The It Was a Thing on TV Podcast Network

NBC tried spinning off one of its most successful shows from the 80s, the drama Hill Street Blues, into a comedy/drama Beverly Hills Buntz.  The first episode brought great ratings, but that was thanks to a cushy time slot.  Naturally, the audience didn't carry over after moving to a not-so-cushy time slot and the show ended with 4 episodes still in the can.

In celebration of the Mets reaching the NLCS, Greg decides to open some of his junk wax packs to share with Mike and Chico. Enjoy the talk about Tom Candiotti, Todd Zeile and Glenn Braggs.

It's time for another Revisited episode.  This time, we're looking at a show that, in recent months, has appeared on-demand and airs with regularity on a FAST channel.  We're checking in again with The Ropers and questioning whether it truly is one of the 50 worst shows in TV history.  You be the judge, but we think it does not deserve that moniker.

Numerous successful scripted television shows made their way to Saturday mornings in the mid-70s, like I Dream of Jeannie, Gilligan's Island, and Star Trek.  The Partridge Family got the same treatment in 1974, but with a catch--it's set over 200 years in the future.  Also, some key components in the Partridge Family universe were missing.  If you see the show image, it looks awfully similar to a venerable Hanna-Barbera series, and for good reason.

The New York Mets had a nutty last week and a half going from Atlanta to Milwaukee to Atlanta to Milwaukee as they clinched in a playoff spot in dramatic fashion on the last day of the regular season and advanced to the NLDS in a thrilling three-game Wild Card round.

Greg shares with Mike in this delayed reaction his thoughts regarding the week that was and at the end, they look at the upcoming Division Series match-ups.

Thursday, October 3rd marked the 41st Anniversary of the premiere of the short-lived 1983-84 NBC game show "Go" from Bob Stewart Productions. To mark the occasion this edition of "The Best of It Was a Thing on TV" goes back to Episode 72 when we discussed it back in the Summer of 2020.

We're back with another batch of goofy and bizarre hometown commercials.

Here is the line-up for this installment of Hometown Commercials:

• Unique Creations: https://youtu.be/9T_GZeZyYqU
• Shift It: https://youtu.be/1gYE5TyijxE
• West Palm Loan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XHUGEVMa8I
• Zachary’s Night Club: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvyS8dY2kQA
• Beacon Plumbing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M2F4-QRUdw
• Reckon and Reckon Plumbing:  https://youtu.be/HS7yCO9_h_E
• Lowell “The Hammer” Stanley: https://youtu.be/lF7FhuhyA8c
• Bryan Wilson, The Texas Law Hawk: https://youtu.be/HL3MxAH-kDI
• Pete Ellis Ford: https://youtu.be/J3Ezn8eLfm8
• Fast Eddy: https://youtu.be/9nyS-B7_MyY
• Paolini’s Pizza: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edPBN4GghvY
• Stewart Olds Nissan Suzuki: https://youtu.be/otGuj7Z73bg
• Comet Burgers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBSCrOa-aUM
• China Star: https://youtu.be/Ez0jnbeOe_I
• Frankie & Johnny’s: https://youtu.be/XI7jC57GuZM
• N.Y. Men’s Clothing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usAzhVErnEg
• Lincoln Carpeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch
• Excalibur Sports: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3IqqycBy-o

The FBI was a stalwart on ABC's line-up from 1965 through 1974.  The network kicked the tires on a new, updated version of their venerable classic in 1981 with this show, which featured contemporary storylines and a more diverse cast of characters.  Audiences weren't buying what ABC was selling, as this new version lasted merely a season.

Almost five years ago, we started this podcast.  Now, we are celebrating our 500th episode by going back to an early favorite of ours and revisiting it, mostly for the caliber of guest stars that we didn't recognize back then.  Enjoy as we go back to one of the biggest flops in television history, as we prepare to do the next 500, leading to show 1000.

30 years ago FOX shook up the TV landscape when they grabbed the NFL's NFC television package from CBS. In the process, several CBS stations in NFC markets not wanting to lose out on football jumped ship to FOX and set up a domino effect around the country changing many TV viewers' habits. Some of these changes are still being felt in various markets years later.

Below is a list of links used in this episode, or are relevant to this topic:

KCNC/KUSA/KMGH packages (including the Big Switch on KCNC): https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSzqDUOqv75_35MMJd0I4WXyn0TjKg3uK&si=yFrpwVnQ7C6hJpdH

KUSA story on The Big Switch featuring Denver Broncos Owner Pat Bowlen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCbThe00R3k

Virgil Dominic explains WJW's switch to FOX: https://youtu.be/LNnezBc9Kfk

FOX coming to WJW.: https://youtu.be/-mZr3EkhBVs

WOIO switches to CBS: https://youtu.be/1hmNZALP6sY

WCIX/WFOR swaps with WTVJ, full playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJvbbUTw-Ipy-iKzqb9z24uN4Ftxe_DbK&si=9Co39ZbA5OIk61tZ

CBS comes to WGPR, Fox comes to WJBK, including credits for “The New Dance Show”: https://youtu.be/73n7LdMpIzY

Fox comes to WGHP, ABC comes to WNRW, UPN comes to WUPN: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrGrNOGRw2-8T5xcCw1SardvoPhdlkcWn&si=UpZ6VoA3ddrbvwLl

WTVW Affiliation Switch from ABC to FOX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O48lNDnjqSE

WNDU segment on WSJV and WBND switching between FOX to ABC (ft. Tom Rinaldi): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Baxpw1cNeWY

NBC comes to WCAU: https://youtu.be/5SBdyozNvJM

WCAU “25 Years After the Big Switch Some Viewers Still Confuse NBC10 With CBS”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiPhJJfp1wM