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

Episode 435--That’s My Line

In honor of what would have been Bob Barker's 100th birthday on the 12th of December, we talk about one of his lesser-known ventures.

In 1980, both ABC and NBC had popular reality shows in the forms of That's Incredible! and Real People, respectively.  CBS wanted a piece of this reality action.  The result was a show somewhat based on a title which was successful for the network for almost 20 years.

 

Due to language, listener discretion is advised.

Live Show 47–Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Director’s Cut)

It's the final voyage with the OG Trek crew as the Federation and Klingon Empire are close to intergalactic peace. However, Kirk and the Enterprise crew must deal with Klingon Christopher Plummer and a potential traitor on board the ship. Join Greg and Chico as they head second star to the left and straight on til morning.

Episode 434--The New Liar’s Club

One of our current favorite shows from the past is The New Liar's Club, a reboot of the popular game from the late 1970s.  The game's the same but the caliber of celebrities was very much Canadian because, as Greg would say, John Barbour's son did all the casting for the show.  Maybe all the money was spent getting a Rolls Royce in the show's open...

Episode 433--The Colbys

You are the network with the most watched show on television. What do you do? Create a spin-off. But not just any spin-off, a sequel, to outdo anything the mother program ever did, up to and including alien abduction. That’s what ABC did with Dynasty and The Colbys. We break down why that was a mistake with the help of a special guest.

Episode 432–The Frank Reynolds Centennial

Today (November 29th) marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of legendary ABC News anchor Frank Reynolds. Although this man has not been with us for the last 40 years he left a great legacy of journalism on TV that lives on today with World News Tonight as one of the program's three founding co-anchors. We will showcase some of his great moments on this special episode of It Was a Thing on TV.

 

Sargent Shriver Interview (1965) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGVMfce5bJk

ABC 1968 Race to the White House - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJeozETBpYU

Issues and Answers Opening (1968) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkSI07FQniM

Remembering JFK (11/22/68): - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRFEIHSOg9Q

Apollo Program (1968-69) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL3SMbWGtWc&t=1941s

Neil Armstrong Profile - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pceDTbCNlQ

Frank Reynolds’ farewell to the ABC Evening News (1970) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGT-Bolt7N8

World News Tonight Premiere (7/20/78) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5OrVbxAL4g

Frank reporting on the Solar Eclipse (1979) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xrz-_4CFOuE

Frank at work on ABC Network line (1980) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qdmrvL4DyI

Anchoring World News Tonight during Mount St. Helens Eruption (1980) - https://youtu.be/5izisUIqO2s?si=qZkRivtS6eUYAEiB&t=636

KTVK-TV 3 Arizona World News Tonight Promo (1981) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5df74Xw4QSo

ABC Reagan Attempted Assassination Snippets from the Oddity Archive’s Breaking News video - https://youtu.be/1hQSxVsdY78?si=eSWQLuWA5l8Uopy7&t=1424

Special Report within World News Tonight (1981) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YJFGncyMPI

Frank Reynolds Remembered - ABC News Nightline (7/20/83) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d259RtOMBnk

Frank Reynolds: A Man Who Cared (7/24/83) - https://archive.org/details/ABC_News_Frank_Reynolds_A_Man_Who_Cared_1983

It Was a Thing on TV Instant Reaction--Doctor Who: The Star Beast

The first of the three Doctor Who specials for the 60th Anniversary aired on the BBC and Disney+ this past weekend. Chico watched the first of the specials and pops on in this Instant Reaction about the return of David Tennant and Catherine Tate to the TARDIS. Did RTD's first episode back as Executive Producer of Doctor Who recapture the magic from his first stint? You'll have to listen to find out. Meep, Meep.

Episode 431--Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death

We cap our celebration of the Doctor Who 60th anniversary with a look at “The Curse of Fatal Death”, a Red Nose Day special from 1999. The Doctor’s looking to settle down but can’t stop regenerating, the Master is rebuilt with Dalek spare parts, and it’s all going down on a planet with a special form of communication. The BBC got some amazing talent for this one-off that foresaw a lot of things.

Minisode 29--Leon Lett’s Thanksgiving ’93 blunder

We hope you have enjoyed your Thanksgiving as you prepare to watch some Thanksgiving night football.  Thirty Thanksgivings ago, Leon Lett committed one of the most boneheaded plays in NFL history.  Oddly enough, less than a year earlier, Lett previously committed another one of the most boneheaded plays in NFL history, on the biggest stage of them all.

Episode 430--The 1982 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

The holiday tradition at the podcast now starts its trek going back in time, starting with the 1982 edition of The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  How does it compare to what we have seen from later in the 80s and why are so many kids expressing their emotions?

Episode 429–The 1987 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

It's an It Was a Thing on TV tradition like no other.  Every year since 2019, we have looked at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in chronological order, starting with the 1983 parade.  We're up to the 1987 parade.  What characters will star in this parade?  What products will advertisers shove down our throats?  And did Charlie Brown ever get a growth spurt!