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.
Simultaneously one of the most brilliant things on TV the last decade and one of the most bizarre, Too Many Cooks aired in the dead of night on Adult Swim. Within days, it was viral and repeated often. We offer a live commentary while watching the show and get into details about some of the production, and what happened to some of the actors and actresses.
Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In was TV's most popular show in 1969. The people behind it tried capitalizing on its popularity with a related show called Turn-On. There were instant regrets, as ABC turned it off before the first episode aired in full.
This is it! The big 2-0-0! We look back at a great, short-lived show from the late 90s with a great cast of characters and array of guests, which got mishandled by the network during a time when there was a push towards educational and informational television on Saturday mornings.
Screech, Slater, and Zack have all graduated from Bayside. What's up next for the recent grads? College, of course. They're up to their usual mischief with the occasional familiar face and some new faces. And most importantly, Bob Golic.
Our second part of an interconnected trilogy of episodes. This edition of the It Was a Thing on TV Remastered series goes back to Episode 15 as we look at CBS' attempt to get in on that sweet Love Boat action with the comedy "Flying High"
Featuring Connie Selleca, Pat Klous and someone who had a great layover with Bobby Sherman according to the commercials for the Star Wars Holiday Special.
The new TV season is nearby. One of our favorite shows back in the day was the Saturday morning cartoon preview show that generally aired the night before the premiere of the new fall Saturday morning lineups. In 1985, CBS went all out, producing an hour-long show with Rowdy Roddy Piper and celebrities ranging from Pee Wee Herman to Herve Villechaize to Captain Lou Albano to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Who knew CBS' Saturday morning cartoons ran until 2 PM!
A short-run show from 1984, Domestic Life involved a number of big stars including Steve Martin, Tom Hanks, and Martin Mull. Some members of the media knew it was good, but it was just too late. And it had Bob Ridgely!
Norman Lear tried bringing a Latino-centric family comedy to network television in 1984 with limited success. Paul Rodriguez would go on to bigger and better things, as well as one of his nephews.
What started out as a joke in the pre-shows with Greg when he found out about this straight-to-DVD movie starring Kelsey Grammer and the WWE's Adam "Edge" Copeland turned into an obsession when we saw a recent episode of Honest Trailers on YouTube about the plot of this film.
Now, we present to you a special Live Show about this movie brought to you by the youngest Lawrence brother (WHOA!)
Two warnings for this episode.
1. Lots of language throughout the course of this episode.
2. Tons and tons of (tense dramatic music).
If you thought a high schooler couldn't also double as a secret agent trying to find his father, you don't know Beans. Come for the Beans, stay for the plethora of references to HBO's Encyclopedia Brown from the early 90s and the clip from Mac & Me.
