Top Ten #269: Special "Call the day whatever you want tomorrow; I still gotta work" edtiion!

1) Dallas: Hope you enjoy our look at this classic megahit this week on the podcast!

2) Larry Hagman: J.R. Ewing is one of the great characters of all time, and we enjoyed talking about him in the series pilot--and that was actually some of the tamer stuff compared to what he did later!

3) Victoria Principal: We certainly have to give her credit for being one of the icons in the Eighties and perhaps unfairly excluded from our Holy Trinity of Brunettes (longtime listeners know what we mean).

4) National Emergency Test: How about that test we had in the USA on Wednesday? Brings to minds classic EBS tests from the Eighties.

5) Saturday Night Live: 40 years ago tonight, the new season kicked off with host Brandon Tartikoff and musical guest John Cougar. They missed their chance to star together in a Rousters sketch.

6) Monster Cereals: One of the best things about this time of year is the resurgence of the likes of Count Chocula. Cartoon Research posted a cool article about the cereals this week.

7) MLB Playoffs: What a great time of year this is, with the majesty of the national pastime taking center stage. Let's celebrate with a classic moment of Major League Baseball history from 50 years ago today: Pete Rose and Bud Harrelson getting into a brawl:

8) Joseph Barbera: I enjoyed this just-posted segment with a 60 Minutes profile of the legendary animator. I bet Morley Safer dug The Hair Bear Bunch.

9) Sarah Purcell and Chevy Chase: Happy birthday to two TV stars who turn 75 and 80 respectively--the star of Real People and a star who is a real *%$@!

10) Dick Butkus: R.I.P. to a double-threat legend and member of the All-Time All-Name Team. Hey, maybe he wasn't the best performer on My Two Dads, but do you think Paul Reiser and Greg Evigan could have dominated in the NFL? Well, Evigan, maybe, 'cause he's awesome, but my point stands.

YouTube Spotlight: J.R. on "Eyewitness News?"

 I love it when the real world and the TV world intersect in the form of "in-character" appearances by fictional people--especially on the local news!

In this clip posted by the anchor himself, Jon Crane, J.R. Ewing makes an appearance of sorts to help promote the newscast on KIEM, a Northern California station then affiliated with CBS. This may look kind of goofy--and by goofy I mean awesome--but what small-market station is gonna turn down a chance to get on the Dallas train in that era?

I would love to see the segment end with, "And now, here's Cliff Barnes with the weather!"

Show Notes and Video Playlist: Episode 11-14: Dallas!

*Thanks for following us through our epic 11th season! Special thanks to our friend John Holm for suggesting we take a look at Dallas!

*Click below for our super-sized video playlist, which is stuffed with original promos, interviews, PSAs, talk show spots, and more!

*And remember, you can always check out our official YouTube page for all of our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!

*Dallas aired a Texas-sized 14 seasons and 357 episodes on CBS (1978-1991), airing Friday nights for all of its "main" run after the first set of 6 episodes.

*Ratings were strong for almost the entire run. It was a top-10 show in seasons 3 through 9 and #11 in season 10. It was pretty much the most popular entertainment show on TV from 1980 to 1985.

*Dallas was not a huge critical favorite. It won 20 Emmy nominations and 4 wins, the most major being Barbara Bel Geddes' 1980 award for Outstanding Lead Actress, Drama.

*This episode premiered April 2, 1978, the same night as the Alice we talked about in this episode.

*Knots Landing spun off from Dallas in 1979 and lasted 14 seasons, ending in 1993 after 344 episodes!

*Props to Barbara A. Curran's excellent book Dallas: The Complete Story of the World's Favorite Soap. Curran talked to many of the cast and production members and had cooperation from series creator David Jacobs.

Episode 11-14: Dallas

In our Season 11 finale, all roads lead to Dallas and Southfork Ranch! That's right. We finally tackle the grandpappy of the nighttime soaps, and we go all the way back to the very first episode. This one has everything you'd expect: oil, scheming, bakstabbing, family feuds, and cowboy hats! It also have a few things you might not expect like grounded sincerity. Join us for all the fun and a few Larry Hagman chuckles.

#podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #dallas #soaps #larryhagman #patrickduffy #victoriaprincipal #oil #jrewing

 

Check out this episode!

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...

 

YouTube Spotlight: Simon McCorkindale Speaks

Since we did things a little differently with the YouTube playlist for this week's episode, I want to do something a little different today and present a video not even in the playlist. I just can't quit Manimal, but since Manimal is not available for free except in a few clips, here is star Simon McCorkindale giving an interview on the late Bill Harris' Showtime series:

Top Ten #268: Special 'Sorry this is up so late" Edition!

1) NBC 1983 Fall Season: We tale a deep dive into the ill-fated but interesting (we hope) 1983 lineup for the network on this week's podcast.

2) Jennifer Slept Here: One of the more compelling and underappreciated series on that 1983 schedule, Ann Jillian's show deserved a longer look than it got. Fortunately it's easy to find online if you want to give it a shot.

3) CHiPS and Miami Vice: Hopefully we'll get some more October adds once the week kicks in, but FreeVee added these two shows. Warning: It's under a Hispanic Heritage Month banner, so I don't know if the shows will last. They are still on Plex and Tubi, respectively.

Is Miami Vice really the greatest choice of show to honor Hispanic Heritage? Well, it does have this guy...

4) Edward James Olmos: L.A. County declared an Edward James Olmos Day last week, and I hope no matter what went on, Olmos just glared at everyone for 90% of the time before finally breaking into a half-grin.

5) October: Yes, it is the month when apparently one must watch horror movies and TV shows, and all horror movies and TV shows must be watched in October. Mike and I will try to edit some jump scares into the podcast.

6) Diff'rent Strokes: One of the shows's most well-known episodes from its later years aired this night 40 years ago: The guest shot of Mr. T.

7) The Rousters: Also on this night 40 years ago, NBC aired the 90-minute debut of one of the series we talk about on this week's podcast: Stephen J. Cannel's The Rousters. It probably could have used a guest appearance by Mr. T.

8) The Honeymooners: It's outside the time frame, but I have to commemorate the premiere of the "Classic 39" filmed episodes season of my favorite show of all time on October 1, 1955!

9) Juvenile Court: 50 years ago tonight, PBS stations premiered the then-newest Frederick Wiseman documentary. I haven't seen this one, but if the others are any indication, it was so long it ran all the way up to Sesame Street the next morning.

10) R.I.P. Michael Gambon, David McCallum: