Those Were The Days

Yeehaw! We went back in time to one of the most popular variety shows of the 70's and 80's. Hee Haw ran up to the early 90's and was consistently a high rated show, even outside of the heartland of America. There's just something about puns, dad jokes, goofy skits, and manic energy that makes a show work. We had a good time chatting about this one. Maybe we even had more fun talking about it than we did watching it. If you have any thoughts on Hee Haw, send us some email!

Next week, Stephen is taking us back to the high heeled, bell bottomed, big tie 70's with The Flip Wilson Show! Watch it for free on Daily Motion. Special guests are Redd Fox, Joan Rivers, and Helen Reddy.

We didn't have to go very far back in time to find our first episode of the Variety Show month here on Those Were The Days. Travis took us to the heyday of Comedy Central, and brought us the European variety show spoof, Viva Variety! Run by the comedy geniuses in The State comedy troupe, this show encapsulates the 90s in a way we haven't experienced yet on this show. We hope you enjoy our chat, and don't forget to check out the show yourself!

Next week, Audie is taking us to one of the most iconic variety shows ever, HeeHaw.

Well, hello there! Welcome to Julie Child's kitchen. That's right, we went all the way back to the OG cooking show. Amy has brought us a gem of history that was once the only real cooking show available. Julia Child is an institution in the world of cooking TV. So many times she's been imitated and parodied, yet several of us had never actually seen her do her thing on her own show. This was a wonderful trip, and a great way to close out this cooking show month on Those Were The Days.

Our next them is Variety Shows! First up on our list is coming from Travis

Well, how ya'll are? We went down to the cajun coastline of Louisiana to sit down with Justin Wilson for a spell and have him teach us how to cook. Or maybe we just wanted to listen to his stories? It's hard to tell, but I know we had a good time chatting about.

Next week, Amy has decided your assignment is to watch Julia Child - How to Roast a Chicken! Available for free on the Roku Channel

This culinary journey over the last month has been an absolute joy and it doesn't end here! Yan Can Cook took us places and truly encouraged us all to cook things and try things we might not even know we were capable of. We hope you enjoyed it to!

We missed Amy this week, but fear not! She'll back with us next time!

For next week, you're going to want to settle down into your deepest Louisiana drawl for Justin Wilson!

Alles Podcast! This week we kicked off our Cooking Show theme with Iron Chef! A sweat inducing, pulse pounding battle between culinary competitors. It may just be cooking, but they make it feel like lives are on the line in Kitchen Stadium. What a wild ride this was. Strap in for this one. You're going to have a good time.

Next week, Audie is taking us to a more traditional cooking show with Yan Can Cook! 

It's time to meet up with everyone's favorite straight man, Bob Newhart! In this episode, we chat about the time Bob went to the hospital on Christmas eve and shenanigans ensue. Surprisingly, this show never won an emmy despite how popular it was. We hope you see why it was so much fun while we chat about it. What a way to spend a Christmas.

Next Week, Amy is taking us into ... The Twilight Zone! 

What better way to spend a Christmas Eve than in your apartment with your Greek cousin and reminiscing about the good days. Well, according to Larry Appleton, he'd rather be in Madison doing his God given job as the Christmas boy! This was such a fun episode of this 80's classic. We had a blast hanging with the modern day(?) odd couple in Larry and Balki. We hope you enjoy it too!

Next week, Stephen is taking us to The Bob Newhart Show!

Watch: The Bob Newhart Show - S4E15 - Streaming on Hulu!

We're in the Holiday season now and that means it's time for some classic holiday TV! Kicking us off on this adventure is Travis who brought us A Charlie Brown Christmas. This is a staple of December programming on broadcast TV and it's truly hard to beat it when it comes to animated TV bound Christmas classics. We hope you enjoy the conversation.  

Next week, we're heading to a syndicated classic with Audie! 

Your mission is to watch Perfect Strangers - S2E11 on Amazon Prime

Where were you when the turkeys dropped? I know where we were! Talking about that time the turkeys dropped. Travis took us back in time to the late 70's to enjoy this sitcom classic. WKRP in Cincinnati ran from 1978 to 1982 and in that run it had what might be the only worthwhile Thanksgiving episode of any TV series ever. I'm not going to tell you a lot about this one. Just listen to it!

Next week, we're heading into the holidays with:

A Charlie Brown Christmas - Streaming on AppleTV

This week, we tackle yet another magical TV show in Bewitched! Amy walks us through season 3 episode 7 of this classic TV staple following a non-magic husband and his witch wife... and her mother. We had a blast with this old show and we think you will to!

Now that we've rounded out our "spooky season" episodes, we're rolling right into the Holidays. Thanksgiving is up first with a trip to Cincinnati to visit WKRP! We're really looking forward to this one, so be sure to watch it before next week's episode

Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor was a household name when it comes to mid-90's sitcoms. Home Improvement was an incredibly popular show and stayed that way through most of its run. There was something about Tim's bafoonery, Jill's tolerance, and the real life (but elevated) situations that they found themselves in. It was a show that did what all good shows do in that it put people in everyday situations but with just enough of a tweak to keep things light. Tim was an everyman, and every man wanted to watch a reflection of themselves in his childlike joy about horsepower.

We had a good time with this one.

Next week, Amy works her magic with Bewitched - S3E7! You can catch this one on Freevee (formerly IMDBtv)

This time we're watching Gargoyles in their very own spooky Halloween episode. This was an animated series that came out in the mid-90s and has become quite a cult classic. We go through a bunch of facts of the show and break down what makes it special. We had a lot of fun with this one and are excited for you to come along on the journey with us.

Next time, Stephen is bringing us to Michigan with Home Improvement! Every series has a Halloween episode and this one is no different. Watch the episode and tell us what you think!

Watch: Home Improvement - S6E7 - Streaming on Hulu

It's the spooky season here on Those Were The Days! We're kicking off our spooky episode theme with a show that isn't exactly known for how spooky it can be, but is known for a sick looking car and David Hasselhoff. Knight Rider! This was one of those episodes that you definitely do NOT want to miss. So tell all your friends and give this a listen. We had an absolute blast chatting about this magical show.

Next time, Audie is taking us back to animation with Gargoyles! Watch it ahead of time and come hang out with us!

Watch: Gargoyles S2E7 streaming on Disney+

Have you ever wished that you could find a genie in a bottle that would grant your every wish? If you're Major Tony Nelson, maybe that wish shouldn't have come true? Or should it? Even the writers of the show couldn't decide! In our final episode of our Jumping the Shark series, we watch what happens when Major Nelson and Jeannie finally decide to tie the knot! This was some weird TV folks, and we're so glad you're joining us to chat about it.

Starting next week, we'll be covering SPOOKY episodes! It's time for our Halloween series. Kicking us off is TVsTravis with and episode of Knight Rider! I can't wait.

Watch: Knight Rider - S3E5 - Halloween Knight

Schlameel! Schlamazel! This episode is all about one of the most famous comedy couples in classic TV, Laverne and Shirley. When it jumped the shark is hard to pin down. Was it the last episode that Shirley appeared in, or the one after? Well, we went with the last episode and it was a doozy. There's some wild sitcom shenanigans going on in this one and I'm real glad we picked it. Nothing like a good hypnotist trope to really bring the weirdness in. We also got to talk about a bunch of behind the scenes stuff that I was completely unaware of. Hope you learn something!

Next time, Amy is taking us all the way to Cocoa Beach with I Dream of Jeannie! 

Watch: I Dream of Jeannie - S5 Episodes 7 and 8. It's a two parter! You can watch it on Amazon Prime

Space! The final frontier. We went there this week ya'll. We had a great conversation about Star Trek: The Original Series. It went full B-movie on this episode with Spock having his brain stolen by an attractive race of alien beings. Did we like it? Find out!

Next time on the show, we'll be covering Laverne & Shirley Season 8 Episode 2. They move away from Milwaukee and into Manhattan. Location changes are a classic "Jump the shark" moment, and I'm really looking forward to it.

It's the Flintstones! They're a modern stone-age family! And we're a modern show that reviews stone-age television, so this was kind of an inevitable match up. Travis takes us all the way back to Bedrock to take a look at the first animated prime time sitcom. In this "Jumping the Shark" episode, Travis has gone with the old TV trope of introducing a new character when the writers weren't entirely sure what to do. That character in this instance is The Great Gazoo! The alien with unexplained magical powers who drops into the lives of the main characters and opens up a world of ... interesting plot points. 

Next time, Audie is going to take us to outer reaches of space with Star Trek! Yes, the original series.

Star Trek: The Original Series - S3E1 

Hey friends! Stephen came down with Covid over the weekend and we aren't having a show this week. However, we don't want to leave you with nothing to listen to! So we're throwing you back to episode 10. Wecovered the Muppet Show! It was a good one and we think you'll enjoy it.

Next week, we'll kick off our "Jumping the Shark" theme.

First up, Travis is going to take us on a journey all about The Flintstones! Was the Great Gazoo a jump the shark moment? Let's decide together!

What better way to end a spin-off episode than a spin-off of one of our greatest reviewed shows so far! On this episode we reviewed Empty Nest! What did we think of this, and would we watch more? You'll find out on this episode of Those Were The Days!

Next week, we're kicking off "Jumping the Shark" month! We'll take a look at episodes of classic TV that were just so left field, that people wondered if they'd just run out of ideas. Each of us will be taking on our own interpretation of what "jumping the shark" really means, so look forward to some wild choices.

First up, Travis is going to take us on a journey all about The Flintstones! Was the Great Gazoo a jump the shark moment? Let's decide together! 

Is Green Acres the place to be? What does happen at an old rural post office? You're about to find out! We had a great time re-watching this classic show that has one of the most memorable theme songs in the history of television. There's more to it than just a theme song though. This show was full of a wonderful collection of characters, most of which show up in this episode! We hope you enjoy it! 

When we started this show, we wanted to explore our whether classic TV still translates to our own modern sensibilities. We knew eventually we would hit a show that just misses the mark for, well, almost every modern standard we have for decency. This was a trip, ya'll. Sit back and enjoy!

Let's Get Dangerous!

This week, we go back in time to the Disney afternoon/ABC Saturday Mornings of the 90's to bring you Darkwing Duck! The adventures of Drake Mallard and Launchpad kept us all busy for at least a half an hour when we were kids and we were all excited to go back and see what its all about. Did it hold up? Listen and find out! 

Dinosaurs ran as part of ABC's TGIF block in the early 90's and was far more successful than it ever would be today. It had a charm and humor to it that was really only possible in the capable hands of the Jim Henson company. They were masters of the subversive humor that allowed them to talk about subjects that no one else would be able to get away with, let alone be celebrated for. 

We had an absolute watching this episode all about a New Leaf, and it wound up with a message that was largely unheard of when it came to shows trying to tackle the tricky subject matter of drugs. If you didn't watch it, go back and check it out! The whole series is streaming on Disney+

Do you believe? Well, you should! At least, we think you should. Mostly because Amy was definitely abducted this week and was unavailable to record with us, but never fear! Audie, Stephen, and Travis were on the case. Travis brought us The X-Files Season 3 Episode 20, which could not have been weirder episode of television. It's Special Guest Star months so this episode was brought to us with an appearance by Charles Nelson Riley. 

Let us know what you thought of the episode @thosedaysshow or email us at thosewerethedaysshow@gmail.com

Next week we watch:

The Muppet Show - S3 E14: Harry Belafonte

Closing out our Saturday Morning Cartoons is a juggernaut of cartoons: Inspector Gadget! Amy takes us on a journey through episode 17 of the first season. Presto Chango is trying to infiltrate the secret police meeting and the only person that can stop him is the world famous Inspector Gadget! 

... Or at least Inspector Gadget's niece Penny and her brilliant dog, Brain.

We had a blast with this one and we hope you will too. Let us know what you thought at @thosedaysshow or thosewerethedaysshow@gmail.com

Next up!

I don't know if fish stink underwater, but I sure know this podcasts smells great above sea level. This episode is all about the early 90's hit that was Bobby's World! Brought to us from the mind of Howie Mandel and lasting from 1990 to 1997, this show was a staple of plenty of kids' mornings. Did we like it? Find out!

Next week we're watching:

On this week's episode, our four heroes combine to talk about a legendary Saturday Morning Cartoon. Why was it so legendary? You're about to find out! 

Come on in, it's time to party with Those Were The Days! This week, we tackle Garfield and Friends! This cartoon ran from 1988 to 1994 and was essential viewing for most kids around that time. Each of us had our own experiences with the show and enjoyed going back to see how it holds up.

Next week, we'll be watching Voltron: Defender of the Universe, Season 1 Episode 4. You can watch it with us on Amazon. Don't forget to send in your thoughts to thosewerethedaysshow@gmail.com or hit us up on Twitter at @thosedaysshow

When we were kids, there was a common phrase that would fly around anytime a smart kid was around: "They're a Doogie Howser." Well, this week we tackle the origin of that phrase, Doogie Howser, MD! This show came out in 1989 thanks to test audiences who asked for it. The network had no desire to pursue a show about a child doctor, but they couldn't turn down a populace that wanted it. So here we are, over 30 years later talking about the first episode of this show.

Let us know you what you thought by sending us an email to thosewerethedaysshow@gmail.com or on twitter at @thosedaysshow

Next time we are tackling a brand new theme: Saturday Morning Cartoons! Travis is going to kick us off with Garfield and Friends! We're watching Season 4, Episode 4. Follow the link below to watch it on Tubi.tv for free.

In our very first episode of the show, we take you on a journey of who we are and why we want to talk about classic TV. Amy, Audie, Travis and Stephen tell the tale of why they watch old TV in the first place, and what makes it special to them. There's a whole lot of excitement about where we're going with this new show and we're so happy to have you along for the ride. 

This month is all about pilot episodes. Your homework, should you choose to join us, is to watch the very first episode of 80's sitcom "Alf!" 

The first episode is available to watch for free with ads on IMDB.tv and Tubi.tv

Show synopsis:
"A furry alien wiseguy comes to live with the Tanner family after crashing into their garage."