Top Ten #181

1) Dean Martin: How could we do a game of Martins, as we did on our bonus episode this week, without ol' Dino? Well, here's a special bonus: This Martin was in The Dean Martin Show, Dean's Place, and The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast. Take all the time you need.

2) Peanut Butter Cookie Day: Might we suggest some Archway cookies, as Mike mentioned on the podcast, to celebrate? If you can't find those, here's an alternative:

3) Children's Day: It's also Children's Day, and maybe you can give a deserving kid a cookie. Unfortunately, you can't take them to Child World anymore.

4) Jenilee Harrison: Happy birthday to the woman who replaced the woman who--no, wait, she was the one who replaced Suzanne--no, wait, she was on at the same time for a while as--hey, happy birthday to the former Jamie on Dallas.

5) The Munsters: Entertainment Weekly posted a new teaser for the upcoming Rob Zombie movie, and I think we can confirm it's based on the original 1960s show and not The Munsters Today.

6) Who's Who: An episode of this CBS newsmagazine show aired 45 years ago tonight, and one of the segments, according to Ultimate70s.com, was "Robert Blake defends television violence." No comment.

7) My Favorite Martian: We paid homage to the 1960s sitcom with our bonus episode game this week, so let's give another shout to the Ray Walson/Bill Bixby comedy which aired on reruns in the BOTNS era!

8) Marv Albert: Do we wish the legendary broadcaster a good birthday? YESSSS! (Sorry)

9) Raiders of the Lost Ark: The movie premiered this day in 1981, and, no, it's not television, but it inspired multiple TV series, it was huge, and we love it!

10) Hour Magazine: I watched an episode of this Gary Collins afternoon newsmagazine program recently, and I can't really explain why, but I love that stuff like this is on YouTube:

YouTube Spotlight: My Favorite Martians: The Animated Series (1973)

We started our My Favorite Martins playlist this week with the intro from an unusual cartoon: 1973's My Favorite Martians:

This Filmation series ran Saturday mornings in Fall 1973 for 16 total episodes but continued in reruns through Summer 1975.. It was an adaptation of the 1960s CBS sitcom with Ray Walston and Bill Bixby. The animated version paired Lost in Space's Jonathan Harris with Filmation stalwart Howard Morris.

The cartoon kicked up the zaniness by adding a second Martian in Martin's nephew, plus a pet dog named Oakie Doakie and a chimp sidekick for the detective investigating them. That Filmation look, the voice talent, and the fact that Martin and nephew Andromeda (Andy) wield guitars give this a very Archies kind of feel!

Power Rankings: Martins in the order I'd like to see them appear on "Murder, She Wrote"

Our new game on this week's podcast bonus episode might turn out to be a one-timer, but what a time we had! Mike continued his stellar record in games on the show by tearing through the Pyramid of Martins and thus paying tribute to many of the greatest Martins in television history.

For this week's Power Rankings, I rank those Martins not in order of overall preference, but in terms of how much I wish they had appeared on Murder, She Wrote. It's been more than a beaver's whisker since we've done a Murder Monday post (that was my attempt at creating a colorful Maine expression). so maybe this will tide us all over.

(Not ranked: Martins not in the game, like Martin Lawrence; plus Martins not in the game who were on Murder, She Wrote, like Martin Milner (multiple appearances as different characters); and Martins in the game who were on the series, like Barney Martin (as very Irish Timothy Hanratty).

1) Steve Martin: We are big fans of Steve here, so we mean no disrespect, but current Steve as a guest on MSW might not be a huge deal. However, pre-Only Murders, pre-banjo tours, pre-the last three-plus decades Steve Martin on the show in the late 1980s? That would be huge!

2) Andrea Martin: Angela Lansbury doesn't get enough worthy female foils on the series, but a woman of Andrea's versatility could make a real impact either as a lovable eccentric or even a villian.

3) Martin Mull: Imagine Mull as a Barth Gimble type flustering Jessica with his arrogance and smarm!

4) Martin Short: Part of me would love to see Short's manic 1980s energy in Cabot Cove, but how about something more akin to Nathan Thurm? Imagine him withering under the sharp glare of Jessica Fletcher!

5) Martin Landau: He would have made an excellent murderer. I mean that as a compliment, really. I mean, he played all kinds of scoundrels, so it's not a knock on the guy.

6) Martin Sheen: The veteran actor's intensity could have added some welcome volatility--maybe a pre-West Wing turn as a politician.

7) Billy Martin: Well, as much as I enjoy his beer commercials and his legacy as a manager in MLB, I don't really see this as the best fit. Is he gonna kick dirt on Jessica's shins when she rules against him as an umpire in the annual Cabot Cove Celebrity Softball Challe--Wait, I think I just figured it out.

8) Ross Martin: Appearing on the series was never a possibility for the co-star of Wild Wild West, who died in 1981, which hurts his ranking here, but I think he would have fit in very well.

9) Pamela Sue Martin: Maybe a glamorous socialite whose husband is killed under mysterious circumstances? We all want to see Jessica Fletcher in the world of Dynasty.

10) Dick Martin: He might have made an interesting recurring Cabot Cove resident a la John Astin, but in the 1980s, Martin was concentrating on game show appearances and directing.

Show Notes and video playlist: Bonus Episode: My Favorite Martin

*We hope you enjoyed this bonus episode of the podcast! We will be back with a "regular" full episode next week! Note that this post and the video playlist contain spoilers for the My Favorite Martin game.

*Here is a video playlist for this one, complete with clips, intros, and commercials spotlighting the Martins and some of their lesser-known projects.

Remember to visit our official YouTube channel for all of our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!

*What are some of your favorite Martins? Did we miss any of them? Kiel Martin? Strother Martin?

*Archway cookies is the brand Mike is thinking of before the game!

*The Girls of Huntington House is a 1973 TV movie about a school for unwed mothers. Besides Pamela Sue Martin, the movie stars Shirley Jones, Sissy Spacek, Mercedes McCambridge, and William Windom

*The Associates lasted a single half-season on ABC in 1979 despite coming from the producers of Taxi. A&E showed reruns during that cable network's early days.

*The original Celebrity Bowling lasted 8 seasons in first-run syndication from 1971-1978. You can hear us talk about the show in detail right here.

*Domestic Life was a Martin Mull sitcom that aired on CBS in the early months of 1984.

*Ross Martin did various voices for Jana of the Jungle, a 13-episode Hanna Barbera cartoon that aired as part of The Godzilla Power Hour (and then The Godzilla Super 90) on NBC in 1978.

*I botched the name of the 1974 NBC TV movie The Execution of Private Slovik on the show. It's NOT the "education"of Slovik. Execution is not a good form of education to the subject of the ceremony. Kudos to Mike for identifying the Martin anyway!

*Barney Martin is Napa and Sonoma, two twin brothers on the Disney 1983 CBS series Zorro and Son. 

My Favorite Martin

"Imagine if you will a pyramid of Martins." What could this mean? The wizards in the BOTNS Game Labs have done it again, that's what! Can Mike guess the BOTNS-era celebrity Martins (first or last name) and build the pyramid, or will the pyramid crumble like so many misplaced bricks?

#podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #game #myfavoritemartin #martin

 

Check out this episode!

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...

 

Inside the Guide: Maude is "unstifleable!" (1972 Fall Preview)

I recently got the last TV Guide Fall Preview I needed to complete my collection of the BOTNS era! That is the 1972 issue, and it has some interesting new series, including one we talked about earlier this season: Maude.