29 Facts About TV History That Long for Those Simpler Times Before Streaming

Back when you couldn’t pause a show for a bathroom break
29 Facts About TV History That Long for Those Simpler Times Before Streaming
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They weren’t the most pleasant of moments, but sometimes we do kind of miss those full-bladder hustles to the bathroom during a commercial break. See, kiddos, you could pause a movie — well, not one that was shown on TV — but you couldn’t just pause a TV show all willy-nilly. To double down on the urgency of that bathroom break, you weren’t able to rewatch what you missed whenever you wanted either.

Nostalgia is funny like that. And hey, if you’re not nostalgic for that aspect of classic TV viewing, you’ll definitely get nostalgic for these classic TV facts. Something for everyone!

The Bees on SNL

THE BEES BELUSHI ET AL INTERNATION CRACKED.COM One of the show's first notes from meddling network execs: Cut the bees. Lorne Michaels responded by inserting the Bees into nearly every episode of Season One, making them the show's first recurring characters.

Thomas the Tank Engine

The first narrator of Thomas the Tank Engine was Ringo Starr. Не narrated the show from 1984 to 1986 -- after that, he was replaced by George Carlin. CRACKED.COM

I Love Lucy

Lucy & Ricky I LOVE LUCY Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were married off-screen and had to put on a successful vaudeville act in order to prove to CBS execs that Arnaz, because he was Cuban, would be accepted by American audiences on a network TV show. CRACKED.COM

Star Trek

William Shatner intentionally ruined takes on Star Trek when they tried to censor his kiss with co-star Nichelle Nichols. CRACKED.COM The interracial kiss between Kirk and Uhura in 1968 was a first for TV, and the network was nervous about the potential backlash. To appease certain affiliates, producers attempted to shoot an alternate scene for southern audiences where the two did not kiss. Shatner deliberately sabotaged his takes during these scenes by making faces and looking right into the camera, so that the network was forced to show the kiss.

Family Matters

Family Matters CRACKED.COM Long before Urkel stole the show, the spotlight was supposed to be on Harriette Winslow. She was a breakout success on Perfect Strangers, where she played a sassy elevator operator whose cop husband used to drop by from time to time. In this scene, she delivers the line: excuse me baby, this is a family matter, and you're in the line of fire.

Betty White

A Rose by any no other name - She's very consistent. Betty appeared in four different TV shows, over the course of seven years, as the character Rose Nylund: The Golden Girls (1985), Empty Nest (1988), Nurses (1991), and The Golden Palace (1992). CRACKED.COM

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

CHUCKLES MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW CRACKED.COM Chuckles the Clown was leading a parade dressed as Peter Peanut when he was tragically shelled to death by a rogue elephant. With a can't-stop-laughing funeral, it's the classic episode of a classic sitcom, at one point ranked #1 on TV Guide's list of the Top 100 Episodes of All Time.

The Today Show

The first morning news 1952 CRACKED.COM NBC's Today premiered with Dave Garroway and J. Fred Muggs.

The Addams Family

The first home computer 1965 CRACKED.COM In The Addams Family, the gigantic family computer, Whizzo, is used to cheat at gambling and help rig an election. Pretty spot-on.

Tom Hanks

FAMILY TIES Tom Hanks CRACKED.COM EQ Не has a 3-episode drunk uncle arc in which he ultimately horks down enough vanilla extract to slap Michael J. Fox in his Michael J. Face.

Cheers and St. Elsewhere

CRACKED.COM CROSSOVER EASTER EGGS ST. ELSEWHERE AND CHEERS Not only did St. Elsewhere keep dropping references to other shows, but an episode takes place in the bar from Cheers.

George A. Romero

GRAGKED.COM George А. Romero, the father of zombie flicks, actually got his first directing gig from Mr. Rogers. Mr. Rogers Gets a Tonsillectomy, directed by George А. Romero

Daniel Tiger

DANIEL STRIPED TIGER WAS CREATED WHEN A CHEAP STRIP OF FILM BROKE AND LEFT MR. ROGERS' FIRST SHOW WITH DEAD AIR. During the live airing of an episode of Children's Corner, a film strip broke. Rogers grabbed a random tiger puppet, stuck it through a hole in the set's backdrop and said Hi, Josie, it's 5:02, and Columbus discovered America in 1492. From that point on Daniel was a major part of Rogers' life. CRACKED COM

Boss Hogg

CRACKED.COM SORRELL BOOKE was a true overachiever. Before becoming Boss Hogg in The Dukes of Hazzard, Booke got degrees from both Columbia and Yale. Не also spoke five languages and did spy-related stuff during the Korean War. And yet he could never catch them Duke boys.

Gilligan’s Island

Think it was odd that the Professor on Gilligan's Island could build a Geiger counter out of coconuts but never even tried to just patch the Minnow? Actually, he did try. MINNOW In an early episode, he tried to repair the holes with glue made from tree sap. The glue failed and destroyed the boat permanently. CRACKED.COM

Gilligan’s Island (Again)

GILLIGAN'S ISLAND You can see a flag at half-mast in the intro sequence. MINNOW CHARTER P-FREE LUNCHES President Kennedy was assassinated just before they filmed it. CRACKED.COM

Diff’rent Strokes

MAYTAG MAN RENTALS- MAYTAG CRACKED.COM Gordon Jump, one of several Maytag Men over the years, starred as Arthur Carlson on WKRP in Cincinnati. Не also played the World's Creepiest Bike Shop Owner on a very special episode of Diff'rent Strokes.

The Dukes of Hazzard

CRACKED.COM The DUKES OF HAZZARD are based on JERRY RUSHING. Во Duke is a fictional version of Jerry Elijah Rushing, who ran illegal moonshine from his car, Traveller (named after General Lee's horse).

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman actress Lynda Carter has a cameo in Wonder Woman 1984. She played Diana in the '70s TV show, and she shows up in the movie in a mid-credits scene as Asteria (who saves a bunch of kids). CRACKED.COM

Gilligan’s Island (Third Time’s the Charm)

HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS GILLIGAN'S ISLAND C CRACKED COM In this made-for-TV movie, the Clown Princes of Basketball team up with the castaways to battle super-robots to save the island from an unscrupulous ... let's just leave it at trick basketball and robots.

Friends

Janice's laugh in F.R.I.E.N.D.S. was inspired by an actor, a dolphin, and a cartoon character. Actress Maggie Wheeler revealed that Ronald Palillo influenced her with his character's laugh in a '70s show called Welcome Back, Kotter. She also took some inspiration from watching Flipper the dolphin, and Woody Woodpecker. CRACKED.COM

Johnny Carson

Johnny Carson's first three wives were named Joan, Joanne, and Joanna. CRACKED.COM Carson married wife #4, Alexis Maas Carson, two years before retiring from The Tonight Show after a 30-year run.

Gilligan’s Island (Last Time, We Promise)

COMEDY NERD The Gilligan's Island theme song is totally different in the show's (unaired) pilot. It's a calypso song with lyrics like The captain is brave, he's a fearless maaan, and Gilligan helps him all that he caaan. CRACKED.COM

Diff’rent Strokes (Again)

Nancy Reagan DIFF'RENT STROKES CRACKED.COM In what would become a rare pre-internet meme, the First Skeleton asked a classroom full of kids: hasn't anyone else done a little experimenting?

The Shari Lewis Show

The Shari Lewis Show CRACKED.COM The tapes of nearly every episode of the beloved precursor to Lamb Chop's Play-Along were used to record coverage of the 1964 Democratic and Republican national conventions.

The Moon Landing

The moon landing CRACKED.COM One of the biggest reasons that moon landing conspiracy theories persist is that NASA conveniently lost the high-quality panorama footage of the mission. All that remains is the grainy footage you remember from Forest Gump.

The Vampira Show

The Vampira Show CRACKED.COM Widely regarded as the first horror show on TV, the cult hit only ever aired in Los Angeles, and every live episode is completely lost to time.

Fawlty Towers

COMEDY NERD Fawlty Towers originally had a totally different theme song than the one you know. You can hear the original version only in the pilot-it got changed in the very next episode. CRACKED.COM

All in the Family

COMEDY NERD Archie Bunker from All In The Family was originally called Archie Justice. And the show was called And Justice For All-and that was just the first of the show's three pilots. CRACKED.COM

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