of the composer of the theme from MASH.
9) Open All Night: A couple recent videos by Paul Van Scott have me thinking about this short-lived but very funny (as I remember) ABC sitcom starring George Dzunda. Johnny Mandel had nothin' on this theme!
10) R.I.P.: Bob Caudle, longtime wrestling announcer; and Ralph Senetsky, who died several weeks ago at the age of 102 (!) and left behind a great website, a lot of sharp memories, and an amazing resume of TV direction.
*Kate and Allie aired 6 seasons, 1984-1989, Monday nights on CBS, for a total of 122 episodes. It was a top-20 show for its first 4 and a top-10 series in its short first season.
*If you want to check out our McMillan and Wife episode, go here. You will find our original-cast Saturday Night Live episode here.
*The Weekly Reader publication Laurie spotted is 1986's Cosby, Punky, Kate and Allie. Much to my amazement, it's a hardcover.
*"Rear Window" is in the series' second season.
*The episode with "lesbian panic/misunderstandings" we mention is Season 2's "Landlady."
*"Along Comes a Friend" by John Loeffler is the series' theme song.
*"Kate's Friend" premiered December 16, 1985 as the tenth episode of the series' third season.
*Season 3's "Too Late the Rebel" is the episode with Fran Brill and Ben Stiller.
*Walt Simonson's run on the Thor comic book lasted from 1983-1987, with him writing and drawing for most of it.
*The would-be pilot Mike mentions with Andrea Martin is "Stage Mother" in Season 4. Martin and the setting also appear in the next episode, "The Goodbye Girl." The Lindsay Wagner episode is "Late Bloomer," the finale of the third season.
*Kate becomes Joe Namath's assistant in Season 5's "The Namath of the Game."
*Season 5's "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" is when Allie is mistaken for a homeless person.
*"Reruns" in Season 4 has the tribute to I Love Lucy.
*"Gift of the Magi" is also in Season 4.
Please enjoy our video playlist for this episode with promos, intros, commercials, and more! It also contains the full special that we discuss on the podcast. Click below to go right to it, or you can always visit our official YouTube page for all of our past episodes and similar lists for each one of them!
Things get iffy between everyone's favorite single-mom roommates Kate and Allie when Kate's demanding college friend moves in for an extended stay. Allie tries to handle it with aplomb because she's "just great!" Plus, a cool T-shirt and a lively guest star turn as a bartender, so get yourself some authentic New York bread and deli, pop on your headphones, and remember just when you think you're all by yourself you're not.
1) Program lineups: We had a great time counting down our choices for the best lineups in the BOTNS era! Back to our regular format next week, but we thank you for the kind words and reactions!
We focused on primetime broadcast, but there are all kinds of other lineups, too, of course:
2) Fred Silverman: We can't talk about programming and lineups in the BOTNS era without talking about The Man with the Golden Gut. He may not have always directed each program schedule, but I still think however much we mentioned him on the podcast this week, it wasn't enough!
3) Donny and Marie Osmond Show: 50 years ago tonight, a Donny and Marie special aired on ABC, and it was in essence a pilot for the famous variety show we discussed in our Season 12. In this one, the Osmonds welcomed Bob Hope, Paul Lynde, and Lee Majors.
You know who was instrumental in the siblings getting a weekly series? That's right: Fred Silverman.
4) Joe's World: This great YT account is uploading episodes, and I am enjoying this rare NBC sitcom built around Ramon Bieri. The theme song is a classic, and wait till you see who wrote it!
Why was Clint Eastwood never on The Love Boat? Scheduling conflicts, I guess.
6) The Golden Girls: ABC broadcast a new anniversary special this week, and while I haven't seen it, I am sure it was a celebration of the series, a salute to its legacy, and a chance for us all to laugh about how much younger the stars were than we perceived.
7) Sanford and Son/One Day at a Time: Antenna TV announced the series will join its lineup in January. Did Fred Silverman have anything to do with this?
8) National Fast Food Day: Wellllll, I don't usually indulge, but since it's a holiday, I could be persuaded.
9) Lisa Bonet: Happy birthday to someone who is older than all the Golden Girls were when that series started. OK, I told myself I wasn't gonna do that...
No Power Rankings this week since yesterday's episode is a ranking, but it's a good day to talk about a scheduling quirk I spotted the other day. One of my go-to stations when I was a youth, WNEW in New York, did something interesting for a while:
Yes, they showed Three's Company at 6:00 P.M. weeknights, and then they followed it with Man About the House. As the above promo notes, the station paired reruns of the smash American remake with its British predecessor.
I think this is an interesting decision. I do remember seeing Three's Company on Channel 5 as a kid--quite often--but I don't remember Man About the House being on, let alone back to back with the remake like that. Does anyone out there remember their local stations doing something similar with, say, Sanford and Son, All in the Family, or other United-States-produced sitcoms based on Britcoms?
*We hope you enjoy this subjective examination of the network lineups of the BOTNS era. We'd love to hear from you if we missed or misranked anything! We'd love even more if you told us we nailed it.
*Remember the factors I mention on the pod: pop culture relevance, critical appeal, collective memory, ratings and commercial success, flow, my own personal experience, longevity, and of course just what I felt like when compiling the list.
*Below, we list the rankings as we revealed them on the podcast. If you want to follow along and not have the list spoiled, please listen first, then come back here!
(Shows listed from 8:00 to 11:00, from start to finish)
10) CBS Monday Night 1979:
White Shadow, MASH, WKRP, Lou Grant.
Honorable mention: CBS Sunday Night (1979, 1980, 1981): 60 Minutes, Archie Bunker's Place, One Day at a Time, Alice, The Jeffersons, Trapper John M.D.
Honorable mention: ABC Tuesday Night (1977): Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Three's Company, Soap, Family
7) CBS Thursday Night (1976, 1977, 1978, 1979): The Waltons, Hawaii Five-0, Barnaby Jones
6) ABC Saturday Night (1982, 1983):
T.J. Hooker, Love Boat, Fantasy Island
5) CBS Thursday Night (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985): Magnum P.I., Simon and Simon, Knots Landing
4) ABC Friday Night (1971, 1972): The Brady Bunch; The Partridge Family; Room 222; The Odd Couple; Love, American Style
3) CBS Friday Night (1979, 1980, 1981): The Incredible Hulk, The Dukes of Hazzard, Dallas
Honorable mention: CBS Friday Night (1982, 1983, 1984):
The Dukes of Hazzard, Dallas, Falcon Crest
2) NBC Thursday Night (1984, 1985, 1986): The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court, Hill Street Blues
Honorable mention: NBC Thursday Night (1988, 1989):
The Cosby Show, A Different World, Cheers, Dear John, L.A. Law
1) CBS Saturday Night (1973):
All in the Family, MASH, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, The Carol Burnett Show
Honorable mention: CBS Saturday Night (1972): All in the Family, Bridget Loves Bernie, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Mission Impossible
Bonus selections (Some lineups of interest that didn't make the list):
The worst lineup? NBC Friday Night (1983):
Mr. Smith, Jennifer Slept Here, Manimal, For Love and Honor
Click here for our episode talking about NBC's disastrous 1983-84 season!
More honorable mentions:
ABC Monday Night (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983): That's Incredible, Monday Night Football
CBS Sunday Night (1986-1994): 60 Minutes; Murder, She Wrote; CBS Sunday Night Movie
In case people wonder about the ABC TGIF phenomenon:
ABC Friday Night (1989):
Full House, Family Matters, Perfect Strangers, Just the Ten of Us, 20/20
ABC Friday Night (1988):
Perfect Strangers, Full House, Mr. Belvedere, Just the Ten of Us, 20/20
CBS Monday Night (1987): Frank's Place, Kate and Allie, Newhart, Designing Women, Cagney and Lacey
NBC Wednesday Night (1980):
Real People, Diff'rent Strokes, Facts of Life, Quincy
ABC Tuesday Night (1987):
Who's the Boss, Growing Pains, Moonlighting, Thirtysomething
ABC Tuesday Night (1988): Who's the Boss, Roseanne, Moonlighting, Thirtysomething
NBC Friday Night (1974): Sanford and Son, Chico and the Man, Rockford Files, Police Woman
ABC Wednesday Night 1976: Bionic Woman, Baretta, Charlie's Angels
CBS Monday Night 1974:
Gunsmoke, Maude, Rhoda, Medical Center
CBS Wednesday Night (1973):
Sonny and Cher, Cannon, Kojak
NBC Thursday Night (1972):
Flip Wilson Show, Ironside (sometimes Bob Hope), The Dean Martin Show
Please enjoy our video playlist for this episode with promos touting most of the top 10 lineups! We even kick it off with a tribute to...flow? Click below to go right to it, or you can always visit our official YouTube page for all of our past episodes and similar lists for each one of them!
We've talked about a lot of great shows over the course of the podcast, and sometimes, we've mentioned great lineups that dominated a particular night and era or even single season. This week, we go more in depth with a completely subjective list of the top 10 greatest TV lineups of the BOTNS era. Using strict criteria, Rick compled this list, and he justifies his choices. Mike pipes in with his two cents. Expect a few suprises and maybe even a controversy or two along the way.
1) The Heights: We had a departure from the usual format and talked TV star heights this week--not career heights, but "actual" heights. I say "actual" because when it comes to celebrity info, can we really trust any of it? I'm pretty sure the dog from Here's Boomer was fudging his vitals to get roles.
By the way, since I mentioned her on the show but she wasn't in the book, Farrah Fawcett's listed height was 5'6" (including her hair, I guess)?
2) TV Superstars '81: Our thanks again to this fine book from Weekly Reader publications for providing the impetus for this week's episode! In a world of cheap tie-in paperbacks geared to the scholastic market, this one stood tall.
Too much?
3) Saturday Night Live: 40 years ago tonight, Saturday Night Live started a new era with guest Madonna and a new cast. The era did not last.
4) Good Morning America: The ABC show celebrated its 50th anniversary this past week, including visits with the likes of OG hosts David Hartman and Nancy Dussault.
5) Doug Henning Project: After last week's World of Magic episode, we received a kind message from Neil at that great website, and we appreciate the shout-out and the link. Keep up the good work in maintaining that legacy!
6) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Congratulations to the inductees next week, including former WWF manager Cyndi Lauper!
7) Darkroom: I have not been able to listen yet, but Chris Cooling's Forgotten TV podcast is always a treat, and the latest installment explores short-lived anthology Darkroom. I'll just remind everyone that if you haven't yet done so, you can hear Mike and I focus on a specific episode right here.
8) Night of 100 Stars: I also didn't hear Ian Talks Comedy's latest episode, but he does a watchalong of this awesome special that we talk about on the pod here. Can't wait to hear Ian's thoughts!
9) Risky Business: 40 years ago tonight, CBS aired this popular Tom Cruise movie, which seems like a total mismatch for CBS--now, 1985, ever.
Here's a closer look at the original paperback that spawned our game on this week's podcast! It's TV Superstars '81 by Ronald W. Lackmann from Weekly Reader Books. I got this one for a few books at a great used books store.
New from the BOTNS Games Lab: The Celebrity Height Game! Mike has to guess if the celebrity heights listed in one Rick's vintage books match the "official" heights listed on IMDB! Can you get this kind of action anywhere else?
1) Doug Henning: This week on the podcast, we discussed the magician and his popular NBC specials. As we say, he was huge in the BOTNS era, and it was cool to remember him and check out some of those programs.
2) Daylight Savings Time: It's the good one, as we all gain an extra hour, almost as if by...magic. Hey, you don't suppose this is the handiwork of...
3) Joey Heatherton and Michael Landon: We salute the guest stars on Henning's second World of Magic special. Joey could have guested on Little House, maybe as a substitute teacher who catches the eye of all the men in Walnut Grove (except Charles, who of course treats her with dignity and acts normally) and the ire of their jealous wives.
4) Candy: Maybe you have a lot sitting around the house after Halloween. Maybe you don't. Either way, wouldn't some candy taste good right about now?
5) It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: If you didn't get candy, hopefully you at least didn't get a rock. During my annual viewing this weekend, I reflected that when I watched it on CBS growing up, I don't think I noticed that you could see the rock go into Charlie's bag with such clarity at each house they visited.
6) The Six Million Dollar Man: Check out the description, courtesy of Ultimate70s.com, of "One of Our Running Backs Is Missing" from 50 years ago tonight: Steve Austin is caught in the middle when a star football player is kidnapped as part of a betting swindle
Plus it has Larry Csonka, Dick Butkus, and Carl Weathers! I gotta see this one.
7) Puzzlers: Laurie and I watched this Sajak-hosted rarity courtesy of the awesome Game Show Vault. It's a very young Sajak with a rather airy contestant.
8) Stefanie Powers: Happy birthday to the Hart to Hart star!
9) Saturday Night's Main Event: 40 years ago tonight (aired but taped earlier), Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant faced King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd at Hersheypark Arena in Pennsylvania.
10) Sammy and Company: I get a kick out of Sammy's guest list in this episode that ran in syndication 50 years ago: Carroll O'Connor, Waylon Jennings, Vicki Lawrence, Willie Tyler & Lester. I'm sure they all got together for regular bridge games after this.
This week, we talk about Doug Henning's World of Magic specials on NBC. Our video playlist has all kinds of ads and promos, but today let's look at this clip:
I believe this is an extract taken from a special talking about unsold pilots. That is indeed what this Mandrake is. The 1979 production from Universal aired on NBC January 24, 1979.
Anthony Herrara plays the titular magician, who dates back to 1934's King Features comic strip. This somewhat snide clip doesn't highlight the rest of the cast: BOTNS favorite Gretchen Corbett, James Hong, Robert Reed, and Harry Blackstone!
The full movie is available on YouTube if you are interested.
