The Duck Factory WAS a show. The year was 1984 and NBC was entering their sitcom golden age. A young cartoonist from the midwest moves to LA to take a job at a decaying old animation studio, mainly known for their show Dippy Duck. That young cartoonist’s name is Skip Tarkenton, and he was played by none other than Jim Carrey in his first major role! Brynn, Aaron and Barry attempt to illustrate why this show may have been erased. They also go off on a lengthy tangent exploring something of iconic significance from the era…the waterbed. Visit our website! thatwasashow.com Follow us on Instagram ..read more

Partners WAS a show. This short-lived sitcom is about two young architects in San Francisco, Bob (Jon Cryer) and Owen (Tate Donovan.) Off the top, Owen gets engaged to Alicia (Maria Pitillo), and his best friend Bob competes for attention as something of a third wheel. It’s a fairly standard hangout show about dating and friendship dynamics with vague references to work, but with slightly saltier language because it was on Fox. It’s almost like a West-Coast version of Friends, with a rotating cast of guest stars featuring the likes of Lisa Edelstein, Kathy Griffin and even Jennifer Anniston. B ..read more

Flying Blind WAS a show. It ran on Fox from September, 1992 to May, 1993, lasting a total of 22 episodes. It’s the story of a relationship between young, uptight and somewhat nebish Neil (Corey Parker) who lives at home with his parents, and the free-wheeling and sexually liberated Alicia (Téa Leoni) who lives with cool New York artist-loft party types. It features cameos from a veritable revolving door of great comedic actors including favourite of the pod Lisa Kudrow. Brynn, Aaron and Barry don their most chic attire, head over to what I can only assume is the meat-packing district, and try ..read more

1989 saw the release of one of the most memorable cinematic comedies of all time, the John Hughes classic Uncle Buck starring the incomparable John Candy and Macaulay Culkin. A mere one year later, a sitcom version was released featuring practically none of the original cast. The replacements try their darnedest to replicate the unique charm of the film, which is of course the story of three kids left in the care of their rough-around-the-edges uncle Buck Russell whilst their parents leave town to attend to a family emergency. The show has a premise that has been modified in dark and strange w ..read more

Hardball WAS a show. This baseball themed workplace sitcom aired on Fox in the fall of 1994 and centred around the exploits of the fictional American League team The Pioneers. Sitting on the bench for this one were some actors who’d go on to be some real heavy hitters themselves, like Bruce Greenwood, Mike Starr, Phill Lewis, Joe Rogan and Steve “Kenny Bania” Hytner.  Join Brynn, Aaron and Barry as they bunt, hit a homer, run the bases and…uh some other baseball stuff. Visit our website! thatwasashow.com Follow us on Instagram @thatwasashow Merch: redbubble.com/people/thatwasashow Ho ..read more

Going Places WAS a show. In fact, it was part of ABC’s famous TGIF lineup during the 1990 to 1991 season, and lasted just 19 episodes. It was about two brothers from Chicago who move to LA to take jobs as TV comedy writers, and move into a house owned by the show’s producer. Also living with them are two women who also write for the show. Hijinks ensue? Going Places stood out as a workplace comedy for adults, as compared to the more typically family-oriented shows in the Friday night block like Full House and Family Matters, the mainstays of TGIF. Brynn, Aaron and Barry get in an old convertib ..read more

1987 saw the release of the Academy Award winning film Harry and the Hendersons. That Oscar was for makeup and hairstyling, which makes sense when you consider that the star of the story is in fact a bigfoot. It was adapted into a sitcom a mere four years later. Both were produced by Amblin Entertainment, best known as the Spielberg-helmed production company responsible for another 1980s family-meets-fantasy-creature-drama E.T. The Extra Terrestrial…the image of which is right in their logo. This very Hairy show replaced John Lithgow and Melinda Dillon with Bruce Davison and Molly Cheek, as th ..read more

The next episode of That Was a Show? is coming October 1st. Listen to this fun Radio Gizmo network promo to find out what it is ..read more

On February 26, 1996 CBS pulled off quite possibly the greatest crossover marketing stunt in sitcom history with “Liz Night.” Four different prime time shows featured an ongoing stunt plot with Elizabeth Taylor and a lost black pearl necklace that she needs to promote her new fragrance. The story kicked off with the first show in the lineup—The Nanny. Brynn and Aaron watch the episode and try not to lose the thread. They first discovered this phenomenon by accident during TWAS episode 59 about the show High Society, which is where the missing pearls are finally found. Visit our website! thatwa ..read more

On February 26, 1996 CBS pulled off quite possibly the greatest crossover marketing stunt in sitcom history with “Liz Night.” Four different prime time shows featured an ongoing stunt plot with Elizabeth Taylor and a lost black pearl necklace that she needs to promote her new fragrance. The story kicked off with the first show in the lineup—The Nanny. Brynn and Aaron watch the episode and try not to lose the thread. They first discovered this phenomenon by accident during TWAS episode 59 about the show High Society, which is where the missing pearls are finally found. Visit our website! thatwa ..read more