Fanacek

My book is finally here and available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/09jGbH3d After years of writing down every thought I've ever had about 1980s television, my book is finally complete and on its way to you!  It's a 750 page opus that I think you will love!  If you are already an 80s TV aficionado, I promise you will earn even more.  If you have zero interest in 80s TV, I promise you'll laugh your ass...

My book is finally here and available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/09jGbH3d After years of writing down every thought I've ever had about 1980s television, my book is finally complete and on its way to you!  It's a 750 page opus that I think you will love!  If you are already an 80s TV aficionado, I promise you will earn even more.  If you have zero interest in 80s TV, I promise you'll laugh your ass...

My book is coming!  After years of writing down every thought I've ever had about 1980s television, my book is finally complete and on its way to you!  It's a 750 page opus that I think you will love!  If you are already an 80s TV aficionado, I promise you will earn even more.  If you have zero interest in 80s TV, I promise you'll laugh your ass off.  This book is for everyone and I am super proud...

Before there was SNL, there was NBC's Saturday Night.  There was also Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell (Don't worry, it will all make sense when you listen to the episode).  There's nothing I can say about SNL that hasn't been said already, so sit back, relax, and let me tell you about the first episode, how it came about, how it was cast, and how half of Hollywood takes credits for helping...

If it weren't for this series, I would probably be frying fish in my kitchen and burning beans on my grill.  Oh boy, do I love this show.  Easily the best theme song in sitcom history, and in my not so humble opinion, the best leading man in 70s sitcom history!  The Jefferson broke new ground by showcasing an affluent black family achieving the American Dream.  As it turns out, money doesn't autom...

Show of hands.  Who enjoys dry humor, ensemble casts, urban blight, and weary sarcasm, most of which is largely confined to one room in a grimy, confined 1970s NYC police precinct?  If your hand is raised, than Barney Miller is the television program for you!  I love this series and you should too!  It's smart, impeccably acted, and funny as hell.  However, the pilot was a little underbaked and I'...

Call me crazy, but this series was likeable as hell and enjoyed a shockingly successful life in syndication.  It gave us the big personalities of Fred "Rerun" Berry, Shirley Hemphill, and Danielle Spencer.  It also gave us the charisma blackholes that are Ernest Thomas and Haywood Nelson.  Never too broad, nor confrontational like a Norman Lear show, this fun little program lived somewhere in the...

"Chico, don't get discouraged, the Man he ain't so hard to understand."  Ah...Chico and the Man.  I have to admit, this was a really fun rewatch.  Freddie Prinze was full of charm and optimism and Jack Albertson was...well...Jack Albertson.  This show isn't talked about as much as it should be as it was cut short for obvious reasons.  In a TV Landscape dominated by Norman Lear, this series was "co...

This was a listener request and I was glad to deliver!  Bob Newhart is a comedy legend and this pilot episode is arguably one of the best pilots I've ever watched.  Watching our guy Bob weave his way through life all calm and collected while everyone around him is batshit crazy is...well...comedy gold.  Newhart's comedy is seamlessly translated into a sitcom format and the supporting cast is super...

"Come and knock on our door"...Oh boy, did I love this show as a kid!  Suzanne Somers, sexual innuendo, misunderstandings...did I say Suzanne Somers?  Let's face it, this was not meant to be a thinking man's series, nor a critical darling (although it was nominated for tons of Emmy and Golden Globe Awards).  Rather, this was a fun, escapist show chock full o' horny young adults.  That said, the wr...

Taxi. The series that gave brought legends into our living rooms: Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, Andy Kaufman, and Christopher Lloyd.  It's also the series that started Tony Danza down a path of only playing characters named Tony.  Join me as I explore Taxi's shared DNA with the Mary Tyler Moore Universe and how it paved the way for it's illegitimate child, Cheers.  A sweet mixture of humor and unfulf...

Yes, it's another Fanacek episode about a show you probably don't enjoy, but you absolutely must revisit this pilot as it is almost as batshit crazy as the rest of the series.  Mr. Drummond plays white savior to two black orphans who just lost their mother.  Lucky for them, they don't have a chance to grieve because Mr. D is "shaking hands like a brother", showering them with toys and a pony, and...

That's right.  The Golden Girls.  The horniest show in television history...and maybe, pound for pound the "jokiest" show in television history.  Take a ride with me as I travel back in time to discuss the pilot episode of this series while also examining the television and cultural landscape in which it was birthed.  Yep.  I said birthed.  Enjoy.

"Boy the way Glen Miller played.  Songs that made the hit parade..  Guys like us we had it made.  Those were the days".  Ahh...a classic intro for a classic show.  This season I will be focusing on pilot episodes of classic television shows and there is no better pilot episode to start with than 1971's "Meet the Bunkers".  Three different pilots were filmed before Norman Lear finally perfected thi...

Welcome to 2026, folks!  I'm starting the year off with a bang by bringing back author Thom Shubilla.  Thom's new book, "King Kong Versus Godzilla" explores the origins of King Kong, Godzilla, and dozens of other movie monsters as Kong and Godzilla make their way toward their inevitable showdown in the 1962 classic film, King Kong vs. Godzilla.  During our chat, we'll also explore Kong and Godzill...

Sure, the character of Cousin Eddie is a definite Hall of Famer and a Christmas staple...but what abut the actor playing him?  Let's dive into the resume of Mr. Quaid and take a close look at the legendary directors and fellow actors he's worked with during his 50+ year career.  We'll also chitchat about his tumultuous personal life while also discussing my personal connection to Not Another Teen...

Ahh...Thanksgiving season...the gateway to Christmas.  A time for family, food, booze, football, and the Peanuts gang!  This special has become a staple of my family's Thanksgiving season, and probably yours as well, so why not take a look at the young folks who lent their voices to this 1973 classic?  Along the way, we'll also chat about Jeremy Miller, taking my 11 year old to Las Vegas, Jay and...

More Fanacek and more Warren Oates!  What could be better than that?  This episode will pick up where we left off and look at Warren's late 60s credits before he crushes it in the 1970s.  Warren also began the 80s with a bang, but sadly he died young at the age of 53 on April 3, 1982.  Come with me as I dive into his resume to determine if he is a card carrying Hall of Famer!

Warren Oates.  You either LOVE him or have no effing clue who he is.  Either way, you need to join me as we journey through his credits to determine his Hall of Fame eligibility.  Part 1 focuses on his early TV years as he guests on dozens of western TV shows like The Rifleman, The Westerner, Johnny Ringo, and Trackdown.  In only his fist few years of screen acting, Warren shares the screen with l...

At only 8 years old, Justin Henry was the youngest Academy Award nominee ever...but what did he do next?  Well, I'm gonna take you on a deep dive of his acting resume while also blowing your minds with tales of making short films with the chick from Saturday Night Fever, watching Charmed without the sound, hanging out with Mark Volman of The Turtles, Ashley Scott lying on the ground, meeting Pauly...

Matt Dillon has had an odd career.  Not quite A-List, not quite B-List; he's consistent but not always a star.  Has he done enough in his nearly 50 year career to be called a Hall of Famer?  I'm gonna do my damndest to dig into his resume and find out.  I'm also gonna do my damndest to entertain you with tails of a Chubby George Clooney's back tattoo, my time with the fellas from Workaholics, my l...

With a name like that, he has to be a nice guy, right?  We loved him as Rudy in Meatballs and he stole our hearts in My Bodyguard, but what the hell else has he done and where did he go?  I'll answer these questions and more as I take you on a journey that includes the murder of Bob Crane, my time with Jonah Hill, Corey Feldman's bass player, fake T&A movies, and Dolph Lundgren's ex-girlfriend...

I get it.  She's Lois Lane.  But Lois Lane does not a legend make!  I am compelled to dive into her acting resume to determine if she is a Hall of Famer.  As I go through her credits, I'll also wow you with my commentary on Rob Zombie, Jayne Mansfield, Peter Fonda, abrupt 70s film endings, and Binions Casino in Las Vegas.

Ahh...The Bad News Bears.  One of the greatest kids sports flicks of all time.  We all know what became of Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neal, and Jackie Earl Haley, but what about the rest of the squad?  Ahmad Abdul Rahim?  Ogilvie? Timmy?  Tanner?  Why don't we know what the hell ever became of these all-stars?  Fear no more as I've done the research and prepared a detailed report to get you up to spe...

She's Connie from The Godfather franchise (nepotism much?) and Adrian from the Rocky films.  But what else has Talia done to earn a spot in Fanacek's Hall of Fame?  Follow me as I go through her screen credits and uncover some projects you've likely never heard of.  I will also brighten your day with tales of Roger Corman, folks I knew at The Second City, Troma films, the Big Bopper, and naked Blo...