The It Was a Thing on TV Podcast Network

Today is the 40th Anniversary of Tom Poston's mini-coma at the Super Match on The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. In honor of this moment we present an outtake between episodes of a taping in 2020 as Mike gives some play-by-play of this legendary moment.

This outtake was heard in Episode 100 but this is the first time we are presenting this by itself.

In our annual episode where you pick the topic, we gave you 3 shows from which to choose.  The show with the most votes was this one, a one-season classic about an Old West bounty hunter avenging his father's death, with science fiction and steampunk elements.

Our mini-tribute to the new Aquaman cinematic release comes to an end with this series which was marine-adjacent about the last survivor from an underwater civilization.  Four TV movies were made, with decent enough ratings to merit a series, one that lasted an additional 13 entries.

In theaters soon is a new Aquaman movie and in honor of its release, we have two special episodes dedicated to it.  First, we start with a pilot which should have made it to air but the timing may have been horrible, plus the price tag on the pilot was astronomical.  Greg spent his hard-earned money to see this pilot and offers up a thorough recap.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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

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.