Get ready to wallow in TV nostalgia this summer.
The ABC reboot of the beloved 1970s competition series “Battle of the Network Stars” is set to return (Thursday, 9 p.m., Ch. 7), showcasing more than 100 TV stars from 14 network and cable channels. Each is required to display athleticism — in varying degrees — in head-to-head races and obstacle courses.
“I just missed (the program) myself,” executive producer Andrew Glassman told the Daily News, explaining his reasons for getting behind the reboot. “I was just thinking back to shows that were my favorites growing up, and it very simply occurred to me that this show would be as fun now as it was for me when I watched it as a kid. To be honest, it was a selfish endeavor at every turn.”
For those who missed it, the original, which ran from 1976 to 1988, featured three teams, one from each of the then-three major networks. Stars such as Gabe Kaplan, Ron Howard, Loretta Swit, Robert Conrad, Telly Savalas, Kristy McNichol and Penny Marshall battled it out on the bucolic Pepperdine University campus grounds in Malibu, Calif.
For most of the show’s run, legendary sports broadcaster Howard Cosell provided the play-by-play.
This go-round, there are 20 teams divided into deliciously campy groups like kids, lifeguards, doctors, sex symbols and troublemakers. The lineup includes a healthy dose of old celebs and a sprinkling of current ones: Bronson Pinchot (“Perfect Strangers”), Nolan Gould (“Modern Family”), Josh Malina (“Scandal”), Todd Bridges (“Diff’rent Strokes”) and Jill Whelan (“The Love Boat”).
The coaches are Super Bowl champ DeMarcus Ware and mixed martial arts star Ronda Rousey. ESPN announcers including Joe Tessitore will be doing the play-by-play.
One thing that made the original so enjoyable was watching TV stars grunt, sweat and focus on trying to win. Glassman promises that the reboot matches that level of intensity.
“We like to say it starts on the red carpet but it gets settled between the red lines and something happens when a whistle blows — it’s game on,” he says. “Once the whistle blows, everyone wants to be the star player, everyone has that fantasy of being the star athlete.”
Although he’s mum on who stands out, Glassman admits that everyone held a soft spot for the celebs who were featured on older programming.
One of the original stars, Willie Aames (Tommy from “Eight is Enough”), says he was flattered when Variety used a photo of him grimacing through an arduous tug-of-war to accompany a story about the show’s return, and even more flattered when they asked him to participate in the reboot.
The former teen idol says the main difference between the shows is that the current one is much friendlier.
“The original was really competitive,” he says. “I think in many ways, because we had so few networks participating, it was an extension of the ratings. If you weren’t in the top five or the top 10 of the Nielsen ratings, you were going to make your point on the field of battle. Now, it’s so spread out, I think they take it a little less personally.”
The teams will be battling it out in such events as archery, kayak races and an obstacle course, and, yes, that tug-of-war is coming back.
“It all comes down to the tug-of-war,” promises Glassman. “Everyone is giving a million percent. No one wants to lose.”
There is no prize money involved, just “an ornate medallion of questionable origin and unknown molecular configuration,” Glassman laughs.
