Battle of the Network Shows

Each week, hosts Rick Brooks and Mike Cowgill explore the TV of the '70s and '80s through hand-picked episodes.

Ep. 10-8: It's Garry Shandling's Show 06/23/2022

Ep. 10-8: It's Garry Shandling's Show This is the one about Garry's Show. In "Go Go Goldblum," Garry Shandling (Garry Shandling) and Jeff Goldblum (Jeff Goldblum) find themselves in quite the pickle. Rick (Rick) and Mike (Mike), on the other hand, don't have any trouble heaping praise on the underappreciated gem It's Garry Shandling's Show. #podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #itsgarryshandlingsshow #garryshandling #jeffgolodblum. /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/23484812

Episode 10-7: Perry Mason 06/16/2022

Episode 10-7: Perry Mason In this season's Retro-Retro episode, we return to the silver age of TV and TV's wiliest lawyer--the great Perry Mason in "The Case of the Treacherous Toupee." You read that right. Crime, shenannegans, and a toupee! Plus a young Robert Redford! #podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #fifties #sixties #perrymason #raymondburr #robertredford #lawyers #courtroomdrama /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/23427470

My Favorite Martin 06/09/2022

My Favorite Martin "Imagine if you will a pyramid of Martins." What could this mean? The wizards in the BOTNS Game Labs have done it again, that's what! Can Mike guess the BOTNS-era celebrity Martins (first or last name) and build the pyramid, or will the pyramid crumble like so many misplaced bricks? #podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #game #myfavoritemartin #martin /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/23345534

Ep. 10-6: Bob Hope 06/02/2022

Ep. 10-6: Bob Hope If you watched NBC in the seventies and eighties (and nineties), you saw Bob Hope smirking, mugging, singing, dancing, flirting, and reading cue cards. "Bob Hope's All-Star Comedy Spectacular" features all that and a who's who of variety TV from Ann-Margret and Charo to Sammy and Dino, not to mention Mac Davis! Join us as we discuss all this and Texaco! #podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #bobhope #macdavis #sammydavisjr #deanmartin #annmargret #variety #comedy #charo /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/23267825

Ep. 10-5: Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends 05/26/2022

Ep. 10-5: Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends Before Spider-Man teamed up with Spider-Man and, uh, Spider-Man (let-alone Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Gwen, and Spider-Ham) at the movies, he teamed up with Ice Man and Firestar on Saturday morning TV in Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. Not only that, but in "The X-Men Adventure," Spidey and his friends also join forces with the X-Men to defeat a deranged cyborg with a personal connection to one of the heroes. By fan request from our celebrated 2-11-year-old demographic, we nerd out over this standout eighties cartoon. Excelsior! #podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #spidermanandhisamazingfriends #spiderman #marvel #cartoons #superheroes #xmen /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/23207591

Ep. 10-4: Siskel and Ebert 05/19/2022

Ep. 10-4: Siskel and Ebert The thumbs, the tension, the balcony--who can forget Siskel and Ebert and their various movie review shows? They helped create a new TV format and defined and dominated it with their winning personalities and unique dynamics. We take a look at an episode fron 1989 and also discuss some of their competitors and imitators. /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/23117630

Fame Game 9 05/12/2022

Fame Game 9 We take a break from our regularly scheduled programming to bring you another round of the Fame Game, where Mike has to guess a famous personality (real or fictional) from the BOTNS era based on a series of clues. Will his hot streak continue, or will he crash and burn? Find out! #podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #game #famegame #bonusepisode /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/23037653

Ep. 10-3: Maude 05/05/2022

Ep. 10-3: Maude In the past, we've visited a wide array of locations in the Normal Lear Universe: the Park Avenue penthouse of the Drummond-Jackson family on "Diff'rent Strokes"; the Jeffersons' de-luxe apartment in the sky; the Eastland School on "Facts of Life"; the Chicago projects on "Good Times." Then there's Maude! This week, we head to Tuckahoe as Maude (the great Bea Arthur) directs a charity salute to burlesque only to butt heads with Arthur (the great Conrad Bain) over the content! Songs, jokes, arguments, questionable pairings--this one has it all! #podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #maude #normanlear #beaarthur #billmacy #conradbain #ruemclanahan #estherrolle /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/22959176

Ep. 10-2: Mister Rogers' Neighorhood 04/28/2022

Ep. 10-2: Mister Rogers' Neighorhood This week, we once again cater to the 2-11-year-old demographic and discuss the venerable child "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." Mister Rogers takes on Speedy Delivery duties for a vacationing Mr. McFeely and plays with elaborate masks. In the Neighborhood of Make Believe, Lady Aberlin wrestles with the eternal question "What is love?" #podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #misterrogers #misterrogersneighborhood #fredrogers /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/22883219

Ep. 10-1: The Easter Bunny is Comin' To Town 04/21/2022

Ep. 10-1: The Easter Bunny is Comin' To Town In our Season 10 opener, Sunny The Easter Bunny braves a grouchy bear, a grouchy duchess, and more to spread joy to the dismal Town. Yet again, Rankin-Bass manage to consolidate and convolute holiday traditions into a single mythology, and yet again Rick and Mike do their best to make sense of it all. #podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #easter #easterbunny #fredastaire #rankinbass #holidayspecial #seasonpremiere /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/22801259

Catching Up, Looking Ahead, and More 03/17/2022

Catching Up, Looking Ahead, and More With season 9 and the BATTYs in the rearview mirror but always in their hearts, Rick and Mike catch up on life and some BOTNS-era viewing and look ahead at season 10. Plus a bonus Fame Game. #podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/22449344

Season 9 BATTY Awards 12/16/2021

Season 9 BATTY Awards Live on tape from Jim Rockford's trailer in beautiful Malibu, California, the Season 9 BATTY Awards honor the best from season 9 in categories ranging from outstanding non-human and best facial hair to outstanding lead actor and actress and best show! Join us for the excitement as we determine the winners on air! /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/21482936

Episode 9-13: Battlestar Galactica (1978) 09/09/2021

Episode 9-13: Battlestar Galactica (1978) In a "rag-tag fleet," the remnants of humanity flee the robotic Cylons and search for a new home...Earth! For our season finale, we discuss the series finale of the original Battlestar Galactica "Hand of God," a show perhaps not remembered as fondly as it should be. /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/20388086

Episode 9-12: Thundarr the Barbarian 09/02/2021

Episode 9-12: Thundarr the Barbarian In the short-lived but ambitious cartoon "Thundarr the Barbarian," sword and sorcery meet superscience as Thundarr and his companions wage battle against the forces of evil in the ruins of civilization. With scripts by a bevvy of veteran comics and animation writers and deigns by comics legends Alex Toth and Jack Kirby, just about anything can and will happen! We discuss the episode "City of Evil," an episode where almost everything happens! /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/20330918

Episode 9-11: Killdozer! 08/26/2021

Episode 9-11: Killdozer! In this season's look at a TV movie, we take on the deadly menace of the Killdozer! You heard right! An alien consciousness takes over a bulldozer, and six brave men try to stop it before it...killdozes them! Will they prevail, or will the Killdozer? /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/20226713

Episode 9-10: Fantasy Island "The Devil and Mandy Breem, Instant Millionaire" 08/19/2021

Episode 9-10: Fantasy Island "The Devil and Mandy Breem, Instant Millionaire" Join us on a far-away tropical paradise that may or may not also have a freeway infrastructure, an industrial area, banks, pawn shops, and more as Tattoo tries to help a man become a millionaire and Mr. Roarke does battle with...SATAN! /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/20171588

Episode 9-9: The Munsters vs. the Mini-Munsters 08/12/2021

Episode 9-9: The Munsters vs. the Mini-Munsters We had big plans to compare The Munsters Today to the original classic Munsters, but in a blow to John Schuck fans everywhere, our plans went awry. Luckily, we discovered the one-off 1973 animated Mini-Munsters, so we look at it, then travel back to 1966 to join Herman and Grampa on a treasure hunt. /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/20076266

Episode 9-8: The Soul Train The Emotions and Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly 08/05/2021

Episode 9-8: The Soul Train The Emotions and Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly Our listeners have spoken again and voted for us to take a ride on The Soul Train. We ride it all the way back to 1977 for a bit of funk, a bit of disco, the Soul Train Scramble, the Soul Train Line, plus performances by The Emotions and Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly. Get on board! /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/20009360

Episode 9-7: The Master "Fat Tuesday" 07/29/2021

Episode 9-7: The Master "Fat Tuesday" Nothing says New Orleans like Mardi Gras, and nothing says Mardi Gras like ninjas, and nothing says ninjas like Lee Van Cleef and Timothy "Salami" Van Patten facing off against a BOTNS favorite in a shocking heel turn! Join us as we look back at NBC's short-lived attempt at cashing in on the eighties ninja craze The Master. /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/19927664

Episode 9-6: The Baseball Bunch "Chet Lemon" 07/22/2021

Episode 9-6: The Baseball Bunch "Chet Lemon" Summer in America means baseball, so break out the peanuts and Cracker Jacks. For a few years in the eighties, Major League Baseball made an educational baseball show for kids--The Baseball Bunch. Johnny Bench, the Famous Chicken, the Dugout Wizard, and guest Chet Lemon teach the Bunch about shagging flies, eating right, and more. /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/19786532

Episode 9-5: Alice "Mel's Recession" 07/15/2021

Episode 9-5: Alice "Mel's Recession" In a season two episode of the long-lived Alice, diner owner Mel receives bad news from his accountant and decides he has to give one of the waitresses "the sack." In the ensuing struggle to keep their jobs, the ladies all end up at Mel's fortress of slobitude. We dive into this, the characters' transition from the big screen to the small screen, and Rick's mild obsession with the show. /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/19681013

Episode 9-4: PSAs 07/08/2021

Episode 9-4: PSAs Along with entertainment and advertising, public service announcements, or PSAs, filled the airwaves in the seventies and eighties. This week, we pick a range of them to discuss, featuring lessons on nutrition, health, safety, and morality, plus music, celebrities, animated characters, and Droids. Most importantly, we might all learn a little something along the way. /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/19601549

Episode 9-3: Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July 07/01/2021

Episode 9-3: Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July A Christmas special in July?! Not just any Christmas in July special either. This 97-minute Rankin-Bass special might have it all...literally. Ancient history rears its head when an evil king wakes from a long slumber. If he succeeds, Rudolph could lose his shiny nose, Frosty and family could melt, Santa could lose Christmas, Ethel Merman could lose her circus, and the world could plunge into an eternal winter! Happy Christmas in July! /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/19601510

Episode 9-2: SCTV "Zontar" 06/24/2021

Episode 9-2: SCTV "Zontar" This week, we take a look at the classic sketch comedy show SCTV in an episode that includes G. Gordon Liddy on a children's show, George Carlin and Don Rickles in rom-coms, an alien invasion, and perhaps most importantly Conrad Bain's twin brother Hank Bain (played by Conrad Bain's twin brother Bonar Bain)! /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/19453601

Episode 9-1: The Rockford Files "The Oracle Wore a Cashmere Suit" 06/17/2021

Episode 9-1: The Rockford Files "The Oracle Wore a Cashmere Suit" In our season 9 premiere, we investigate one of the quintessential detective shows "The Rockford Files." Rockford butts heads with a celebrity psychic, the police, a manic drummer, and a slick music executive in David Chase's first "Rockford" teleplay. /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/19453589

50 Saturday Mornings Ago 05/13/2021

50 Saturday Mornings Ago In this extra-sized bonus episode, we look at the Saturday morning schedule from spring 1971. How did the networks compare? Did Saturday morning '71 look much like '81? What show had a character named Doughnut, and how on earth does Phil Collins fit into all of this? Pour some cereal and sit close to the speakers because we have the answers! /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/19041020

The TV Guide Game March 30, 1981 03/30/2021

The TV Guide Game March 30, 1981 This week, we go back 40 years for the TV Guide game to March 30, 1981, when a major historical event disrupted the TV schedule. Rick tries to guess what Mike would have watched from the originally planned schedule, and we ponder a number important questions raised by the schedule and the day's events. /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/18500189

Michael Learned or Michael Lerner 03/11/2021

Michael Learned or Michael Lerner In the grand tradition of Patrick Simmons or Gary Sandy, we proudly present another unique podcast game when Mike asks Rick to determine whether Ma Walton herself Michael Learned or venerable character actor Michael Lerner fits a given trivia question. Is Rick learned enough to face the challenge? /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/18217316

Fame Game 7 02/18/2021

Fame Game 7 When last we played The Fame Game, Mike secured a victory after the previous "Ruth Buzzi Fiasco." Can he turn that victory into a streak, or will the ghosts of previous losses once again haunt him? Find out now when Rick puts Mike through another round of The Fame Game! /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/17938400

Season 8 BATTY Awards 02/04/2021

Season 8 BATTY Awards night in retro TV podcasting," the BATTY Awards. As always, the awards include the expected like outstanding male and female performances, the unique like outstanding facial hair and nonhuman, and the downright unexpected--you'll have to listen to find out. Plus, we hand out another Robert Pine Genius Award! /episode/index/show/battleofthenetworkshows/id/17765231

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