One of our favorites, the star of movies like Double Indemnity and later the anchor of My Three Sons, was born August 30, 1908. There is no truth to the rumor that Fred celebrated all his birthdays at once so he would have more time to golf.
Frederick Martin MacMurray starred on Sons through its end in 1972. Let's enjoy the Douglas Family Quintent with special guest vocalist Katie:
Friday, August 30, 2019
Thursday, August 29, 2019
This Day in TV History: "The Fugitive" ends
On August 29, 1967, the running stopped as The Fugitive wrapped up the saga of Richard Kimble. The high-rated episode is considered a leading influence on subsequent programs that ended with an actual conclusion rather than just a 'regular" episode.
This season, Mike and I discussed the St. Elsewhere finale, with me speculating that the series as a whole is overshadowed by the infamous ending. Yet perhaps that notorious twist is what will make the show be remembered at all in another 20 years. I hate to say it because I think The Fugitive is one of the best series ever, but there aren't many non-genre hour dramas from the sixties that people still talk about today. I happen to think that's an indictment on people, not on those TV dramas, but the point stands.
What are some of your favorite series finales? Do you think every series "must" end with some kind of conclusion that provides closure?
And to tie it in with our time period, here is a cool clip from The Museum of Classic Chicago Television: a clip from a rerun of The Fugitive plus some commercials from the time:
This season, Mike and I discussed the St. Elsewhere finale, with me speculating that the series as a whole is overshadowed by the infamous ending. Yet perhaps that notorious twist is what will make the show be remembered at all in another 20 years. I hate to say it because I think The Fugitive is one of the best series ever, but there aren't many non-genre hour dramas from the sixties that people still talk about today. I happen to think that's an indictment on people, not on those TV dramas, but the point stands.
What are some of your favorite series finales? Do you think every series "must" end with some kind of conclusion that provides closure?
And to tie it in with our time period, here is a cool clip from The Museum of Classic Chicago Television: a clip from a rerun of The Fugitive plus some commercials from the time:
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Thank you for a great season 6! Stay tuned for more...
We thank you all for a tremendous season 6 of Battle of the Network Shows! We hope you enjoyed listening to the episodes as much as we enjoyed making them. It's not quite over yet, though; we will revisit the characters, plots, and shady bootlegging schemes of this batch with our season-ending Batty Awards!
In the meantime, and before we return in the fall with season 7, keep visiting here for videos, pics, and other stuff. the weekly Top Ten will continue, and when we start back up with regular episodes, you will be the second to know.
Yes, the second--but you can be the first if you join us in our Facebook group. Visit us here and get the early word on upcoming episodes and surprises, and more importantly, just hang out and talk 1970s and 1980s TV with us. In fact, our Facebook group members are voting right now on a special listener-decided award for the Battys!
Thanks again for your support! To borrow a phrase from Batman in season 6, BOTNS listeners...DISPERSE! (But keep coming back on the regular!)
In the meantime, and before we return in the fall with season 7, keep visiting here for videos, pics, and other stuff. the weekly Top Ten will continue, and when we start back up with regular episodes, you will be the second to know.
Yes, the second--but you can be the first if you join us in our Facebook group. Visit us here and get the early word on upcoming episodes and surprises, and more importantly, just hang out and talk 1970s and 1980s TV with us. In fact, our Facebook group members are voting right now on a special listener-decided award for the Battys!
Thanks again for your support! To borrow a phrase from Batman in season 6, BOTNS listeners...DISPERSE! (But keep coming back on the regular!)
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Great Moments in 70s and 80s TV History: Gary Sandy introduces a special WKRP rerun
One of the most famous sitcoms episode is the 1978 WKRP in Cincinnati Thanksgiving installment titled Turkeys Away. What fascinates me is this clip of series star Gary Sandy introducing a repeat of it in December 1980:
I don't remember many reruns getting this kind of special treatment back then. Sandy talks about the big reaction the original broadcast got, so I guess CBS figured this rebroadcast would get good numbers.
Personally I'd like to see every rerun get a special intro like this. "Hi. I'm Grant Goodeve. When we first broadcast this episode of Eight Is Enough, we didn't anticipate the dozens of cards and letters we received talking about the Who's on First routine performed by Dick and Nicholas."
I also think it's funny that Sandy jokes about showing a Thanksgiving episode several weeks after the holiday. Hey, if they can do that, we can run this post months before the holiday. It's really this intro, though, not the episode itself, that excites me.
(As it happens, November 27 was Thanksgiving in 1980, and CBS ran a new The Waltons, while the preceding and the following Saturday each saw a new WKRP, or so I think. I am unable to confirm the airdate reported by the YouTube poster as December 13, 1980, and in fact, I saw an indication that a different episode aired that evening. )
I don't remember many reruns getting this kind of special treatment back then. Sandy talks about the big reaction the original broadcast got, so I guess CBS figured this rebroadcast would get good numbers.
Personally I'd like to see every rerun get a special intro like this. "Hi. I'm Grant Goodeve. When we first broadcast this episode of Eight Is Enough, we didn't anticipate the dozens of cards and letters we received talking about the Who's on First routine performed by Dick and Nicholas."
I also think it's funny that Sandy jokes about showing a Thanksgiving episode several weeks after the holiday. Hey, if they can do that, we can run this post months before the holiday. It's really this intro, though, not the episode itself, that excites me.
(As it happens, November 27 was Thanksgiving in 1980, and CBS ran a new The Waltons, while the preceding and the following Saturday each saw a new WKRP, or so I think. I am unable to confirm the airdate reported by the YouTube poster as December 13, 1980, and in fact, I saw an indication that a different episode aired that evening. )
Monday, August 26, 2019
YouTube Spotlight: The What's Happening!! playlist
The closer of our What's Happening!! playlist this week is the Givens family singing Bubbling Brown Sugar, the title song of a hit 1976 Broadway musical. This is one of my most memorable episodes; I swear it was on every few weeks in reruns, Either that or this song was just that_darned_catchy!
This clip is from the season 2 episode Going Going Gong in which Rerun auditions to go on The Gong Show as Raj and Dee try to break the Givens kids on the same show. It's a fun episode, though in retrospect it may be a symbol of the show losing its way a bit--emphasizing Rerun and gimmicks.
These kids are fantastic, though it's funny that they seemingly know only one song chorus that they repeat again and again and again. What an infectious bit of music, though!
The play was nominated for several Tony awards, including Best Musical. More importantly, who won the Gong Show? You'll have to watch the episode.
This clip is from the season 2 episode Going Going Gong in which Rerun auditions to go on The Gong Show as Raj and Dee try to break the Givens kids on the same show. It's a fun episode, though in retrospect it may be a symbol of the show losing its way a bit--emphasizing Rerun and gimmicks.
These kids are fantastic, though it's funny that they seemingly know only one song chorus that they repeat again and again and again. What an infectious bit of music, though!
The play was nominated for several Tony awards, including Best Musical. More importantly, who won the Gong Show? You'll have to watch the episode.
Sunday, August 25, 2019
BOTNS Top Ten #30
1) What's Happening!!: The BOTNS season 6 finale features the 1970s ABC sitcom, a show that seems to get a lot more love than one might think.
2) The Doobie Brothers: Arguably the most memorable episode of What's Happening!! is the two-parter with the Doobies, and it has everything--tunes, bootlegging, musicians trying to act... The Best Song category at this year's Batty Awards is going to be LIT!
3) Gary Sandy: The discussion Mike and I have on the pod this week proves that Gary Sandy is still "over" with TV viewers, or at least with us. Anytime you have the likes of Patrick Simmons, a strong enough personality in his own right, compared to YOU, you have done something right. Who is up for more Gary Sandy discussion on BOTNS?
4) Al Dunbar: We struggled to make sense of Al's business model, but we agree that the bootlegger was one cool cat, at least until Skunk Baxter and the Doobies made him back down like a jive turkey.
5) Jim Colucci: The Closer Weekly TV podcast, which I didn't know about until this week, featured an interview with this author, who is following his Golden Girls book with something even better--a "definitive" Love Boat book. Is it too early to give this man a Congressional Medal of Freedom?
6) Monteeg: Kevin Smith is doing an anime (?) version of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and according to this story, it will focus on "unresolved storylines" of the original 80s cartoon.
We can think of something that deserves some follow up:
(Pic courtesy of the He-man.org encyclopedia)
7) Jack Whitaker: R.I.P. Imagine a network today utilizing an "essayist" the way ABC utilized Jack Whitaker.
8) Barnaby Jones: Me-TV, apparently worried its median viewer age might dip below 55, is adding George Utley's favorite series to its weekday lineup. It's nice to freshen up a schedule that needs it, but it's adding it to the not-so-coveted timeslot of 4:00 A.M. I don't think even George would get up that early.
9) Dabney Coleman: I saw an announcement that he's joining the cast of Yellowstone. I don't care what kind of character he is playing, as long as it's a jerk.
10) Tom Seaver: Pats QB Tom Brady lost an effort to gain a trademark on 'Tom Terrific," partly because, hey, pal, Tom Seaver already has that nickname. We celebrate any victory of baseball over football, the 1970s over the 2000s, and Captain Kangaroo over Deflategate.
2) The Doobie Brothers: Arguably the most memorable episode of What's Happening!! is the two-parter with the Doobies, and it has everything--tunes, bootlegging, musicians trying to act... The Best Song category at this year's Batty Awards is going to be LIT!
3) Gary Sandy: The discussion Mike and I have on the pod this week proves that Gary Sandy is still "over" with TV viewers, or at least with us. Anytime you have the likes of Patrick Simmons, a strong enough personality in his own right, compared to YOU, you have done something right. Who is up for more Gary Sandy discussion on BOTNS?
4) Al Dunbar: We struggled to make sense of Al's business model, but we agree that the bootlegger was one cool cat, at least until Skunk Baxter and the Doobies made him back down like a jive turkey.
5) Jim Colucci: The Closer Weekly TV podcast, which I didn't know about until this week, featured an interview with this author, who is following his Golden Girls book with something even better--a "definitive" Love Boat book. Is it too early to give this man a Congressional Medal of Freedom?
6) Monteeg: Kevin Smith is doing an anime (?) version of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and according to this story, it will focus on "unresolved storylines" of the original 80s cartoon.
We can think of something that deserves some follow up:
(Pic courtesy of the He-man.org encyclopedia)
7) Jack Whitaker: R.I.P. Imagine a network today utilizing an "essayist" the way ABC utilized Jack Whitaker.
8) Barnaby Jones: Me-TV, apparently worried its median viewer age might dip below 55, is adding George Utley's favorite series to its weekday lineup. It's nice to freshen up a schedule that needs it, but it's adding it to the not-so-coveted timeslot of 4:00 A.M. I don't think even George would get up that early.
9) Dabney Coleman: I saw an announcement that he's joining the cast of Yellowstone. I don't care what kind of character he is playing, as long as it's a jerk.
10) Tom Seaver: Pats QB Tom Brady lost an effort to gain a trademark on 'Tom Terrific," partly because, hey, pal, Tom Seaver already has that nickname. We celebrate any victory of baseball over football, the 1970s over the 2000s, and Captain Kangaroo over Deflategate.
Friday, August 23, 2019
What's Happening!! playlist is now live!
After determining which Doobie you be, take a look at our playlist for this week's show. Click below to enjoy: Shirley Hemphill and Richard Pryor! Mr. T and Tina! Eric Monte refuses to join the Norman Lear love fest! And Fred Berry dances on Soul Train AND Alice! All this plus promos, commercials, and did we mention The Doobies?
And remember to check out our official YouTube channel for more playlists like this plus past episodes of the show!
And remember to check out our official YouTube channel for more playlists like this plus past episodes of the show!
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