The It Was a Thing on TV Podcast Network

In the most recent taping session, we brought up Jonathan Frakes and the cult classic Late 90's/Early 2000's FOX show "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction".

In this special live show, Greg presents an episode featuring three potential show Hall of Famers in the five stories in this Season 2 episode. At the end of the episode, Mike and Chico will determine if these five stories pass the smell test.

Since this is a live show there were some problems with Mike's speaker system where the show audio was playing on his external speakers but that was quickly fixed.

If you want to play along you can watch this episode on the Filmrise True Crime YouTube channel. Make sure to pause after each segment when Mike and Chico give their review of the segment before moving on.

"Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction - Season 2, Episode 11" (Full Episode) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54Qv2FHRTWE

 

NBC is on a slow rebound in 1980, after all the catastrophes we have talked about during 1979.  The powers that be decided imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, creating their own show similar to the Benji franchise from that era.  Here's Boomer was an anthology about a dog crossing the country, helping people in need.  While very family-friendly, the show didn't get enough eyes to see this show.

It's almost Greg's birthday and this is his Money in the Bank show.  A very young Jon Cryer plays the titular character in this show, as someone who goes from working in a mail room to being a big-time agent.

Schuckapalooza ends with one of the most forgettable shows we have ever covered.  Despite very little video available, Turnabout is one of the most painful series we have recapped, from the awkward premise to story lines which are ridiculous and even somewhat sexist.  John Schuck and Sharon Gless deserved so much better.

Schuckapalooza forges on with this reboot of a 1960s classic with our hero this week playing Herman Munster, a role made famous by Fred Gwynne. In this sequel series, the Munster family wakes up from a 22-year sleep and has to mostly deal with Grandpa's crappy inventions.

This week, we're having our own Schuckapalooza, covering three series starring underrated character actor John Schuck.  We start with Schuck playing a robotic police officer in the 13-week wonder Holmes and Yoyo.

Soap was riding high in 1980.  Its producers gave who would likely be the 6th most popular cast member on that show her own vehicle, with a cast that includes a comedy icon and a future comedy icon.  I'm a Big Girl Now was one (season) and done.

Outer space science fiction was everywhere in the late 70s--in your movie theater, on public television, in primetime, even on Saturday mornings.  The crew at Filmation gave us their take on space adventures with Jason of Star Command, which featured a veteran from an outer space classic.

McCormick from Hardcastle and McCormick and Audrey Griswold #3 star in a sitcom about marrying someone to ensure they aren't deported from the country.  Of course, hilarity ensues.  The best moment of the show came at the very end of the final episode, when everybody knew the writing was on the wall.

Marvel Month concludes with possibly the second-worst season of SNL ever.  We talked about probably the worst season of SNL on episode 97, about the 1980-81 era.  Now, we look at the 1985-86 season, a transition season of sorts, when most of the cast lasted just this one season if not less, and the writers lasted just as long, ushering in one of the best eras in the show's lengthy history.