Thursday, April 16, 2015

What was on TV April 12th through 18th, 1980

After many months off, get ready for the long-awaited and highly-anticipated (at least I hope it is) return of "What was on TV".  Last year at this time, I bypassed the entire month of April because the issues were catalogued behind May for some reason.  By the way, the issue also marks the return of "The Mad Annotator", "R", this time joined by "V" as they vie for the best shows of the week. Also returning is the assist from friend John.  You think I alone can pack this much acerbic and witty humor into a post?  Silly reader.  Anyway, without further ado, I give you Olivia Newton John, whom I always called Olivia Fig-Newton John when I was a kid.  See, I had an incredible sense of humor even back then.




I've seen the standalone Joyce DeWitt ad for L'eggs, but this tri-fold ad aims to please with Barbara Eden and Juliet Prowse to boot.  I guess they thought it was more than Joyce could pull off by herself.  Oh, and whatever you do, don't Google "Undie-Leggs", particularly at work.




Jack Curry nailed four out of six Oscar winners! His only misses were the supporting categories which went to Melvyn Douglas and Meryl Streep.




$699 dollars for a VCR and $40 to $70 to rent a movie? Oh 1980...if you only knew...


Did "R" own one of those $699 VCRs? How else were they going to watch Once Upon a Classic, Popeye AND the National High School Cheerleading Championships on the same day?

"R" was going for some knowledge with Odyssey but decided against it when "V" stumped for the Best of Benny Hill.

David Soul refuses to gaze upon the small, bikinied woman on Clint Eastwood's shoulder!  "I will NOT look," he says defiantly.



Sorry "R" and "V", but "The Great Escape" beats "Raid on Rommel" every time.



 "The Superbowl of Motocross"?  Who knew such a thing existed.

 "R" appears involved in a battle royale of Patton vs. Disney.  There would be no survivors.  It was the night Mickey cried.



 Man, could Channel 11 have buried "The David Susskind Show" any deeper than midnight?  And rightfully so.  An interview with the world's largest grain processor?  Riveting.  Now, an interview with the world's largest grain?  That I'd watch.

 I like the optional vandyke beard shown in the small illustration.  Go big or go bald.




 "Missouri is for Kids."  Hmmm.  What's wrong with this ad.  Maybe because there isn't a kid in it?


Cheek to cheek, surrounded by an apparently sentient flotation device (are they wiggling or is it)? There is just something disturbing about this ad.

That's right! 2,000,000 watts! Channel 30 will be rockin' your cottage with some serious wattage!





Jack Palance in a bad, monster b-movie? Believe it or... Meh,just believe it. 

Thank goodness That's Incredible was only highlights that night.  Had they been full segments, this woman's head would have exploded.



"I would write lyrics on the palm of my hand".  That's how we ended up with "Xanadu".   Actually, I kind of like the music from the movie with its writing assists from Jeff Lynne and performances by ELO.  Okay, so I'm a dork!




Champale malt liquor. When you want your brutal malt liquor hangover to have a touch of class!


Seems like an odd thing to exclaim while riding a horse, but okay.

 I expected Robert MacKenzie to bash The Dukes of Hazzard here, but he gave it a luke warm review (see what I did there?)

There are so many questions about this ad.  Where did he get the wood for the fire in the desert?  Isn't he sitting a little close?  Is that pyramid still partially buried?  How is the camel casting a shadow in front of it when the light is next to it.  Still more secrets the tobacco industry is hiding from us.

4 comments:

  1. I don't remember the Newton-John special, but I did watch Xanadu a lot on cable back then. It had great music, even if the story was simple. I liked it. And I liked the Dukes, so glad to see the critic reviewed it for what it was and not for what he thought it should be.

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    1. Agreed on both accounts, Joe. I'm a fan of ELO and particularly Jeff Lynne. Most people don't know how much he is respected in the recording industry. He has written for and influenced musicians from Tom Petty, to George Harrison, to Ringo Starr, to, well, Olivia Newton-John. And I was also surprised Robert MacKenzie didn't bash DoH.

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  2. I loved going through this TV Guide! VHS rentals around $50?? Must have money to burn.

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    1. It's amazing what we were willing to spend to avoid watching network TV! Thanks for stopping by, Alexandrea!

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