The It Was a Thing on TV Podcast Network

It seems Tony Randall was known for two shows--first and foremost, The Odd Couple, and then Love, Sidney.  We make the case that it was mishandled from the start by NBC but also that some subject matter might have been material not designed for an early 80s home audience.

In the Fall 1987 television season, NBC tried starting primetime half an hour earlier than normal.  The results were generally bad sitcoms and reverting to an 8 PM start time for primetime starting in Fall 1988.  We look at why this block failed and Mike talks about a personal connection with someone from one of the five comedies from this block.

What was Greg's dive down a rabbit hole after recording a few months ago became this very experimental episode.  The Maury staff sure comes up with different ways to describe their DNA and lie detector shows.

Brew up some coffee and enjoy this look at Jim Henson ads from the late 50s and early 60s.  The commercials were to-the-point and were effective.  Sixty years later, they are a blast to watch.

Second Chance had a different premise but was low-rated and given a second chance.  It was stripped of its premise and turned into an average teenage boy sitcom called Boys Will Be Boys.  After 12 episodes of this retooled show, it was cancelled and not given a third chance.

A sitcom with Jim Carrey!  It can't fail...can it?  (Isn't that why we're here?)  The Duck Factory was a comedy about the animation industry with very few animations, a young not-so irreverent Jim Carrey, and an established cast of characters.  What went wrong?

For now, we wrap up our look at pilots with a very bizarre one from 1990, where a dead cop's soul enters the body of a bulldog.  Poochinski is a weird pilot you have to see at least once.  You can view the complete pilot at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LytgLZDzzAY.

This is our first live, unedited show.  For weeks, we have talked about Herb Abrams and the UWF.  We have been anticipating this episode of Dark Side of the Ring so much that we wanted to devote a live episode to the topic.  Obviously, it is best if you watch this show while listening to this podcast.  There is some minor language used in this show since it was recorded live and is unedited.

Considered by some to be the best show which never made it to TV, Lookwell is a brilliant cop show spoof done by Lorne Michaels, Robert Smigel, and a young Conan O'Brien.  You can view this pilot at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBQ3HbB0c8Y.