Battle of the Network Stars

[nazz]

Has anyone else caught any of these replays on Trio this weeK?

It was pretty fun seeing them again after all these years and seeing Catherine Bach and Charlene Tilton in the dunk tank again
reminds me of those adolescent thrills it gave me when it originally aired.

[Red Dog]

My favorite memory of BOTNS was the ABC team aka Team Heather - Locklear & Thomas in the dunk tank.

I don't know if I get Trio - I'll have to check that out if I do.

[Brain Stew]

What's Battle of the Network Stars? Probably before my time.

[mediabear]

Yes, I've been watching Trio all week. The Good Clean Porn and Pink Lady and Jeff have been fun too. I was only ten when Pink Lady and Jeff was on and I never heard of it, but my husband is six years older and actually saw ten minutes of an episode in its original run.

[joefrog91]

Ah yes. BOTNS and Pink Lady & Jeff. I remember these shows.
Watching the female stars on BOTNS in the dunk tank was always my favorite part of the show. Also watching Lynda Carter and Adrienne Barbeau run around in tight t-shirts and short shorts.

There was another show that was on about the same time as BOTNS called Almost Anything Goes. Now that was a fun show. It was kinda like that Japanese gameshow where teams would compete by doing all these crazy stunts and obstacle courses.

[Chew]

With reality shows being as big as they are, I'm surprised nobody is trying to update this show.

[Red Dog]

Originally posted by Chew
With reality shows being as big as they are, I'm surprised nobody is trying to update this show.

Yeah - but you know it would be total C-list stars from shows from UPN that nobody watches.

Can you imagine any of the million dollar/episode Friends taking part in this?

[Chew]

Originally posted by Red Dog
...from shows from UPN that nobody watches.

Well, if that UPN show that nobody watches is Buffy The Vampire Slayer, sign me up for Alyson and Sarah Michelle!!

[Red Dog]

Originally posted by Chew
Well, if that UPN show that nobody watches is Buffy The Vampire Slayer, sign me up for Alyson and Sarah Michelle!!

I would hardly call them C-list.

Of course, I wouldn't mind seeing Jolene Blalock or the Asian broad from Enterprise in that dunk tank.

[Charlie Goose]

Originally posted by Brain Stew
What's Battle of the Network Stars? Probably before my time.

A series of specials from the mid- to late-seventies, pitting teams of network stars against each other in "sporting events". I think I remember the teams were network-specific; ABC vs. NBC vs. CBS. There was the previously-mentioned dunk tank, simple obstacle courses, tug of war, etc. You haven't lived until you've seen Jack Klugman play Suzanne Somers in a game of pool...and lose due to not calling his game winning shot. That was a call by judge Flip Wilson, by the way. I didn't know they were being repeated on Trio, I actually remembered this from when I was a whelp.

Honk!

[JamesBrian]

Originally posted by mediabear
Yes, I've been watching Trio all week. The Good Clean Porn and Pink Lady and Jeff have been fun too. I was only ten when Pink Lady and Jeff was on and I never heard of it, but my husband is six years older and actually saw ten minutes of an episode in its original run.

I actually have the DVD box set of Pink Lady and Jeff, purchased back in the FreeRide/Jaboom days when I had Amazon GC's burning holes in my pockets. For some reason I have yet to break the shrink-wrap, but I'm on vacation till August and have this on my to-do list. Curiously, in the Napster era several Pink Lady songs were the ones most downloaded from me.
Jeez, just checked today's Trio schedule - 4 PL & J, 2 BOTNS and MMtC (My Mother the Car)!!
Update PL & J was excruciating except for an out-of-place concert clip of Blondie performing a pounding punk Eat to the Beat. BOTNS opened with the swimming relay, Lynda Carter and Adrienne Barbeau in wet swimsuits as they prepared to dive in for the first lap. Too bad Farrah and Barbara Parkins weren't in this event. Followed by a four minute interview with Lynda, three minutes of which she spent jumping up and down on a trampoline. And then a ton of filler.

[mediabear]

BOTNS marathon all day today on Trio.

[Numanoid]

All of these shows are courtesy of Joel Stein, the Time magazine columnist who has "taken control" of the network for a week. Part of the "My Trio" series. http://www.triotv.com/

Looks like Trio is repositioning itself as a kind of hip TVLand type channel, rather than the high arts stuff they have been known for in the past. Works for me...I love their new approach.

[joefrog91]

Turned it on and the dunk tank was on. Yes!

[Draven]

You know, if they bring this show back and I was a big TV star, I would totally participate.

[Chew]

Originally posted by Chew
With reality shows being as big as they are, I'm surprised nobody is trying to update this show.

Huh, how about that. I was actually right for once.

Once a bi-annual staple of primetime television, "Battle of the Network Stars" is making a comeback. NBC is set to air a two-hour revival of the series on Saturday, August 16 at 9:00/8:00c.

Unlike its predecessors however, the "battle" will be an intra-network contest, not against rival networks ABC, CBS, FOX or the netlets. The other major change is that the NBC stars aren't the casts of "Friends," "Will & Grace" and "ER" duking it out but rather "stars" in the loosest sense of the word. **

Here's how NBC describes the special (via press release):

Small-screen and sports stars engage in gladiatorial games for glory and charity in this special taped at Squaw Creek Resort in Lake Tahoe. Tony Potts ("Access Hollywood") hosts this new, edgy version of the popular specials, and Olympic Gold Medalists Picabo Street (Super G - 1998; silver, downhill -- 1994) and Dan O' Brien (decathlon 1996) serve as captains of the two celebrity teams: blue and red, respectively.

Comprising the blue team are Mario Lopez ("America's Most Talented Kid," "The Other Half"), Brooke Burns ("Dog Eat Dog"), Drake Hogestyn ("Days of Our Lives") and Amelia Marshall ("Passions") and Ross "the Intern" Matthews ("The Tonight Show Starring Jay Leno"); the red team is Rena Sofer ("Coupling"), Neil Flynn ("Scrubs"), Dondre Whitfield ("Hidden Hills") and Justin Long ("Ed").

Head-to-head they meet in sea battles on Sea-Doos and "dunk boats," plus soar almost 10,000 ft. above sea level to attempt a "Big Swing" over a cliff and a game of "Mountain Bowling." Robert Horowitz ("All-Star Olympic Salute," "Sports Illustrated's 20th Century Sports Awards") is the executive producer and Scott Messick ("Survivor," "Boot Camp") is the co-executive producer and director of this production from TWI, the television division of Mark McCormack's IMG.

The special was completed nearly a year ago and the Peacock is quietly burning it off this summer. The original "Battle" aired from 1976-1985 and featured Howard Cosell as host.

Link


** And so was Red Dog