Promo Theatre: Man, oh, Manimal!

Anytime I see that phrase in a promo, I have to share it! Here is a spot that ran before the infamous 1983 NBC series debuted:

Top Ten #364

1) Comic Books: This entire week is a celebration of comic books, what with the big con going on, an excellent superhero movie still in theaters, and a fantastic one arriving this weekend. Notice I have not used the phrase "intellectual property."

2) Fantastic Four: Every time a big movie comes out, I hope for a new release of something that hasn't been on streaming nor DVD, and every time I am disappointed.

3) Our Time: 40 years ago tonight, NBC premiered one of the networks' many attempts in the Eighties to combine summer vibes, nostalgia, and ratings. Well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

4) Dear John: Antenna TV runs a marathon of the series today. Celebrate the hottest days of summer with one of the coolest guys on TV: Judd Hirsch! (Antenna, feel free to use that next time you do this.)

5) Baseball Hall of Fame: This weekend we celebrate the greats of the game and their standout moments, like this one:

6) National Parents Day: Today we celebrate those who have children, who are almost always right even if TV tries to make them look foolish. Tootie's dad may well have been right wanting to pull her out of Eastland.

7) Michael Nesmith in Television Parts: The last episode of this series ran 40 years ago tonight in the SNL timeslot.

8) Korean War Armistice Day: Everyone in the 4077th can go home. 

Well, I guess they might want to go back.

9) Days of Our Lives: The iconic soap opera just got renewed for two more seasons, which takes it through 63. Maybe someday it'll catch up to Gunsmoke!

10) R.I.P.: Alan Bregman, Hulk Hogan, Ozzy Osbourne, Malcom Jamal-Warner, Kenneth Washington, Chuck Mangione:

I don't remember getting this even though I grew up within walking distance of a Hardee's location

This commercial takes me right back to the days of early Eighties Spider-Man:

It sure sounds like Dan Gilvezan, then the lead voice on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, and they all look cool. I'm a little skeptical of the actual product, though. What does it actually do? I'm sure the heroes don't get up and walk around on the table, but what do they look like in the theatre?

I had to add this boxing figure to my collection

Yes, it's a Jim Lampley action figure.

This was made as part of a Rocky toy line about 20 years ago, specifically a Rocky Balboa wave. On a recent day trip, I saw this at a toy store and had to get it to add to my boxing announcers collection, which now numbers...one.  Maybe it's not as BOTNS relevant as a 1984 Olympics Lampley, but I'll take it.

However, I know there was a Brent Musburger made for a Rocky III line, and more importantly, I now know a Larry Merchant figure exists. That one is now at the top of my list. Hey, whether or not you had issues with the Rocky Balboa movie, you have to appreciate that it spawned action figures of the HBO guys (Not Harold Lederman, though, I am sad to report). 

I just need a George Foreman to put his arm around him in case there's a riot at ringside.

Top Ten #363

1) Mystery/suspense/thriller anthologies: We just concluded a poll in our Facebook group to determine which anthology show we will cover as our "retro retro" (Fifties/Sixties) program in our upcoming 13th season. We're not going to tell you what it is here, but you can rule out these series that didn't make the poll: Kraft Suspense Theater, Panic, Way Out...One Step Beyond...hey, all of those sound good. There's a lot of old TV out there, folks.

2) Knight Rider: The series comes out on 4K disc this Tuesday, which once again proves my theory: Videophiles love David Hasselhoff.

3) Peacock: You know, it takes a lot of brass to announce a huge price hike (3 bucks a month!) right after you get rid of Murder, She Wrote. I can only assume this increase is going to help cover the cost of remastering Quincy.

4) Harrison Ford: The 83-year-old icon got his first Emmy nomination this week for his work on Shrinking. It's about time considering he was SNUBBED for his role as a drifter on Dan August over 50 years ago.

5) Six Million Dollar Man: Steve Austin was off streaming for a while, and now Roku has picked up the show to join Peacock. Well, Peacock has it for now.

6) Fantasy Island: Tubi picked up the show again, long after I complained that it left, but there's a catch: It only has the first two seasons. Wow, unforeseen consequences of getting what you want? That reminds me of an old show, but I can't place my finger on it.

7) Wide World of Sports: 40 years ago today in London, Mary Decker Slaney squared off against Zola Budd in a rematch of their infamous 1984 Olympics clash. Decker won by a considerable margin in this one.

8) National Ice Cream Day: What are you going with? I could go for a good chocolate chip mint right now.

9) Poker Face: I just want to reflect on another season of the best non-Columbo Columbo show ever, and I think Natasha Lyonne's Peter Falk is almost as good, in its own way, as Kevin Pollak's.

10) The Smurfs: A new big-screen version of the characters Smurfs this weekend. If you can take the animation style and John Goodman as Papa Smurf, I hear this isn't bad for what it is. Me, I ride with Don Messick.

The BOTNS TeePublic store is having a nice sale

We don't do this often, but today we are letting you know that TeePublic has a 35% off everything sale today. That includes tees, magnets, mugs, and more! You can visit our official store right here and get a logo shirt, a Rewind Stubbs magnet, or a poster of our awesome caricatures project as designed by Art Hondros.

Don't you dare miss it!

Top Ten #362

1) Live Aid: Today is the 40th anniversary of the historic event. My memory may be a little hazy, but as I recall, the highlight was Phil Collins beating Freddie Mercury in some sort of transatlantic jet race.

2) Joey Stivic: As I posted in our Facebook group, one of the sidelights of my trip to Luray with Laurie was a glimpse of the original "physically correct" Joey Stivic doll:

3) Gilligan's Island: Also originally in our FB group: Another pic of a memento in the Toy Junction room next to historic Luray Caverns:

4) Bastille Day: Eh...I got nothing. Well, there was that episode of Family Ties where Mallory fell for her French tutor.

5) National Beans and Franks Day: That's more like it.

6) Didi Conn: Happy birthday!

7) Barry Diller: The former head of Paramount, also credited with creating the Movie of the Week while at ABC, is promoting a new memoir. 

8) Mork and Mindy: Antenna has a marathon of the show today. We talk about the series here.

9) Strange New World: This TV movie (Hey, maybe Diller writes about it!) aired 50 years ago tonight on ABC. It's another of those Seventies Gene Rodenberry movies that were designed to launch a series:

10) MLB All-Star Game: One of my favorite events back in the day, the Midsummer Classic returns this week.