Unless something I really care about is running against the ESPN Classic program,I generally cannot pull myself away.
I just cannot help myself.
Part of it is nostalgia,where stars did not mind going out to have a good time and did not mind looking silly or nonathletic if they had to.
Imagine that show being made today?
There is no way that happens as it would cost far much to get the stars to participate and embarrassments would go straight on youtube.
Plus you also have the memories of a time with five channels when this stuff almost mattered and was at least fun to watch.
Think people today are going to be smiling thirty five years from now thinking about American Idol or Survivor? I kinda doubt it.
The reason that I love this stuff?
It is just so campy!
Guys wearing shorts about three sizes too small,ladies running in tank tops without bras,smoking on camera and loads of politically incorrect comments are just some of the tidbits that you see on this show.
And the funniest thing? No one even bothered to think anything of it!
Some religious group would be screaming about the tight clothing,the anti-smoking people would be griping about cigarettes and about twenty different groups would be wanting apologies for statements.
And you have Howard Cosell as well!
Now that was quite a big deal in this time as Cosell was the voice of Monday Night Football and most big boxing matches in a day when boxing was so much more mainstream.
And he didn't look down on it either!
At least as much as you could watching Todd Bridges take on Scott Baio in a obstacle course race or watching Lynda Carter run pass patterns and try to grab touchdown heaves from Billy Crystal anyway.
Howard schmoozing and fawning over the celebs is just much fun with the little laugh that he does and the cutesy nicknames for the female "competitors" "Look at the determination on the face of Cathy Bach as she pulls on that rope"!
It sounds so much better when you say/think of this in full Cosell.
But for all of that,the success of this show really comes down to one man-our guy Robert Conrad.
Now I wrote about what a huge Wild Wild West fan that I am,but this is about ten years past WWW and Conrad is doing Baa Baa Black Sheep,which was a show that I did not watch,so that's a change for me at the time,but watching these shows 30+ years later,Conrad really is the star of the show.
Conrad struts around as people look at him scared to death,Conrad puts an imaginary battery on his shoulder constantly as he dares people to knock said imaginary battery off his shoulder from his Eveready battery commercials,Conrad threatening to take his team out of the competition and generally acting like this is the Romans vs the Greeks with lives on the line with most of the others looking on either bemused or wanting nothing to do with this maniac.
But as I talked about this with Ryan,he brought up one event that is especially interesting and it is not the one that most think about which was his match race with Gabe Kaplan of Welcome Back Kotter fame.
After Conrad's show had went off the air,he therefore could not captain a team or participate because of the stringent rules and regulations of the International Olympic Com,ummm Network Stars standards,but yet he showed up anyway,ranting,stomping around and in one memorable shot berating William Shatner and current shill for Gold William Devane for not taking this seriously enough!
Now that is entertainment!
All and all,it is a guilty pleasure I'm sure that some of you might enjoy whether is for the memories,the stars,the clothing,the behavior or just a sign of the times.
ESPN Classic shows Network Stars on Mondays at eight....
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