The It Was a Thing on TV Podcast Network

Episode 339--Scorch

There have been a variety of shows with puppets which have been successful--The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, ALF, Thunderbirds, and Fraggle Rock, to name a few.  CBS tried their hand with a puppet-centric show with Scorch, about a dragon who slept for 100 years before waking up in 1992 Connecticut.

Episode 338--Hey! Spring of Trivia

January 4 was National Trivia Day.  In honor of the event, we look at a Japanese show which made the translation to American television about weird and wonderful trivia.  Give a listen to Hey! Spring of Trivia and there may be some melon bread in it for you, and the melon bread is shaped like a brain.

Live Show 33–WCW Starrcade 1995

Today, New Japan Pro Wrestling has its annual January 4th supershow at the Tokyo Dome in Wrestle Kingdom 17. In celebration, Greg and Chico record their first live show with Peacock as they look at WCW Starrcade 1995, which features New Japan taking on World Championship Wrestling in the World Cup of Wrestling!

Also, Sting, Lex Luger and Ric Flair battle in a triangle match, with the winner meeting the Macho Man for the WCW championship in the main event! This show is, so action-packed you may need to snap into some Slim Jim's!

Episode 337--January 3, 1983 in game shows

40 years ago today (the day this episode became available), there were four landmark events on daytime television in a two-hour span.  Three game shows (Sale of the Century, Hit Man, and Just Men!) premiered and what is undoubtedly The Price is Right's most famous pricing game, Plinko, debuted.

Episode 336--The 2022 Year in Review, Part 2

In the second part of our year-end special, we start with shows which ended in 2022, then wrap up the year with the people we lost over the course of the year, starting at the 9:05 mark.

Episode 336--The 2022 Year in Review, Part 1

Another annual end-of-year tradition for this podcast is to look at the happenings on television for the year.  It's such a big review that it's broken up into 2 parts.

1:55  The worst of 2022
1:09:59 The top TV stories of 2022
1:52:11 Our favorite shows of 2022

Episode 335–Santabear’s High Flying Adventure

What started in 1985 as a popular Christmas toy tradition at a midwest department store, Santabear became so popular that two years later, CBS gave him his own primetime special on Christmas Eve 1987.

Santabear must help the residents of the South Pole discover the magic of Christmas while facing off with Santa's former helper Bullybear. With the help of a lady bear named Missy, Santabear goes on a high flying adventure to save Christmas for everyone before Bullybear can destroy all the presents.

Seriously, who hires a bear that calls himself Bullybear?

Episode 17.5--Mystery Diners Part 2

In 2019, we introduced you to Charles Stiles and his show Mystery Diners.  As an early Christmas gift to you, we're revisiting the world of Mystery Diners by looking at 15 more installments of one of our favorite series.  Sorry, no more drones.  We have a roller cam this time!

Episode 334--Atari 2600 Commercials

We have brought you shows on Hulk Hogan commercials, Ric Flair commercials, and three separate installments of Hometown Commercials.  Our early Christmas present to you is a look at ads for something everybody wanted under the tree from 1979 to 1982--the Atari 2600 VCS, and games for the system.

 

Atari 2600 Commercial (December, 1977) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJNbhekKShI

Atari VCS Commercial with Pete Rose, Pele and Don Knotts - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs34_7_kC64

Atari VCS Commercial with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Carol Channing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lexverCcFFk

1978 Atari Commercial with Billie Jean King, Bobby Riggs and Jack Palance - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ary-G-GYO60

Space Invaders (1980) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct_I2C_9Kf8

Kaboom - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkNztWEVxD4

Activision Ice Hockey with Phil Hartman - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=celKZ-vwsCc

RealSports Baseball with Billy Martin - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SI7zqsVoas

Atari Test Facility commercial with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mario Andretti and Pele - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0cSWi1V_wI

Laser Blast (1981) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SWzv

9Ses2U

Atari Toys R Us Asteroids Commercial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFciGLGHiY4

Sears 1981 Christmas Commercial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqBlPdz0G-M

Atari we don’t need a babysitter commercial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krGlnXY4HaY

Atari UK Commercial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMLhvlAxsPw

Beany Bopper (1982) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OK5COuF6xg

Spider-Man (1982) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-usbQDfTIqE

Pac-Man Commercial with Mr. Hooper!!! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxsUCRSoUrE

Solar Fox with Jane Krakowski - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgUTq5pL3gE

Pole Position - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhRIneQFmHA

Ms. Pac-Man with Don Pardo voiceover - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKM5-k8uD7Q

Ms. Pac-Man Australian Commercial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp1CKap2v28

Donkey Kong (1982) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzFCXfjuNjI

Donkey Kong Jr. (1983) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNTpXX43QxY

Dig Dug (1983) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VFjbPlq_nw

Pitfall! with Jack Black - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfLgSdAAHMA

Moon Patrol - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1fp8g3yimU

Sega Star Trek with Ernie Anderson voiceover - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28r4iGf7M98

Atari Sesame Street Commercial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnQrQE4Y6Ow

Atari Christmas 1983 Commercial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z2nyvfJDwk

1984 Atari 2600 Commercial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1ZLov8Xne0

Urban General Atari 2600 Commercial (1984) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLryP7IrM1A

1986 Atari 2600 Commercial (The Fun is Back) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp1CbPpaWKw

Episode 333--Three’s a Crowd (1984)

When a character in a series is popular, networks want to ride that character's popularity as long as possible.  When ABC canceled Three's Company, the network retained Jack Tripper, but placed him in a new series with a new love...and her father.  Hilarity tried to ensue.