YouTube Spotlight: Pray for the Wildcats:

We had a lot of fun with this week's podcast, and how could we not with a cast of legends like that assembled for Pray for the Wildcats?  You can view our playlist for this episode on our official YouTube channel.  One of my favorite clips is this one:

The movie is written by Mark Medoff (adapted form his own play), who later won an Academy Award for Children of a Lesser God. I don't recognize a lot on director Milton Katselas' resume except Report to the Commissioner with Yaphet Kotto.

I tell you who I DO recognize: Hal Linden. Lee Grant. And Marjoe Gortner.

I suspect this spot is being a little selective with the names, though; higher billed are Marjoe's then wife Candy Clark, Stephanie Faracy, and Anne Ramsay (!).  It looks like Audra Lindley and Pat Hingle are in the cast, too.  And Peter Firth seems to be the guy who actually interacts with Marjoe in the actual movie!



Marjoe is even more wild-eyed here than he is in the dancing scene in Wildcats! Here is what IMDB has as a summary:

Marjoe Gortner plays a drug dealer whose car breaks down in a small U.S. town. In turn, the town's people become victim to his unique brand of physical and mental torture.


The movie is written by Mark Medoff (adapted form his own play), who later won an Academy Award for Children of a Lesser God. I don't recognize a lot on director Milton Katselas' resume except Report to the Commissioner with Yaphet Kotto.

I tell you who I DO recognize: Hal Linden. Lee Grant. And Marjoe Gortner.

I suspect this spot is being a little selective with the names, though; higher billed are Marjoe's then wife Candy Clark, Stephanie Faracy, and Anne Ramsay (!).  It looks like Audra Lindley and Pat Hingle are in the cast, too.  And Peter Firth seems to be the guy who actually interacts with Marjoe in the actual movie!

In another clip on YouTube, Marjoe's menacing Teddy tells Ryder to tie everyone up or he'll "cut off your pecker, if you have one."  Looks like a must-see!

The Pray for the Wildcats video playlist is now live!

Have you listened to this week's episode? Do you still want MORE Shatner? MORE Reed? More Andy? MORE Angie? MORE Marjoe? More dirtbiking?

Well, click below to enjoy our YouTube playlist for Pray for the Wildcats.  You'll see vintage promos, clips, and commercials with the cast of the movie, explorations of other notable TV movies, and more!

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And remember to hit our official YouTube channel for past episodes and accompanying playlists for each of them! But whatever you do...pray for the wildcats!

Show Notes: Episode 7-2: Pray for the Wildcats

*We hope you enjoy our first foray into TV movies this episode! Let us know if you'd like to hear us do more in the future!

*The ABC Movie of the Week was a staple of the primetime lineup from 1969 to 1975. This Mental Floss article lists some other notable examples if you want to check out more of the telefilms.

*Pray for the Wildcats premiered January 23, 1974 on ABC, followed by Doc Elliott (a short-lived medical drama with James Franciscus). CBS offered The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, Cannon, and Kojak.

NBC countered with Chase (the first show by Stephen J. Cannell) and The Questor Tapes (a pilot for a proposed Gene Rodenberry series). This episode of Chase featured Pat Harrington, Mel Torme, Larry Manetti, and Sherry Jackson.



*The 1974 AMA Motocross National Championship season saw Jimmy Weinert emerge on top. Sam Farragut does not appear in the official standings.

*According to Wikpedia, the movie was shot in Baja California, with a studio outside Tucscon standing in for the Mexico portions.

*It's commonly thought humans can survive several weeks in the desert without food but only several days without food.

*Click here for the Film Threat piece we mention on the podcast, complete with the reference to Andy Griffith's horrible dream!

*Wildcats received several legitimate home video releases, but a new Blu-Ray edition of the movie, complete with a new audio commentary, is on the way from Kino-Lorber, scheduled for release March 3.  So the movie is on YouTube now, but it may not be for long!

Episode 7-2: Pray For the Wildcats

We dive into the wild world of made-for-TV movies with a real whopper, Pray For the Wildcats. Ad men William Shatner, Robert Reed, and Marjoe Gortner try to seal the deal on a campaign by taking a dirt bike trip across Baja with a malevolent Andy Griffith! Plus Angie Dickinson!



Check out this episode!

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...