Show Notes and Video Playlist: Episode 12-14: Sesame Street

*We have reached the end of our "regular" season 12, and we thank you for joining us, but be on the lookout for the tradition unlike any other: The Battys, coming soon!

*Sesame Street is still running after premiering in 1969 and has amassed close to 5,000 episodes and many videos, toys, books, and just about everything else!

*Speaking of that, here is a shot of the various Sesame items we had with us as we recorded the episode:

*Snuffleupagus premiered 1971, and the producers let everyone else (not just Big Bird) see him in 1985, reportedly after concerns that kids would fear adults would not believe them in scary real-life situations.

*Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street is available for streaming at multiple outlets, and it is based on the book Street Gang by Michael Davis.

*Jon Stone worked on Captain Kangaroo and Kukla, Fran, and Ollie before becoming a key figure in the creation and development of Sesame Street.

*The doc Mike mentions is Jim Henson Idea Man on Disney Plus. I Am Big Bird: The Carroll Spinney Story (2014) is on Peacock as of this writing.

*Will Lee died in 1982, and the character he played, Mr. Hooper, left the show in 1983.

*Gordon was played by Hal Miller between stints by Matt Robinson and Roscoe Orman.

*Decades of Decision is a 1976 PBS miniseries produced with National Geographic.

*Carroscelendas was produced by PBS' Austin, TX, station and made original episodes from 1970 to 1978. It was a children's program aimed at kids who spoke Spanish and English.

*Season 7, episode 900 (total) of Sesame Street, "Sing-Along in Ernie and Bert's Bathroom," premiered April 23, 1976 according to our best info.

*We have one song in the playlist this week from the original album that inspired this episode, but you may have to get MAX to see the entire episode.

*The commercial of kids' favorites Mike mentions--an album called, not surprisingly, Children's Favorites, is in our video playlist this week!

*Joe Raposo's "Funky Chimes" (unofficial title) played under the end credits from 1979 to 1992. There's an unofficial version of this in the playlist this week, too--a recreation of sorts, but one we think you'll enjoy.

*And finally, please enjoy that aforementioned playlist for this episode, including classic Sesame segments, commercials, music, and much more! We could have compiled an hours-long list for this one but tried to keep it to a reasonable length:

*And remember, you can always check out our official YouTube page for all of our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!

YouTube Spotlight: Bert D'Angelo, Superstar (and Chop Buster)

I find this video from our The Streets of San Francisco video playlist hilarious:

It's a compilation of guest star Paul Sorvino aggravating Stone and Keller by calling their city "Frisco." Sorvino is Bert D'Angelo, a detective visiting from New York City, in this fourth-season episode "Superstar."

The character got a QM Production spinoff that went nowhere. Jonathan Martin's book Quinn Martin, Producer points out the series' conceptual similarities to McCloud but also that it lacks the qualities hat made the latter so distinctive. Sorvino was not well liked, and the whole series production seems to have been an unpleasant experience for most involved. It lasted mere months despite the presence of BOTNS Superstar (and Genius) Robert Pine in the supporting cast.

Show Notes and Video Playlist: Episode 12-13: The Streets of San Francisco

*Welcome back to the world of QM Productions! Our earlier foray into Quinn Martin's work is right here in Dan August. Our Poor Devil episode is here.

*Shout again to Charlie and Trevor for inspiring us to cover TSOSF!

*Credit to Mike Quigley's website for giving a cool rundown of Streets' episodes. 

*The books we reference are Jonathan Martin's Quinn Martin, Producer and James Rosin's The Streets of San Francisco: A Quinn Martin TV Series. Carolyn Weston's 1972 Poor, Poor Ophelia is the novel that served as source material for the series.

*Skag aired on NBC from January to February 1980 and failed despite being from the producer of Kojak. You can see a promo in this week's video playlist below.

*The NBC reunion movie aired Monday, January 27, 1992 and was produced by Aaron Spelling's company. Richard Hatch, who replaces Michel Douglas in the series' fifth season, is not in Back to the Streets of San Francisco, which drew good ratings.

*TSOTF was on ABC 5 seasons and 121 episodes.

*"The Takers" premiered December 2, 1972, on ABC at 10:00 P.M.

*This clip of B.A.D. Cats is in our playlist, and the full episode does feature Michael Lerner, but the clip does not. After you watch this, I believe you will forgive us for including it anyway:

*Vic Tayback appears in 3 episodes as Sergeant Norm Haseejian.

*The Coit Tower is an official landmark in San Francisco. It was built in the early Thirties in the Telegraph Hill section of the city.

*We strive to be givers, not "takers," and we hope we are succeeding this season!

*Patrick Williams composed the series' theme song.

*The John Davidson episode we mention is "The Mask of Death" from the third season.

*And finally, enjoy our official video playlist for this episode! It's loaded with promos, commercials, and all sorts of TV history! You'll even get glimpses of SF sports in 1972: The Giants, the Niners...and Roller Derby?

*And remember, you can always check out our official YouTube page for all of our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!

YouTube Spotlight: A look at "Softly, Softly"

What kind of name for a cop show is Softly, Softly? Well, the program was on for years!

The clips below are from our Blake's 7 video playlist, with the connection being that the cult sci-fi program essentially replaced the police drama on BBC. Yep, that's Tom Baker in the second vid.

Z-Cars premiered in 1962 and ran for about 800 episodes, ending in 1978. Softly, Softly spun off from it in 1966, and then it became Softly, Softly: Task Force (1969-1976).

According to Wikipedia, the title comes from a proverb, "Softly, softly catchee monkey," and I don't think I want to know more about that one. Wiki says it was the motto of Lancashire Constabulary Training School.

Show Notes and Video Playlist: Episode 12-12 Blake's 7

*This week we go international again with a look at the cult favorite BBC TV show!

*Blake's 7 aired 1979-1981 on BBC, 4 series, 52 total episodes.

*This episode contains spoilers for the programme, so be forewarned. The series has much more continuity than we might have expected!

*The books we discuss on the podcast are:
-Blake's 7: An Oral History of the Classic UK Series by Joe Nazarro
-Liberation by Alan Stevens and Fiona Moore

*Chris Boucher is apparently pronounced Chris BOW-CHER. We got "Chris" right, though!

*The cop show Blake's replaced on BBC (and inherited a budget from) was Softly, Softly: Task Force, which was spun off from Softly, Softly; which was spun off from Z-Cars (1962-1978).

*The episode we discuss, "Pressure Point," premiered February 6, 1979, the fifth episode of Series B. BBC Two aired Life on Earth with David Attenborough. On BBC One, it followed The Variety Club Awards and was followed by news and boxing.

*The director of this episode is George Spenton-Foster, who also directed 3 other episodes this season and did a few episodes of Doctor Who.

*The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art was where Paul Darrow, Ian McShane, and John Hurt shared a flat.

*Space Commander Travis is played by Stephen Greif and Brian Croucher (beginning with this second season). Greif had tired of the role somewhat and went on to other things, leading to Croucher stepping in and providing a different take on the character.

*Finally, check out our video playlist devoted to this episode, chock full of promos, adverts, clips, and more!

*And remember, you can always check out our official YouTube page for all of our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!

YouTube Spotlight: Richard Turner on "That's Incredible!"

We have a video playlist that accompanies our Bonus Episode this week, and one of my favorites is a  brief clip from That's Incredible:

I don't know about you, but this makes me want to see the rest of the segment! Here is an expanded version so you can see more:

The gentleman dealing the cards here is Richard Turner, who is still with us and a practicing magician today. He is essentially blind and has lived an amazing life. Look him up and check out all the stuff he's done!

YouTube Spotlight: No coconut sauce?

One of my favorite clips from our Gilligan's Island playlist this week is this 1979 ad for Van de Kamps frozen fish:

First of all, I love the fact that a known actress doesn't lead the spot but shows up in the second "segment." How random must it have seemed watching the tube in 1979 to see Mrs. Howell raving about frozen fish 15 years after Gilligan's?

And I believe that is Danny Wells (The Jeffersons, our Rhoda episode this season) following her. What a star-studded fish ad! If only the butler who serves Natalie were played by Franklin Cover.

Show Notes and Video Playlist: Episode 12-11: Gilligan's Island

*Welcome to our annual "retro retro" episode, in which we go outside our usual timeline to focus on a "silver age" show, in this case Gilligan's Island (CBS, 1964-1966)!

*This series is complete on DVD and free to stream on Tubi as of this writing. It would look great on Blu-Ray.

*The series had 98 first-run episodes.

*The Great Society is the name given to President Lyndon B. Johnson's domestic programs launched beginning in 1964.

*The New Adventures of Gilligan aired Saturday mornings on ABC from 1974 to 1977.
Gilligan's Planet aired one season (1982-1983) on CBS.

*The books I mention are Bob Denver's Gilligan, Maynard, and Me and Here on Gilligan's Isle by Russell Johnson with Steve Cox.

*Season 2's "The Little Dictator" with Nehemiah Persoff is reportedly Sherwood Schwartz's favorite episode. He recorded an amiable commentary for that one for the DVD set, and his affection for the whole series is evident.

*It's About Time aired this same season, 1966-67, on CBS. It stars Joe E. Ross and Imogene Coca.

*"Don't Bug the Mosquitoes" from Season 2 is the episode with The Honeybees singing "You Need Us" and The Wellingtons as the visiting rock band.

*Of the 3 TV movies, the first is the one in the public domain, but the others are owned by Universal: 1978's Rescue from Gilligan's Island, 1979's The Castaways on Gilligan's Island, and 1981's The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island.

*Hear us mention Tina Louise in our Dallas episode right here.

*Our previous mention of Alan Hale Jr. was in our Growing Pains episode here.

*'Will the Real Mr. Howell Please Stand Up?" premiered at 8:00 PM Eastern March 17, 1966 on CBS. I mention the other shows on that night on the podcast! Mona McCluskey and The Double Life of Henry Phyfe are both one-season wonders.

*The amnesia episode Mike references is "The Second Ginger Grant" from Season 3. "The Producer," also from the third season, features Phil Silvers as Harold Hecuba and the musical Hamlet. That installment is #52 on TV Guide's original list of 100 greatest episodes (1997). "The Hunter" from S3 is the Rory Calhoun episode.

*Finally, enjoy our video playlist for this episode, featuring theme songs, commercials, promos, and more!

*And remember, you can always check out our official YouTube page for all of our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!

Show Notes and Video Playlist: Episode 12-10: TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes

*Is it me or is there a Mandela Effect going on here. I might have thought this show was TV's Practical Jokes and Bloopers?

*Kermit Schaefer, Mr. Blooper, is credit with pioneering the practice of collecting media bloopers. He released several albums in the Sixties along with books like the one I mention. His 1974 movie Pardon My Blooper was a compilation of bloopers. 75 minutes of them!

*Johnny Carson's practical jokes special is "Johnny Carson's Greatest Practical Jokes," which aired on NBC in 1983.

*Later versions of the show aired on ABC from 1998 to 2007 and in syndication for a brief spell starting in 2012.

*ABC's knock-off, Foul-Ups, Bleeps, and Blunders aired midseason 1984, then was on the Fall schedule, but soon became just a series of specials before fizzling after a short run.

*1984 miniseries Celebrity is a 3-part NBC miniseries based on a 1983 novel. Stars include Michael Beck and James Whitmore. It won an Emmy for cinematography.

*The episode we discuss premiered February 13, 1984 on NBC.

*Jim Perry was a longtime game show host we talk more about in our Face the Music/Sale of the Century episode.

*Nancy McKeon of Facts of Life was not quite 18 when this aired. Brother Philip (Alice) was 19.

*Lee Cooper has been around over 100 years and is still around!

*You can see a lot of vintage Robert Klein specials on the Clown Jewels YouTube channel.

*1984's Angel from New World Pictures was a hit relative to cost and spawned several sequels.

*Finally, check out our video playlist for this episode, which includes (as of this writing) the full episode upload we watch and discuss for the podcast, plus promos, a few bloopers, and Dr. Joyce Brothers on Make Me Laugh!

*And remember, you can always check out our official YouTube page for all of our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!

YouTube Spotlight: Can You Still Hear the Laughter?

One of the clips in our Chico and the Man playlist this week is this promo for the TV movie based on star Freddie Prinze's short life:

The full movie is also available on YouTube without looking too hard. Directed by Burt Brinckerhoff, it premiered on CBS Tuesday, September 11, 1979 after an episode of Wonder Woman. Opposition was a repeat of Part 2 of Holocaust on NBC and the ABC combo of new episodes of Three's Company, Taxi, and The Lazarus Syndrome. The sitcoms were season premieres.

Writing in The New York Times, critic John J. O'Connor called the movie "the bare scaffolding of the show-business structure constructed on the familiar story premise of 'too much, too soon.' As a magazine article, the form can still delvier narrative clout. As a dramatization, it demands much more than Can You Hear the Laughter?  was willing--or able--to make."

He says the movie is shallow and doesn't explain much about Prinze's life nor his death. He does praise star Ira Angustine, who resembles Prinze and "also manages to convey a good deal of his special warmth." Randee Heller and Kevin Hooks earn praise, too.

Show Notes and Video Playlist: Episode 12-9: Chico and the Man

*Chico and the Man aired on NBC 4 seasons from 1974 to 1978.

*Freddie Prinze was only 22 when he died. Jack Albertson lived 1907-1981, so he was well into his 60s when the series debuted.

*Freddie Prinze: Gone Before His Time is the documentary I refer to on the podcast.

*Here is an interesting contemporary article about Prinze's suicide from Time in February 1977.

*Mark Evanier writes about James Komack here and elsewhere on his site. Also, check out this 1978 People article about Welcome Back Kotter.

*The diner the characters enter is indeed seen elsewhere in the second season.

*Shout-out again to the 200 Dollars a Day Plus Expenses podcast with our friends Steve and Dave!

*"Chico and the Van" premiered October 17, 1975 as the sixth episode of the second season.

*Laverne and Shirley premiered in January 1976.

*Ann Gibbs and Joel Kimmel are credited as writers along with James Komack.

*Our look at Sammy Davis Jr.'s TV movie Poor Devil is right here.

*Fame was a hit movie for MGM in 1980, and it became a series in 1982, starting on NBC before moving to first-run syndication.

*The TV movie about Prinze's life is 1979's Can You Hear the Laughter?, which debuted September 11, 1979 on CBS.

*Finally, check out our video playlist for this episode, featuring all kinds of Seventies goodness--variety shows, a clip from a Dean Martin roast, commercials, promos, Farrah Fawcett, and more!

*And remember, you can always check out our official YouTube page for all of our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!

YouTube Spotlight: Blansky's Beauties

One of the clips in this week's bonus episode playlist is the opening to Nancy Walker's sitcom Blansky's Beauties.

Garry Marshall had an amazing career in film and television, producing many remarkable hits. This is not one of them! The series didn't get enough of a boost from being introduced on Happy Days and fizzled out in a matter of months in 1977.

Walker's character is sort of the den mother of a bevy of showgirls and also produces their show. It doesn't quite work, but it is interesting to see how much it attempts to leech off other Marshall shows.

One interesting thing is that Eddie Mekka was on this and on Laverne and Shirley at the same time. On this, his character is said to be a cousin of The Big Ragu. Other familiar faces include Pat Morita, who had been on (and would return to) Happy Days; and Lynda Goodfriend and Scott Baio, who would later join that series. If that isn't enough, Pinky Tuscadero (Roz Kelly) is in the debut episode. Marshall gave himself a role, too; and the series featured Caren Kaye in an early regular part.

For now, you can find many of the 13 episodes on YouTube if you want to check it out for yourself!

Show Notes and Video Playlist: Episode 12-8: Dungeons and Dragons

*Mazes and Monsters premiered December 28, 1982, on CBS.

*Dragon magazine was in print 1976 to 2007, and since then has remained more or less active as a digital publication.

*Mark Evanier's site is right here.

*Dungeons and Dragons aired 27 episodes and 3 seasons, September 1983 to December 1985. CBS ran reruns in 1987 and 1990.

*This episode we discuss premiered Saturday, October 15, 1983. I didn't mention the primetime shows on that day, just the Saturday morning lineup, but here is what was on that night:

CBS: Cutter to Houston, Movie: Trackdown: Finding the Goodbar Killer

ABC: T,J. Hooker, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island

NBC: Diff'rent Strokes, Silver Spoons, The Rousters, The Yellow Rose

And later, Saturday Night Live welcomed hosts Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman with musical guest Eddy Grant

*Let's salute Johnny Douglas, the series' composer, for that wonderful orchestral theme music!

*Finally, here is the video playlist for this episode, chock full of promos, that great theme song, commercials, and SID Miller on Barney Miller! All this plus Menudo!

*And remember, you can always check out our official YouTube page for all of our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!

YouTube Spotlight: The pinnacle of this feature

This is a wonderful week because the current podcast topic and one of our running jokes align this week right here in this very post. Well, actually, it already happened in this week's video playlist for Rhoda when we had a legitimate reason to post a clip from that fabled BOTNS fave...

OVER EASY!

Yes, in this clip of the daytime public broadcasting program aimed at seniors, Hugh Downs interviews Rhoda's Nancy Walker. There is no egg talk, sadly, but I am overjoyed at the opportunity to work Over Easy into the BONTS universe again, and I hope longtime listeners appreciate it as well!

(Over Easy aired 1977-1982 on PBS stations. Downs hosted the magazine-style show that aired primarily in afternoon timeslots.)

Show Notes and Video Playlist: Episode 12-7: Rhoda

*This week we look at Rhoda, which aired 1974-1978 (5 seasons) on CBS.

*Shout-out to these two books: I, Rhoda, Valerie Harper's autobiography; and Jennifer Keishin Armstrong's Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted; which looks at all the series in the Maryverse. I reviewed the latter here in 2018.

*"Rhoda's Wedding" premiered October 28. 1974 and is the eighth episode of the series. It drew an estimated audience of 52 million viewers (That's even more than the last Battys). Two days before, "The New Sue Ann" episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show led into Rhoda's wedding.

*Rhoda was a top 10 program on Monday nights in first couple seasons, and by the end was on Saturday nights and finished 95 with half as many viewers as in its first two years.

*As of this writing, the series is still not officially available on streaming.

*In 1976, the divorce rate in the USA was 5 per 1,000 people, an all-time high.

*The counseling episode I mention is Season 3's "Two Little Words: Marriage Counselor," guest-starring Rene Auberjonois.

*"The Honeymoon" first aired Monday, November 4, 1974 at 9:30 PM on CBS.

*Ray Buktenica is the actor who plays Benny on the series.

*Here is the Mike/Richard Masur action figure:

*Mell Lazarus' Momma ran in newspaper syndication from 1970-2016.

*Mike did the research on how many episodes of TV Burt Mustin and Charles Lane were in together:
https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?role=nm0485272,nm0615993

This sounds like the obvious highlight:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0591273/?ref_=sr_t_30

*Phyllis with Cloris Leachman ran 2 seasons on CBS, 1975-1977.

*Finally, here is our video playlist for this week, which includes the very episode we discuss (If you like that, there's more in the same place), plus commercials, promos, and more! See, not just hear, Lorenzo Music!

*And remember, you can always check out our official YouTube page for all of our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!

YouTube Spotlight: 007 on MTV

One interesting clip in this week's video playlist is Roger Moore on MTV in 1985, perhaps not too distant from his appearance on the Lifestyles episode we discuss, promoting A View to a Kill with Nina Blackwood.

The movie had Duran Duran do the theme song, but does it feel like a MTV 1985 film? I like that the first question Nina asks is about Duran Duran, like Roger was the one who arranged the soundtrack production.

Moore should have struck around and introduced some more clips, like David Lee Roth, Whitney Houston, Simple Minds...

Show Notes and Video Playlist: Episode 12-6: Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

*Thank you again for voting in last season's 80s infotainment poll, which brings us to this week's episode after Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous lost a narrow decision to Entertainment Tonight.

*Announcer David Perry, AKA David Greenspan, was the brother of famed Olympic filmmaker Bud Greenspan and narrated many of those movies. 

*Runaway with the Rich and Famous (1991-1998) and Fame, Fortune, and Romance (1986-87) are the two spinoffs of the series. Apparently Robin Leach donated a bunch of VHS tapes to UNLV! Someone digitize this material!

*S.D. "Special Delivery" Jones was active in the WWF from 1974-1990.

*There was an ABC version of the show, re-edited episodes, on daytime weekdays in 1986.

*The St. James Club is still around today!  It now has pickleball! It still offers all-inclusive services, and we hope it remains "discreetly opulent."

*This episode of Lifestyles aired Saturday, February 9, 1985 in many markets.

*WPXI has been a station in the Pittsburgh market since 1957, though it was WIIC before changing call letters in 1981. For most of its run, it has been an NBC affiliate. In its early days, it aired prominent local shows like studio wrestling and Chiller Theater, both with Bill Cardille.

*Morris the Cat is still affiliated with 9Lives! His original commercial run lasted from 1969 to 1978.

*"Fat and Furry," premiering September 16, 1989 on CBS, is the Garfield episode Mike mentions. In a show on the show called Lifestyles of the Fat and Furry, Robin Leach shows viewers the luxury lives of spoiled felines.

*Charlene Tilton's single "C'est la Vie" was released in Germany, The Netherlands, and France in 1984. It was not even released in the USA.

*Regine Zylberberg (1929-2022) was a torch singer turned nightclub manager in France. She built an empire of nightclubs for the jet set all over the world. See an incredible disco music video of her and Charo in our video playlist!

*Roger Moore was James Bond in 7 movies from 1873 to 1985.

*Capitol was a CBS daytime soap from 1982 to 1987. other stars included Carolyn Jones, Ed Nelson, Julie Adams, and Rory Calhoun.

*George Michael's Sports Machine launched in 1984 as a production of WRC in Washington D.C. and was syndicated to other NBC stations before getting wider clearance in the Nineties.

*Joan Collins married Peter Holm in November 1985, but they divorced in August 1987, and the marriage was over well before then for practical purposes. She has been married to current husband Percy Gibson for over 20 years.

*Phlibin S. Flanagan was vice President and General Manager of Television Program Enterprises. You can read a 2015 obituary here.

*Finally, click below to enjoy our video playlist for this week, including promos, commercials, and more! Note that we included something out of the time frame, from the mid Nineties, to give you a taste of the Giant Eagle jingle I mention on the show.

*And remember, you can always check out our official YouTube page for all of our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!

YouTube Spotlight: Go Hawaiian!

I think I knew Donny and Marie from their Hawaiian Punch ads than I did their actual TV work. The commercials were on all the time, and I loved Hawaiian Punch! Or was it Kool-Aid? Or maybe Hi-C?

I think I drank all of those.

We included one ad in the playlist this week, but here are a couple more just in case you are in the need for even more sugary sweetness.

Did you know that when Donny and Marie were hired as spokespersons, the beverage was owned by RJ Reynolds? And today it is owned by Dr. Pepper.

Show Notes and Episode Playlist: Episode 12-5: Donny and Marie

*Apologies for the lateness of this post this week!

*I was unable to find the exact study, but I believe research in the 1960s revealed that being rock and roll or country is not a strict all-or-nothing proposition, but that it is more of a fluid scale on which people have different degrees of rock-and-rollness and/or countryness.

*Thanks again to everyone who voted in last year's variety shows poll. If you want to listen to or revist last season's Sonny and Cher episode, click here.

*Frampton Comes Alive by Peter Frampton is a double album from 1976 that was the biggest LP of the year and remains one of the biggest-selling live albums ever. Aja, released Fall 1977, is Steely Dan's biggest album.

*Goin' Coconuts (1978), the attempt to bring the Donny and Marie magic to the big screen, was a huge flop.

*Mike writes about Jimmy Osmond's Saturday morning preview special here.

*Here is my own take on an Osmonds Christmas special.

*One show we do not mention on the podcast is the Rankin Bass Saturday morning cartoon The Osmonds. it ran for 17 episodes in Fall 1972. The series featured the voices of the actual Osmonds...and of course Paul Frees!

*This episode premiered Friday, September 24, 1976, on ABC. It ran 4 seasons, January 1976 to May 1979, with 78 episodes.

*Serpico lasted a half-season on NBC.Co-starring with David Birney was Tom Atkins of The Rockford Files.

*"I Just Want to Celebrate" was a #7 hit for Rare Earth 5 years earlier, but its cover of The Temptations' "Get Ready" was its biggest hit at #4.

*Peggy Fleming was a gold medalist in figure skating at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France.

*Art Linkletter hosted House Party and People Are Funny on TV and radio.

*The New Howdy Doody Show premiered August 1976 in daily first-run syndication but only lasted until January.

*Finally, check out this week's video playlist, with commercials, promos, theme songs, and somehow, Rip Torn!

*And remember, you can always check out our official YouTube page for all of our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!

YouTube Spotlight: Victory wasn't just for the Olympic team

Welcome to YouTube Spotlight, where we feature a video from the latest podcast's video playlist. This week, we talk about the glory of the 1984 Summer Olympics, and one related clip that catches my eye is this:

This clip raises so many questions, like the ones the reporters ask: "What charity?"

I hope that Jacko surprised his brothers with that announcement. They are all like, "Hey, we aren't giving anything away!"

All indications were that Jackson was a reluctant participant in this Victory Tour, and I am sure it won't shock anyone to learn that there were allegations of shady business practices in an event with which Don King was involved.

Here's a cool clip from L.A.'s KISS-FM promoting the tour: