BOTNS Top Ten #10

1) James Garner: It's always a good time to celebrate one of TV's most beloved stars, but today is the late legend's birthday.




2) Twiki: In honor of National Robotics Week, we salute one of our favorite robots. I wish I were more like Twiki: Just watch how smooth he is with the lady bots:




3) Lisa Whelchel: Another one of her brilliant ideas: Hosting Collector's Call on MeTV, which premieres tonight.

4) Al McGuire: When it's NCAA March Madness time, I think of Al McGuire. Specifically, I think of Al and Dick Enberg on NBC's coverage. I realize they weren't known for their tournament work because CBS had the rights, but why quibble if we have a chance to post a vintage NBC college hoops opening?



5) Pamela Sue Martin: The former Nancy Drew earned a role in the CW's upcoming remake. Hopefully they don't cast Parker Stevenson to take all her screen time again.

6) Toronto Blue Jays: The franchise played its first official game on this date in 1977!




7) Michael Landon: Reelz's special on Landon tonight reportedly posits a link between the star's cancer death and Little House shooting near a contaminated nuclear site. That would be ironic considering nuclear fallout was about the only thing that didn't cause problems for the Ingalls family.

8) Bob Hope: I gotta tell ya, folks, I wish that Prime Video had more than just a bunch of his Christmas specials, but it's cool that many of those are now available for streaming.

9) Hugh O'Brian: Check out BOTNS immortal Hugh in The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp now on Amazon Prime Video. Then check him out at his most "suave and de-boner" as we discuss Search in one of our earlier seasons.

10) Kathie Lee Gifford: As Kathie Lee is forced out--uh, "retires" from Today, don't lose track of her rich television legacy. Yes, she was annoying millions of viewers as far back as 1985 (She didn't annoy people on Name the Tune).

Not ranked: Bill Cosby

Happy birthday, John Ratzenberger

Ehh...it's a little-known fact that John Ratzenberger turns 71 today. Hopefully no Cliff Clavins out there will tell us this PSA is actually from 1990 and therefore just outside our standard time frame:

And now...a word from THEIR sponsor: This kid loves bologna

Fans of TV of the BOTNS era surely remember the maddening Oscar Meyer bologna theme song, a ditty exceeded only by the Oscar Meyer hot dog song in its ability to annoy. So of course we want to share a commercial featuring it!

The time frame doesn't match at all, but I'm not 100% convinced this isn't a young Terry Bradshaw.

Mr. Smith Goes to Nowhere

By popular demand (OK, really we just wanted to write more about it), let's take a closer look at one of early-Eighties NBC's more notorious flops (and that covers some ground): Mr. Smith.



When Mr. Smith debuted September 23, 1983, it had it all: proven vets behind the scenes in Stan Daniels and Ed. Weinberger (who voiced the title character), a proven box office star (C.J., the orangutan from Every Which Way But Loose and Any Which Way You Can), and a cushy slot leading off NBC's blockbuster Friday night lineup, which included Jennifer Slept Here, Manimal, and For Love and Honor.

Well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

Viewers rejected those 2 out of 3, though, and the premiere did poorly. It garnered mostly negative reviews and became a bit of a joke for NBC, only airing 13 episodes before being yanked in December. In January, Friday night on the Peacock would go: Legmen, The Master, and Lorne Michaels' The New Show.

Of course, none of those series lasted, either!

Mr. Smith is a runaway orangutan named Cha Cha (Mr. Smith is his code name) who winds up in an experimental lab, then drinks an experimental potion that gives him an IQ of 256. Naturally, he runs a political think tank in Washington D.C. Even better, his secretary is Batty Award winner Leonard Frey!

I remember this show being "a thing," but not actually watching it. Am I crazy for wanting to see this now?

This Day in TV History: TV Guide debuts

On this day in 1953, newsstands unveiled the first issue of TV Guide. Before on-screen programming guides and the Internet, the Guide was the bible of tube lovers everywhere. Today collectors still love to find old issues, and we at BOTNS like to use 1970s and 1980s editions for our TV Guide game!

Here is one of the great Fall Preview issues from the BOTNS era, the 1983 issue. New shows highlighted on the cover: AfterMASH! Hotel! And you know that in 1983 it was NBC that brought us the show about a talking orangutan: Mr. Smith!

This Day in TV History: Dallas premieres

On this day in 1978, Dallas premiered on CBS. It began as a miniseries but was quickly turned into a regular series for the fall season after folks got a look at the ratings.




The series became a cultural touchstone, lasting the entire decade of the Eighties before concluding a long run in May 1991.

It's available on DVD and in streaming on IMDB Freeview. Would anyone like to see us devote an episode of the podcast to this iconic nighttime soap?

Happy April Fool's Day!

Not only have we covered a lot of fools on our podcast, but we've also talked about a lot of dopes. Today we salute our last 3 Biggest Dope Batty winners: