I stumbled upon this wonderful podcast on the history of some decent but forgotten television shows while searching for more about ‘Kolchak: The Night Stalker,’ an old favorite of mine (and which helped inspire the X-Files), and was SO impressed with Chris Cooling and his efforts. Cooling makes fascinating and engaging episodes, in-part due to his in-depth research…which is so extensive, predecessor shows, going back to the origins of genres or stories, bios of key actors and the production team, really insightful! His efforts help inform themes and motivations around a show. When presented in such a straightforward and thorough way it’s hard to not get into his episodes, even when covering old TV shows I didn’t remember. Favorite episodes of mine include the Kolchak series, Buck Rogers, V, and more recently his deep dive on the Satanic Panic of the 70s and 80s that developed (based on misinformation) around TSRs Dungeons & Dragons that really helped tie various threads together into a timeline around cultural milestones of the period. Thanks from a dedicated listener, I’m sure I speak for so many of us appreciative for ALL YOUR HARD WORK!!
…and don’t let me forget the theme song!! A well-produced, short nostalgic whirlwind journey through the classic TV shows of childhood!!!
