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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

01:08:52

Ep. 10-3: Maude

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2022/05/05

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,

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47:31

Ep. 10-2: Mister Rogers' Neighorhood

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2022/04/28

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

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01:01:15

Ep. 10-1: The Easter Bunny is Comin' To Town

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2022/04/21

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

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37:41

Catching Up, Looking Ahead, and More

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2022/03/17

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

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01:44:29

Season 9 BATTY Awards

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2021/12/16

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!

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01:13:37

Episode 9-13: Battlestar Galactica (1978)

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2021/09/09

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.

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49:54

Episode 9-12: Thundarr the Barbarian

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2021/09/02

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!

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58:07

Episode 9-11: Killdozer!

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2021/08/26

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?

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01:14:50

Episode 9-10: Fantasy Island "The Devil and Mandy...

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2021/08/19

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!

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01:11:11

Episode 9-9: The Munsters vs. the Mini-Munsters

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2021/08/12

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.

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58:20

Episode 9-8: The Soul Train The Emotions and Maze...

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2021/08/05

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!

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01:18:47

Episode 9-7: The Master "Fat Tuesday"

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2021/07/29

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.

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40:21

Episode 9-6: The Baseball Bunch "Chet Lemon"

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2021/07/22

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.

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01:03:17

Episode 9-5: Alice "Mel's Recession"

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2021/07/15

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.

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01:39:51

Episode 9-4: PSAs

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2021/07/08

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.

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01:22:09

Episode 9-3: Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2021/07/01

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!

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01:24:30

Episode 9-2: SCTV "Zontar"

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2021/06/24

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)!

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01:24:03

Episode 9-1: The Rockford Files "The Oracle Wore a...

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2021/06/17

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.

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01:00:32

50 Saturday Mornings Ago

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2021/05/13

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!

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26:10

The TV Guide Game March 30, 1981

Battle of the Network Shows ·

2021/03/30

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.

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222 results

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