Top Ten #416

1) Bridget Loves Bernie: In an outta-nowhere kind of move, Sony announced it would release this one-season wonder (Canceled due to controversy, not ratings) on Blu-Ray in September. Maybe more short-lived series are on the way.

2) Ace: In this unsold pilot airing 50 years ago tonight, our boy DVP (Dick Van Patten) appears, but the star is Bob Dishy as bumbling private detective Edward R. Ace.

3) Network: This British company appears to be back in business, and though it does not distribute in the USA, it has brought many British shows to disc and seems set to deliver more!

4) The Bureau: Another unsold pilot from 50 years ago. Richard Gilliand and John Lawlor are two mismatched government agents in this sitcom. Other names in the show include Phil Leeds, Barbara Rhoades, Henry Gibson, and Arnold Stang.

5) National Aunts and Uncles Day:

6) San Diego Comic Con: Many of the entertainment industry's stars are gathered in San Diego this weekend to make announcements, hype stuff, etc. I think if I were there, I'd be focused on finding affordable reading copies of Jackie Gleason or Bilko comics!

7) Factory Entertainment action figures: Mike posted about this in our Facebook group:

Airwolf, Battlestar, Magnum, Miami Vice, and bionics! These are not all spectacular-looking, and they will likely be super pricy, but I think I want just about all of them.

8) "J. Digger Doyle": I haven't listened to this episode yet, but The Columbo Podcast recently released one of its "Cosy Crime Classics" installments devoted to "J. Digger Doyle." Longtime BOTNS fans may recall we discuss that very same show (and it's a good one) in our Magnum P.I. episode.

9) We're Puttin' on the Ritz: 40 years ago tonight, CBS ran this unsold pilot, which pairs Leah Ayers and Matt McCoy as secretary and chauffeur for a reclusive multimillionaire. They get into lighthearted adventures and capers. As Stephen Holden wrote in The New York Times, "Mr. McCoy is no Cary Grant or even Fred McMurray, but he plays the role with a cheeky insouciance, projecting the air of a man with an eyebrow perpetually arched."

10) An Evening with Perlman and Zuckerman: Also on this night in 1986, Bravo featured this program devoted to the music of Mozart. Yes, Bravo.

Top Ten #415

1) Amazing Stories: Secret Galaxy devoted a fun episode to the 1980s Spielberg series this week. One thing that stands out is how many commenters talk about how much they loved the show. And, hey, how cool would it have been to get a Spielberg TV boxset from Universal with episodes of Night Gallery, Owen Marshall, and the like?

2) Voyagers! Here's a cool video showcasing an amazing replica of the Omni:

Just don't look at the price. I think I'd have to do my own time travel, going back 40 years and playing the stock market, to afford it.

3) The Tonight Show: 50 years ago tonight, guest host Don Rickles (Seriously, did Johnny take the entire summer off?) welcomed Jack Klugman and Charo!

4) Emergency!: FETV has a marathon of the series today to honor the late Randolph Mantooth. As I write this, Mother Nature seems to be wreaking havoc on me, perhaps trying to pay tribute to the series by creating emergencies.

5) July 19, 1976: ABC had the Summer Olympics from Montreal, but CBS offered Christmas in July with a rerun of the "Christmas Party" episode of Maude. I don't remember offhand, but I wouldn't be surprised if Maude bellowed, 'Who am I, MARK SPITZ?" in that episode.

6) Perfect Strangers: Warners is releasing the complete series on Blu-Ray. Surely Search is right behind it.

7) Unsold pilots: 40 years ago tonight, 3 unsold pilots hit the network airwaves in prime time. 

Maggie is a lighthearted international intrigue series with Stefanie Powers working at a PR firm owned by Ava Gardner! Here's a clip:

She's With Me is from the team of David Duclon, Ron Leavitt, and Michael Moye. Dinah Manoff and Jerry Hall are comically different friends. The episode is below:

Crazy Dan from Glen Larson is described by Lee Goldberg as a "Dirty Harry spoof" starring John Beck. Goldberg adds, "The concept bears a striking resemblance to the subsequent 1986 ABC sitcom Sledge Hammer." A Larson show reminiscent of another series? A coincidence, I'm sure.

8) Just Men: Retro Rules took a look at the short-lived Betty White game show this week, and once again, you can get a glimpse of Robert Pine in the video (Of course, you will want to seek out one of the full episodes on which he appeared).

I find White's catchphrase at the intro kind of odd: "Why are we here? Because it's just men!"

9) Soccer: My heart is with Argentina today, but the rest of the year it's with the NASL.

10) R.I.P. Hal Williams, Scott Bryce: Obits seemed to highlight Sanford and Son, but I remember him best for his work as the cool dad Lester on 227. Bryce's character was on late-stage Facts of Life and actually married Jo at the end.

Top Ten #414

1) TV Guide and the Bicentennial: I finally ran out of "50 years ago" TV Guide, but we had a good run the last two weeks, didn't we? If you only check out this feature each Sunday, I encourage you to go back and look at some pics from the 7/3/76 issue and the one before that and relive some of the Bicentennial Fever the nation had!

2) Emmy nominations: Congrats to all the nominees announced this week. Among BOTNS-era names who were recognized: Martin Short, Jean Smart, Jason Bateman.

3) Family Feud: Today is the 50th anniversary of the ABC debut of the long-running game show, then hosted by Richard Dawson.

4) Humphrey Bogart: Also of interest, in New York City 50 years ago tonight, WPIX premiered an hourlong look at the Hollywood legend, followed by Casablanca at 8:00. It must have been a nice alternative to viewers who weren't interested in the Democratic National Convention coverage that dominated the networks that night.

5) National Paper Bag Day:

6) Sisters in the Name of Love: 40 years ago tonight, this HBO special featured Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, and Dionne Warwick. Hey, wait a minute! They aren't sisters!

7) Cheryl Ladd: Happy 75th!

8) The Alan King Show: 40 years ago tonight, this unsold pilot debuted. King stars as a business hotshot who leaves Wall Street to take a gig as a professor. Also starring: Dina Merrill, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Catherine Keener.

9) Little House on the Prairie: A new version debuts on Netflix, and we repeat, as long as there's plague, pestilence, and abject suffering, we'll give it a shot. Still, I will probably lean toward the original:

10) R.I.P.  Louise Lasser, Randolph Mantooth, Joanna Pettet:

Top Ten #413

1) Independence Day: We've been celebrating the bicentennial here on the site with a look back at TV Guide 50 years ago. What a glorious time it was in 1976, with many Americans coming together to celebrate the nation's history. 

And speaking of history:

2) Bicentennial Minutes: Love seeing any of these on YouTube! Here is all of them, or maybe all floating around at the moment.

3) Michael J. Fox/Roger Damon Price: Let's also give some love to Canada, which celebrated Canada Day last week. Also, these two were appointed to Order of Canada (The latter created You Can't Do That on Television).

4) This Is America, Charlie Brown: Apple TV added the 1988 miniseries this week. Ir's enjoyable, but, man, it bugs me that the kids are running around  The Mayflower in bare feet.

5) Fantasy Island: Prime Video added the original and appears to be adding more Sony shows such as Hazel and Archie Bunker's Place.

Speaking of Sony shows, Roku is adding or re-adding a bunch, including That's My Mama, Hardcastle and McCormick, and The Famous Teddy Z.

6) Liberty Weekend: ABC was all over the Statue of Liberty centennial, and 40 years ago tonight, it continued its coverage with a special featuring Placido Domingo, the New York Philharmonic, and more.

7) National Ice Cream Month: And it's been pretty hot here, too.

8) The Twilight Zone: I love that the original gets marathons every July 4 weekend, but here's a spot from the 1980s version/

9) Wimbledon: The tennis tournament is well underway here in 2026; on this day in 1986, Martina Navratilova beat Hana Mandlikova in the final, and on this day in 1980, Bjorn Borg topped John McEnroe in their classic showdown in the men's final.

10) R.I.P. Penelope Keith:

Top Ten #412

1) Mary Tyler Moore: Mary is the cover gal of the TV Guide from 50 years ago this week that we're spotlighting this week on the site! Later today we'll have a post with a few things from the Guide on this date in 1976.

2) Killdozer: The highly entertaining Retro Rules channel from Paul Van Scott highlighted Killdozer, which we of course talked about in our ninth season.

3) Gilligan's Island: TV Is Good, a new podcast featuring two TV critics discussing TV old and new, paired Widow's Bay and Gilligan's Island recently in a discussion of cursed islands, and while the choice was amusing, I got the sense that the host who conceived it just wanted to make fun of the latter series. Hey, Mike and I didn't claim that Gilligan's was high art, but still, this just left kind of an odd taste in my mouth, unlike Mary Ann's coconut creme pies. You can judge for yourself here.

4) Movin' On:  Speaking of podcasts, TV Confidential recently featured the creator of a Seventies series that doesn't have much buzz: Trucker show Movin' On. The author of a new book about the show was also on, but I don't think she got a word in edgewise as the producer was so anxious to talk.

5) Mel Brooks: The icon turns 100 today! We talk about his When Things Were Rotten right here.

6) Martini Shot: One more podcast link for you: Rob Long's Martini Shot podcast has a great tribute to Jimmy Burrows this week, and it's notable because it give a great specific example of what Burrows could actually do on the set to improve an episode.

7) NY movies on TV 1986: 40 years ago tonight, the 3 major NYC-area independent stations each broadcast a movie, and the Times had interesting comments for each one.

Channel 5: The Champ (1931): "Creaks, wheezes, and drips now; but an emotional classic back when."
Channel 9: Birth of the Beatles (1979): "Dramatization of their early years. If you like imitations." Aren't viewers fully aware that a biopic is going to be an imitation of the real thing?
Channel 11: Victory at Entebbe (1976): "Israeli commandos raid to free hostages in Uganda. Heavy, rambling drama but good Burt (Lancaster) and Kirk (Douglas). Better version is 'Raid on Entebbe.' Wait." Ok, but this is 1986, and it's not like we can rent it from Prime Video.

8) A Woman of Substance: Britbox is airing a new adaptation of the 1979 Barbara Taylor Bradford novel. I mention this because I think I saw commercials for the 1984 version multiple times a day for a while.

9) Merv Griffin: 50 years ago today, Merv had a fascinating array of guests: Maury Wills, Fernando Lamas, The Graduates, Tom Sullivan, Marty Allen.

10) R.I.P. Clive Davis (I hear so many stories about his influence on the music biz that it's kind of like he's the Steve Allen of pop music), Ellen Weston:

Top Ten #411

1) Summer begins: If I write "summer solstice," I feel like something cult adjacent is going to follow and not, hey, remember when "summer replacement shows were a thing, or, hey, remember when you could "discover" a show that aired during the day because you didn't have to go to school?

2) Father's Day: Among the many amazing things Dad has done for me: Introducing me (along with my mom) to The Honeymooners. Thanks, Dad!

3) Sanford and Son: Antenna celebrates today's holiday with a marathon of this series. What father hasn't yelled, "You big dummy!" at his son with love?

4) Siskel and Ebert: Check out the lineup of movies they reviewed this weekend in 1986: American Anthem, Legal Eagles, Karate Kid II, Running Scared. Oh, yeah, it's the mid-Eighties, baby!

5) Me and Mrs. C: 40 years ago tonight, this sitcom began a summer run on NBC. From IMDB: A young Black female ex-convict becomes a boarder with elderly white Mrs. Conklin in an effort to turn her life around

Hilarity ensues! Anyone have an over/under on jokes about hiding the silverware?

6) Action Park: The Retroist podcast just released an episode about this infamous destination and mainstay of 1980s NYC commercial breaks. Every visit was an adventure, all right!

7) The Tonight Show: 40 years ago tonight, guest host Freddie Prinze Jr. welcomed the Jacksons, Jim Bishop, and Brett Somers. Carson really did take a lot of vacation.

8) Bernie Kopell: Among today's TV birthdays, Dr. Adam Bricker of The Love Boat turns 93 today!

9) Check It Out!: We've launched a new regular feature here on the site taking a look at the Eighties Don Adams sitcom. Check it out each week (or so)!

10) R.I.P. Jimmy Burrows, Ronnie Schell, Anne Scheeden, Pete Doherty, John Sanders. Tom Dreesen:

Top Ten #410

1) School's out for Summer: Many students around the USA are finishing up school and getting ready for an exciting summer of...I don't know what kids do these days, watching reruns on TV?

2) Little House on the Prairie: A full trailer for the new Netflix series premiered this week. I'm not sure it "feels" like the original. Not enough pestilence.

3) Marla Gibbs: Happy 95th birthday! May it be sassy and classy.

4) Lily: Here's an interesting unsold pilot: An eccentric museum curator travels the globe searching for artifacts. Lee Goldberg's Unsold Pilots book calls her a female Indiana Jones. The lead actress? Shelly Duvall! CBS aired this 40 years ago tonight. It's on YouTube!

5) Disclosure Day: Whoa, the guy who directed Duel has a movie in theaters this weekend?

6) Jigsaw John: 50 years ago, this NBC drama starring Jack Warden as a real-life LAPD detective aired its 15th and final episode.

7) John Davidson Show: Also ending its Summer run this day in 1976 was this variety program, with guests Norm Crosby and Charo. Well, at least it went out with a cuchi.

8) Strawberry Shortcake Day: It's actually celebrating the dessert, but...

9) Karl Malden: In a new Criterion Closet YouTube video, John C. Reilly gives major props to The Streets of San Francisco star.

10) R.I.P. Gene Shalit:

Top Ten #409

1) Masters of the Universe: A new movie hits theaters this weekend based on the decades-old cartoon series we talked about here, and in case you're wondering, we think they are saving Monteeg for a sequel.

2) NBC Nightly News: David Brinkley joined John Chancellor at the main desk 40 years ago tonight as NBC returned to its old dual-anchor format. This of course led to the catchphrase that swept the nation: "John, you ignorant slut."

3) The Tony Awards: Don't quote me, but I believe one of the scheduled highlights of tonight's ceremony is the presentation of a posthumous award for Tony Roberts' performance as Julie's love interest Jack in several episodes of The Love Boat.

4) The Great Heep: This special premiered 40 years ago tonight on ABC. In it, the great C3PO and R2-D2 team up to remind everyone that Droids is still a thing on Saturday mornings!

5) Byron Allen: With CBS intent on destroying 60 Minutes, I wonder if Allen is prepping Journalists Unleashed.

6) Lorne: The new documentary premieres on Peacock this weekend because if there's one thing we need, it's another/special about Saturday Night Live. I mean, don't get me wrong; I still want to see it!

7) Steve Allen's Laugh-Back: What a title! 50 years ago tonight, this syndicated program premiered. Allen welcomed colleagues from his old shows to reminisce and show old clips from his programs--interestingly, it seems that he showed clips from his shows on all networks. All barriers fall for Steve Allen!

8) Good Times: In The New York Times on this date, an interesting article discussed the departure of John Amos from the series and how it prompted complaints that not replacing him removed one of the few positive Black father figures in prime time. "Not to mention," the story continues, "he's liable to win a Genius Award in 45 years and make letting him go look like a disaster."

9) The French Open: 40 years ago on this date, Chris Evert beat Martina Navratilova in 3 sets to win the title.

10) NBA and NHL Playoffs:

Top Ten #408

1) Summer Movies: Yes, we are all about TV here, but I always think of big blockbusters and fun summer movies this time of year, and the commercials touting them were a huge part of the viewing experience. So let's look at what was opening on Memorial Day weekend in 1986. What classic big, fun seasonal but enduring film premiered 40 years ago?

Jake Speed?

Cobra and Top Gun were still around, but, wow, even Siskel and Ebert apparently took the weekend off!

2) Eddie Murphy: Speaking of movies, Murphy gets an AFI tribute in a special premiering on Netflix today. These tributes used to be a staple of network television.

One more movie note: Clint Eastwood turns 96 today. Eastwood got an AFI Lifetime Achievement tribute THIRTY YEARS AGO!

3) Viva Valdez: Part of the wave of "ethnic" sitcoms of the Seventies, this one premiered 50 years ago but didn't last long. Sony has posted some full episodes on its YouTube channels.

4) Monday Night Baseball: 50 years ago tonight, it was an MLB showcase in primetime on national TV, and it featured the Yankees and the Red Sox. The more things change...

5) Al Capone's vault: I just listened to a great episode of the Most Notorious podcast featuring an interview with William Elliott Hazelgrove, who wrote a book about the whole spectacle of Geraldo Rivera's live broadcast in 1986. The book is pricy, but it sounds great.

6) World No Tobacco Day: So don't listen to these guys:

7) The Love Boat: A rerun of the show aired this night in 1986. What's so special about that? Well, the series finale had aired the previous Saturday! So this was the first Saturday with no new Love Boat on the Horizon since the show premiered in 1977. The world kept spinning, but arguably it was much less joyous.

8) Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol: TV Confidential recently interviewed David Spencer about his book The Novelizers, and I was delighted to hear the Magoo special touted as a master class in adaptation!

9) Robert Pine?: I posted this in our Facebook group, and I post it here: Is this our Genius Emeritus Robert Pine in the Bank of America spot at the 26-minute mark?

10) R.I.P. Howard Storm, Jay Daniel, Bob Horner: We wouldn't include every 1980s Atlanta Brave on this list, but how can you not associate Horner, who died this week at 68, with SuperStation TBS? And when he went to St. Louis and faced the Braves, TBS shouted him out in the promo:

Top Ten #407

1) Late Night Television: I just like the fact that it exists and don't want it to just fade away, even if I haven't been watching it for years.

2) Robert Pine: The GENIUS was on the Love Boat podcast the former cast members do each week. They talk about much more than Love Boat, but sadly, Mike and I continue to be the only people who ask Mr. Pine about Lowenbrau.

3) Charo!: ABC premiered this variety special 50 years ago tonight! Mike and I discuss this very same program right here on the podcast.

4) The John Davidson Show: Also 50 years ago tonight, NBC premiered this variety show with guests George Burns, Jimmie Walker, and Tanya Tucker. Davidson had been guest-hosting on The Tonight Show for a while, so the network must have been high on him.

5) Memorial Day/Victoria Day: I remember one year I got flak for wishing Americans a happy Memorial Day--you know the day when people open pools, have barbecues, etc. So maybe this time I will note that tomorrow is May 25, which is sort of a Canadian holiday, though it's actually celebrated the Monday before, so it was last Monday. Let's just all have a good Monday.

6) Star Wars: As a new movie finally hits screens this weekend, we celebrate the TV legacy of the franchise, which includes classics like...this PSA!

7) Life's Most Embarrassing Moments: Steve Allen hosted this ABC special on this date in 1986. He of course invented the concept of embarrassment.

8) National Brother's Day: Celebrate the right way!

9) Ali vs. Dunn: Muhammad Ali is associated with ABC, but he defended his world title against Richard Dunn live from Munich on this night in 1976 on NBC. An ad touted those appearing at ringside: Joe Garagiola, Dick Enberg, Larry Merchant, and Candice Bergen!

10) R.I.P.: Michael Keating:

Top Ten #406

1) The 1976 NBC Fall Schedule: I don't mean to brag, but I didn't see a lot of other websites reporting on the 1976 NBC Fall schedule reveal Thursday night. Only on BOTNS, folks!

 

2) Emmy Awards: 50 years ago tonight, Mary Tyler Moore and John Denver (He was all over the place back then) hosted the 28th installment of the show. Big winners included Rich Man, Poor Man; The Mary Tyler Moore Show; and Police Story. 

3) On the Rocks: This single-season comedy aired its final episode on this night in 1976, and it got a retrospective episode. The U.S. adaptation of Britcom Porridge never caught on, but it's nice that ABC let it go out with a highlights episode.

4) The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams: NBC aired the 1974 film on this night in 1976 and got big ratings, which led to a series premiering in February 1977.

5) Dom Deluise and Friends Part IV: Switching to 1986, this special premiered 40 years ago tonight. I am not sure, but I suspect it failed to resolve all the loose ends from Part III.

6) Playboy Bunny of the Year Pageant: ABC ran Monday Night Specials in 1976, and the one on this date was Don Adams hosting this spirited competition. You see, John Denver had another gig.

7) Sugar Ray Leonard: Happy 70th birthday to the boxing icon who made an appearance in our HBO episode this season!

8) Fun for All Ages: The Frank Santopadre podcast devoted an episode (and there's a part 2 coming!) to animated adaptations of TV shows, and they even discuss The Mini-Munsters!

9) Saturday Night Live: Eclectic list of folks on this one: Host Jimmy Breslin, Sam Kinison (billed as a featured player), Marvin Hagler (billed as a special guest), musical guest Level 42, and singer E.G. Daily.

10) R.I.P.: John Barbour, Rex Reed, Donald Gibb:

Top Ten #404: Special "Ran for the Roses Yesterday" Edition

1) Paul Williams: The Batty-winning hyphenate is honored at this weekend's TCM festival. I'm sure he appreciates getting something to put beside that Batty on the shelf.

Wait. I am being told he has NOT won a Batty! He was nominated 3 times for his role in Season 5's The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries: Outstanding Hair, Outstanding Guest Star, and Outstanding Song ("the Hell of It"). Wow, I can't believe he went 0 for 3. Shows you how competitive the Battys are.

2) Free Comic Book Day: A shop near you might have some leftover titles from yesterday's big event. Stop on by, grab some comics, and buy a few things if you have the resources! The one title I wanted most of all, I found: The Greatest American Hero!

3) Battlestar Galactica: I saw several stories making a big deal out of the fact that all of Battlestar Galactica was coming to Paramount Plus and Pluto for streaming. Yeah--the modern Galactica. Where's the original?

4) David Cassidy: Man Undercover: Folks, I have started watching the ill-fated series starring, you guessed it, David Cassidy, and it's not that bad. It's certainly 1970s cop show watchable from what I have seen so far.

But what were they thinking with the visuals in the opening?

5) The Incredible Hulk: Tubi added the Bixby/Ferrigno series to its streaming library on Friday!

6) Ann B. Davis turns 100: If anyone from 1970s TV would have been immortal, I would have guessed it would be Christopher George. But if anyone ELSE would have been immortal, I would have guessed, well, obviously TV's Alice Nelson. Alas, she passed away in 2014, but she would have turned 100 today.

7) National Lemonade Day: How about kicking back with a cold one right now?

8) Banjo Hackett: What a name. Do I need to say anything else?

OK, I will. 50 years ago tonight, the movie Banjo Hackett: Roamin' Free premiered on NBC as a pilot for a possible series with Dandy Don Meredith in the title role. I like how he's not roaming, he's roamin'.

This Western did not go to series, but it also featured Slim Pickens, Chuck Connors, Anne Francis, and Jeff Corey.

9) Saturday Night's Main Event: 40 years ago tonight, the show, taped in Providence, Rhode Island, featured one of the most impactful angles I saw in the era: Jake 'the Snake" Roberts DDTing Ricky Steamboat on the concrete arena floor!

10) R.I.P. Mariclaire Costello:

Top Ten #403

1) The NFL Draft: It's quite a spectacle, but there wasn't much drama since the first pick was a foregone conclusion. It's kind of like if we had a Genius draft and everyone was speculating on who would go second after Robert Pine.

2) The Jackson 5ive: As a huge movie hits theaters this weekend, I feel like celebrating the original band before who knows what happened.

3) Wide World of Sports: 40 years ago tonight, the 25th anniversary special of the sports anthology program aired in prime time on ABC. Check out our podcast talking Wide World (we talk about that special) right here.

4) AFI Salute to Billy Wilder: NBC aired this special 40 years ago tonight at 9:30. I bet the great director was thrilled to be headlining an evening after Gimme a Break, The Facts of Life, and The Golden Girls.

5) National Poetry Month: It's always a good time to celebrate the Poet Laureate Emeritus, the immortal Nipsy Russell.

6) David Cassidy: This week I wrote about the pop icon's autobiography, a gripping but saddening read.

7) Carol Burnett: Happy 93rd!

8) National Pretzel Day: I kind of miss these giant Snyder's pretzels that were dry and like biting into a rock. I don't know; I just liked 'em!

9) Square Pegs: One of the most Eighties-ish of Eighties sitcoms, this series is now on Tubi, and hopefully this means more Sony stuff will show up there.

10) HBO: Another book I wrote about this week: It's Not TV, It's HBO, a fine effort that in some ways surpasses the more widely known Tinderbox.

Top Ten #402

1) Benson finale: 40 years ago tonight, Benson and Gatling competed against each other in a race to determine the next governor, and it had an infamous (as infamous as Benson could be!) inconclusive ending.

As much as I wish this was some kind of David Chase situation in which the producers hoped to confound the audience, reports are that ABC asked for a cliffhanger and then canceled the series at the last minute.

2) Sonia Manzano: The former Maria on Sesame Street (last season's Best Show winner at the Battys) was honored this week by the Miami Film Festival.

3) Superman Day: Yesterday we celebrated the Man of Steel. I celebrated by picking up some free stuff at my local comic shop.

You know, I have said Christopher Reeve was "my" Superman back in the day, but that's not the complete story. My "comic book" Superman was that of Curt Swan, and my cartoon Superman was Danny Dark.

4) National Record Store Day: Another event yesterday was this now semiannual celebration of record stores. I popped into one myself but didn't see anything as exciting as this spectacular piece Laurie got me a few years ago:

GENIUS!

5) People Like Us: 50 years ago tonight, NBC aired this unsold pilot with Eugene Roche and Katharine Helmond. It is about a blue-collar family trying to make it. It's produced by Gene Reynolds and Burt Metcalfe of MASH, and it also stars Grant Goodeve!

6) Clyde Kusatsu: The star of Dr. Strange appeared on the MASH Matters podcast, and I want to highlight it because I don't think Clyde Kustatsu makes the media rounds a lot!

7) Larry Holmes vs. Michael Spinks II: 40 years ago tonight, HBO aired this heavyweight championship fight live from Las Vegas. In a rematch from their 1985 bout, Spinks won a split decision to retain the IBF belt, and Holmes was not pleased with the scoring.

8) Billy Idol: Congratulations to the 80s music icon for his announced induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! I hope he greeted the news with a sneer.

9) Crazy About the Movies: Marilyn Monroe: Cinemax was never just Max After Dark. It also showed original documentaries like this one that premiered 40 years ago tonight.

10) R.I.P. Sid Krofft: 

Top Ten #401: Special "Can't help but feel let down after 400" Edition!

1) The Partridge Family: This week we presented a lot of pics from that fabled Bronze Age comic: The Partridge Family #4, or as I call it, The David Cassidy Merch Catalog #4.

2) Ed O'Neill: This national treasure turns 80 today!

3) Charlie's Angels: The Paley Center hosted a 50th anniversary salute to the show, and while I was not there, I believe they respectfully avoided using the word "jiggle."

4) Easter specials: In this timeline, sure, we celebrated the holiday a week ago, but 50 years ago tonight, CBS aired reruns of It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown; and Rikki-Tiki-Tavi. As someone who used to go by "Ricky," I heard a lot about that latter special when I was a lad.

5) Mr. and Mrs. Ryan: This Aaron Spelling pilot movie aired this date in 1986. It stars Sharon Stone and Robert Desiderio as--Well, let me quote Lee Goldberg's Unsold Pilots: "A rich Beverly Hills socialite with a cop for a husband. Joseph Mahler is their chaffeur, and if this sounds like Hart to Hart, keep in mind it was made by the same people for the same network."

Here's a clip from the movie:

6) Peabody Award nominations: The bad news is, Battle of the Network Shows was snubbed once again in the podcast category. The good news is, the excellent Pee Wee as Himself documentary was nominated (Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything was as well; I haven't seen that one).

7) A Touch of Scandal: This 1984 TV movie, repeated 40 years ago tonight, stars Angie Dickinson as a "comely council woman" whose campaign for attorney general is rocked by the reveal of photos of her "with a male prostitute who has now turned up dead." Could it be Fred Garvin?

8) Monday Night Baseball: The ABC sports series, moving over from NBC, kicked off 50 years ago tonight as the Yankees faced the Orioles in Memorial Stadium.

9) Family: The Aaron Spelling series (the one he actually thought was good) is back on Tubi for the third time, and I better start watching it again before it vanishes.

10) R.I.P. Robert Butler: The co-creator of Remington Steele was 95. BTW, the series was added to Hallmark Plus recently.

Top Ten #400: Special "400 is a cool number!" Edition

1) Easter Sunday: Happy holiday, everyone! In our Season 10, we discussed a beloved Rankin-Bass Easter special. Below is a promo that hypes some other specials:

2) Sesame Street: Last season's Batty winner is now on Tubi, with a big batch of older episodes available, including the first!

3) Downey Wrote That: I enjoyed this 2025 Peacock documentary about the longtime Saturday Night Live writer. Heck, it was nice just revisiting the Norm/OJ jokes Weekend Update era.

4) The Ted Knight Show: The New York Times ran an interesting review of this series 40 years ago today. This is the version where Knight moves to Marin County and buys into a local newspaper. It's not actually Ted Knight, though, but Henry Rush from Too Close for Comfort, and he brings Muriel and even Monroe along with him. The episodes now are just "branded" as another season of Too Close (We discussed the show earlier this season).

The odd thing about the pan of the show is that it treats it as a brand-new distinct series and doesn't even mention the multiple seasons of Too Close! It also refers to co-star Pat Carroll as "Nancy Carroll."

5) Matlock: The entire original series is streaming on Prime Video now. Wait till Abraham Simpson discovers Reacher while he's on the platform!

6) He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Many are still waiting for all the old-school Warners/Hanna-Barbera toons coming to Tubi, but in the meantime the free streamer added the iconic Eighties show that we talk about here.

7) Dick Cavett's Backlot USA: This special premiered on CBS 50 years ago tonight. Cavett toured studio backlots and talked with the likes of Mae West in what sounds like a pretty interesting program.

8) Charley Hannah: The pilot movie for a cop show starring Robert Conrad and one of his sons aired on ABC 40 years ago tonight. It seems like at some point, Conrad was just like, "I want to work with my sons," and he was able to do it!

9) Noah's Animals: On this night in 1976, ABC aired this animated special, the first of a trilogy from Shamus Culhane. I have no memory of any of them!

10) WKRP: An actual station in Cincinnati is reportedly getting the famed call letters. I can only hope they celebrate with an hour of Patrick Simmons music.

Top Ten #399

1) All in the Family and Married with Children: Both series landed on Prime Video this week--one of the funniest and most groundbreaking working-class sitcoms ever...and the Norman Lear show wasn't bad, either.

2) Major League Baseball: The national pastime is back, and while Netflix didn't get great reviews for its Opening Day coverage, I give an A+ to this 1980s hype video:

3) The Bob Newhart Show: Another addition to the Prime Video lineup is the opener of our current season, TBNS. I'd like to see The Mary Tyler Moore Show return, too, but I am happy this one returned. Moonlighting is also on Prime now, by the way.

4) David Garrison: I haven't listened to it yet, but the star of It's Your Move is on Ian Talks Comedy this week, and I am anxious to hear it. I also loved him on Married with Children.

5) Comic Relief: The HBO fundraiser debuted 40 years ago tonight.

6) Super Mario Brothers Super Show: MeTV Toons adds the 1989 series to its lineup today to celebrate the upcoming movie release and maybe, just maybe, to celebrate Lou Albano and Danny Wells!

7) Murder, She Wrote: A movie is really happening--coming December 2027--and Jamie Lee Curtis will be Jessica Fletcher. Not sure how I feel about this, but nothing can take away all 260-some episodes I watched, and --Oh, my goodness, I still can't believe I watched all 260-some episodes.

8) 1976 Oscars: 50 years ago on this date, the 48th annual Academy Awards ceremony aired on ABC, but also on that evening...

1976 NCAA Men's Hoops Final: Yes, they held the championship on the same night as the Oscars! Indiana beat Michigan by 18 to cap off an undefeated season.

9) 1976 John Denver and Friend: Gotta love the name of this other big special on ABC 50 years ago today, in which Friend was actually Frank Sinatra. Rocky Mountain Ring-a-Ding-Ding!

10) R.I.P. Valerie Perrine:

Top Ten #398

Folks, I had my dates mixed up last week and incorrectly reported on what had aired 40 and 50 years ago. I should have included Nell Carter and Robert F. Simon THIS week, not last, and I am sorry for the error!

1) Calendars: I really ought to learn how to read them!

So what DID air 50 and 40 years ago tonight? ABC had the conclusion of Rich Man, Poor Man in 1976; while CBS reran the pilot of Phyllis.

In 1986, CBS aired 1980's Any Which Way You Can.

2) William Shatner: The dude is out there accepting awards and whatnot, and he turns 95 today. 95!

3) Debbie Allen: The star of Fame received an honorary Oscar last Sunday. 

4) Robert Hays: Ian Talks Comedy welcomed the star of The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything, but he decided not to ruin the interview didn't have time to ask about that one.

5) Private Benjamin: Another program aired 40 years ago tonight was a re-air of the 1980 Goldie Hawn film, but more interesting to me is that the forthcoming Warner Archive Blu-Ray of the movie will have a couple episodes of the TV series as a bonus.

6) Battle of the Network Stars: As listener Mario first tipped us off, the outstanding Game Show Vault YouTube channel uploaded the first episode of the original Battle of the Network Stars this week. Sadly, it has frequent audio dropouts due to the music, but it would be nice if GSV could upload the whole run in good quality.

7) Barry Morse: The TV Confidential podcast has been talking about the late actor in recent weeks. We discussed him earlier this season, of course, when we covered Zoo Gang.

8) 60 years ago tonight: How about we jump in with a quick look at a few of the programs that aired this night in 1966?

Dr. Strange star Jessica Walter appeared on The Fugitive on ABC.

On CBS' variety special Carol Plus 2, Carol Burnett welcomed guests Lucille Ball and Zero Mostel.

NBC had the conclusion of a two-part Dr. Kildare and the 1961 movie Ring of Fire, meaning David Janssen was competing against himself!

9) Shadoe Stevens: As I mentioned in our Facebook group last week, I saw a 1980s Hollywood Squares promo that touted appearances by "Crazyman Jm J Bullock" and "Heartthrob Shadoe Stevens."

Bullock getting an upgrade from the standard "Funnyman" is amusing enough, but heartthrob for Stevens? Really?

10) R.I.P. Matt Clark, Ed Bernard, Chuck Norris, Dennis Condrey:

Top Ten #397

1) Anson Williams at Seaworld: Ian Talks Comedy discussed this syndicated 1977 special a while back, and then I had to go and see it for myself, and I don't think I have recovered. Lou Rawls singing "Pure Imagination" is top notch, though.

2) The Oscars: Will anyone on that stage tonight match Anson Williams's tribute to Al Jolson? Color me skeptical.

3) Gavin MacLeod: I read his book and wrote about it. His AUTOGRAPHED book. Yeah, baby!

4) Nell Carter...Never too Old to Dream: A review of this variety special aired 40 years ago tonight on NBC said that Carter was upstaged in her own special by Phylicia Rashad, and that amused me. Harry Anderson and Levi Stubbs also starred.

5) Black Gold Awards: The third annual airing of this award show took place 40 years ago tonight as well. I guess it's a good thing Phylicia Rashad wasn't there to upstage hosts Lou Rawls (Hey, there HE is again!) and Melba Moore.

6) Alfred Hitchcock: A MeTv story discussed the legendary director's TV work, which we discussed a few weeks ago. In a stunning twist, the end of the article was about The Twilight Zone.

7) Good Heavens: An episode of this Carl Reiner sitcom debuting 50 years ago tonight featured Robert F. Simon, one of the stars of our Spider-Man episode from this season.

8) Black Adder: Peacock added the classic Britcom last week.

9) Judd Hirsch: Happy birthday to the Taxi star, who turns 91 today!

10) R.I.P. Jennifer Runyon:

Top Ten #396

1) Peanuts: Our season finale (But stay tuned for Battys!) looks at It's an Adventure, Charlie Brown; a 1983 animated special with some really funny stuff. We enjoyed talking about the specials as a whole, though, since we feel the non-holiday installments don't get the attention they deserve. I am glad that most have a stable if not permanent home on Apple Plus after years of neglect on broadcast and cable.

2) Good ol' Charlie Brown: Watching so many of those specials, I was appalled by Charlie's behavior in a some of them, but overall I still think he's the man.

 

3) Miami Vice: The iconic series is back on Tubi for free streaming, no thanks to that nasty Calderon.

4) Yogi's Gang: Out of the list of seemingly hundreds of cartoons announced as coming to Tubi, about a dozen actually appeared, and most of those are from this century. It's good to see this 1973 ecology-focused series there, though.

5) National Proofreading Day: I am going to keep this blurb short to avoid making an error. You know who must have had good proofreaders? TV Guide. I don't remember seeing a lot of boo-boos there.

6) Easter Seals Telethon: The 15th annual event aired 40 years ago this weekend. Pat Boone and Donna Mills appeared.

8) Classified Love: 40 years ago, CBS aired this television movie featuring Michael McKean, Dinah Manoff, and Stephanie Faracy as three friends trying to find romance through the classified ads.

9) Facts of Life: Antenna TV has a marathon of the sitcom today. It would be funny if the showed nothing but Edna's Edibles episodes.

10) R.I.P. Bob Rosenfarb: The writer and producer worked on shows such as Heathcliff, Head of the Class, and St. Elsewhere. There's some variety!

Also, goodbye to the streaming service Brown Sugar. I remember when it launched. I hoped it would add shows like Julia and Tenafly, but I think Get Christie Love was one of the only TV series it carried.