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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

4 days ago
Episode 388--Cleverdicks
4 days ago
4 days ago
National Sex Day week rolls on with a British quizzer for the smartest of the smart, where you can earn the title of Cleverdick. It's not fetch happening; we explain that term in the beginning.

Monday May 29, 2023
Episode 386--The Big ShowDown
Monday May 29, 2023
Monday May 29, 2023
The mid-70s was a rotating door of game shows seemingly coming, then going after 13 to 26 weeks. The Big ShowDown was no different, except it was a brilliant dice-themed game of strategy and its host had a memorable entrance on one episode.

Wednesday May 17, 2023
Live Show 42–The Cube Season 2 Premiere
Wednesday May 17, 2023
Wednesday May 17, 2023
After a long, long, long wait, The Cube is finally back for a second season on TBS. In the premiere of Season 2, Gabrielle Union and La-La Anthony try to tackle The Cube which has a whole lot of new challenges for the contestants.

Thursday Apr 27, 2023
Episode 373--Pointless (2017 GSN pilot)
Thursday Apr 27, 2023
Thursday Apr 27, 2023
Pilot Month 2023 starts now! Over the next month or so, we will cover 11 pilots. The first pilot is an American adaptation of a popular British game show. Alison Sweeney and a judge from 25 Words or Less take their shot at Pointless.

Thursday Mar 23, 2023
It Was a Thing on TV Instant Reaction--The March 22, 2023 episode of Jeopardy!
Thursday Mar 23, 2023
Thursday Mar 23, 2023
Because of last night's episode of Jeopardy!, we have a new type of show. Mike felt the need to talk about last night's episode of Jeopardy! and what could be called an historic moment.

Thursday Mar 23, 2023
Episode 361--Small Fortune (US)
Thursday Mar 23, 2023
Thursday Mar 23, 2023
Lost in Translation Week 2023 continues with a small show whose promotion was equally small and, not surprisingly, whose audiences and ratings were just as small. Small Fortune didn't last long in the UK, yet it was still imported to the States where its run was equally short.

Thursday Jan 19, 2023
Episode 342--Tic Tac Dough without Wink Martindale
Thursday Jan 19, 2023
Thursday Jan 19, 2023
One of the most beloved games of the late 70s through the mid-80s was Tic Tac Dough. The show had lives before and after that halcyon period. Unfortunately, it was rigged, hosted by an imbecile, then hosted by a bigger imbecile, and recently went to pilot, but did not get picked up.

Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
Episode 337--January 3, 1983 in game shows
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
40 years ago today (the day this episode became available), there were four landmark events on daytime television in a two-hour span. Three game shows (Sale of the Century, Hit Man, and Just Men!) premiered and what is undoubtedly The Price is Right's most famous pricing game, Plinko, debuted.

Friday Dec 16, 2022
Episode 332--The Joker’s Wild (1990)
Friday Dec 16, 2022
Friday Dec 16, 2022
Traditional daytime TV shows were on the decline in the early 1990s, in an era ushered by Maury Povich, Jerry Springer, and Jenny Jones. The Joker's Wild in 1990 tried to rejuvenate a show which showed its age in the mid-80s, in an era where it was handily beaten by Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! The core of the game drastically changed but kind of reverted to its original format, but it was too late.

Monday Dec 05, 2022
Episode 329--Time Machine
Monday Dec 05, 2022
Monday Dec 05, 2022
Reg Grundy was on a hot streak in the mid-1980s with Sale of the Century and Scrabble. (See what we did there?) NBC took a chance on a third Grundy show, which was a blatant ripoff of The Price is Right with history. After 16 weeks, 2 different formats, and 3 versions of the final round, this show, like its subject matter, became history. But we did get John Davidson's first game show hosting gig.