The It Was a Thing on TV Podcast Network

Put Hulkamania in a Baywatch setting with a boat like KITT but also like the TARDIS and it will bring the viewers!  But it didn't.  Thunder in Paradise lasted one season, but it ran long enough or was popular enough to justify a CD-i game.  If you listen to nothing else, listen to the last 15 minutes (starting at 1:07:05) about what happened to the boat.

Now You See It is another beloved Goodson-Todman classic that doesn't get enough credit, partially due to a year run, then a 15-week return fourteen years later.  But OMG, those sets, those hosts, and that music.  We also talk about the 1985 pilot hosted by Jack Clark.

It's time to take a visit back north of the border for the latest episode of the remastered series. This time we go back to Episode 11 and Pitfall. A Canadian game show that ended up stiffing everybody from Alex Trebek to the contestants.

A week and a half before the official series premiere of The Cube, all three of us watched a sneak peek episode after TNT's coverage of the NBA playoffs.  Going in, at least one of us had high expectations for this much anticipated series.  Were we left fulfilled after the show?  Enjoy the first episode of this long-running UK series.

Generally, we do not cover shows that ran as long as this one.  (Hello, Charles Stiles Mystery Diners.)  We could not avoid this show because of its two leads--the legendary Christopher Plummer and It Was a Thing on TV favorite Simon MacCorkindale.

Press Your Luck is back for another season and just like last year we're doing a special live show for the start of Season 3. Enjoy as we finally learn just what the heck a Flokati Rug is, what we'd do with a hot dog cart and figure out why Dan O'Toole did an awkward run-in on our live show thanks to Greg hitting the wrong button on his phone.

Greg uses his Money in the Bank pick on this sequel to The Shaggy Dog, which aired on ABC in 1987 as part of The Disney Sunday Movie. In this sequel to the Disney classic we learn some things like can dogs wear pajamas?

The newest edition of the remastered series goes back to Episode 10 and a topic Greg wanted to cover at the start of the podcast. The 1999 TBS spoof The Chimp Channel about a network made up of monkeys. Somebody get Chimp Larry Zbyszko a banana.

Everybody knows about the timeless Wheel of Fortune, but there was a show with that same title in the early 50s which had to do with rewarding good samaritans.

The mid-90s were a big period for game shows on cable, between Game Show Network's start, a possible Game Show Channel, and a foundation for that Game Show Channel--interactive game shows from Wink Martindale et al.  We look at the quartet of games which could be played at home on a telephone keypad.  Mike also shares his story about how he almost won some big prizes from one of those games.

Our next edition of the remastered series goes back to Episode 9 and The 1983 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Relive Mike, Chico and Greg talk about the Superman balloon that won't show his face, Charley Pride showing off his new album to the crowd, the meeting of the two America's Asses and Joey Lawrence (WHOA!).

It's the late 80s and action sports are big, like wrestling and American Gladiators.  Take roller derby and combine it with certain aspects of wrestling, then add a dash of rock and roll flair.  The result is 13 glorious episodes of the late 80s favorite RollerGames.  Go for the wall but avoid the alligator pit.

Our next edition of the remastered edition goes back to Episode 8 when Mike, Chico and Greg took a look at this weird entry in the exploding courtroom genre in the late 1990's. Somehow, Animal Planet didn't bother to bring back Doug Llewelyn for Judge Wapner's Animal Court even though they had the money for Rusty the Bailiff.

We're going way back with this one, but it's a goodie.  At Last the 1948 Show only ran for two series, but it was a primitive version of one of television's classic comedy sketch shows, one Monty Python's Flying Circus. BBC Time Shift - Missing, Believed Wiped (2003) featuring At Last the 1948 Show - https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xvum24

7 years after the Doctor Who last aired, Whovians got some closure in the form of the Seventh Doctor regenerating into the Eighth Doctor, whose lifespan was, more or less, this movie.  The ratings weren't that great, a revival was passed upon, and the franchise would be dormant for another 9 years.

Today you get a special treat in the latest edition of our remastered series. You're getting two episodes for the price of one! (and because Episode 6 is less than 20 minutes which is what we'd consider a Minisode today) First, Mike and Greg look at Meow Manor a weird show with cats that came from Iceland which aired on UPtv around 2017. It's Big Brother with cats basically. Then, they took a look...

In November of 1970, a story aired on KATU news in Oregon about a beached whale being exploded with dynamite to dispose of it. It ended up being one of the most unusual and memorable local news reports of all-time. Original KATU news report - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6CLumsir34 NewsNation on the 50th Anniversary of the report with Paul Linnman - https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/west/5...

The Coneheads was a staple of the early days of SNL and it was later a cinematic release, but there was an animated pilot in 1983 which was a one and done.  Get your sensor rings at the ready as we look at the wacky adventures of Beldar, Prymaat, and Connie Conehead.

Now that WandaVision and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier's runs on Disney+ have wrapped up, Greg and Chico are here to give their thoughts on both series in this edition of It Was a Thing on TV Presents. The two go over their favorite moments and least favorite moments of each show (coughmostofthewandavisionfinalecough). Afterwards, they discuss other things going on that include the guest hosti...

You heard about the TV movie in the previous episode.  The powers that be at NBC felt it was so successful that a pilot was made a year later.  It had its moments but alas, no Michael J. Fox, no Todd Bridges, and no Nancy McKeon only got High School U.S.A. to pilot stage, one which aired.

Our next edition of the remastered series goes back to Episode 5 as we looked at two pet-centric game shows. That's My Dog which had a four-year run on The Family Channel and Think Like a Cat a one-off special that aired on GSN back in 2008. Let's just say that Sega CD-ish animated open for That's My Dog is one of the best things we've ever talked about on this podcast.

Today marks the 30th Anniversary of Nolan Ryan's 7th and final No-Hitter for the Texas Rangers against the Toronto Blue Jays at Arlington Stadium. On that night for some odd reason the game wasn't carried locally in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, however the local NBC station in Dallas thought it would be a good idea to carry the 9th inning live on-air to start the 10 O'Clock News. Enjoy as we list...

NBC's young stars came out to shine in this NBC TV movie, which also acted as a reunion of sorts for two other much older TV shows.  It was had star power, it was funny, it had too many plots, and most importantly, it has a connection to our pilot month.  Stay tuned... (Note this is best enjoyed while watching the movie on YouTube, starting at about the 26:55 mark in the episode.  We give about an...

Around Halloween 2012, a pilot to a rebooted version of The Munsters aired.  If you were expecting campy humor that worked in the 1960s, you're solely mistaken.  Mockingbird Lane was a very dark comedy which was not your Munsters from 50 years ago.

Our next episode in the remastered series is the final episode of our initial series of shows covering 1983 NBC with Jennifer Slept Here. Two noteable things as of April of 2021 it's the only episode with a guest in Kris Lane and the only time Greg has not appeared in an episode (although he explains why in the cold open before the start of the remastered episode). Anyways, here's hoping one day y...