It Was a Thing on TV: An Anthology on Forgotten Television

Once upon a time, a television network aired a show about Snow White and Prince Charming living in comtemporary times, complete with a family and a magic mirror.  Alas, the enemy in this fairy tale come true was the counter-programming and the absurd premise.  After about a year, the show bit the poison apple and was sent to television heaven.  The end.

Since we'll briefly mention Adam West in our upcoming episode on Thursday, we figured we'd post this outtake from when we covered Lookwell in Episode 55. Needless to say, Greg struggles to try and figure out what the hell FOX was airing in 1991.

The military has long been a staple of comedic television, see The Phil Silvers Show, McHale's Navy, and M*A*S*H.  In late 1976, NBC joined the fray with an insulting, caustic chief petty officer running the ship, portrayed by the most insulting and most caustic comedian playing the role.  

We put a bow on the year 2024 with a look back at the shows which ended this year, as well as those we lost in 2024.  Party on and have a great 2025!

As we do every year between Christmas and New Year's, the three of us look at the news and happenings of the previous 12 months.  This first installment covers The Worst of 2024, the big television happenings over the last 12 months, and our favorite programs which debuted in the past year.

The 2nd Annual Pop-Tarts Bowl saw Iowa State defeat Miami in the last few moments but the real fun was just beginning. Game MVP Rocco Becht had to choose which three of the Pop-Tarts Bowl mascots would be cooked to be eaten. Mike and Greg came on following the game to give their live reaction to the cooking along with providing play-by-play to the end of the Bengals/Broncos game. Remember "FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS!"

For the first time on the podcast, we look at a Hallmark Christmas movie. In this 2013 TV movie, Alicia Witt plays an NYC store owner who gets proposed to by the man of her dreams but when she's sent to the airport by herself to meet her family a series of accidents happen and hilarity ensues. Will she find love with the man she believes is her brother or will she stay with the snooty rich fiancee? I think you already know the answer to that question. Merry Christmas everybody!

We're a few days away from Christmas and we thought it would be appropriate and timely to look at commercials for the must-have gift of 1989, an item celebrating its 35th birthday this year--the Nintendo Game Boy. Here are the commercials in this episode, with links: Original GameBoy with Tetris - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-ej_8XBwmI Super GameBoy - https://youtu.be/50qlX1kF2Vc Donkey Kong - https://youtu.be/s4dinHwO2nU Super Mario Land - https://youtu.be/yyZ65k3vpSU Tetris/Qix - https://youtu.be/VeLixGKaij4 F1 Race with 4-Player Adapter (1991) - https://youtu.be/_PJZ6HipNxg Original GameBoy Commercial from Japan, Part 1 - https://youtu.be/Pe6tW69QAeQ Part 2 - https://youtu.be/UkOk_E_3J0E Super Mario Land/F1 Race/Tetris/Dr. Mario - https://youtu.be/6CgGwNJxhHs Have You Had Your Fun Today? - https://youtu.be/dDXJCf29cSE Kirby’s Dream Land - https://youtu.be/_Z8ECstDtQg Super Mario Land 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZm5cXRShO4 Game Genie - https://youtu.be/osJkdIWgBFI Yoshi - https://youtu.be/4ezEh-GP8do Spot/7up - https://youtu.be/HldFL4445WI Zelda: Link’s Awakening - https://youtu.be/w4mdmeMuYo4 Super Game Boy with The Wu-Tang Clan - https://youtu.be/9sfiTMybZTs Dr. Mario - https://youtu.be/vS4RIOFhyL4 Japanese Kirby Pinball Land - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzi9rWVo4so Mario’s Picross - https://youtu.be/9DXjZ6UJpKk Kirby Block Ball - https://youtu.be/xuK7xLJW--k Pocket Monsters Red & Green - https://youtu.be/z4JeRKo3Rr4 Pokemon Red & Blue - https://youtu.be/qzAo9HzOgtQ Game Boy Camera - https://youtu.be/gYjU5nE9SbE Castlevania Adventure - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjrFq2z9PXE

In what is a first, we present our first instant minisode.  Chico was sent a video of a creepy Folgers commercial from 15 years ago.  After bringing it to everybody's attention, a decision was made to cover this immediately, instead of waiting until Christmas 2025.  Who knew the addition of one word could turn this commercial from heartwarming to creepy?

We have seen this time and time again--a network reboots a series which ran for a considerable amount of time, only for it to flop badly.  This time, the victim is Family Affair, which The WB felt was worthy of rebooting over 30 years after the original show ended.  Against tough competition, this version quietly whimpered away after a half year.

It took over 500 episodes, but we are finally talking about what many consider to be the worst television show of all-time.  A man's deceased mother gets reincarnated into a 1928 automobile, communicating with her son through the radio.  That's the premise.  Jerry Van Dyke passed up being Gilligan for this.  If all the above isn't unbelieveable enough, one of the world's biggest entertainers did a cover version of the theme song.

We gave you three selections in our Viewer's Choice vote, and this is the show that came out on top.  We have another spinoff show from a popular parent show.  Also, we have another spinoff show that got amazing ratings in its premiere season, which fell off in the second and final season.  In early 1980, audiences were flocking to see Flo.  By 1981, audiences were telling it to kiss their grits.

Years ago, we did our first installment on TV-themed trading cards, focusing mainly on cards from the past.  With the resurgence in the popularity of trading cards, we decided to do a second volume, focusing on trading cards, specifically those over the last decade.  Some of the biggest franchises offer cards, so you can own a piece of those shows or an autograph of one of the stars.

In 1968, the song Harper Valley PTA was a number one hit for Jeannie C. Riley.  In 1978, the song was the inspiration for a movie with the same title, starring Barbara Eden.  Three years later, this show came into being with Eden at the helm, about the battles Eden's character had with the PTA of a fictional Ohio town called Harper Valley.  

The year is 1989 and the Max Headroom fad, for the most part, has come and gone.  Next up for Matt Frewer is a comedy where laughter is sometimes the best medicine.  Doctor Doctor ran two abbreviated seasons, followed by a full final season.  The show tackled some very sensitive yet timely topics during its run including AIDS and homophobia, but went away quietly after a ratings nosedive.

Happy Thanksgiving!  (For those outside of the United States, happy Thursday.)  For this holiday, we jump back 43 years to 1981.  What was the hotness that year?  A version of Strawberry Shortcake which was reminiscent to the technology used in Malcolm, for one.  The video game surge started, though it wasn't represented in the parade.  As you prepare to do Black Friday shopping, remember to go to the AT&T phone store and get a Garfield phone.

As we do around these parts for Thanksgiving, we look at at least one Thanksgiving Day parade.  This time, we go back to 1988, to see what were the big shows on Broadway, to see what TV stars would appear on floats, to see what the big gifts of 1988 were, to see what headwear Willard Scott was donning, and to see the grand ending of the parade--Santa Claus!

In 1987, the signals of both WGN and WTTV in Chicago were overtaken by two brief unknown signals, both showing an unknown figure wearing a Max Headroom mask.  To this day, there are more answers than questions about these incidents:  Who did this?  How did they do it?  Why did they do it?  To this day, these brief interruptions remain one of the biggest mysteries to occur on U.S. broadcast television. WMAQ Max Headroom Prank on Mark Giangreco - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KePTSntPRtM  

One of the biggest pop culture sensations in the 1980s was an omnipresent personality for the computer generation named Max Headroom.  Not only was Max Headroom a talk show host, a soda pitchman, and visible on different mediums in the latter half of the 80s, but this phenomenon even got a scripted television show which ran over two seasons, a show about a post-apocalyptic dystopia reminiscent of 1984.

As listeners may know, we love our Quinn Martin-produced shows.  In this episode, we go back to one of his earliest crime drama efforts, with a lead who would be the biggest movie star by the end of the 1970s.  Dan August had all the hallmarks of a great series, but there was one key item missing--viewership.  Come for Burt Reynolds and non-comedic Norman Fell, stay for an astounding number of quality guest stars.