1) Max Wright: The veteran actor died at 75 this week. Remember, he wasn't just the dad on a sitcom about a talking alien. He was also the straight man on a sitcom about a talking alien.
2) Ed Asner: We'd like to congratulate the 89-year-old star for landing a spot on Briarpatch, the upcoming USA network anthology series from Sam Esmail. We'd also like to think he would accept our congratulations with a gruff deflection.
3) Bob Dorian: R.I.P. to the host of American Movie Classics from the days when it was actually good! Dorian's fun facts and easygoing style made prime time on the old AMC a welcoming place for lovers of old movies.
4) Cookie Monster: The Seasame Street veteran sang Take Me Out to the Ballgame this week to rave reviews.
5) Superman: According to DC Comics, today is the official birthday of the Man of Steel, who hit newsstands in Action Comics #1, dated June 1938.
6) David Garrison: The second-best character on Married With Children (and second place is no shame on a series with Al Bundy) was played by the great David Garrison, who was born this day in 1952. He also co-starred with Jason Bateman in one of the great lost sitcoms of the Eighties, It's Your Move:
7) Nancy Dussault: Happy birthday to the Tony-award-winning actress, born this day in 1936 and--wait, she won TONY awards? I am ashamed to say I knew her as Henry's wife on Too Close for Comfort.
8) Bob Ley: Happy trails and a pleasant retirement to the guy Chris Berman called the Conscience of ESPN. That's a lot better than Bob "Lay Lady" Ley.
9) All Creatures Great and Small: The beloved series of books about a Yorkshire veterinarian is going to get a reboot. I'm often wary of reboots, but this one is surely classy and well intentioned because it's British.
10) Gavin MacLeod: The 88-year-old BOTNS-era icon appeared on Gilbert Gottfried's podcast this week. Ed Asner scoffed, "That young whippersnapper? Big deal. I was on that podcast 4 years ago!"
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Saturday, June 29, 2019
YouTube Spotlight: Donahue
Let's take a closer look at one of the cool clips in this week's YouTube playlist based on our Donahue episode.
Who better to host a special about the bible of television's anniversary than Phil? Well, Ok, maybe a few, but a lot more would be worse!
The mag celebrated the milestone with a book and with this NBC broadcast on Sunday, October 21, 1979. It aired as part of the network's The Big Event series of EVENT programming. I don't see the whole special online, but I would love to get a copy.
Here's the description from the Paley Center's online catalogue:
This special, hosted by Phil Donahue, looks at an era of history as it was portrayed on television. This special includes clips of programs and interviews with such personalities as Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, Michael Landon, William S. Paley, Norman Lear, and others.
The entire description is here. It sounds pretty good!
Who better to host a special about the bible of television's anniversary than Phil? Well, Ok, maybe a few, but a lot more would be worse!
The mag celebrated the milestone with a book and with this NBC broadcast on Sunday, October 21, 1979. It aired as part of the network's The Big Event series of EVENT programming. I don't see the whole special online, but I would love to get a copy.
Here's the description from the Paley Center's online catalogue:
This special, hosted by Phil Donahue, looks at an era of history as it was portrayed on television. This special includes clips of programs and interviews with such personalities as Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, Michael Landon, William S. Paley, Norman Lear, and others.
The entire description is here. It sounds pretty good!
Friday, June 28, 2019
The DONAHUE YouTube playlist is now live...caller!
This week on the YouTube playlist, we have the actual full-length Donahue episode we cover on the pod along with...David Letterman! Milton Friedman and Bernie Sanders! Marlo meets Phil and tells us we are Free to Be You and Me! And just what the heck was that Three's a Crowd game show? All this and more when you click below!
Remember to visit our official YouTube channel for past editions of the podcast plus more episode-specific playlists!
Remember to visit our official YouTube channel for past editions of the podcast plus more episode-specific playlists!
Show Notes: Episode 6-4: Donahue
*As of today, the Donahue episode we discuss is available on YouTube. It aired February 16, 1981, according to the uploader.
*Phil's series aired in syndication from 1970 to 1996, a record run for a nationally syndicated talk show.
*Donahue also appeared on The Today Show throughout the Eighties. After his syndicated series, he co-hosted a CNBC program with Vladimir Posner, then headlined an MSNBC show.
*Despite the sensationalist reputation The Donahue Show earned over the years, it also won 10 Emmys, and Donahue got a Peabody Award.
*Phil and Marlo Thomas married in 1980 and are still together. You can see their on-show meeting in our YouTube playlist this week!
*Donahue was born December 21, 1935, making him 83 today.
*Then Chicago Sun Times critic Gary Deeb is long retired and, sadly, has no social media presence. Here's an interesting 2003 article about a mini-controversy involving him and a Chi-town media personality. this 1975 Time piece (subscription required, unfortunately) described him as the wolf-man of the airwaves!
*The leading advocacy group for censorship on TV today is probably the Parents Television Council, founded in 1995 and still active.
*The hit list of broadcast shows targeted for advertiser boycotts according to an alleged 500,000 concerned voters:
Dallas, Soap, Saturday Night Live, Charlie's Angels, Three's Company.
You can see our episodes on the last three in our archives.
And the syndicated ones:
Three's a Crowd, The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game.
*Chuck Barris created short-lived game show Three's a Crowd (September 1979-February 1980). It was hosted by Jim Peck and featured the premise, "Who knows a man better, his secretary or his wife?" Wikipedia reports:
According to Barris in his first autobiography, The Game Show King, the protests against the show—as well as the sometimes-evident lack of fun the contestants seemed to be having on it—prompted him to retreat from television production entirely
*Alan Thicke hosted a tamer version of Three's a Crowd for GSN in 1999.
*Sally Jessy Raphael hosted her own syndicated daytime talk show from 1984 to 2002.
*Phil's series aired in syndication from 1970 to 1996, a record run for a nationally syndicated talk show.
*Donahue also appeared on The Today Show throughout the Eighties. After his syndicated series, he co-hosted a CNBC program with Vladimir Posner, then headlined an MSNBC show.
*Despite the sensationalist reputation The Donahue Show earned over the years, it also won 10 Emmys, and Donahue got a Peabody Award.
*Phil and Marlo Thomas married in 1980 and are still together. You can see their on-show meeting in our YouTube playlist this week!
*Donahue was born December 21, 1935, making him 83 today.
*Then Chicago Sun Times critic Gary Deeb is long retired and, sadly, has no social media presence. Here's an interesting 2003 article about a mini-controversy involving him and a Chi-town media personality. this 1975 Time piece (subscription required, unfortunately) described him as the wolf-man of the airwaves!
*The leading advocacy group for censorship on TV today is probably the Parents Television Council, founded in 1995 and still active.
*The hit list of broadcast shows targeted for advertiser boycotts according to an alleged 500,000 concerned voters:
Dallas, Soap, Saturday Night Live, Charlie's Angels, Three's Company.
You can see our episodes on the last three in our archives.
And the syndicated ones:
Three's a Crowd, The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game.
*Chuck Barris created short-lived game show Three's a Crowd (September 1979-February 1980). It was hosted by Jim Peck and featured the premise, "Who knows a man better, his secretary or his wife?" Wikipedia reports:
According to Barris in his first autobiography, The Game Show King, the protests against the show—as well as the sometimes-evident lack of fun the contestants seemed to be having on it—prompted him to retreat from television production entirely
*Alan Thicke hosted a tamer version of Three's a Crowd for GSN in 1999.
*Sally Jessy Raphael hosted her own syndicated daytime talk show from 1984 to 2002.
Thursday, June 27, 2019
6-4: Donahue "The Clean Up TV Campaign"
Is the caller there? Is the caller fed up with filthy TV? Well find out how people felt in 1981 as silver-haired TV talk legend Phil Donahue talks to Pastor John Hurt of the Clean Up TV Campaign and Chicago TV critic Gary Deeb. What shows did 1980s churchgoers find the most offensive? How did the Campaign actually want to clean up TV? What did the studio audience think? Plus which BOTNS favorite does Gary Deeb call a "toilet show"?
Check out this episode!
Check out this episode!
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Promo Theatre: The classy marketing of the B.J. and the Bear revamp
I think this promo shows what NBC thought it needed to do to promote B.J. and the Bear after B.J. hired the lady truckers:
"Forget the funny animal, get Judy Landers pouring liquids on herself!"
Click here for our season 5 look at the series.
"Forget the funny animal, get Judy Landers pouring liquids on herself!"
Click here for our season 5 look at the series.
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