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Partially an oral history of obscure TV shows, partially an oral version of MST3K, and partially a thorough episode guide, It Was a Thing on TV is an anthology podcast about obscure, forgotten, and odd TV shows, commercials, televised events, and almost anyone and anything else that was on television. For the most part, the subjects we cover are from the United States and Canada. We’re just three guys with a love for television. New episodes are generally every Monday and Thursday, sometimes more often.
Episodes
2 days ago
Episode 467–Rags to Riches
2 days ago
2 days ago
It’s a classic story: member of the 1% needs an image makeover and decides to adopt not one, but six…err, five… girls. The audiences loved them on Sunday, but NBC thought they’d love them even more on Friday. It’s a classic “Rags to Riches” story… that lasted only 20 musically tinged episodes.
5 days ago
5 days ago
In the newest "Best of" we go back to one of our early episodes from January of 2020.
What do you get when you have the king of the wacky Game Show produce a spoof of beauty contests? You get Rip Taylor, barrels of confetti, and a $1.98. Take a journey back as we look at "The $1.98 Beauty Show".
Thursday Apr 18, 2024
Episode 466–Guess What
Thursday Apr 18, 2024
Thursday Apr 18, 2024
In honor of the 80th birthday of Canadian TV personality and host of former entry To Tell the Truth from 1980 (episode 139), we present another show hosted by Robin Ward, one which looked incredibly dated, plus had a miniscule budget. Guess what the answer is and you might take home hundreds of dollars Canadian on Guess What!
Thursday Apr 11, 2024
Episode 465--The Baseball Bunch
Thursday Apr 11, 2024
Thursday Apr 11, 2024
Baseball season started a few weeks ago. In honor of the start of a new season of America's pastime, we look back at sports-related edutainment from four decades ago, starring a Hall of Fame backstop, who was joined by a Hall of Fame manager and an iconic character from the game. We have a hunch you'll enjoy The Baseball Bunch.
Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
The Best of It Was a Thing on TV: Episode 138–The Powers of Matthew Star
Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
In memory of Lou Gossett Jr. we bring you our latest "Best of" the time we looked at the 1982-83 NBC show "The Powers of Matthew Star"
It was a show so bad that it almost brought one of us to near tears. Also in what other episode of "It Was a Thing on TV" will you hear us bring up Tommy Heinsohn?
Sunday Apr 07, 2024
The ”It Was a Thing on TV” Hall of Fame Class of 2024
Sunday Apr 07, 2024
Sunday Apr 07, 2024
It's our third Hall of Fame show here at "It Was a Thing on TV" and we are inducting 17 new members into the Hall. They include some TV legends, some show favorites, and some legendary guys from "that thing".
Thursday Apr 04, 2024
Episode 464--How Ken Jennings Almost Didn't Happen
Thursday Apr 04, 2024
Thursday Apr 04, 2024
In honor of the 60th anniversary of Jeopardy! this past Saturday, we talk about how one of the greatest players in the show's history almost didn't happen. A somewhat lenient response and a rule change allowed Ken Jennings to become the show's all-time wins leader and eventually the host of the show.
Tuesday Apr 02, 2024
The Best of It Was a Thing on TV: Episode 50–Tag Team
Tuesday Apr 02, 2024
Tuesday Apr 02, 2024
With WrestleMania XL coming up this weekend in Philadelphia, we are happy to bring to you in this week's "best of" one of our favorite shows we covered in our first Pilot Month back in 2020.
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Jesse "The Body" Ventura play a pair of ex-wrestlers turned cops in an hour of action-packed mayhem! We almost got this as a series if not for financial issues involving the studio that produced this pilot (sigh).
Thursday Mar 28, 2024
Episode 463--(Filmation's) Ghostbusters
Thursday Mar 28, 2024
Thursday Mar 28, 2024
Earlier in March, the movie Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire hit theaters. To mark the occasion, we re-released episode 216, about the unrelated show The Ghost Busters from 1975, earlier this week. In addition, this episode is about the unrelated to the hit movie franchise yet also a continuation of the original TV series (Filmation's) Ghostbusters, where the two main characters' kids continue their dads' business.
Thursday Mar 21, 2024
Episode 462--Life on Mars (US)
Thursday Mar 21, 2024
Thursday Mar 21, 2024
This year's Lost in Translation block concludes with an import from the UK about a police detective who was hit by a car in 2008, but ends up in 1973 after regaining his consciousness. Life on Mars was part of a powerful ABC Thursday night line-up, but lasted only one season.