It Was a Thing on TV: An Anthology on Forgotten Television

Episode 504--The Ropers Revisited

It's time for another Revisited episode.  This time, we're looking at a show that, in recent months, has appeared on-demand and airs with regularity on a FAST channel.  We're checking in again with The Ropers and questioning whether it truly is one of the 50 worst shows in TV history.  You be the judge, but we think it does not deserve that moniker.

Episode 503--Partridge Family 2200 AD

Numerous successful scripted television shows made their way to Saturday mornings in the mid-70s, like I Dream of Jeannie, Gilligan's Island, and Star Trek.  The Partridge Family got the same treatment in 1974, but with a catch--it's set over 200 years in the future.  Also, some key components in the Partridge Family universe were missing.  If you see the show image, it looks awfully similar to a venerable Hanna-Barbera series, and for good reason.

It Was a Thing on TV Delayed Reaction--The Mets Wild Week in Atlanta & Milwaukee

The New York Mets had a nutty last week and a half going from Atlanta to Milwaukee to Atlanta to Milwaukee as they clinched in a playoff spot in dramatic fashion on the last day of the regular season and advanced to the NLDS in a thrilling three-game Wild Card round.

Greg shares with Mike in this delayed reaction his thoughts regarding the week that was and at the end, they look at the upcoming Division Series match-ups.

The Best of It Was a Thing on TV: Episode 72–Go

Thursday, October 3rd marked the 41st Anniversary of the premiere of the short-lived 1983-84 NBC game show "Go" from Bob Stewart Productions. To mark the occasion this edition of "The Best of It Was a Thing on TV" goes back to Episode 72 when we discussed it back in the Summer of 2020.

Episode 502--Hometown Commercials, Volume 5

We're back with another batch of goofy and bizarre hometown commercials.

Here is the line-up for this installment of Hometown Commercials:

• Unique Creations: https://youtu.be/9T_GZeZyYqU
• Shift It: https://youtu.be/1gYE5TyijxE
• West Palm Loan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XHUGEVMa8I
• Zachary’s Night Club: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvyS8dY2kQA
• Beacon Plumbing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M2F4-QRUdw
• Reckon and Reckon Plumbing:  https://youtu.be/HS7yCO9_h_E
• Lowell “The Hammer” Stanley: https://youtu.be/lF7FhuhyA8c
• Bryan Wilson, The Texas Law Hawk: https://youtu.be/HL3MxAH-kDI
• Pete Ellis Ford: https://youtu.be/J3Ezn8eLfm8
• Fast Eddy: https://youtu.be/9nyS-B7_MyY
• Paolini’s Pizza: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edPBN4GghvY
• Stewart Olds Nissan Suzuki: https://youtu.be/otGuj7Z73bg
• Comet Burgers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBSCrOa-aUM
• China Star: https://youtu.be/Ez0jnbeOe_I
• Frankie & Johnny’s: https://youtu.be/XI7jC57GuZM
• N.Y. Men’s Clothing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usAzhVErnEg
• Lincoln Carpeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch
• Excalibur Sports: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3IqqycBy-o

Episode 501--Today's FBI

The FBI was a stalwart on ABC's line-up from 1965 through 1974.  The network kicked the tires on a new, updated version of their venerable classic in 1981 with this show, which featured contemporary storylines and a more diverse cast of characters.  Audiences weren't buying what ABC was selling, as this new version lasted merely a season.

Episode 500--Supertrain Revisited

Almost five years ago, we started this podcast.  Now, we are celebrating our 500th episode by going back to an early favorite of ours and revisiting it, mostly for the caliber of guest stars that we didn't recognize back then.  Enjoy as we go back to one of the biggest flops in television history, as we prepare to do the next 500, leading to show 1000.

Episode 499--The 30th Anniversary of The Big Switch

30 years ago FOX shook up the TV landscape when they grabbed the NFL's NFC television package from CBS. In the process, several CBS stations in NFC markets not wanting to lose out on football jumped ship to FOX and set up a domino effect around the country changing many TV viewers' habits. Some of these changes are still being felt in various markets years later.

 

Below is a list of links used in this episode, or are relevant to this topic:

KCNC/KUSA/KMGH packages (including the Big Switch on KCNC): https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSzqDUOqv75_35MMJd0I4WXyn0TjKg3uK&si=yFrpwVnQ7C6hJpdH

 

KUSA story on The Big Switch featuring Denver Broncos Owner Pat Bowlen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCbThe00R3k

 

Virgil Dominic explains WJW's switch to FOX: https://youtu.be/LNnezBc9Kfk

 

FOX coming to WJW.: https://youtu.be/-mZr3EkhBVs

 

WOIO switches to CBS: https://youtu.be/1hmNZALP6sY

 

WCIX/WFOR swaps with WTVJ, full playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJvbbUTw-Ipy-iKzqb9z24uN4Ftxe_DbK&si=9Co39ZbA5OIk61tZ

 

CBS comes to WGPR, Fox comes to WJBK, including credits for “The New Dance Show”: https://youtu.be/73n7LdMpIzY

 

Fox comes to WGHP, ABC comes to WNRW, UPN comes to WUPN: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrGrNOGRw2-8T5xcCw1SardvoPhdlkcWn&si=UpZ6VoA3ddrbvwLl

 

WTVW Affiliation Switch from ABC to FOX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O48lNDnjqSE

 

WNDU segment on WSJV and WBND switching between FOX to ABC (ft. Tom Rinaldi): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Baxpw1cNeWY

 

NBC comes to WCAU: https://youtu.be/5SBdyozNvJM

 

WCAU “25 Years After the Big Switch Some Viewers Still Confuse NBC10 With CBS”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiPhJJfp1wM

It Was a Thing on TV Presents: TV Guide's 50 Worst Shows of All-Time List (Part 1)

We've talked about this in some past episodes and in this special edition of "It Was a Thing on TV Presents" before the week we celebrate out 500th episode we talk about TV Guide's 50 Worst Shows of All-Time List from 2002.

We talk about why some shows deserved or didn't deserve to be on the list and we add some shows that were either neglected or should be added since TV Guide published the original list back in '02.

We'll revisit this topic again in a few weeks when we rerank the shows and stay tuned throughout the episode because we might ask you listeners to help us out in the rerankings.

Episode 498--Alien Nation

In 1988, the film Alien Nation was a theatrical release.  That spawned this televised adaptation of that film.  While only running for a single season, the franchise showed it had popularity and staying power, as televised movies and other forms of media appeared after this show's demise.