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.
In 1997, CBS took the bold steps of putting together a 2-hour comedy block on Friday nights versus ABC's TGIF, and even took two of TGIF's stalwarts in the process. The two former TGIF shows were on its last legs. We're here to talk about the two original shows to the Block Party--Meego and The Gregory Hines Show.
Greg and Chico resume their livewatch of Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+ as they look at the middle episodes as Obi-Wan and Young Leia encounter a not-so friendly alien truck driver, imperial spies and Ice Cube's kid.
Here are the timecodes to sync up with Episodes 3 & 4, if you are following along on Disney+.
Episode 3 - 1:46
Episode 4 - 45:35
In 1979, early on in Password Plus' run, George Peppard made an appearance as a celebrity player. On the first show, Peppard put his foot in his mouth, while ranting about forms NBC (and presumably other networks) had people sign. As a result, Peppard never played another game.
Susan St. James' 75th birthday is happening this Sunday, and we mark the occasion the only way we know how--by utilizing a running gag on this show. Uh Oh! was a Canadian game show for kids, despite an antagonist who looks like he should be running a sex dungeon. A kid's show with who appears to be a dungeon master ran for six seasons in Canada!
UPN tried throwing almost anything on their schedule in the late 90s. Shasta McNasty is no exception. It was so bad that the title was cut in half to just Shasta during the show's run. Even cross-promotions with WWF Smackdown couldn't lure viewers. This was basically the most 1999 TV show that ever 1999'd.
In episode 61, we talked about the season when NBC owned and operated stations had primetime starting at 7:30. We talked about one of those 5 shows, We Got it Made, in episode 66. Another show from that experiment is this show's focus. Marblehead Manor follows the antics of a wealthy family and their staff at their palatial residence.
In anticipation of the upcoming Amazon Prime series, this episode takes a look at the "blink and you'll miss it" television version of one of the breakout movie hits of 1992. A League of Their Own had a handful of characters reprising their roles in one-off appearances and its TV fate may have been set in stone by a certain organization.
Norman Lear's 100th birthday celebration continues with possibly his most obscure series, airing for just 5 episodes in 1977. A Year at the Top followed the Faustian formula of selling one's soul to the devil for instant success. Audiences gave it a month at the bottom of the ratings.
This week, we're celebrating Norman Lear's 100th birthday by looking at two of his less successful shows. We start with Lear's adaptation of a play about a seedy hotel with even seedier residents, Hot l Baltimore. Most of the players were relative newcomers, and three went on to much greater success in the decades that followed.
We're giving you two shows for the price of one this episode. These shows premiered on the same day, the shows aired consecutively on NBC, and both looked technologically amazing for late 1976. Alas, technology couldn't save the pair, as their final shows aired on the last day of the year.
