We return for another exciting round of the Fame Game! Will Mike be able to guess this week's BOTNS-era celebrity, character, or possibly location, or will he go down trying? Plus, what have Bobby and the BOTNS Orchestra been up to? Find out this week!
Thursday, April 30, 2020
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
This Day in TV History: Confessions of a Lady Cop on NBC
This day in 1980, the Police Story franchise ended on NBC with a two-hour TV movie. I have never seen this movie, but I can guarantee you it's not as exciting as its title indicates. On this day in TV history, NBC gave the world Confessions of a Lady Cop.
Credit to to Newspapers.com and Garage Sale Finds for the scans.
Police Story began March 20, 1973 as a TV movie, then aired on NBC as an anthology before hanging on as several TV movies. This was the finale...until it came back 7 years later! Police Story: The Freeway Killings featured Angie Dickinson, Ben Gazarra, Richard Crenna, Tony Lo Bianco, and many more TV vets. The show was revived yet again in 1988 when ABC reshot screenplays from the original series run for programming during the writers' strike.
All in all, Police Story--with its diversity of storylines and performers--may be one of the most underappreciated but with interesting production history series of the era!
Credit to to Newspapers.com and Garage Sale Finds for the scans.
Police Story began March 20, 1973 as a TV movie, then aired on NBC as an anthology before hanging on as several TV movies. This was the finale...until it came back 7 years later! Police Story: The Freeway Killings featured Angie Dickinson, Ben Gazarra, Richard Crenna, Tony Lo Bianco, and many more TV vets. The show was revived yet again in 1988 when ABC reshot screenplays from the original series run for programming during the writers' strike.
All in all, Police Story--with its diversity of storylines and performers--may be one of the most underappreciated but with interesting production history series of the era!
Monday, April 27, 2020
Happy birthday, Jack Klugman!
Happy birthday to the late Jack Klugman! We can all agree that the way that the icon would want to be remembered today is by putting Quincy M.E. on a streaming video on demand service again.
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Top Ten #65
1) The Krypton Factor: Hat tip to John from our Facebook group for posting a link to the debut episode of this short-lived adaptation of a British game show. It's all about finding the pinnacle of human achievement...in part with trivia questions and asking the participating warriors to recall dialogue from The Legend of the Lone Ranger.
2) Carol Burnett: Happy birthday to the legend best known for her long-running CBS--you know, I haven't even finished the entry and somewhere Harvey Korman is already breaking up.
3) Honky in the House: I don't care how good this book by former Jeffersons writer Jay Moriarty is, that title alone puts it on the shortlist for best of the year.
4) Madeline Khan: Also on our Facebook group, we discussed who you might "draft" to build a TV show around, and while there were some great answers (join us to learn more!), this one by Friend of the Show Dann intrigued me most because it never would have crossed my mind.
5) ALF: It's National Kids and Pets Day, AND this series was just added to Prime Video again. Oh, ALF was totally a pet. Everyone knows Brian was the real force in that household.
6) Three's Company: Antenna TV celebrates the sitcom (which we celebrated here) with a marathon today. I celebrate it by posting this old Pizza Hut ad featuring Richard Kline:
7) John Barbour: The former Real People star was on TV Confidential again last week, and while I can't say I understood everything he was talking about, he sure had a lot of energy. His memoir is called Your Mother's Not a Virgin, which is almost as good a title as Honky in the House.
8) Shirley Knight: R.I.P. She was nominated for an Emmy for her role in this 1980 Vanessa Redgrave telefilm:
9) HBO MAX: It finally has a launch date: May 27. The announced slate of new programs is weak, and I am not thrilled by Big Bang Theory, so I am anxious to see how deep into the catalog they go, Surely this is the streaming return of Warner Archive Instant faves like McLain's Law, The Man from Atlantis, and of course:
10) Growing Pains/Who's the Boss: Both sitcoms ended this day in April, and I think we can all agree that ABC's "Things That make You Go..." promotional branding campaign gave each show the gravity it deserved.
2) Carol Burnett: Happy birthday to the legend best known for her long-running CBS--you know, I haven't even finished the entry and somewhere Harvey Korman is already breaking up.
3) Honky in the House: I don't care how good this book by former Jeffersons writer Jay Moriarty is, that title alone puts it on the shortlist for best of the year.
4) Madeline Khan: Also on our Facebook group, we discussed who you might "draft" to build a TV show around, and while there were some great answers (join us to learn more!), this one by Friend of the Show Dann intrigued me most because it never would have crossed my mind.
5) ALF: It's National Kids and Pets Day, AND this series was just added to Prime Video again. Oh, ALF was totally a pet. Everyone knows Brian was the real force in that household.
6) Three's Company: Antenna TV celebrates the sitcom (which we celebrated here) with a marathon today. I celebrate it by posting this old Pizza Hut ad featuring Richard Kline:
7) John Barbour: The former Real People star was on TV Confidential again last week, and while I can't say I understood everything he was talking about, he sure had a lot of energy. His memoir is called Your Mother's Not a Virgin, which is almost as good a title as Honky in the House.
8) Shirley Knight: R.I.P. She was nominated for an Emmy for her role in this 1980 Vanessa Redgrave telefilm:
9) HBO MAX: It finally has a launch date: May 27. The announced slate of new programs is weak, and I am not thrilled by Big Bang Theory, so I am anxious to see how deep into the catalog they go, Surely this is the streaming return of Warner Archive Instant faves like McLain's Law, The Man from Atlantis, and of course:
10) Growing Pains/Who's the Boss: Both sitcoms ended this day in April, and I think we can all agree that ABC's "Things That make You Go..." promotional branding campaign gave each show the gravity it deserved.
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Alex Karras returns!
We conclude our semi-official NFL Draft week with another appearance by one of our favorite pro footballer/pitchmen: Alex Karras. Before Peyton Manning was in every other ad break in any given sporting event, the Detroit Lions Pro Bowl DT carved out a pretty good commercial resume even as he built up his acting career.
I didn't know Alex Karras did commercials for Faygo Redpop. I didn't even know Faygo did commercials for Faygo Redpop. I must have grown up in the post-glory years of the Faygo empire. And, yes, it is Redpop--one word.
I didn't know Alex Karras did commercials for Faygo Redpop. I didn't even know Faygo did commercials for Faygo Redpop. I must have grown up in the post-glory years of the Faygo empire. And, yes, it is Redpop--one word.
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
And now a look at the 1983 USFL Draft
I don't think the actual draft of the USFL, the awesome short-lived 1980s spring football league, was televised, but Keith Jackson talking about it is an acceptable alternative:
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