It Was a Thing on TV: An Anthology on Forgotten Television

The butt of many a joke in its day and even into the 21st century, The Bicentennial Minute was an occasionally bland but also occasionally interesting minute-long segment delivered by a celebrity about what happened in U.S. history 200 years ago that day.  Celebrate your Fourth of July holiday listening about this patriotic throwback to the 70s.

"Lucy's Bicentennial Minute" - https://papermoonloveslucy.tumblr.com/post/175503525253/lucys-bicentennial-minute

Betty Ford Bicentennial Minute Materials (Gerald Ford Presidential Library and Museum): - https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0126/1489543.pdf

Press Release for Congressman Butler Derrick's (D-SC) appearance on the Bicentennial Minute on November 12, 1975 (University of South Carolina Library) - https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/derrick/id/89/

August 24, 1975: Congresswoman Bella Abzug (D-NY) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsnFrd63j4k

August 31, 1975: Jessica Tandy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUoto1lsX50

January 8, 1976: Laurence Luckinbill - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir6pabr4CD0

January 22, 1976: Gary Lockwood - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hai2OxMwl9w

March 9, 1976: Jim Hutton - https://youtu.be/zgwiC4TT9aM?t=499

March 18, 1976: Val Avery - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93s5mXL0WZk

May 7, 1976: Otto Preminger - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1HwX6TdHbk

May 12, 1976: Mitchell Ryan - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TpBK7tZc2k

May 20, 1976: Zubin Mehta - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7bt3SNBOrw

May 27, 1976: Garson Kanin - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgxOYH7fHX4

June 4, 1976: Senator Fritz Hollings (D-SC) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHDXxzuXBok

July 22, 1976: Will Rogers Jr. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfG8LHyRlNY

December 20, 1976: Emlyn Williams - https://youtu.be/8nUKzWGVWe4?t=1671

December 31, 1976: President Gerald Ford (Last 42 Seconds) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0TB76tc5Tg

We continue the President's Day theme by looking at a commercial for an inaugural keepsake.  There's something about a gold plated commemorative plate of Barack Obama which we find odd.

When this lit up the socials last week, we made the decision that not only was it worth submitting but it was also worthy of live show status.  Put a Lifetime Christmas movie, a KFC infomercial, and romance in a Vitamix and this would be the result.

The complete "A Recipe for Seduction": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9mgD1DpmZ8

Nick at Nite was a staple of our childhood's back in the 1980's and 1990's. One popular show on the early Nick at Nite lineup was Alfred Hitchcock Presents. It was so popular that the powers that be at Nick at Nite decided to run a marathon on Halloween Week 1990 along with a contest for the viewer to guess how many people kick the bucket during said marathon to win a murder mystery cruise. Also, you're probably wondering why Wink Martindale is involved in this based on the image right?

Accompanying Nick at Nite 35th Anniversary article with some details about this contest via The Retro Network.

https://theretronetwork.com/35-years-of-nick-at-nite/

Who doesn't love a good hometown commercial?  They're goofy, they're low-budget, they're corny, and often they're viral.  We look at over a dozen such ads.  Greg also raves about The Sega Channel and Mike talks about his run-in with presumably the star of one of these ads.

Commercials in this episode, in order:
Right Price Furniture:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BdDpV5eI94
Ieuter and Secor Insurance Agents:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l0ZmTLdy-A
TCI Cable Brookhaven:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clxl56hsP2k
Monterey-Salinas Transit:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmgpguQbEjQ
Norton Furniture:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2z1YroJTRE
Frank Communications:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPaYx8eWWPI
Attorney John Orcutt:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7k7nDyzjRY
Shirley Auto Group:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4ub0oB_07M
Mike Slocum, The Alabama Hammer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H1jxzmdWwo
Darryl Isaacs, The Kentucky Hammer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOlYOUzOpOM
2019 Darryl Isaacs Super Bowl commercial:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_LUKFsIpvk
The Hot Tub Factory:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg1I8yUlzv8
Cullman Liquidation Center:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-RLqLx1iYI
Eagle Insurance--Eagleman:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4-e4nlfdRI
Eagle Insurance--Eaglewoman:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL1QUmeEZQc
Marc Norton Being Born:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd8BrfhASDU

As an homage to the recent Omnibus podcast episode about Ronco, we look at commercials for what is likely Ronco's most popular product, Mr. Microphone.  Greg's dad also proposes new rules to football.

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.

We continue our look at pilots with the NBC entry from 1990, Where's Rodney?, where Rodney Dangerfield plays a confused teenager's confidant.  You can see this pilot with commercials at https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6kk335.

Combine wrestling with a cop show and what do you get?  You get a show which almost made ABC's lineup in the early 90s, Tag Team.  You can watch the episode at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1Gf3gXvZ-k and follow along with this installment.  We even included commentary about the commercials.

We look at ads Hulk Hogan has done over the years, from the conventional to the bizarre.

For your benefit, here is an ordered list of the ads covered and where to view them.  All links will open up in a new tab.

1. Honey Nut Cheerios Commercial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3YTvB11JbY
2. Hulk Hogan Workout Set - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyuKfO5wUHs
3. 800-LoanMart - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogx3GaZoYgo
4. Right Guard Commercial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCwzdzA-01Q
5. Pastamania Promo on WCW Nitro - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MqesGatCgg
6. MTV Commercial (The Big …. Show) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVjY93xqsYc
7. Pummax - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SfF69Tenq4
8. 10-10-220 ad with ALF - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzTqHAljNtQ
9. 10-10-220 ad with Terry Bradshaw - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ryT61OfKIM
10. 10-10-220 ad with Mike Piazza - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR_VU4vfTWI
11. Hostamania - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ss_DNXNweQ
12. Hitachi Japanese Commercial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdViUfe2IFg
13. Harris Teeter paper towel commercial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRPt7n8bkso