The TV Museum Podcast

Due to technical difficulties Jeffrey explains in the new intro to this archived episode, we are unable to bring you a new episode as we had hoped this week.

So instead, with What We Do in the Shadows a cult hit on FX, we go to our archive for a look back at executive producer Paul Simms's first major series:  The Larry Sanders Show.

But before that, Jeffrey touches on our experience with Sapphire & Steel!

We'll be back with a real new episode soon. Thanks for bearing with us, Taters!

In this episode we wander down a dirt road to sit a spell with friends in a slower time. Wet your whistle, pull up a chair, and find out what it was like to spend the tumultuous 1960s...out of the fray. The Andy Griffith show lasted 8 seasons, 249 episodes, and nearly 6 decades of syndication, so something must be working for it, and it can't just be Don Knotts's sex appeal.   Tune in to learn the connection between Mayberry and the Big Bang Theory, discover the difference between a "generic spinoff" and and "planted spinoff", and gasp at the expected-but-still-somehow-shocking racism of early 60s stand up "comedy".    Learn more: Why People Still Watch the Andy Griffith Show (from The Atlantic) What it was, was football Mayberry Days 2019 schedule   The TV Museum Podcast is dedicated to exploring classic TV, from the westerns of the 50s, to the family sitcoms of the 80s. We trace the history of TV aliens, cops, and single girls and travel through time and space. If it’s been beamed through the air (and can be streamed through the internet), we’ll cover it! Subscribe and listen for nostalgia, analysis, and silly in-jokes, brought to you by a husband-and-wife team with a devotion to the tube.

When ABC decided it was time to air out two 70s classics from the incomparable Normal Lear collection, we agreed. Join us as we compare two original episodes of All in the Family and The Jeffersons with the star-studded tribute show hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and Lear himself.

Can 45-year-old scripts sound fresh today? Which flavor of abrasive patriarch do we prefer, Archie Bunker or George Jefferson? And just how many times will we mispronounce Sherman Hemsley’s name? 

Episodes we watched:

All in the Family, “Sammy’s Visit”, season 2 episode 21 (available on Crackle)

The Jeffersons, “Mr. Piano Man”, season 2 episode 5 (available on Hulu with Starz subscription or on YouTube)

Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons'' (available on Hulu)

The TV Museum Podcast is dedicated to exploring classic TV, from the westerns of the 50s, to the family sitcoms of the 80s. We trace the history of TV aliens, cops, and single girls and travel through time and space. If it’s been beamed through the air (and can be streamed through the internet), we’ll cover it! Subscribe and listen for nostalgia, analysis, and silly in-jokes, brought to you by a husband-and-wife team with a devotion to the tube.

 

To commemorate 15 years since Friends stopped being there for us (in prime time, anyway), we take a look back at the pilot, searching for clues to the show’s eventual runaway success. 

Was this beloved sitcom a gem from the start? Is Netflix smart to spend ALL THE MONEY to secure the streaming rights? Is the show as “smutty” as The Washington Post’s original review would lead us to believe?

And, most importantly, does Jeffrey still know how to do the Pepsi Summer Chill-Out?

Listen in for a trip back to 1994 and answers to all these questions and more.

if you want to deep dive into Friends, we highly recommend this series on Vulture.

More about 70s obscurity James at 15 from People, courtesy of our listener Brent.   

Hannah and Jeffrey return from a slightly longer-than-intended hiatus with big news about exciting changes on the home front and (hopefully) to the podcast!

Then, your hosts load up the truck (it's a minivan, really) and head to Beverly... Hills, that is, for a look at one of the most popular series of all time and one of the most watched episodes in TV history. 

How do your self-acknowledged snooty suburbanite hosts take to this beloved slice of Boomer nostalgia? About as well as you think.  LINKS:

• Go deep behind the scenes with The Television Academy Foundation's series of video interviews with "The Beverly Hillbillies" creator Paul Henning, and learn how the show shed Winston Cigarettes as its title sponsor.
• Hear Buddy Ebsen sing on The Wizard of Oz soundtrack (this is the source for the clip we used in the exhibit). 

As 2018 comes to a close, Hannah and Jeffrey look back at their favorites and least favorites of the third season. Listen in to learn what show Jeffrey puts on both his Top Five and Bottom Five lists! Keep listening to learn which episodes you absolutely must watch RIGHT NOW, and which series could be excised from our timeline, to no one’s detriment (except maybe Tim Daly’s - OOH, SPOILER).

A big thanks to all our listeners for a great year. The Museum would never have grown to 45 exhibits without your support and enthusiasm. 

Journey back to the golden age of TV private eyes: the 1980s! Will big hair, man jewelry, and will-they-won't-they sexual chemistry help solve crimes and lock up bad guys? Will Hannah and Jeffrey stay awake long enough to find out?

Listen in to learn how Remington Steele nearly didn't get made, find out how many puns can be made with "Steele", and discover which 80s classic almost featured Stephanie Zimbalist.

If you enjoy this and other exhibits, be a patron at www.patreon.com/tvmuseum. Couch Potato memberships start at just $1/month, and supporters get access to exclusive content and swag. Join the ranks of the Tater Army today! 

The TV Museum Podcast is dedicated to exploring classic TV, from the westerns of the 50s, to the family sitcoms of the 80s. We trace the history of TV aliens, cops, and single girls and travel through time and space. If it’s been beamed through the air (and can be streamed through the internet), we’ll cover it! Subscribe and listen for nostalgia, analysis, and silly in-jokes, brought to you by a husband-and-wife team with a devotion to the tube.

Join us in the 90s wing as we dust off the original comedy about six 20-somethings in the city.

Listen in to learn the highlights of Queen Latifah's epic career, discover which 80s teen star made a young Jeffrey's heart beat faster, and find out why both Living Single and The Golden Girls owe a debt to Jane Austen.

Read more:

25 years later, the cast speaks out in the Atlantic

How the Golden Girls influenced everything

Will there be a reboot?

Kim Coles does everything ever

If you enjoy this and other exhibits, be a patron at www.patreon.com/tvmuseum. Couch Potato memberships start at just $1/month, and supporters get access to exclusive content and swag. Join the ranks of the Tater Army today! 

The TV Museum Podcast is dedicated to exploring classic TV, from the westerns of the 50s, to the family sitcoms of the 80s. We trace the history of TV aliens, cops, and single girls and travel through time and space. If it’s been beamed through the air (and can be streamed through the internet), we’ll cover it! Subscribe and listen for nostalgia, analysis, and silly in-jokes, brought to you by a husband-and-wife team with a devotion to the tube.

Good evening. This week your humble hosts will be digging into the second most well-known black-and-white anthology series. 

How will Alfred Hitchcock Presents stack up against The Twilight Zone? Will the Hitch maintain his title of the master of suspense within the constraints of the small screen? Will Jeffrey stay awake? 

All this plus reader mail, a hot take on The Conners, and play-at-home games (yes, plural!).

Learn more:

The AV Club takes on AHP

Amazing interview with producer/director/actor/cool old dude Norman Lloyd

If you enjoy this and other exhibits, be a patron at www.patreon.com/tvmuseum. Couch Potato memberships start at just $1/month, and supporters get access to exclusive content and swag. Join the ranks of the Tater Army today! 

The TV Museum Podcast is dedicated to exploring classic TV, from the westerns of the 50s, to the family sitcoms of the 80s. We trace the history of TV aliens, cops, and single girls and travel through time and space. If it’s been beamed through the air (and can be streamed through the internet), we’ll cover it! Subscribe and listen for nostalgia, analysis, and silly in-jokes, brought to you by a husband-and-wife team with a devotion to the tube.

The Museum is taking flight this week, as we soar through the 90s with a staple of NBC's famed Thursday night line-up. (If by staple you mean the show that ran between Cheers and LA Law while you were in the kitchen getting a snack.)

Take a listen to find out which cast member got her showbiz start singing creationist novelty songs, discover which other 90s sitcom Jeffrey refuses to watch, and revisit your hosts' undying affection for Bebe Neuwirth's Lillith. 

Eager to learn more? Check out:

Wing's feature Kickstarter

If you enjoy this and other exhibits, be a patron at www.patreon.com/tvmuseum. Couch Potato memberships start at just $1/month, and supporters get access to exclusive content and swag. Join the ranks of the Tater Army today! 

The TV Museum Podcast is dedicated to exploring classic TV, from the westerns of the 50s, to the family sitcoms of the 80s. We trace the history of TV aliens, cops, and single girls and travel through time and space. If it’s been beamed through the air (and can be streamed through the internet), we’ll cover it! Subscribe and listen for nostalgia, analysis, and silly in-jokes, brought to you by a husband-and-wife team with a devotion to the tube.