Season 11 Battys by the Numbers

Here is a summary of  the 11th Battys by the number of awards won per show:

Dallas: 5
Night Court: 3
The Littlest Hobo: 3
227: 3 (including the Genius Award)
The Rifleman: 2
Sonny and Cher:1
Dennis the Menace: 1
Starsky and Hutch: 1
ABC's Star-Spangled Celebration: 1
Entertainment Tonight: 1
MASH: 0
Hart to Hart: 0
Exo-Man: 0
(Does not include special listener award for First Camera for the 1983 NBC episode)

So is Dallas the big winner by virtue of taking the most Battys? Or is it Night Court, which won several itself but also (it can be argued) the biggest one (Best Show)?

A few more miscellaneous numbers of note:

Shows pulled from Amazon Prime after we had booked them for our schedule: 3 (227, Hart to Hart, Starsky and Hutch)

(Clearing up something that came up on the podcast) Battys won by Burt Reynolds before the Season 11 awards: 1. In Season 2, His Burtness guested on The Golden Girls and lost for Best Facial Hair to Tom Selleck.

Number of times an imperious J.R. made vague threats about foreclosing on us before realizing that we were doing the show at his ranch: 1

Approximate percentage of times I see Lucas McCain glare towards the camera in The Rifleman opening and temporarily worry that Chuck Connors is mad at me: 60

Number of appearances by Radar in "Bless You Hawkeye" 0 (We had some confusion about this on the Battys)

Number of bailiffs we lost during this season: 0

Number of times special Batty winner NBC's First Camera finished in last place in the ratings in its first 5 weeks on the air: 5

Two more special unoffical Season 11 Battys

The following are two personal but unofficial Batty Awards I want to give out for Season 11.

As I have mentioned, I read multiple books in preparation for/in conjunction with this past season. The nominees for Outstanding Season 11 Book Rick Read are:

A Prime-Time Life by Aaron Spelling with Jefferson Graham

MASH: The Ultimate Guidebook by Ed Solomonson and Mark O'Neill

MASH: The Exclusive Inside Story of TV's Most Popular Show by David S. Reiss

Various Dennis the Menace collections by miscellaneous creators

The Sweeps: A Year in the Life of a Television Network by Cameron Stauth and Mark Christensen

Starsky and Hutch (A Golden All-Star Book)

Dallas: The Complete Story of the World's Favorite Soap by Barbara S. Curran

And the Batty goes to...

The Sweeps! This contemporary account of the 1983-1984 TV season is a television history book so good and so impactful that I regret not knowing about it sooner. Yet it was an invaluable resource for our special '83 NBC episode. It is not just insightful, though; it is one of the most entertaining TV books you will find. It is worth tracking down a used copy and adding it to your library.

Next up, I want to praise a DVD set. We watch the shows we cover by various means: streaming, home media, maybe sometimes over the air/cable sources. In this season, we made good use of an older DVD set I bought used:

The Batty for Outstanding Season 11 DVD Set Rick Watched goes to...

The Sonny and Cher Ultimate Collection (3-DVD set)

This 2004 set is an excellent compilation of various episodes of the different incarnations of Sonny and Cher. There are bigger collections and different versions, but this one gives you a good look at the show (one you can supplement with online uploads, many of them from old TV Land showings) with complete episodes. The old shot-on-video show isn't gonna look great on your giant HD TV, but the material is the thing.

Also, the set has a generous selection of extras, including selected scene commentary from Cher herself and a revealing set of interviews with producers Allen Blye and Chris Bearde. Anytime you see Paul Brownstein's name on a disc set, you can expect some bonus material, and this is no exception. I believe the set is out of print, but you can still find it at a cheap price if you don't want one of the pricy Time Life box sets.

Batty Awards Season 11: In Memoriam

As is tradition, we publish the list of those we lost during Season 11. Please note this is not intended to be a comprehensive list and that we honor all of those 1970s and 1980s TV figures who died over the course of our recent season.

Michael Lerner

Billy Seluga

Newton Minnow

Tina Turner

George Maharis

The Iron Sheik

Barry Newman

Tony Bennett

Inga Swenson

Terry Funk

Arlene Sorkin

Bob Barker

Paul Reubens

David McCallum

Michael Gambon

Dick Butkus

Lara Parker

Suzanne Somers

Richard Roundtree

Burt Young

Peter S. Fischer

Richard Moll

Marty Krofft

Norman Lear

Season 11 Battys: Complete List of Nominees and Winners

We hope you enjoyed the Season 11 Batty Awards! Thanks to all of you for listening and maybe even participating via the Listener Choice prizes! Thanks as well to the good folks at Southfork Ranch for hosting us! For reference, here is a list of all the categories and the winners in bold. SPOILERS if you haven't heard the podcast yet!

OUTSTANDING DUO (VOTED BY LISTENERS): Sonny and Cher (Sonny and Cher), John Tesh and Mary Hart (Entertainment Tonight), Jonathan and Jennifer Hart (Hart to Hart), Starsky and Hutch (Starsky and Hutch), Bobby and Pam Ewing (Dallas), Robert Urich and Oprah (Star-Spangled Celebration)

OUTSTANDING YOUTH:  The Mute (Littlest Hobo), The Mime (Littlest Hobo), Jay North (Dennis the Menace), Johnny Crawford (Rifleman), Regina King (227), Charlene Tilton (Dallas), P.B. (Dennis the Menace)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE AS ONESELF: Leonard Maltin (ET), John Tesh (ET), Ron Hendren (ET), Sonny Bono (Sonny and Cher), Cher (Sonny and Cher), Burt Reynolds (ET), Suzanne Somers (Star-Spangled), Yakov Smirnoff (Star-Spangled)

OUTSTANDING HAIR: Ron Hendren (ET), Markie Post (Night Court), Stefanie Powers (H2H), Cher (Sonny and Cher), Paul Michael Glaser (S&H), Victoria Principal (Dallas), Jay North (DTM), Atlantic Starr (Star-Spangled)

OUTSTANDING FACIAL HAIR: Leonard Maltin (ET), Mike Farrell (MASH, Hal Williams (227), Franlin Cover (227), Mark Twain (DTM), Arcade owner (Hobo)

BIGGEST DOPE: Amnesiac Jonathan Hart (H2H), Susan Nimoy as Susan Kendall (H2H) (Note: We didn't mention the character name on the pod and do not mean to indicate the actress herself is a dope), Brian George as Jonathan Forsythe (227) (Note: Ditto), Thugs (Hobo)

OUTSTANDING HEEL:  Steve Kanaly (Dallas), Cranky arcade owner (Hobo), Brian Stokes Mitchell (Night Court), Charles Lane (DTM), Irene Tedrow (DTM)

OUTSTANDING VILLAIN: Jose Ferrer (Exo-Man), John McLiam as the murderous professor (NOTE: His name is Jennings; Bellamy was another guy in the episode) (S&H), Nature (The Rifleman), Jack Ging (H2H), Larry Hagman (Dallas)

OUTSTANDING NON-HUMAN: The Littlest Hobo (Hobo), Robot (DTM), Gateway Arch (Star-Spangled), Gran Torino (S&H) Buzzards (Rifelman), Freeway (H2H)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORT STAFF: Antonio Fargas (S&H), Lionel Stander (H2H), Jamie Farr (MASH), A. Martinez (Exo-Man), Jack Colvin (Exo-Man)
NOTE: Radar was not in the episode!

MOST RIDICULOUS PREMISE OF THE 1983 NBC FALL SCHEDULE (VOTED BY LISTENERS): Man turns himself into various animals (Manimal), 60 Minutes is vulnerable enough that we can program another newsmagazine against it (First Camera), a superintelligent oragnutan becomes a government operative (Mr. Smith), two single guys hire a goregeous live-in maid for their apartment (We Got It Made), a glamorous deceased movie star comes back as a ghost to mentor a teenage boy (Jennifer Slept Here), Wyatt Earp's descendants work as carnival rousters and bounty hunters (The Rousters).

NOTE: 3-way tie between Mr. Smith, First Camera, and We Got It Made in the listener vote led to determination by random number generator.

OUTSTANDING THEME SONG (LYRICS): The Littlest Hobo, Dennis the Menace (animated), Sonny and Cher, 227

OUTSTANDING THEME SONG (INSTRUMENTAL): Night Court, Entertainment Tonight, Hart to Hart, Dallas, Dennis the Menace (live action), MASH, The Rifleman, Starsky and Hutch

NOTE: Winner determined by random number generator, with Dallas beating Night Court

OUTSTANDING SONG: 
From Sonny and Cher: I Got the Music in Me/Making Music Is My Business (Tina Turner and Cher)
From Star-Spangled Celebration: Roots of Rock and Roll medley (Chubby Checker), America the Beautiful (Phil Driscoll), Little Sister (Dwight Yoakam), Meet Me in St. Louis (Suzanne Somers) , St. Louis Blues (Jennifer Holliday)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING FEMALE: Jackee (227), Marsha Warfield (Night Court), Gloria Henry (DTM), Jenny Sullivan (S&H), Barbara Bel Geddes (Dallas)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING MALE: John Laroquette (Night Court), Richard Moll (Night Court), Charlie Robinson (Night Court), Bernie Hamilton (S&H), Harry Morgan (Exo-Man), Alan Arbus (MASH), Harry Morgan, (MASH), Joseph Kearns (DTM), Jim Davis (Dallas)

OUSTANDING GUEST PERFORMER: Franklin Cover (227), Pat Corley (Night Court), Marcia Wallace (Night Court), Tina Turner (Sonny and Cher), David Steinberg (Sonny and Cher)

OUTSTANDING FEMALE:  Markie Post (Night Court), Marla Gibbs (227), Stefanie Powers (H2H), Victoria Principal (Dallas), Anne Scheeden (Exo-Man), Loretta Swit (MASH)

OUTSTANDING MALE:  Harry Anderson (Night Court), Robert Wagner (H2H), Chuck Connors (Rifleman), Alan Alda (MASH), Hal Williams (227), David Soul (S&H), Paul Michael Glaser (S&H), Larry Hagman (Dallas), Patrick Duffy (Dallas)

BEST EPISODE: "Another Day in the Life," Night Court; Series Premiere and 1986 episode, Entertainment Tonight; "Small Change," Littlest Hobo; "What Murder?" Hart to Hart; "ABC Star-Spangled Celebration;" "The 50,000th Customer," Dennis the Menace (live action); "The Boss Gets Scalped/Mr. Dennistein/The Lean Green Jumping Machine," Dennis the Menace (animated); "Exo-Man;" "Bless You Hawkeye," MASH; "Tina Turner and David Steinberg," Sonny and Cher, "Ordeal," The Rifleman; "The Butler Did It," 227; "A Coffin for Starsky," Starsky and Hutch; "Pilot," Dallas

BEST SHOW: Night Court, Entertainment Tonight, The Littlest Hobo, Hart to Hart, MASH, Sonny and Cher, Dennis the Menace (animated), Dennis the Menace (live action), The Rifleman, 227, Starsky and Hutch, Dallas

ROBERT PINE GENIUS AWARD: Jackee (227)

Battys Season 11 Listener Choice Awards are here! Vote now!

It's the most wonderful time of the year, and by that we mean Batty Season is here! Of course we will cap off Season 11, our most interactive yet, with a ceremony that includes two listener-voted awards! Please leave your choice for the two awards below in the comments below, email us mailbag@battleofthenetworkshows.com, or vote in our official Facebook group. Voting is open until 6:00 AM EST on Saturday, November 18.

OUTSTANDING DUO (Note: Rick and Mike are NOT eligible for this award):

Sonny and Cher (Sonny and Cher)

John Tesh and Mary Hart (Entertainment Tonight)

Jennifer and Jonathan Hart (Hart to Hart)

Starsky and Hutch (Starsky and Hutch)

Bobby and Pam Ewing (Dallas)

Robert Urich and Oprah (Star-Spangled Celebration)

And though we decided on the show that the series covered on our 1983 NBC episode would not be eligible for competitive Battys, we have to recognize that one somehow. So we have created this special audience-voted award:

MOST RIDICULOUS PREMISE OF NBC'S 1983 FALL SCHEDULE:

A man turns himself into various animals (Manimal)

60 Minutes is vulnerable enough that we can program another newsmagazine against it (First Camera)
A super-intelligent orangutan becomes a government operative (Mr. Smith)

Two young, single guys hire a gorgeous live-in maid for their apartment (We Got It Made)
A glamorous deceased movie star comes back as a ghost to mentor a teenage boy (Jennifer Slept Here)

Wyatt Earp's descendants work as carnival rousters and bounty hunters (The Rousters)

Episode 11-14: Dallas

In our Season 11 finale, all roads lead to Dallas and Southfork Ranch! That's right. We finally tackle the grandpappy of the nighttime soaps, and we go all the way back to the very first episode. This one has everything you'd expect: oil, scheming, bakstabbing, family feuds, and cowboy hats! It also have a few things you might not expect like grounded sincerity. Join us for all the fun and a few Larry Hagman chuckles.

#podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #dallas #soaps #larryhagman #patrickduffy #victoriaprincipal #oil #jrewing

 

Check out this episode!

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...

 

Episode 11-13: NBC's Disastrous 1983

For the 1983-1984 TV season, NBC asked audiences to "Be there!" Audiences had somewhere else to be, and by the end of the season, the network had canceled all nine new shows it had introduced in the fall. What could lead to such a catastrophe? Why wouldn't people want to watch shows about talking orangutans, manimals, ghosts, and more? This week, we dig into this season and talk about some of these failed shows to see if we can find some answers. Be there! 

#podcast #tv #retrotv #1983 #eighties #NBC #Manimal #mrsmith #jenniferslepthere #disaster

 

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Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...

 

Or is it?!

 

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...

 

Episode 11-11: 227

Season 11 returns with a look at 227, Marla Gibbs' follow-up to The Jeffersons. The sitcom introduced the world to Jackee Harry and a young Regina King, but it also featured the likes of the great Hal Williams and Alaina Reed Hall (Olivia from Sesame Street). In 5 seasons, they covered a lot of ground from kitchen-sink comedy to social commentary to random celebrity encounters to wacky sitcom premises. We'll let you decide which category an episode where Gibbs' Mary and Hall's Rose win a butler for a week falls. Did we mention one of Gibbs' old Jeffersons co-stars plays the butler? 

#podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #227 #marlagibbs #jackeeharry #reginaking #butlers

 

Check out this episode!

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...

 

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Show...

 

Episode 11-10: Retro-Retro The Rifleman

The Old West comes to BOTNS in this season's Retro-Retro episode. Chuck Connors stars as Lucas "The Rifelman" McCain in this half-hour oater from the late fifties and early sixties. In "Ordeal," Lucas and his son Mark find themselves stranded in the desert after their meat salt mining expedition goes awry. Will they make it to safety or end up buzzard food? Find out on this exciting episode of Battle of the Network Shows! #podcast #tv #retrotv #fifties #sixties #therifelman #chuckconnors #ordeal #westerns #oater #meatsalt

 

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Ep. 11-9: Sonny and Cher

In our second listener poll episode of the season, we look at a seventies variety show forma, and Sonny and Cher beat out Donny and Marie and Captain & Tennille for top honors. We discuss an episode from the post-divorce iteration of the show, featuring guests David Steinberg, Shields and Yarnell, and the great Tina Turner! Witty banter, comedy, mime, and music. The only things missing are puppets and...comedy. We kid! 

#podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #varietyshow #sonnyandcher #cher #tinaturner #davidsteinberg #shieldsandyarnell #mime

 

Check out this episode!

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...

 

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...

 

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...