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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
Saturday May 27, 2023
Episode 385--Carlton Your Doorman (1980 CBS pilot)
Saturday May 27, 2023
Saturday May 27, 2023
Our 4th annual Pilot Month concludes with an animated spin-off of a live-action show which ended two years earlier?! Welcome to a day in the life of Carlton Your Doorman.
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.
Saturday May 20, 2023
Episode 382--Call Her Mom (1972 TV movie/pilot)
Saturday May 20, 2023
Saturday May 20, 2023
On the surface, Call Her Mom is reminiscent of a certain movie which would be a big hit 6 years later, but with a "den mother" caring for the fraternity. This wasn't just a ratings hit once, but twice. How did it not make it as a regular series?
Monday May 15, 2023
Episode 380--King of the Building (1987 CBS pilot)
Monday May 15, 2023
Monday May 15, 2023
One of the big comics in the mid-to-late 80s was Richard Lewis, known for his neurotic schtick. Two years before a career-defining role in Anything But Love, Lewis starred in this pilot as a doorman at a New York City apartment building.
Thursday May 11, 2023
Episode 378--Stick Around (1977 ABC pilot)
Thursday May 11, 2023
Thursday May 11, 2023
In 1977, Andy Kaufman was an up and coming comic. ABC cast him as a robot servant in the year 2055 with a distinct voice, one which would become associated with Kaufman on another ABC show a year later, Taxi. Why didn't this work? We blame the mood synthesizers, AKA the "ass toasters."
Tuesday May 09, 2023
Episode 377--Bob Rooney Day on Late Night with David Letterman
Tuesday May 09, 2023
Tuesday May 09, 2023
Today, May 9th, marks 40 years since David Letterman dedicated an entire day to an assistant sound engineer on his show. We go back and relive that day with a beer, a BLT, and another beer.
Thursday May 04, 2023
Episode 375--Red Dwarf (1992 NBC pilot)
Thursday May 04, 2023
Thursday May 04, 2023
Here's another case of a show working overseas but failing domestically. The Brit show Red Dwarf has been on the air for a combined quarter century. Could it have worked here? Who knows, thanks NBC smegheads.
Thursday Apr 20, 2023
Episode 370--Top of the Heap
Thursday Apr 20, 2023
Thursday Apr 20, 2023
Spin off your network's most popular show? Makes sense. Spin off your network's most popular show with characters who have made only a few appearances, and they weren't memorable? It's a disaster waiting to happen. Top of the Heap was the bottom of the barrel material.
Monday Apr 17, 2023
Episode 369--Going Places
Monday Apr 17, 2023
Monday Apr 17, 2023
There’s an old saying in Hollywood: “Write what you know.” Two Hollywood writers did that & after that didn’t work, they turned it into a family sitcom. That didn’t work either. See what happens when four actors spend 19 weeks… “Going Places”.
Monday Apr 10, 2023
Episode 367--I Had Three Wives
Monday Apr 10, 2023
Monday Apr 10, 2023
We've talked about this for over 3 years. Now we're finally talking about the extremely short-lived summer series about a detective and three of his ex-wives solving cases. I Had Three Wives ran for a month before it and CBS went their separate ways.