It Was a Thing on TV: Episodes 323 & 324 - Infomercials from the 1990’s/Hollywood Squares derivatives

2022-11-23

This week on It Was a Thing on TV we can give you this puzzle board and if you act now we will throw in a set of triangles absolutely free! First, they’re a staple on TV today, specifically in the overnight hours. Half-hour infomercials came on the scene in the early 90s, filling holes in television schedules at all hours of the day. In this installment, we look back at 9 such infomercials from the 1990s and talk about how cheesy they were and memories we had watching them. Then, Merrill Heatter found his great...

This week on It Was a Thing on TV we can give you this puzzle board and if you act now we will throw in a set of triangles absolutely free!

First, they’re a staple on TV today, specifically in the overnight hours. Half-hour infomercials came on the scene in the early 90s, filling holes in television schedules at all hours of the day. In this installment, we look back at 9 such infomercials from the 1990s and talk about how cheesy they were and memories we had watching them.

Then, Merrill Heatter found his greatest success with Hollywood Squares. After it was cancelled in 1980 (see episode 68), Heatter tried the Squares format, but with some twists. In this show, we briefly cover 4 titles--Battlestars, The New Battlestars, All-Star Blitz, and the unsold 1993 pilot Hollywood Teasers.

Timestamps

0:30 - Infomercials from the 1990’s

1:57:34 - Hollywood Squares derivatives

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