Fanacek

We're closing in on the end of the 80s and things are getting crazy.  Spinoffs are dominating the airwaves as shows like Empty Nest and A Different World crack the Top 10.  Also, our televisions are being assaulted by continuations and reboots that we didn't want as Mission: Impossible, The Munsters Today, and War of the Worlds are brought to life via first run syndication.  The good news is that we also get Vietnam shows, and murd...

This is the 100th episode folks!  100 episodes of me yapping about stuff that most folks don't care about, but I love it and I'm grateful for everyone that listens.  Join me as I take a look at 1987 television as I experienced it.  We're gonna discuss Remington Steele and The Wonder Years.  We're gonna explore how 21 Jumpstreet made me want to be an undercover cop.  We're gonna chit chat about Energizer commercials and New Coke.  A...

1986.  It was a great year to be alive.  Sure, the space shuttle Challenger exploded killing everyone onboard and traumatizing the children who watching it on TV.  But, rather than dwell on that, I'd rather talk about Night Court.  And Amen.  And T.J. Hooker.  Hell, I'm even gonna educate you on Peter Boyle killing a house full of hippies why Whitman Mayo is a national treasure.  Was Rebecca Schaeffer's murder a tragedy?  Yes it wa...

We're halfway through the decade and sitcoms are starting to rule the airwaves!  Audiences are losing interest in the rich folks of Dynasty, Dallas, and Falcon Crest as they fall in love with the likes of Tony Micelli, Alex P. Keaton, and America's favorite gynecologist, Dr. Huxtable.  This episode takes a closer look at classics like The Equalizer, Family Ties, and Alice while also having fun with Courtney Cox's failures, Charles ...

Happy 2025!  A new year and a new season of your favorite (doubtful) podcast, Fanacek!  The next few episodes will deal with the programs that flooded our TV sets in the 80s.  I can't really title the episodes "THE Year in TV" or "YOUR Year in TV" because I often focus on some weird shit.  But rest assured, you'll enjoy learning about obscure TV shows and hearing my thoughts on your favorite classic TV shows as I go year by year ce...

It's finally effing here!  The finale in my 9 part series comparing movie and television actors of the 1980s.  This fun filled episode has me discussing three different actors across two categories: Thank God They Left TV and Now You're Just Showing Off!  The former takes a deep dive into the careers of 2 actors who were the stars of their own television shows before throwing it away to become big screen icons: Geena Davis & Mi...

This is a fun episode, folks.  It's also a little depressing.  But depressing can be fun, right?  Well, fun or not, we're about to take a deep dive on three actors whose fall from grace left television as their only option in the 80s.  George Peppard, George C. Scott, and Jan-Michael Vincent were once stars of the silver screen, bur after years of drinking, financial woes, and poor behavior, found that TV was their last chance for ...

It's time to kick off the holiday season Fanacek style.  You see, here at the Fanacek house, the holidays officially start with the annual viewing of Planes, Trains & Automobiles.  There's no better way to get ready for both Thanksgiving and Christmas than by watching the genius of Steve Martin and John Candy in this 1987 classic brought to us by Mr. John Hughes.  I'm joined by a guest and we break down the movie scene by scene...

There are some actors from the 80s (I'm not gonna name names) that should have abandoned their movie careers early on and make the switch to television.  It would have saved them years of decline and humiliation as the quality of their movies slowly sunk into the depth of the VHS bargain bins.  Again, I'm not gonna name names...Steve Guttenberg and Judge Reinhold!  To show I can also reward actors who made great career choices, I a...

We've talked about 80s winners.  We've talked about 80s losers.  Now, it's time to talk about the "just okay" of the 80s.  Please join me as I discuss some 80s film and TV actors that were jack of all trades, bur masters of none.  Some, like Robert Hays and Kristy McNichol are no brainers, while my man, Don Johnson, is a hot take and will likely piss some of you off.  Regardless, it's time to kick back and allow me to wax poetic ab...

There are still so many 80s actors I want to talk about!  In this episode, I ask the question, "Why the quick jump television"?  So far, I've focused on actors who had TV success and either crushed it in movies as well, crashed and burned in movies, or maybe just dabbled in feature films before heading back to television where they belonged.  Now, I'm gonna focus on actors who I think should have stayed the course just a little bit...

If you love the 80s, you're probably enjoying this season of Fanacek.  If you don't , well suck it up and let me educate you.  This week I'm discussing 80s actors who could have made a run at big screen stardom, but they knew damn well that television is where they belonged. What they lacked in feature film potential, they made up for in self awareness.  Follow me down this road as I wax poetic about such folks as John Stamos, Erin...

There's an old saying in Hollywood: "Never Quit the Hit".  Well, the TV actors we're gonna discuss today did not take heed of this wisdom.  Rather, they threw caution to the wind and chased movie stardom, only to land flat on their asses. We start with the Cautionary Tale Queen herself, Shelley Long, and then weave our way through the careers of Justine Bateman, Kirk Cameron, Lisa Bonet, Roseanne Barr, and Mark Harmon.  It's a lot ...

As a kid, I would love when my favorite shows would advertise an upcoming "very special" episode.  It often meant there was gonna be drug use, domestic violence, or the threat of pedophilia.  Sadly, this "very special" episode of Fanacek has none of those things, but it does have Eric Todd and Brad Crain from one of my favorite podcasts, This Week In Charles Bronson.  I was a guest on their show earlier this year to discuss the 197...

"Never quit the hit".  That's what they say.  Hollywood history is filled with the cautionary tales of actors who, despite television success, were seduced by the glitz and glamour of big screen stardom.  Let's not forget, there used to be a very solid line drawn between movie stars and TV stars.  On this episode, we are going to look at actors we knew in the 80s who worked on screens both big and small, but ultimately chose to sta...

Remember when there was a definitive line between movie actors and television actors?  Movie actors were at the top of the food chain while TV actors were bottom feeders.  Prestige TV and streaming services have changed that forever, but in the 80s it was a still very real divide.  The next several episodes will look at actors in the 80s who did both.  Some did it well, some crashed and burned, and others just knew it was best to s...

I spend more time on the IMDb app than any human being should.  I love pausing whatever I'm watching to look it up on IMDb and study the cast, trivia, filming locations, etc.  I call these my little rabbit holes and this episode of the podcast is a journey through forgotten TV shows and movies that started when I thought I recognized actor Mark Blankfield from a Saved By The Bell episode.  This somehow leads us to a discussion of T...