The It Was a Thing on TV Podcast Network

Episode 478--That Puppet Game Show

The Brits seem to try just about anything when it comes to game shows.  Case in point, this entry from just over a decade ago, a primetime endeavor which combined game show elements with Henson Alternative puppets.  The end result was That Puppet Game Show, which ran for only 8 episodes.  Even though it aired overseas, listeners on the other side of "the pond" can watch it on a semi-frequent basis.

Episode 477--The Girl with Something Extra

In the past, we have talked about the ESP fad in the 60s through the early 80s.  A 1973 comedy used the sixth sense as a premise, one that was used less as time went on, turning the show into just another TV show.  Despite two great leads, The Girl with Something Extra was not a show with anything out of the ordinary.

Live Show 50–Who Killed WCW? Part 1

We covered a wrestling documentary series on VICE in our first live show and for our 50th live show, we cover another wrestling documentary series on VICE.

From the people who gave you Dark Side of the Ring along with The Rock and Dani Garcia comes the first part of a four-part documentary series covering the rise and fall of World Championship Wrestling. Witness the rise of Eric Bischoff in WCW along with bringing in Hulk Hogan and the start of the Monday Night Wars!

Join Greg and Chico as they try to find the answer to the question "Who Killed WCW?"

Episode 476--Twisters (1982 pilot)

We close the door on yet another pilot month with this amalgamation of pieces and parts from various game shows from the Bob Stewart family, mixed with the theme from a past and future Stewart show, and add a shuffleboard table for good measure.  The end result was Twisters, a truly unique concoction that didn't make NBC's schedule in late 1982/early 1983.

Episode 475--How I Met Your Dad

Hot off the heels of How I Met Your Mother’s finale—and 8 years before appearing on Hulu—CBS & Fox began work on the next chapter, involving original creators Carter Bays & Craig Thomas, a future Oscar-nominated writer, a Golden Globe-nominated actress, a night of hard partying, a blue typewriter, and a girl named Cricket.

Episode 474--Just Our Luck

It's Greg's 40th birthday and to celebrate the occasion, Greg has chosen the short-lived comedy from 1983 about a guy who buys a lamp which has a genie in it, who causes all sorts of mischief.  Maybe it was Just Our Luck that this show ran for only 13 episodes.

This episode is uncensored.  Listener discretion is advised.

Episode 473--Red Dwarf USA, pilot 2

During last year's pilot month, we covered the 1992 Red Dwarf pilot for NBC in Episode 375.  A second pilot, of sorts, was done shortly after.  Running a mere 11 minutes long including previews of two episodes, this ambitious endeavor looked like it was shot in a broom closet, and that was before the lackluster quality of the video available online.

It Was a Thing on TV Instant Reaction--The EA Sports College Football 25 Trailer

One of the most anticipated sports video games in a long time just released its first gameplay trailer. Mike, Greg, and Chico in this Instant Reaction watch the trailer for EA Sports College Football 25 trailer, the first entry in the EA College Football franchise since 2013. 

Episode 472--Fast Friends (1984 pilot)

As we have said in the past, Jay Wolpert is the master of the overly complex but unique game show format.  In this show, two people build a team of players with the end goal of winning that captain $10,000 and making some fast friends.  Apparently, NBC passed this up for a show that John Davidson predicted would be on for a very long time.

Episode 471--Let's Get Personal (1982 pilot)

1982 was a time of flux at NBC in the daytime.  Game shows were out earlier that year minus Wheel of Fortune, replaced with soaps and sitcom reruns.  NBC had a pilot that was part-game, part-psychological analysis with Let's Get Personal, hosted by a familiar face to NBC game show watchers, but also with an acting troupe of three big names around these parts.