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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
Thursday Mar 07, 2024
Episode 460--Days Like These
Thursday Mar 07, 2024
Thursday Mar 07, 2024
The annual Lost in Translation episodes start with another British adaptation of a beloved American sitcom. Despite American scripts being localized for a UK audience, Days Like These didn't click. Maybe it needed a catchy phrase in its opening like "Hello Luton!"
Monday Mar 04, 2024
Episode 459--Easy Street
Monday Mar 04, 2024
Monday Mar 04, 2024
Hugh Wilson and Loni Anderson worked together on a popular series in the late 70s and early 80s, WKRP in Cincinnati. They tried to parlay that magic into another series four years after WKRP's end, one where a former showgirl, played by Anderson, married her wealthy husband, who died. When you're battling family members who want that money, life isn't so easy on Easy Street.
Monday Feb 26, 2024
Episode 457--Charlie & Company
Monday Feb 26, 2024
Monday Feb 26, 2024
Black History Month 2024 concludes with a comedy starring a comedic legend, trying to capitalize on the success of a similar show on another network. Despite pulling the stops to make it popular including adding a familiar face later in its sole season, Charlie & Company is just a footnote in history.
Thursday Feb 22, 2024
Episode 456--Baby...I'm Back!
Thursday Feb 22, 2024
Thursday Feb 22, 2024
Demond Wilson's first post-Sanford and Son role was in this series, as a husband who abandoned his wife and family for seven years and was legally declared dead. Not only was Wilson back on TV after a short time away, but baby, he's back for his family.
Monday Feb 19, 2024
Episode 455–Melba
Monday Feb 19, 2024
Monday Feb 19, 2024
Broadway legend Melba Moore was given a starring vehicle for her own CBS sitcom in Early 1986. Sadly, it had the misfortune of premiering the same day as a tragic news story.
However, was the news story the reason the show failed or something else entirely?
Saturday Jan 06, 2024
It Was a Thing on TV Presents: Before the Show IV
Saturday Jan 06, 2024
Saturday Jan 06, 2024
In the fourth edition of It Was a Thing on TV Presents: Before the Show, Mike and Greg discuss the recent news of the merger between the USFL and the XFL as the new version of the United Football League (UFL).
They also discuss "Steamboat Willie" and the OG Mickey Mouse entering the public domain along with the really bad horror attempts with Mickey along with Greg recently getting a PS5.
Then, Chico joins in for Segment 2 where they talk about Ric Flair shilling crypto, the latest headaches at ESPN, and Hulk Hogan with the cast of "Silver Spoons"?
Thursday Oct 05, 2023
Episode 416--Together We Stand/Nothing is Easy
Thursday Oct 05, 2023
Thursday Oct 05, 2023
In the 70s, Sherwood Schwartz had an idea to introduce a couple with a multiethnic group of kids. The ahead-of-its-time idea was revisited in the mid 80s, but would anybody watch it? And what happens when nobody watches it? On this episode, we break down the strange case of “Together We Stand”…. Or “Nothing is Easy”.
Thursday Sep 07, 2023
Episode 408–The Colts/Broncos Thursday Night Football Game from 2022
Thursday Sep 07, 2023
Thursday Sep 07, 2023
Tonight is Opening Night for the NFL, in this episode we look at a game from last year that was so bad that we had to cover it for the podcast right away. What happens when two veteran QB's get traded to different teams in a marquee match-up in the debut season of Thursday Night Football on Prime Video? You get this epic crapfest.
Monday Jun 12, 2023
Episode 390--Blansky’s Beauties
Monday Jun 12, 2023
Monday Jun 12, 2023
We have talked about many failed spinoffs in the past, but this one is unique in the sense that it didn't happen concurrently with the parent show. Rather, this was set in 1977, versus Happy Days' 50s/60s setting. That is just the beginning of the confusion regarding Blansky's Beauties.
Monday May 22, 2023
Episode 383--Howie (1962 CBS pilot)
Monday May 22, 2023
Monday May 22, 2023
A decade before The Paul Lynde Show (see episode 103), a pilot for CBS was done which was reminiscent of the latter show. Lynde plays the father-in-law to his new son-in-law, the "smartest man in the room though he's actually the dumbest" Howie.