After listening to this week's Spider-Woman episode of the pod, click below to enjoy this week's video playlist! See Web Woman! Canadian kids ask Stan Lee about his favorite comic book characters! Vintage footage of Egypt in the 1970s! And if that doesn't make you feel good..."Make a Saturdae!"
Remember you can always visit our official YouTube channel for playlists like this one as well as our archive of past episodes!
Friday, January 31, 2020
Show Notes: Episode 7-5: Spider-Woman
*Spider-Woman aired on ABC in 1979 (September 22-January 5, 1980, to be precise) and only lasted 16 episodes.
*The debut episode, Pyramids of Terror, aired September 22 at 11:00 A.M. against The All-New Popeye Hour on CBS and The New Adventures of Flash Gordon on NBC.
*The comic book character first appeared in Marvel Spotlight #32, cover dated February 1977. Archie Goodwin and Marie Severin are credited with developing Jessica Drew.
*Tarzan and the Super 7, a Filmation animated series, aired on CBS 1978-1980. It was an action-oriented show with one live-action segment, Jason of Star Command. Jason later "graduated" to his own half-hour Saturday morning series, and much of the rest of the show morphed into a rerun show called Batman and the Super 7 on NBC.
You see, Tarzan and the Super 7 followed The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour, also produced by Filmation, which offered reruns of The New Adventures of Batman. So when the whole thing moved to NBC, Batman came back, and--you know, I don't remember Saturday morning cartoons being this complicated.
*Web Woman (Linda Gary) was one of the "Super 7" segments. Legend has it (isn't that much better than an actual source?) that news of this character directly inspired Marvel to come up with a "Spider-Woman."
*The Julia Carpenter version of Spider-Woman was a regular in the 1994 Iron man cartoon.
*Series scribe Jeffrey Scott is indeed the prolific writer of numerous Super Friends and hundreds of other era cartoon episodes.
*Justice magazine remains a mystery to us and our crack research team.
*A massive King Tut exhibition toured the USA from 1976-1979.
*Dullard co-reporter (?) and pilot Jeff is the voice of Bruce Miller, who has only two other screen credits! Here is his IMDB bio, as written by...himself!
Born Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Studied at Bristol University, then trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, England. 1970 moved to South Africa. Played Jesus in Godspell and Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. He also had a very successful career as a pop singer. His international movies include Safari 3000 (with Stockard Channing & David Carradine), Oh Brother! and Rogue Lion. These days he is a radio broadcaster and producer of Radio Drama for SAfm Radio in Johannesburg, South Africa.
*The debut episode, Pyramids of Terror, aired September 22 at 11:00 A.M. against The All-New Popeye Hour on CBS and The New Adventures of Flash Gordon on NBC.
*The comic book character first appeared in Marvel Spotlight #32, cover dated February 1977. Archie Goodwin and Marie Severin are credited with developing Jessica Drew.
*Tarzan and the Super 7, a Filmation animated series, aired on CBS 1978-1980. It was an action-oriented show with one live-action segment, Jason of Star Command. Jason later "graduated" to his own half-hour Saturday morning series, and much of the rest of the show morphed into a rerun show called Batman and the Super 7 on NBC.
You see, Tarzan and the Super 7 followed The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour, also produced by Filmation, which offered reruns of The New Adventures of Batman. So when the whole thing moved to NBC, Batman came back, and--you know, I don't remember Saturday morning cartoons being this complicated.
*Web Woman (Linda Gary) was one of the "Super 7" segments. Legend has it (isn't that much better than an actual source?) that news of this character directly inspired Marvel to come up with a "Spider-Woman."
*The Julia Carpenter version of Spider-Woman was a regular in the 1994 Iron man cartoon.
*Series scribe Jeffrey Scott is indeed the prolific writer of numerous Super Friends and hundreds of other era cartoon episodes.
*Justice magazine remains a mystery to us and our crack research team.
*A massive King Tut exhibition toured the USA from 1976-1979.
*Dullard co-reporter (?) and pilot Jeff is the voice of Bruce Miller, who has only two other screen credits! Here is his IMDB bio, as written by...himself!
Born Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Studied at Bristol University, then trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, England. 1970 moved to South Africa. Played Jesus in Godspell and Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. He also had a very successful career as a pop singer. His international movies include Safari 3000 (with Stockard Channing & David Carradine), Oh Brother! and Rogue Lion. These days he is a radio broadcaster and producer of Radio Drama for SAfm Radio in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Thursday, January 30, 2020
Episode 7-5: Spider-Woman "Pyramids of Terror"
If you ever wanted to watch a cartoon featuring a spider-powered heroine who also runs a magazine with her know-it-all nephew and sexist photographer as they face off against space mummies, travel the world in seconds, and make Spider-Man look like a dope, then we have the cartoon for you! 1979's Spider-Woman cartoon, based on the Marvel character of the same name, has literally everything...in the first episode "Pyramids of Doom."
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Top Ten #52
1) What a Country: Isn't it about time for a revival of this late great 1980s syndicated sitcom? You can start by listening to this week's podcast episode!
OK, maybe it's not one of the essential shows we have covered, but until someone puts Night Court on a legit streaming service, catching WAC on YouTube may be our best shot at vintage Yakov Smirnoff.
2) Head of the Class: Isn't it about time for--Oh, never mind. It does seem to be a bit of a forgotten show, though, with a run on Antenna TV and a stint on AOL's In2TV (remember that)? its main exposure in recent years.
3) Leonid Brezhnev: Say what you will about the guy, but the Cold War talk on this episode made me miss the jokes about Soviet leaders in the 1980s.
4) John Karlen: R.I.P. to the actor who was perhaps best known for playing Harvey, Cagney's husband. Wait, I mean Lacey. No, it was Cagney. Well, it was Tyne Daly's husband, I know that. Maybe Harvey was married to &.
5) Bob McGrath: The Sesame Street legend made an appearance on The Carson Podcast this week, and it's always great to see he's still around. Plus when asked about phasing out his appearances on the show, he said, "I wasn't gonna stick around if they were gonna let that red SOB Elmo ruin it."
6) Bob Uecker: Happy birthday to Mr. Baseball, also one of the subjects of our look at Greatest Sports Legends. It's never a bad time to look at one of these ads:
7) L.A. Law: I had to look it up and verify there really was a show of this name that lasted 8 seasons and over 170 episodes after Harry Hamlin said his career was "completely ended" by playing a gay man in a 1982 movie.
8) Gene Siskel: Happy birthday to the late movie reviewer, who was obviously the second-most prominent critic in Chicago behind...Gary Deeb.
9) The Dukes of Hazzard: The series premiered this date in 1979:
10) Jim Lehrer: R.I.P. to one half of the only news team to rock harder then Huntley and Brinkley. He also moderated 12 presidential debates, but don't hold that against him.
OK, maybe it's not one of the essential shows we have covered, but until someone puts Night Court on a legit streaming service, catching WAC on YouTube may be our best shot at vintage Yakov Smirnoff.
2) Head of the Class: Isn't it about time for--Oh, never mind. It does seem to be a bit of a forgotten show, though, with a run on Antenna TV and a stint on AOL's In2TV (remember that)? its main exposure in recent years.
3) Leonid Brezhnev: Say what you will about the guy, but the Cold War talk on this episode made me miss the jokes about Soviet leaders in the 1980s.
4) John Karlen: R.I.P. to the actor who was perhaps best known for playing Harvey, Cagney's husband. Wait, I mean Lacey. No, it was Cagney. Well, it was Tyne Daly's husband, I know that. Maybe Harvey was married to &.
5) Bob McGrath: The Sesame Street legend made an appearance on The Carson Podcast this week, and it's always great to see he's still around. Plus when asked about phasing out his appearances on the show, he said, "I wasn't gonna stick around if they were gonna let that red SOB Elmo ruin it."
6) Bob Uecker: Happy birthday to Mr. Baseball, also one of the subjects of our look at Greatest Sports Legends. It's never a bad time to look at one of these ads:
7) L.A. Law: I had to look it up and verify there really was a show of this name that lasted 8 seasons and over 170 episodes after Harry Hamlin said his career was "completely ended" by playing a gay man in a 1982 movie.
8) Gene Siskel: Happy birthday to the late movie reviewer, who was obviously the second-most prominent critic in Chicago behind...Gary Deeb.
9) The Dukes of Hazzard: The series premiered this date in 1979:
10) Jim Lehrer: R.I.P. to one half of the only news team to rock harder then Huntley and Brinkley. He also moderated 12 presidential debates, but don't hold that against him.
Friday, January 24, 2020
Head of the Class & What a Country: YouTube playlist is now live!
After you enjoy this week's episode of the podcast. check out the official playlist for it! Explore theme songs, promos, vintage commercials, and also...tennis! A rap battle! Dan Frischman as you've never seen him before! And you'd better believe there's gonna be plenty of Yakov!
Remember to visit our official YouTube channel each week for episode-specific playlists like this one, along with past installments of Battle of the Network Shows. Thanks for listening!
Remember to visit our official YouTube channel each week for episode-specific playlists like this one, along with past installments of Battle of the Network Shows. Thanks for listening!
Show Notes: Episode 7-4: Head of the Class/What a Country
*Thanks again to Jim for suggesting we discuss Head of the Class, and thanks to Yakov Smirnoff for showing us the foibles of our country--nay, the foibles of our peoples.
*Head of the Class aired on ABC from 1986 to 1991, 5 seasons, for a total of 114 episodes. It was on Wednesdays each year until it moved to Tuesday as a replacement series in the Billy Connolly season.
*The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming premiered Wednesday, February 4, 1987 at 8:30 after Perfect Class and preceding Dynasty and Hotel. NBC went with Highway to Heaven, Gimme a Break, The Tortellis, and St. Elsewhere. On CBS, it was Mike Hammer, Magnum P.I., and The Equalizer.
*Maria Borges left the IHP after the third season to attend a performing arts school to be a singer. Fellow classmates Janice and Jawarhalal also left as the show retooled for season 4 with some new cast members.
*Here is the Chicago Tribune article we mention in which star Howard Hesseman expressed concerns over the show.
*Note the lede in this 1990 mention in a Utah paper about Hesseman leaving:
Howard Hesseman, who's starred in "Head of the Class" for four years and whined about it almost that long, is finally leaving the ABC sitcom.
*This 1990 Entertainment Weekly article speculates that the show's impending cancellation was due to it performing as a poor lead-in for Roseanne despite being #21 overall. An interesting quote from showrunner Richard Eustis:
This season, Head of the Class was retooled to showcase Scottish comedian Billy Connolly (in foreground below, with company), who replaced series original Howard Hesseman. His prominence has some old hands griping about their reduced roles. ”They’re such pros that they don’t let it affect their work,” Eustis insists. ”They all know that if this show has renewed life, it’s going to be because of Billy. If you have fewer lines but Billy’s up there saving your job, what do you care?”
*There is no evidence that the Russian academic team was using performance-enhancing drugs to gain advantage in competition.
BUT COME ON!
*Bad Boy Brian Robbins became a director (Varsity Blues) and prolific producer after the show.
*The man who serves as quizmaster is indeed Deadwood's Mr. Wu: Keone Young.
*Famous draws in competition: 1968 Yale-Harvard (29-29), the 2002 MLB All-Star Game, Rocky Balboa and Thunderlips in Rocky III.
*The "trip to Moscow" episodes in 1988 made the show the first American sitcom to film in the USSR. We won't give it away, but there IS a winner in the rematch!
*What a Country aired in first-run syndication from September 1986 to May 1987.
*The Soul Man premiered October 4, 1986. The version we watched is an off-air recording from WPIX in New York.
*Yakov Smirnoff, born in Ukraine in 1951, defected to the USA in 1977. He became a United States citizen on July 4, 1986! His career as a comedian and actor peaked in the 1980s, but he had a long run headlining his own theater in Branson, Missouri, and still performs.
*The What a Country theme song is by Dick DeBenedictis.
*This show is based on a Britcom called Mind Your Language (1977-1979, 1986).
*"Dick Lewis is watching!" was the centerpiece of a campaign by Newmark and Lewis, a tri-state electronics chain that went under in 1992.
*If you want to hear us rap more on the podcast...keep it to yourself!
*"Battle of the Network Shows was taped before a captive studio audience."
*Head of the Class aired on ABC from 1986 to 1991, 5 seasons, for a total of 114 episodes. It was on Wednesdays each year until it moved to Tuesday as a replacement series in the Billy Connolly season.
*The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming premiered Wednesday, February 4, 1987 at 8:30 after Perfect Class and preceding Dynasty and Hotel. NBC went with Highway to Heaven, Gimme a Break, The Tortellis, and St. Elsewhere. On CBS, it was Mike Hammer, Magnum P.I., and The Equalizer.
*Maria Borges left the IHP after the third season to attend a performing arts school to be a singer. Fellow classmates Janice and Jawarhalal also left as the show retooled for season 4 with some new cast members.
*Here is the Chicago Tribune article we mention in which star Howard Hesseman expressed concerns over the show.
*Note the lede in this 1990 mention in a Utah paper about Hesseman leaving:
Howard Hesseman, who's starred in "Head of the Class" for four years and whined about it almost that long, is finally leaving the ABC sitcom.
*This 1990 Entertainment Weekly article speculates that the show's impending cancellation was due to it performing as a poor lead-in for Roseanne despite being #21 overall. An interesting quote from showrunner Richard Eustis:
This season, Head of the Class was retooled to showcase Scottish comedian Billy Connolly (in foreground below, with company), who replaced series original Howard Hesseman. His prominence has some old hands griping about their reduced roles. ”They’re such pros that they don’t let it affect their work,” Eustis insists. ”They all know that if this show has renewed life, it’s going to be because of Billy. If you have fewer lines but Billy’s up there saving your job, what do you care?”
*There is no evidence that the Russian academic team was using performance-enhancing drugs to gain advantage in competition.
BUT COME ON!
*Bad Boy Brian Robbins became a director (Varsity Blues) and prolific producer after the show.
*The man who serves as quizmaster is indeed Deadwood's Mr. Wu: Keone Young.
*Famous draws in competition: 1968 Yale-Harvard (29-29), the 2002 MLB All-Star Game, Rocky Balboa and Thunderlips in Rocky III.
*The "trip to Moscow" episodes in 1988 made the show the first American sitcom to film in the USSR. We won't give it away, but there IS a winner in the rematch!
*What a Country aired in first-run syndication from September 1986 to May 1987.
*The Soul Man premiered October 4, 1986. The version we watched is an off-air recording from WPIX in New York.
*Yakov Smirnoff, born in Ukraine in 1951, defected to the USA in 1977. He became a United States citizen on July 4, 1986! His career as a comedian and actor peaked in the 1980s, but he had a long run headlining his own theater in Branson, Missouri, and still performs.
*The What a Country theme song is by Dick DeBenedictis.
*This show is based on a Britcom called Mind Your Language (1977-1979, 1986).
*"Dick Lewis is watching!" was the centerpiece of a campaign by Newmark and Lewis, a tri-state electronics chain that went under in 1992.
*If you want to hear us rap more on the podcast...keep it to yourself!
*"Battle of the Network Shows was taped before a captive studio audience."
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