Battle Of The Network Stars - General Discussion

[tribeca]

Gilles seems to have had an interesting life.   

i meet Traci when she was shopping.  All the teenage boys were very willing helping her. She had no makeup on and her thrown in a ponytail.  They still knew who she was.  This was about 10 years ago.   

[JunebugWA]

My thought during the show was __ Team Variety has more sex symbols than Team Sex Symbols. :) 

[BlackMamba]

I'm not trying to be mean but this is really Galen shirtless now ?

I remember he was hot when he first started soaps especially when he started Days.  Just look, yummy 

Might want to Lay off the beer just a little bit. 

[BigDfromLA]

I loved the original. They need to have a network vs. network format. Also a Howard Cosell imitator in makeup/prosthetics would be great (like Mike Myers is doing on the Gong Show). 

Pepperdine is a beautiful campus and its a great location (also hosted the original). The combination of no fans and the fact that they are obviously filming in the early morning with the dreary marine layer really makes for a dull atmosphere. 

The older participants are just not cutting it...they are embarassing. This week was better than the first because there were younger competitors. 

It seems tougher to get more recognizable stars. Many are Disney/ABC network related C-listers. The original was able to get some prominent stars, but I guess that was a different era.

[MarkHB]

16 hours ago, jhlipton said:

It doesn't help when the sexiest woman (and the only one to show off her "sexiness"... Mmmmmm!) was Mrs Lachey on Team Variety.

I'll admit that I found it frustrating that she insisted on keeping that track jacket on for almost the whole competition.?  OTOH, her line about "because he's my husband, he could grab me inappropriately to get me into the boat" was priceless.

[Mr. Sparkle]

13 hours ago, BlackMamba said:

I'm not trying to be mean but this is really Galen shirtless now ?

I remember he was hot when he first started soaps especially when he started Days.  Just look, yummy 

Might want to Lay off the beer just a little bit. 

Having a Dad-bod AND a six-pack is an impressive feat! 

[jhlipton]

18 hours ago, JunebugWA said:

My thought during the show was __ Team Variety has more sex symbols than Team Sex Symbols. :) 

Exactly.

6 hours ago, MarkHB said:

I'll admit that I found it frustrating that she insisted on keeping that track jacket on for almost the whole competition.?

Same.

[Blissfool]

Gilles needs to stay in his own lane, literally, when he's running around the track. 

[penbrat]

Not nearly as much fun as last week's show.

[jhlipton]

4 hours ago, penbrat said:

Not nearly as much fun as last week's show.

Damning with faint praise.

[Kromm]

On 7/7/2017 at 1:47 PM, icemiser69 said:

The teams just aren't competitive.  It seems like one team is tanking just so that the tug of war comp is relevant.

I don't mean to be cruel, but this version just does not have the star power that the original series had.  Not by a long shot.  It has this cheap knock off vibe to it.

They don't have to be competitive. And while bigger stars might help, they didn't define the success of the original either. There were stars, but even back then were Gabe Kaplan and Robert Conrad really going to compel people to watch just because they were people viewers knew? Not really. They had to do stuff. They had to be interesting on the show.

The point in previous posts here about this seeming like it's in a vacuum is similar to stuff we were saying about Episode 1.  The reason the original worked wasn't just because they were famous people. It's because as cheesy as it all was, there was a sense of energy. Large teams. People on the sidelines. A sense this was an event, even if a contrived silly one. It was like a company or extended family BBQ but with stars, and without the food. It was FUN. This version, with 5 people teams, no onlookers, and with all of the fun of a dentist visit isn't cutting it for that very reason. Who cares how famous they are? We have to know them, and that's enough, but that shouldn't by itself give such a feeling of smallness to what we are seeing.

On 7/7/2017 at 6:51 PM, icemiser69 said:

The competitions are the important part.  The filler part in between those competitions can be easily fast forwarded through.

I still think that Greenberg is an absolute horrible host of this show.  They can't even get a jacket that fits him properly.

Were they so cheap that they couldn't buy a dunk tank?  Ridiculous.

They won't even show the competitions intact. The "while you were away" approach, where they just show summaries?  Totally uninvests viewers, who cease to care about any of this if the show itself doesn't even seem to.

The filler should be dropped, and just show more complete footage of the actual competition. Sure edit out big silences and set up periods. But covering stuff just via (badly done) recaps? Screw that. If that's how the producers of this remember the original they have very faulty memories. I'm sure there were some summaries on that, but I bet the percentage was a lot lower.

[Rinaldo]

The original was two hours long, just once (sometimes twice?) a year, and the stars were no joke, in TV terms. Sure, Gabe Kaplan and Ed Asner and the like, but also Tom Selleck, Gregory Harrison, Lynda Carter, Jaclyn Smith, et al -- people who were main attractions in their own shows and were attractive and athletic. The various events were substantial and challenging: aquatic relays had 4 legs, whole games of volleyball or whatever were played (edited down for viewing, but still substantial. And then there were the ridiculous items (no more than one in a competition, though) like dunk tank or Simon Says. Of course the whole thing was cheesy and silly, and that's why we who remember it loved it. But it's no good doing this half-hearted gesture at a version: it's just no fun, and fun (certainly not "who wins") is the only reason for watching.

[MarkHB]

Quote

The White House team of Cornelius Smith Jr., Marlee Matlin, Joshua Malina, LaMonica Garrett, and Mary McCormack take on the Lawyers team of Elisabeth Rohm, Corbin Bernsen, Matt McGorry, Romi Dias, and Catherine Bell.

[MarkHB]

Here's a place to add your overall perspective on the revived show, not pinned to any particular episode.

[MarkHB]

Folks, I've created a new thread to use for general discussion, so we can keep the episode threads more focused on their particular episodes.  Thanks!

[LizDC]

Did they have trouble finding TV lawyers for this one?  Romi Dias of Law & Order?  

[MortysCleaningLady]

What was the average age of Team Lawyers?  Such a shame they couldn't grab Perry Mason star Raymond Burr - sure he'd be the only centegenarian and has been dead for 24 years....  No one from The Good Wife or Suits were available?

[helpmerhonda]

10 hours ago, LizDC said:

Did they have trouble finding TV lawyers for this one?  Romi Dias of Law & Order?  

I had no idea who this person was, so I looked her up on IMDB. According to them, she was in exactly one episode of Law & Order.

[jhlipton]

They could have just had Lamonica for the White House and he still would have beat the TV lawyers, even in Tug-of-War!  Really uneven teams are NOT fun.

1 hour ago, helpmerhonda said:

I had no idea who this person was, so I looked her up on IMDB. According to them, she was in exactly one episode of Law & Order.

LOL -- she's been on three of the "LawVerse" (LaOVerse?) shows:  The "Mothership", Criminal Intent and Sadism and Voyeurism Special Victims Unit.  It would have been more apprpriate to refer to Doubt, where she played a judge for 6 episodes.

[MarkHB]

Yet another ep where the obstacle course had to make the Tug of War competitive (although I truly do buy that Josh Malina had always wanted to run it).  The big difference there from the original show is that the old show had 3 teams, so the obstacle course was at least to stave off elimination.  But yes, these teams were ridiculously mismatched even though Corbin had a few more tricks up his sleeve than I expected.

Next week: did I see Potsie??????

[Mr. Sparkle]

10 hours ago, MarkHB said:

Next week: did I see Potsie??????

You sure did. 

[tribeca]

I recommend mark Harmon comes back and competes another day.  

[J-Man]

No one challenged Corbin Bernsen on his claim that he used to watch the show "as a kid?" He was in his 20s when the first episode appeared. And he was appearing on "LA Law" at a time when at least one of his co-stars was ON "Battle of the Network Stars."

So did this Romi Dias ever actually play a LAWYER on one of her L&O appearances?

Also, it was odd that they kept referring to Josh Malina in reference to "The West Wing," when he's currently on "Scandal," an ABC series (unlike TWW), as a White House character, and has already appeared in more episodes of that show than he did of TWW. They didn't mention "Scandal until they were well into the show; his introduction and first few interviews ONLY mentioned TWW.

[Rinaldo]

21 minutes ago, J-Man said:

Also, it was odd that they kept referring to Josh Malina in reference to "The West Wing," when he's currently on "Scandal," an ABC series (unlike TWW), as a White House character, and has already appeared in more episodes of that show than he did of TWW. They didn't mention "Scandal until they were well into the show; his introduction and first few interviews ONLY mentioned TWW.

It didn't seem odd to me, as I still associate him with The West Wing (plus, as he mentioned, Sports Night particularly). I haven't seen more than 2 or 3 episodes of Scandal.

When I think back on myself in my 20s, I might call myself a "kid." It seems eons removed from where I am now.

[jhlipton]

1 hour ago, J-Man said:

So did this Romi Dias ever actually play a LAWYER on one of her L&O appearances?

I don't think so.  She was a bit player in all three episodes; only one gave her title and that was "Inspector".

39 minutes ago, Rinaldo said:

When I think back on myself in my 20s, I might call myself a "kid." It seems eons removed from where I am now.

LOL -- ain't it the truth!

[tribeca]

Josh was adorkable. Ok I wanted him to win that relay race.  

I know it was in fun but I didn't enjoy the making fun of the other team during the track race.  There is a good show hidden in here.   They need to make the teams more balanced and maybe play for charity   

[jhlipton]

2 hours ago, tribeca said:

They need to make the teams more balanced and maybe play for charity   

Every other show like this they play for charity (even really silly ones like Big Star Little Star).  I don't know why this one doesn't.

[MarkHB]

The Primetime Soaps team of Ian Ziering, Josh Henderson, Gabrielle Carteris, Donna Mills, and Mischa Barton take on the ABC Stars team of Olivia d'Abo, Shari Belafonte, Michael Fishman, Jason Hervey, and Anson Williams.

[BigDfromLA]

What this show needs...

A Howard Cosell imitator (with makeup and prosthetics) to host...like Mike Myers is doing on the Gong Show

No competitors over the age of 42.

Six on a team, three men and three women.

DON'T film in the morning!! Film after the marine layer lifts so the beauty of the Pepperdine setting shines and isn't so gloomy.

Let fans watch to add excitement.

Have actual network teams. Do a tournament type competition where networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, Netflix, HBO, Showtime, PBS, Disney, Freeform, VH-1, MTV, etc.) would compete and advance.

[jhlipton]

9 hours ago, BigDfromLA said:

What this show needs...

Agree with all except the Howard Cosell impersonator.  Just find someone who can do decent commentary.

And -- winning team gets money for their charities.  Give the game some stakes.

[Mr. Sparkle]

11 hours ago, BigDfromLA said:

What this show needs...

Let fans watch to add excitement.

This. The competitors just seem so uninterested. 

[MarkHB]

Re Cosell, the thing is that back in those days, he was a household name.  Everyone knew who he was whether they were a sports fan or not, and (as BotNS showed) he'd cover everything even though his real strength was boxing.  Now, ABC Sports literally no longer exists (ESPN now produces sports coverage for ABC), the closest thing to a Cosell they have is probably Chris Berman, and I'm pretty sure that he never actually leaves the studio, they just fold him up under the desk like a Murphy bed when he's done for the night.

[jhlipton]

6 hours ago, MarkHB said:

the closest thing to a Cosell they have is probably Chris Berman,

Bob Costas was great for a while (his talk show was awesome!!!) but I;m not sure he's up to this now.

[MarkHB]

1 hour ago, jhlipton said:

Bob Costas was great for a while (his talk show was awesome!!!) but I;m not sure he's up to this now.

He also works for NBC :), but in terms of overall awareness you're right.

[jhlipton]

2 hours ago, MarkHB said:

He also works for NBC :), but in terms of overall awareness you're right.

Details, details, details!!!!

[dirtydi]

Almost everybody came off well (even Mischa B.), except for Jason Hervey.  Not wearing the team color.  I laughed when Ian Ziering was looking at him with disgust when he refused to wear the red shirt.

[MarkHB]

I loved that Anson said that Marion Ross had everyone over for a party to celebrate Erin Moran's life.  Also, hearing Shari Belafonte mention Hotel has me wondering what Connie Sellecca is doing these days.

[tribeca]

Shari looks fantastic.  This was a fun episode.   Was Harvey just trying to get more screen time? What exactly happened to Josh that he needed an IV?   I have so many questions LOL

Edited July 21, 2017 by tribeca

[tribeca]

I to like seeing all the old stars and the new ones.  There has to be a way not to cut people off by age.  

[MarkHB]

I know they'll never do it, but I want to see DC vs Marvel:

• Stephen Amell
• Grant Gustin
• Caity Lotz
• Melissa Benoist
• Not sure of the 5th

vs

• Brent Dalton
• Charlie Cox
• Chloe Bennet
• Krysten Ritter
• U-Pick the 5th

[jhlipton]

50 minutes ago, MarkHB said:

I know they'll never do it, but I want to see DC vs Marvel:

• Stephen Amell
• Grant Gustin
• Caity Lotz
• Melissa Benoist
• Not sure of the 5th

vs

• Brent Dalton
• Charlie Cox
• Chloe Bennet
• Krysten Ritter
• U-Pick the 5th

1 hour ago, tribeca said:

I to like seeing all the old stars and the new ones.  There has to be a way not to cut people off by age.  

Ming-Na Wen fits both these categories.

I don't mind over-40 celebs as long as they're fit.  Tom Arnold would have been a disgrace at any age and Corbin Bernsen (62!!) more than held his own.

 

ETA: Maisie Richardson-Sellers for the 5th from DC

Edited July 21, 2017 by jhlipton

[vb68]

It was great seeing Donna Mills, and I was happy to see that she was a beast at tennis and contributed to her team.  She does not look 76. 

I use to watch BOTNS all the time, but I don't remember Donna's rich legacy at it. I wonder why she kept that trophy outside.

2 hours ago, tribeca said:

Was Harvey just trying to get more screen time?

  I kinda think he really is just a prick.

Why didn't they get Fred Savage? He does have a new show to promote.

[sweetandsour]

I think Jason is just a jerk, too.  He's the bad stereotype of a former child star.  At first, I thought the whole shirt thing was scripted, but it became apparent that the joke of his attitude wasn't a joke.  As lackluster as this revival can be at times, they typically stick to a feel-good vibe, and it's a bummer when someone has zero interest in that.  I wasn't sure what to expect of Mischa based on her history on other reality shows, but she really was game here.  She participated way more than I thought she would, and in things that she knew/suspected she wouldn't look great doing.  The hosts were kind of shitty about her commentary, though!  I don't know if that's just how they are, but they were NOT like that about AJ Michalka a few weeks ago, who was also young and unathletic.  First the comments about her dunk tank drop (which was awkward, sure), and then later about her running for literally 2 seconds in the obstacle course.  I also enjoyed how Ian straight-up copped to doing Sharknado for the money since his wife doesn't work. 

I also have to admit I was surprised the ABC team won the tug-of-war.  Once I saw Jason was in the front, I was like, "this guy's gonna phone this in, too."  But I think the combination of Donna, as lovely as she is, and Josh's bad back on the soap stars team did them in.  Shari is older, too, but I think she had more weight to dig in.  LBR, Gabrielle isn't that much younger than Shari.  And as participative as Misha was, the girl has never had much muscle.  I think Ian was doing most of the consistent work by himself.

[MarkHB]

8 hours ago, tribeca said:

What exactly happened to Josh that he needed an IV?

I'm guessing minor dehyhdration, together with whatever makes your stomach puky after running hard (my son was a manager for the track team one year in high school and there was... lots of vomiting.  He didn't have to clean it, though.)

I wanted to mention that Mike Fishman was the first person I've seen on the obstacle course this year who actually did the rope swing correctly.  He just grabbed it in full stride and swung across; I've been waiting to see that.

[Whimsy]

If I recall, and this is digging way far back into my brain, Jason was called out for being difficult on the Wonder Years set.  He's an asshole.  That first comment about how his shirt was [whatever designer- I forget and don't care].  It's a BLACK T-SHIRT.  You probably paid WAY too much for it, Jason, but just take it off.  So annoying.  I did love Ian's eyeroll though. lol 

I thought everyone (besides Jason) did really great and seemed to give it their all.  I thought Mischa looked great- even if she's not athletically inclined. 

[vb68]

1 hour ago, GenL said:

It's a BLACK T-SHIRT.  You probably paid WAY too much for it, Jason, but just take it off.  So annoying. 

I liked that Ronda got through to him. I don't know if it was intimidation as much as she just made the point that he was showing his ass.  But I'll go with intimidation.

I would have loved it if she had growled, "Let's turn the cameras OFF for a minute..." HEE  

Edited July 21, 2017 by vb68

[Racj82]

9 hours ago, vb68 said:

It was great seeing Donna Mills, and I was happy to see that she was a beast at tennis and contributed to her team.  She does not look 76. 

I use to watch BOTNS all the time, but I don't remember Donna's rich legacy at it. I wonder why she kept that trophy outside.

  I kinda think he really is just a prick.

Why didn't they get Fred Savage? He does have a new show to promote.

The proper question would be what answer did he give when he passed. These are still c listers or lower in 2017 standards. Fred doesn't need to do this. He works quite often. 

[MortysCleaningLady]

I've come around to the thought that this show is rigged now.   Obviously, there was no holding Donna back at tennis, but basketball and the dunk tank felt staged.   I have a hard time believing that no one hit on the first try and Ian, Josh, and Michael seemed to be strong athletes and I could see them performing better.

 

And the brother from The Wonder Years did himself no favors by being such a jerk.   Wear a red shirt.  Don't leave for a Starbucks run.  67 year old Anson Williams, 62 year old Shari Belafonte, and 48 year old Olivia d'Abo, all on your team, all older than you, tried harder and had more fun.  (Obviously, Michael Fishman is younger and in better shape.)  I thought this episode was fun over all and he was the dark spot.

 

As for Josh's medical need, either he had an ill advised breakfast or late evening the night before.  His dunk tank and golf outings were easier, but he brought it for the obstacle course.

[Rinaldo]

15 hours ago, vb68 said:

Why didn't they get Fred Savage? He does have a new show to promote.

The second sentence answers the first. Fred Savage has never stopped working. He's been a top director on TV for many years, and has lately returned to acting as well, including that new series. He has no need to say yes to something like this. The others are likely finding the family coffers running dry and hoping they can get their name out there for someone to employ.  ("Sharknado" isn't exactly year-round employment.) I do prefer to believe that Donna and Shari are OK and doing it purely for old times' sake and for fun.

4 hours ago, MortysCleaningLady said:

I've come around to the thought that this show is rigged now.   Obviously, there was no holding Donna back at tennis, but basketball and the dunk tank felt staged.  

I had similar thoughts two weeks ago, with the suspicious collapse just short of the obstacle course finish line. And maybe you're right. But I have no trouble believing that this sorry showing at basketball and hitting the dunk-tank target are simply the best they could do. I'm absolutely the last person to speak authoritatively about athletic matters, but hitting a target or hoop with a ball seems a specific sort of skill requiring precision, that takes some practice, even if you're otherwise athletic or strong.

Donna Mills really showed that she puts in her own practice, didn't she? That's one event I would have liked to see in full, in real time. As to why she left her trophy outside.. I guess we'll never know, but this is after all a fakey pretend sort of competition and always was, so if she wanted to display her trophy she might well do it with some implied irony. Maybe she gave it a special place beside the pool in the backyard long ago. (She didn't say it had been outdoors the whole time; it sounds like she had to look around in an attic or closet to find it.)

[MarkHB]

7 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

I wonder what the contestants get for winning during this reboot of the show?  A participation sticker?

They show the winners getting medals at the end of the episode. I have no idea if the other team gets silver participation medals.