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.
Coming to theaters this weekend is the newest installment in the Spider-Man film franchise "No Way Home". We look at two televised versions of the franchise from the past. We start with an episode about the live-action version from 1977 to 1979 that aired on CBS which was good but like many shows we've covered, was mishandled at the network level.
We have had this on our list for a while. A recent YouTube discovery pushed it to the front of the line. We give you in almost entirely alphabetical order, every guest star on The Love Boat...almost.
Jesse Ventura did the improbable in 1998, being elected Minnesota's governor. Of course, someone had to jump over that story and create a made-for-TV movie. Unfortunately, little fact checking was done and many creative liberties were taken. And to add a creepy twist, this aired the same night as one of the most tragic events in pro wrestling history.
You voted on what show you wanted us to cover this week and we delivered.
It's 1984 and NBC is riding high on The A-Team so, of course, they had to capitalize on that trend. Mix The A-Team with martial arts and you get The Master...sort of. It didn't work, getting the heave-ho off the schedule after 13 shows. But it did get immortalized somewhat thanks to Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Recently, the 25th James Bond cinematic release hit theaters. But would you believe there was a James Bond, er, Jimmy Bond to grace the small screen before Sean Connery? In 1954, the CBS anthology series Climax! had an episode based on the Ian Fleming work Casino Royale.
Pat Morita was a star in the late 80s, thanks to two Karate Kid movies. He got the title role in this ABC police procedural. Ultimately, Ohara got his butt kicked by, in part, 4 old ladies who lived in Miami.
Put Hulkamania in a Baywatch setting with a boat like KITT but also like the TARDIS and it will bring the viewers! But it didn't. Thunder in Paradise lasted one season, but it ran long enough or was popular enough to justify a CD-i game. If you listen to nothing else, listen to the last 15 minutes (starting at 1:07:05) about what happened to the boat.
Generally, we do not cover shows that ran as long as this one. (Hello, Charles Stiles Mystery Diners.) We could not avoid this show because of its two leads--the legendary Christopher Plummer and It Was a Thing on TV favorite Simon MacCorkindale.
Around Halloween 2012, a pilot to a rebooted version of The Munsters aired. If you were expecting campy humor that worked in the 1960s, you're solely mistaken. Mockingbird Lane was a very dark comedy which was not your Munsters from 50 years ago.
Vanna White was everywhere in the late 80s--Wheel of Fortune twice a day, touring the country by train, a best-selling writer, and scantily clad in an adult magazine. NBC tried to capitalize on her success with a made-for-TV movie starring Vanna called Goddess of Love, which was downright bad.
