My Favorite Things Week #4/Brooks on Books: This Day in Game Show History by Adam Nedeff

I must confess I got a lot of great books in 2022 that I have not been able to read yet, but for today's post I am reviewing something that I DID read and something filled with info about Seventies and Eighties TV: This Day in Game Show History by Adam Nedeff From BearManor media.

It's actually 4 books because, presumably to keep down page count and price, each volume contains 3 months at a time, one chapter/entry for each calendar day of the year. In truth, the paperbacks are still pretty expensive, but I purchased the digital versions. Game show historian Nedeff delivers a fun daily read that could be pored through with ease, though I kept discipline and didn't jump ahead. Using the calendar gimmick as a starting point, he creates a history of games shows. I can't think of any major examples that aren't represented somehow; even though he uses this format and not a conventional encyclopedic format, Nedeff covers so much in here.

For example, just looking at, oh, let's say Volume 2, April-June. May 4, 1987 is the premiere of Classic Concentration, a logical opportunity to discuss the NBC revival of the old classic. The day before that, though, yields May 3, 1955, the date on which Twenty Questions ends, and so we get a history of that radio/TV program.

Birthdays are commemorated as well, of course, as on April 27, the date Casey Kasem entered the world. The legendary DJ didn't have a big presence in this area, but Nedeff tells the story of his super-rare (only a test run in 4 cities) 1999 show 100%.  Deaths get entries as well, and then there are some quirkier choices, like April 10, when Dr. Salk tested the polio vaccine. This is a pathway into talking about Bill Cullen's efforts in dealing with polio.

Many entries are ways to get various bits of info into the book. Take April 9, the debut of TV Guide. Nedeff lists all the issues of the magazine with game-show-themed covers. Leafing through this volume now, I see all kinds of interesting facts, like that Norman Lear hosted a revival of Quiz Kids in 1981 for CBS Cable. And wouldn't you like to see ESPN Plus add episodes of 1988's NFL Trivia Game, hosted by Gabe Kaplan?

Some entries are quite short, others a bit longer, but all are compelling. Nedeff draws from a variety of sources including interviews, contemporary reports, and more, and supplements it all with a wide variety of photos. What could be a haphazard or lazy effort becomes a treasure of trove of info for game show and TV history fans.

My Favorite Things Week #3: YouTube channels!

Favorite "Official" YouTube channel of 2022: Letterman

This could have been a fiasco. In fact, I am guilty of assuming, as soon as Don Giller announced he was stopping updating his channel and becoming a consultant for this official channel, that it would be a net loss for the fans. On the contrary, this has been an incredible resource, a channel that proves that sometimes there is value in "curation."

Every now and then, the channel does post full classic episodes, but it's mostly great vintage clips from the NBC and CBS years. However, it's not just clips. It is clear there is thought behind all of this. For example, they posted Darlene Love singing "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home") this season, but they also put up a supercut of the annual show tradition over the years. Showing not just the singing but Letterman coming over each time and thanking her with apparent sincerity makes for a touching experience.

Clips are selected to match current events and occasions like holidays, but they also do other interesting things on the account. The running series of people involved with the show (mostly writers but others as well) is a highlight, with insightful comments and memories from the folks who were there. And of course every now and then Dave himself drops in for a brief comment or chat. Plus Giller shows up in the comments sometimes with tidbits and context. Overall, this is an essential for any fan and also a prolific, worthy tribute to the show's legacy

My Favorite Things Week #2: Streaming!

Favorite streamer of 2022 (paid): Peacock

Yeah, this is a surprise, but if you look at minutes watched, I think I spent more time per week on here than on any other paid streamer. Laurie and I still enjoy Murder Monday every week, even if I have been lax about writing it.  Then there was Little House for Season 10, and I watched my share of old-school wrestling on the WWE Network section.

The only dumb thing Peacock did was dropping Rockford Files. Well, and not getting Kolchak. And of course...

OK, it's not perfect, but it's good value when you are on a promotional deal!

Favorite streamer of 2022 (free): YouTube

Yeah, gotta be YouTube, which offers not just the heart and soul of old TV (at least until copyright police remove it), but the GUTS--the vintage ads, promos, bumpers, tel-ops, and more that made up the experience of actually watching TV in the Seventies and Eighties. YouTube is both the most frustrating and rewarding platform out there, and you have to watch what you want right away just in case, but I could live off this alone.

I don't want to, but I could.

My Favorite Things Week 2022 #1!

Hello again, friends! To close 2022 on a positive note, I am going to share a few notes this week about some of my favorite things of this past year. You know how the song goes: "Taxi and Cheers, but no so much Wings; these are a few of my favorite things!" Something like that.

I apologize for stepping outside the BOTNS timeline, but today's items are Sixities-centric!

Favorite DVD: Jackie Gleason's TV Treasures: 70th Anniversary Collection from MPI: It is rare these days that I find out about something, pre-order it right away (not worrying at all about the reviews, quality, etc.) and tear into it as soon as it arrives, but this was my most anticipated set of the year. The collection of segments from, for the most part, American Scene Magazine and other 1960s Gleason programs is far from perfect, and it does leave you wanting more. I hope we GET more! Music clearances are the presumed reason for so few complete episodes of the Gleason variety programs, but keep working on it, MPI.

Favorite streaming add: I loved seeing Night Court on FreeVee beginning December 2021, but my favorite and most unexpected addition to a streamer was Tubi dropping 4 episodes of the aforementioned American Scene Magazine program (the syndicated half-hour cutdown version). I loved these so much I even asked Tubi if more was on the way. Of course, I didn't get any real info, but they knew that I enjoyed the show. 

American Scene used to air on WOR-NY when I was a kid, but I don't think this material has been in "official" circulation much in the last, say, 30-some years. I'd love to think that more rare Gleason material is on the way in 2023, but with the "throw everything out there" approach of the DVD (Don't get me wrong; I appreciate all of it) and the presence of only 4 episodes on Tubi ("a mere bag of shells, as Ralph Kramden would say), I fear this is it for now. I enjoyed what I got, though!

To bring this into the BOTNS era, I was gifted a collection of the 1970s Honeymooners specials and sat on the Christmas episodes for months. I finally watched them this weekend, including the Christmas Carol, and enjoyed them very much!