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PODCAST

Battle of the Network Shows

Rick Brooks and Mike Cowgill

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

tv & film tv reviews

All Episodes

01:02:33

Episode 12-7: Rhoda

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2024/09/26

After four seasons on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mary's best pal Rhoda (Valerie Harper) returned to New York City for a visit and ended up staying for her own show, aptly titled Rhoda! At the behest of the man with the golden gut Fred Silverman, the creative team rushed her into marriage with Joe (David Groh), a decision that ultimately led to major creative changes. We delve into that, then look at episode 10 "The Honeymoon," which doesn't turn out exactly how Rhoda and Joe expected it to thanks

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01:04:14

Encore: The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2024/09/19

Love is all around as we revisit our episode about the iconic sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Mary wants a raise. Instead, she has to mastermind WJM's new "fun" news format. Everything should run smoothly as long as no one tells Ted he's the straight man. Oops! Plus...Gilligan's Island? #podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #marytylermoore #themarytylermooreshow #mtm Read full show notes and more at https://www.battleofthenetworkshows.com/ Join our Facebook group at

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01:04:49

Episode 12-6: Lifestyles of the Rich And Famous

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2024/09/12

This week, we cover another listener poll runner-up, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leach. As you'd expect, this 1985 episode includes a lot of rich and famous people living their lives in style from the "discreetly opulent" St. James Club in Antigua to Beverly Hills to Miami to Mexico City. We're possibly more interested in Sucrets and aspirin than champagne and caviar but keep an ear out for the likes of Joan Collins, Julio Iglesias, Liza, Ann-Marget, and Esther Williams. #podcast

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51:56

Episode 12-5: Donny and Marie

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2024/09/05

Last season, Sonny and Cher narrowly beat out Donny and Marie in a listener poll, but we promised to cover Donny and Marie this season, and here we are! In our cutest episode to date, the brother-sister duo celebrates the history of TV with regular Paul Lynde and the likes of Milton Berle, Art Linkletter, and the one and only George Gobel! This one has everything you'd expect from a seventies variety show: celebrities, singing, dancing, "comedy"...and ice skating. #podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies

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01:34:35

Episode 12-4: Dan August

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2024/08/29

After 12 seasons, we finally talk about a Quinn Martin Production--Dan August! Before Burt Reynolds was BURT REYNOLDS, he starred as the titular homicide detective Dan August for one season alongside Norman Fell, Richard Anderson, and in this episode a galaxy of guest stars. A murder of a young woman leads Dan into the dark alleys of California politics, where he encounters a scoundrel, an old smoothie, and a sparkplug political operative. If you're lucky, he might make a leaping tackle or three

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56:14

Encore: The Golden Girls

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2024/08/22

This week, we revisit an episode from all the way back in season two. Tickets to the world premiere and after party for Mr. Burt Reynolds' latest movie land the Golden Girls in exactly the wrong place--jail...for prostitution. Will they get out in time to meet Burt and the rest of the Burt Pack? Will Rose ever get over losing Butter Queen? Will Burt lead a game of Win, Lose, or Draw? It all depends on the kindness of Sophia! Uh-oh. #podcast #tv #retrotv #eighties #sitcom #goldengirls #beaarthur

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01:16:33

Episode 12-3: The Kid with the Broken Halo

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2024/08/15

BOTNS proposes, our listeners dispose...or something like that. We held another listener poll, and as always, our listeners have spoken. This time we asked them to choose between the Gary Coleman-Robert Guillaume "Kid" trilogy. It was close, but the middle TV movie "The Kid With the Broken Halo" won. In it, Coleman's angel-in-training Andy has to solve three "cases"...or else he'll find himself hanging out with Sammy Davis Jr. and Christopher Lee. With the mild assistance of Guillaume's grumpy

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01:07:02

Episode 12-2: The 1984 Summer Olympics

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2024/08/08

Do you have Olympic fever? We do...for the 1984 Summer Games in L.A. We can't cover it all, but we try to hit some of the high marks of this peak eighties event: Carl Lewis, Mary Lou Retton, Mary Decker and Zola Budd, Al Michaels, Jim McKay and Peter Jennings, 84 grand pianos playing "Rhapsody in Blue," Lionel Richie, and a flying saucer! #podcast #tv #retrotv #eighties #olympics #summerolympics #1984 #1984summerolympics #carllewis #marylouretton #lionelrichie #flyingsaucer

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01:16:37

Episode 12-1: All in the Family

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2024/08/01

To open season 12, we finally turn to the foundation of the Lear-verse, the controversial, groundbreaking, list-making, terlet-flushing all-time great All in the Family. We've got Archie, we've got Edith, we've got Gloria, and, yes, we have Meathead...with a purse! Plus one of our favorite sports as Archie tries out for an "exclusive" bowling team and learns a thing or two about the way of the world. #podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #allinthefamily #normanlear #archiebunker #meathead

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01:57:41

Season 11 BATTY Awards

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2023/12/28

Live whenever you’re hearing it from Southfork Ranch, it’s the season 11 BATTY Awards! Join the stars, the youths, the non-humans, and the dopes for the biggest night in retro TV podcasting! We might not have a choir of 500 people or Oprah on a rooftop, but we do have a random number generator and two Dennises the Menace! #podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #battyawards #awardsshow

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01:52:07

Encore: Holiday Special - The Leprechaun's Christmas...

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2023/12/21

This holiday season, gather round the ol' fireplace, roast some chestnuts, sip some hot chocolate and join us we go all the way back to our first ever holiday special, and nothing says the holidays like dopey kids, ghosts, leprechauns, and hags! Rankin and Bass weave one of their most complicated stories yet in The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold, and Jeffy Keane takes a trip into own subconscious to learn the meaning of Christmas...or something. Come to think of it. You might want some eggnog for this

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01:01:40

Episode 11-14: Dallas

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2023/10/05

In our Season 11 finale, all roads lead to Dallas and Southfork Ranch! That's right. We finally tackle the grandpappy of the nighttime soaps, and we go all the way back to the very first episode. This one has everything you'd expect: oil, scheming, bakstabbing, family feuds, and cowboy hats! It also have a few things you might not expect like grounded sincerity. Join us for all the fun and a few Larry Hagman chuckles. #podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #dallas #soaps #larryhagman

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01:15:45

Episode 11-13: NBC's Disastrous 1983

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2023/09/28

For the 1983-1984 TV season, NBC asked audiences to "Be there!" Audiences had somewhere else to be, and by the end of the season, the network had canceled all nine new shows it had introduced in the fall. What could lead to such a catastrophe? Why wouldn't people want to watch shows about talking orangutans, manimals, ghosts, and more? This week, we dig into this season and talk about some of these failed shows to see if we can find some answers. Be there! #podcast #tv #retrotv #1983 #eighties #NBC

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17:24

TV Guide Card Game

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2023/09/21

Using a set of trading card-sized reproductions of TV Guide covers, we wing our way through a new game, The TV Guide Card Game. Like baseball cards, each card features stats and trivia on the back, and Rick uses that to see if Mike can guess the cover subjects. Play along and maybe learn some "fun facts" about some of your favorite BOTNS-era shows! #podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #eighties #games #tvguide #trivia

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52:50

Episode 11-12: Starsky and Hutch

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2023/09/14

Buckle your seat belt and cinch your cardigan because this week we're hitting the mean streets of Bay City with Starsky and Hutch! Things get harry for the boys after someone poisons Starksy with a deadly neurotoxin. As they race against a ticking clock to find the culprit and an antidote, they make time for their emotions and a fair amount of proprety damage. All in a day's work for these 1970s stalwarts. #podcast #tv #retrotv #seventies #starskyandhutch #tvcops #bestfriends

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01:00:06

Episode 11-11: 227

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2023/09/07

Season 11 returns with a look at 227, Marla Gibbs' follow-up to The Jeffersons. The sitcom introduced the world to Jackee Harry and a young Regina King, but it also featured the likes of the great Hal Williams and Alaina Reed Hall (Olivia from Sesame Street). In 5 seasons, they covered a lot of ground from kitchen-sink comedy to social commentary to random celebrity encounters to wacky sitcom premises. We'll let you decide which category an episode where Gibbs' Mary and Hall's Rose win a butler for

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01:16:38

Encore: Knight Rider

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2023/08/31

Before we get back into the swing of season 11, we present one more encore episode. This time, we look back at Knight Rider, starring one TV's most charismatic stars and David Hasselhoff! We kid the Hoff! Still, a big shout-out to William Daniels as KITT, the talking, thinking, turbo boosting car. Why of all our episodes did we choose Knight Rider? Well, one, we had to check out a sweet KITT replica at a comics convnetion. Two, we wanted to give the well-known BOTNS boost to Knight Rider guest star

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01:02:30

Encore: In Search Of

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2023/08/24

In honor of the big Loch Ness Monster search this weekend in Scotland, we offer an encore presentation of one of our favorite early episodes. We once again join Leonard Nimoy on a voyage of mystery and discovery as he searches for answers to Nessie and the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. Will he find answers this time? Will he reveal that Amelia Earhart is the Loch Ness Monster? Does this encore presentation have anything to do with a slight production delay on our part? We might never know the

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44:32

List-o-rama: Battle of the Network Networks

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2023/08/17

For this week's very special oversized bonus episode, Rick and Mike dig deep into their memories and pick their favorite networks for each TV season from the 1980s. ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, and eventually the fledgling Fox Network all get at shot at the title, but wil one come out victorious? #podcast #tv #retrotv #eighties #list #networks #nbc #abc #cbs #pbs #fox

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46:15

Episode 11-10: Retro-Retro The Rifleman

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2023/08/10

The Old West comes to BOTNS in this season's Retro-Retro episode. Chuck Connors stars as Lucas "The Rifelman" McCain in this half-hour oater from the late fifties and early sixties. In "Ordeal," Lucas and his son Mark find themselves stranded in the desert after their meat salt mining expedition goes awry. Will they make it to safety or end up buzzard food? Find out on this exciting episode of Battle of the Network Shows! #podcast #tv #retrotv #fifties #sixties #therifelman #chuckconnors #ordeal

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