BOTNS Top Ten #9

1) Cheers: This week, new sitcom Abby's drew numerous comparisons to Cheers, and The Big Bang Theory surpassed Cheers as the longest-running multi-camera sitcom of all time. My big

2) Janet Jackson: BOTNS congratulates the star of Good Times for entering the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this weekend, apparently based on some kind of career she had after abandoning television.

3) Danny DeVito: The Taxi star has a prominent role in Tim Burton's new live-action Dumbo.

4) Night Court: Returns to Laff, though I'm still hoping it somehow comes to Amazon Prime. Who cares about things like multibillion dollar headquarters plans when Night Court and Alice are out there waiting to be streamed on Prime Video?

5) Gabe Kaplan: Happy birthday to the former Mr. Kotter, or as we like to refer to him after watching Battle of the Network Stars, The World's Fastest Comedian.

6) Quantum Leap: Celebrated its 30th anniversary this week. Our dream episode would involve Sam leaping into Fred Silverman's body and attempting to change the course of NBC history.

7) William Shatner: After making the list for his 88th birthday last week, Shatner learns this week that the series he is going to host, The UnXplained, will debut on History. The show sounds like a sort of companion piece for the ongoing revival of BOTNS fave In Search Of.

8) Punky Brewster: It debuts on Tubi TV--the logical next step for those looking for more high-octane action and adeventure after burning through the Magnum and A-Team reruns Tubi had added.

9) Mary Cadorette: The actress was born today in March 31, and as a birthday gift, we're gonna assure her that she was not the reason Three's a Crowd was so lame.



10) Count von Count: He was the number one choice in this list of iconic TV vampires. So why is he only #10 here? Well, this gives the guy the chance to list 9 more numerals, of course.

Happy birthday, Dianne Kay!

Dianne Kay, who played Nancy Bradford on our beloved (well, my beloved, at least) Eight Is Enough, was born on this day. Check out these two promos and tell me you don't want to sit down and watch the heck out of the show all over again:

Show Notes: Listorama--TV Shows that would make good comic books

We hope you enjoyed our newest bonus episode, a listing of 70s and 80s TV shows we'd like to have seen become comic books. Here is a handy rundown of our picks and some notes on what we discussed, but please download and listen to the pod first!

Mike #1 The Learverse
#2 Magnum P.I.
#3: Search
#4: In Search Of
#5: The White Shadow

Honorable mentions:
Sandbaggers, Voyagers, The Incredible Hulk (adaptation of the TV series)

Rick #1 Maude
#2 The Greatest American Hero
#3: Gemini Man
#4: Miami Vice
#5: Battle of the Network Stars

Crisis on Infinite Earths is the landmark 1985 miniseries that served as a turning point in DC comics continuity. It's going to be a crossover event in the CW's Arrowverse TV shows this fall.

The British Magnum comics Mike mentions appeared in 1982, and you can get a good look here at the definitive Magnum Mania site. An in-depth review here proves that...it was pretty awesome!

Gold Key Comics were published for just over 20 years. It featured a lot of titles starring licensed characters and properties.

Just because:

Gil Thorp continues as a newspaper comic strip to this day! Creator Jack Berrill started it in 1958, and after his death in 1996, the first person to take it over was the co-author of the Left Behind series!

We couldn't find a cartoon drawing of Rona Barrett, but I want this magazine:



Also couldn't find a Jack Davis illustration of Bea Arthur, but there is this:



We'd love to hear what you think of our ideas and also if you have any suggestions of your own! Thanks for listening to the show, and get ready for our next season, coming soon to wherever you get your podcasts!

List-o-rama: TV Shows That Should Have Had Comic Books

Back in the BOTNS era and before, many TV shows had licensed comic book adaptations, but many more didn’t. Rick and Mike pick five each that should have had their own comic, suggest possible details like look and format, and Mike even offers to write some of them! Join us for this mixed media adventure.


Check out this episode!

BOTNS salutes David Janssen

The late star of The Fugitive was born on this date in 1931, and though his peak was in the Sixties, we'd love to get him on the podcast eventually, whether as Harry O, O'Hara, U.S. Treasury, or even through his role in this 1972 movie of the week on ABC:

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...

Happy birthday, Leonard Nimoy...or is it?

There is a preponderance of evidence that suggests today is the late Leonard Nimoy's birthday. But we can't rule out the possibility that more evidence will turn up at some point that disproves the conventional wisdom.




In addition to hosting BOTNS favorite In Search Of, Nimoy edged into our era through Mission Impossible, on which he played master of disguise Paris. In this excerpt, Nimoy gets across his essential coolness without a word--with a great sweater, yes, but without a word: