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Oldest Extant Off-Air VHS/Beta Tape You Have

I brought up the prior message about what criteria people use when it comes to picking up tapes, for me I usually avoid stuff that just has movie titles on the tapes, because 9 times out of 10, its a direct rental copy, or a HBO taping. Tape stock is a factor too, the older the better and the more likely I pick it up. Lastly, price as well, I'll be more likely to risk it if its .10 or free instead of .50 each (coincidentally the aforementioned Goodwill outlet bins are the most expensive at .50 each). Anyways, I did get 2 FREE VHS finds on Saturday:

Tape 1--Marked Rudolph, She-Ra, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and The Night Before Christmas Maxell EX120
My first daytime cartoon finds and these came all the way from the West Coast, makes me wonder why someone took the time and expense to move home recorded VHS tapes all the way across the country, and keep them 30+ years until now..
1) 1986/12/9 Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (KCBS2) : 50 missing some commercials
2) 3 straight episodes of She-Ra on KCOP13, I'd guess also December 1986 based on the commercials, tons for the brand new at the time Nintendo Entertainment System and even one for the $49.99 reissue of the classic Atari 2600
3) 1986/12/17 How the Grinch Stole Christmas (KCBS2) : 26 I have 2 local North Carolina recordings of this from the exact same night which is a funny coincidence
4) 2 more episodes of She-Ra on KCOP13 from the same December 1986 era
5) Heathcliff on KCOP13, I remember loving this show as a kid also December 1986
6) Thundercats from sometime in February 1987, KTTV11
7) GI Joe from February 1987 KCOP13, then the following episode of She-Ra and Different Strokes

Tape 2--Marked Bev. Hills Cop 4/85 on a very old Panasonic NV-T120 tape stock.
1) Beverly Hills Cop coped directly from a rental based on the blurry photo and colors but I quickly fast forwarded to find...
2) 1986/6/15 US Open Final Round (KABC) this looked to be complete minus a few minutes and commercial breaks (3:06)
3) 1986/6/15 Greatest Sports Legends- Jim Palmer (KABC) : 28
Lastly there was a few minutes of this bizarre show called War of the Stars tacked on the end. It reminded me of a low budget version of those battling network superstar shows in the 1970s. I'm guessing this was a tack on for the West Coast once the early sports programming ended? Usually golf tournaments ended at 6PM on the East Coast, so what filler did the West Coast network affiliates usually use for the Sunday afternoons?
 
That first tape is AWESOME! Wow! Fun find. I also have the 12/17/86 How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but it was taped from my local KIMA in Yakima.
As mentioned on the last page, I am hoping to hit the Pasco Goodwill Outlet soon. Would be my first time digging through bins of broken glass to find those tapes. They are by the pound, and the size of a VHS tape is around 7-10 ounces without the box, so it would probably be a little less than whatever price per pound for media. Olympia's Goodwill Outlet charges 49c per *tape*, however...
 
chandler0201 said:
I brought up the prior message about what criteria people use when it comes to picking up tapes, for me I usually avoid stuff that just has movie titles on the tapes, because 9 times out of 10, its a direct rental copy, or a HBO taping. Tape stock is a factor too, the older the better and the more likely I pick it up. Lastly, price as well, I'll be more likely to risk it if its .10 or free instead of .50 each (coincidentally the aforementioned Goodwill outlet bins are the most expensive at .50 each). Anyways, I did get 2 FREE VHS finds on Saturday:

Tape 1--Marked Rudolph, She-Ra, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and The Night Before Christmas Maxell EX120
My first daytime cartoon finds and these came all the way from the West Coast, makes me wonder why someone took the time and expense to move home recorded VHS tapes all the way across the country, and keep them 30+ years until now..
1) 1986/12/9 Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (KCBS2) : 50 missing some commercials
2) 3 straight episodes of She-Ra on KCOP13, I'd guess also December 1986 based on the commercials, tons for the brand new at the time Nintendo Entertainment System and even one for the $49.99 reissue of the classic Atari 2600
3) 1986/12/17 How the Grinch Stole Christmas (KCBS2) : 26 I have 2 local North Carolina recordings of this from the exact same night which is a funny coincidence
4) 2 more episodes of She-Ra on KCOP13 from the same December 1986 era
5) Heathcliff on KCOP13, I remember loving this show as a kid also December 1986
6) Thundercats from sometime in February 1987, KTTV11
7) GI Joe from February 1987 KCOP13, then the following episode of She-Ra and Different Strokes

Tape 2--Marked Bev. Hills Cop 4/85 on a very old Panasonic NV-T120 tape stock.
1) Beverly Hills Cop coped directly from a rental based on the blurry photo and colors but I quickly fast forwarded to find...
2) 1986/6/15 US Open Final Round (KABC) this looked to be complete minus a few minutes and commercial breaks (3:06)
3) 1986/6/15 Greatest Sports Legends- Jim Palmer (KABC) : 28
Lastly there was a few minutes of this bizarre show called War of the Stars tacked on the end. It reminded me of a low budget version of those battling network superstar shows in the 1970s. I'm guessing this was a tack on for the West Coast once the early sports programming ended? Usually golf tournaments ended at 6PM on the East Coast, so what filler did the West Coast network affiliates usually use for the Sunday afternoons?
Click to expand...

Are you sure it Is 1986 and not 1985? Because the NES came out late 1985.
 
Jman8606 the reason I say 1986 is because the commercials also advertised the complete game lineup at the time, which was at something like 30 titles. I'm fairly sure they did not have that many at launch. The 1985 year was also mostly relegated to test marketing in certain areas of the country, mostly New York City. I also believe it was 1986 for that tape because all the CBS network programming matched that same night's shows by date.

For what its worth I actually did not get my NES until 1989, I first had an Atari 7800 so seeing a very old (nearly 10 years at that point) Atari 2600 in 1986 being resold and remarketed was quite surprising.
 
Another topic I was just thinking of after perusing the Sold As Blank Facebook group...

What are the top 10 shows you would want to see or collect with original commercials? For me these would be some of my favorite shows that I either remember as a kid or became favorites later in life, and coincidentally I've not found any episodes of these shows as they originally aired yet, though all exist on official DVD releases:

1.Adventures of Pete & Pete
2.Coach
3.My So Called Life
4.Northern Exposure
5.Sledgehammer
6.The Wonder Years
7.The Real Ghostbusters (well any Saturday morning cartoons from the late 80s to early 90s really)
8.Eerie, Indiana
9.Moonlighting
10.The X-Files

Honorable mentions go to Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Ferris Buehler (rare one season early Jennifer Anniston sitcom) and anything from the CBS Crimetime After Primetime late night blocks.
 
Last edited:
Cool question!
I'd have to say St. Elsewhere, Newhart, the 1989 show 'The Famous Teddy Z', and several WB sitcoms including The Steve Harvey Show and The Jamie Foxx Show. I have never found any of Bob Newhart's adventures at the Stratford Inn on tape. Nor have I found anything from St. Elsewhere, underrated and starring among others, a young Howie Mandel. The Famous Teddy Z was Jon Cryer when he was just coming off his 'Pretty in Pink' fame, just before he was paired up with Charlie Sheen in Hot Shots!...and somehow they reunited for a little show called Two and a Half Men. As for WB, it was on an unknown LPTV in Yakima (no cable carriage) along with WGN, but WB was missing in Ellensburg until WB 100+ was added around 2000-01. Somebody would've had to record the sitcoms off WGN's cable feed, but they aired in the very late afternoon (7 CT, 5 PT), so who knows.

Chandler, if you come up this way, you can find a Northern Exposure VHS tape about once a year. Everyone loved that show because it was taped locally, in Roslyn. The cafe is still there with the mural from the show. I'm hoping to take Mom up there this summer for the first time and have a beer and a burger at The Brick. And that old spittoon is still there, BTW.

Here's another kicker for you. Yeah, he's in prison rotting away. But did you know I have only found one (partial) episode of The Cosby Show in the 1000+ tapes that I've viewed? Or that I've only found one or two closing bumpers from Arsenio Hall's talk show? The Cosby Show was #1 in America. Yet I find no recordings of it. I have found many tapes of Cheers on the other hand, and of Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, but not "Arseniooooooooo". It seems like the most common TV shows I find are stuff like Law & Order, Murder, She Wrote, and Touched by An Angel. The latter being obvious. Central Washington is majority conservative and church-going. Shows like Touched By An Angel appealed to the majority. I've even found Promised Land episodes on tape.
 
Chandler, I am with crainbebo. I would also like to St. Elsewhere. OBs with OCs. WKRP in Cincinnati, and any other show where music was heavily used. Because in reruns the music was replaced. I would like to see some original broadcast Johnny Carson episodes with musical guests. Because on the Antenna TV reruns the music is edited out or replaced. (I.e when guests are brought out etc.)

When VH1 Classic had their SNL 40 episodes 40 years marathon in 2015, the musical guests from the 80s were edited out. I would like to get my hands on those episodes or perhaps the tapes released by Warner Home Video or Time-Life or NBC Home Video unedited with the musical guests.

I also would like to get copies of game shows OB or from USA where they are uncut and unedited unlike GSN.
 
More fun and games from the free thrift store VHS lot, 3 more tapes tested, one is a toss as it was all rental copies, these also looked to be from the same Los Angeles taper I mentioned previously:

Tape 1---Marked many different ways Summer, King Ralph, and under the over label SPORTS, what I actually found:
1) 1992/9/27 King Ralph NBC Sunday Night at the Movies (KNBC) (1:56) I found it odd this had a network TV premiere less than 2 years after its theater release, that was quite quick in the days where it took even 9 months to get a home video VHS release
2) 1992/5/31 LA Dodgers at Chicago Cubs (KTTV11) : 17 mostly just the 6th inning
3) 1992/5/31 Kemper Open Final Round (KCBS) (1:15) sadly this ended on the final holes I would have loved to see the ending, by the way, John Daly's mullet was in full form in this era
4) Week of May 7th 1992 KTTV11 programming, I say that because that was the date of the Beverly Hills 90201 Season Finale which was advertised many times, on this was a full airing of the half hour version of the Hooked on Phonics Paid Programming infomercial as well as a syndicated episode of the Andy Griffith Show which was the back door pilot for Gomer Pyle USMC. Sign offs collectors would be interested to know that at the end of the tape was the KTTV11 sign off with the Los Angeles Police Band. What I found strange was that there was over an hour of audio only after sign off, all in Spanish, almost like a Spanish radio station simulcast on this channel on the overnight hours?

Tape 2---Over 4 hours from the Request PPV Movie Channel, first find from there I've ever seen, looks to be from February 1993 based on premiere date of movies advertised. There were 2 movies in full, Beethoven and Honey I Blew Up The Kids, with tons and trailers and promos and even a few behind the scenes specials for such films as Batman Returns, Beethoven, Boomerang, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Death Becomes Her, Raising Cain, Stay Tuned, and Single White Female. For some reason the taper did this in LP, so Boomerang was half lost to the end of the tape. Even at LP the tape quality was terrible, almost as if it was an EP copy from a rental. I wonder if the tape was reused many times or the record heads were dirty or the actual cable single was bad? I thought PPV channels actually had cleaner signals than this.
 
Even though many classic shows have been released onto video or are playing on some streaming service like Pluto or Hulu, there's nothing like the experience of finding any show when it was originally broadcast with the commercials intact, whether it was a mega hit or a show that didn't even last half a season. Here are my top ten:

1. Any network daytime game show (except for Drew Carey-era The Price Is Right and Wayne Brady Let's Make A Deal)
2. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
3. Any MLB, NBA, NHL, or NFL regular season broadcast (pre-1997 when scoreboards became consistent graphics)
4. Saturday Night Live
5. Any Saturday morning cartoon show/block pre-1997
6. American Bandstand
7. Jeopardy!
8. Entertainment Tonight
9. Oprah Winfrey (really, any talk show pre-1995 before Jerry Springer "trashed" the genre)
10. Wheel of Fortune

Just like musical genres/bands, the chance that you'll find a particular show will vary based on market. For example, you're much more likely to find TNN, NASCAR, or Christian religious programming in conservative-leaning markets than you will in large metros on the coasts, where MTV, MLB, or even foreign language programming is more common. I'm not surprised about the shortage of African-American programing your way, crainbebo since WA outside of the Puget Sound has a small black population. The only time I found any footage off BET was from a seller out of Long Island (and even that was 2000s stuff and not the rare 1980s/90s stuff that's so hard to find). Since that demo tends to be less affluent than the White/Asian demo on average, it usually means fewer VCRs and/or later adopters as well.

Speaking of WKRP in Cincinnati, I recently recorded a season 2 episode taken from a 1988 rerun off WITI, and this still had the original music intact, though the show was still edited down a couple minutes due to of course it being a syndie edit.

Jman8606, although OC game show broadcasts are gold since they provide ticket/audience plugs and USA/CBN/FAM reruns are silver, early GSN broadcasts (up until 1999) still leave the original consolation plugs and closing credits intact. A few of the ending bumpers, such as the Columbia Tristar "boxes of boredom" logos are plastered over on shows like Hot Potato, Wheel of Fortune, and Jeopardy!, but its just a minor issue.

For shows that were first run prior to the '80s before VCRs were common, I tend to prefer those earlier reruns as well since they're more likely to contain the original ending logos and are less likely to be censored/edited. Two season 1 episodes of Brady Bunch taken from 1990 syndie repeats that I've dubbed feature the original 1969 Paramount "Closet Killer" logo, with one of them having the 1987 Program Exchange tacked on as well. Later reruns would feature the 1995 Paramount logo plastered over, and this applies to other shows like Cheers, Family Ties, and Star Trek: TOS. It seems like Columbia/Sony shows are the most difficult to find with their original logos intact, as pretty much every logo since the 1976 Sunburst has been used to plaster over earlier logos like the Screen Gems "S From Hell" and the 1974 CPT "Pretzel". But finding that 1982 Coca-Cola "Torch Lady" on an episode of Bewitched beats finding those Boxes of Boredom or the 2002 Sony Pictures Television logos.
 
pannoni1 said:
Even though many classic shows have been released onto video or are playing on some streaming service like Pluto or Hulu, there's nothing like the experience of finding any show when it was originally broadcast with the commercials intact, whether it was a mega hit or a show that didn't even last half a season. Here are my top ten:

1. Any network daytime game show (except for Drew Carey-era The Price Is Right and Wayne Brady Let's Make A Deal)
2. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
3. Any MLB, NBA, NHL, or NFL regular season broadcast (pre-1997 when scoreboards became consistent graphics)
4. Saturday Night Live
5. Any Saturday morning cartoon show/block pre-1997
6. American Bandstand
7. Jeopardy!
8. Entertainment Tonight
9. Oprah Winfrey (really, any talk show pre-1995 before Jerry Springer "trashed" the genre)
10. Wheel of Fortune

Just like musical genres/bands, the chance that you'll find a particular show will vary based on market. For example, you're much more likely to find TNN, NASCAR, or Christian religious programming in conservative-leaning markets than you will in large metros on the coasts, where MTV, MLB, or even foreign language programming is more common. I'm not surprised about the shortage of African-American programing your way, crainbebo since WA outside of the Puget Sound has a small black population. The only time I found any footage off BET was from a seller out of Long Island (and even that was 2000s stuff and not the rare 1980s/90s stuff that's so hard to find). Since that demo tends to be less affluent than the White/Asian demo on average, it usually means fewer VCRs and/or later adopters as well.

Speaking of WKRP in Cincinnati, I recently recorded a season 2 episode taken from a 1988 rerun off WITI, and this still had the original music intact, though the show was still edited down a couple minutes due to of course it being a syndie edit.

Jman8606, although OC game show broadcasts are gold since they provide ticket/audience plugs and USA/CBN/FAM reruns are silver, early GSN broadcasts (up until 1999) still leave the original consolation plugs and closing credits intact. A few of the ending bumpers, such as the Columbia Tristar "boxes of boredom" logos are plastered over on shows like Hot Potato, Wheel of Fortune, and Jeopardy!, but its just a minor issue.

For shows that were first run prior to the '80s before VCRs were common, I tend to prefer those earlier reruns as well since they're more likely to contain the original ending logos and are less likely to be censored/edited. Two season 1 episodes of Brady Bunch taken from 1990 syndie repeats that I've dubbed feature the original 1969 Paramount "Closet Killer" logo, with one of them having the 1987 Program Exchange tacked on as well. Later reruns would feature the 1995 Paramount logo plastered over, and this applies to other shows like Cheers, Family Ties, and Star Trek: TOS. It seems like Columbia/Sony shows are the most difficult to find with their original logos intact, as pretty much every logo since the 1976 Sunburst has been used to plaster over earlier logos like the Screen Gems "S From Hell" and the 1974 CPT "Pretzel". But finding that 1982 Coca-Cola "Torch Lady" on an episode of Bewitched beats finding those Boxes of Boredom or the 2002 Sony Pictures Television logos.
Click to expand...

GSN started doing that actually around late 1998. I remember visiting my grandmother for Christmas and they started doing it on $100k Pyramid, Wheel, and TJW.

P.S would love to see the commercials from that KRP episode
 
Yakima's black population is less than 2%, and Hispanic population is 45%. But in the '70s this was not the case...African Americans were the minority in town and mostly lived on the east side near downtown. That is now 80%+ Hispanic. Like you, I also look for classic SNL and have found a few excellent finds, including a 1989 broadcast with Bruce Willis, and a 1980 clip with Aretha Franklin.
Chandler...KTTV was still going off at night in the early '90s? This is strange because I thought they were 24/7 by then. Must have been a maintenance period. Also, the end of the Request TV recording may have looked terrible because the PPV channel scrambled at the end of the viewing period.
 
My Top 10:

1. Star Search (we can officially scratch that off the list thanks to Pannoni)
2. Rare Syndicated reruns of The New Leave it to Beaver
3. First Run Movies from 80s-90s with commercials from Boston.
 
Only one tape (plus one dud) found at the Waterville Community Yard Sale today. Waterville WA is about 1 hr, 45 min away from Ellensburg, above Orondo and Entiat. The tape, found at the local thrift store, has parts 8 and 9 of The Civil War, the behind-the-scenes featurette, and an episode of Frontline taped off KCTS/PBS sometime in April 1992 with pledge breaks featuring the late George Ray. MGM T-120.

I did find a lot more than just VHS tapes. I made some awesome finds regardless of the lack of tapes at the sales. There were over 40 homes that participated. Non-tape finds include...a cool Avon decanter shaped like a $100 bill - 'dollars 'n scents after-shave lotion'. Avon was known for producing very cool decanters by catalog and by contacting local representatives. My grandmother still collects them and has dozens in her collection. I also have a bunch...
In addition, I found an ice scraper that also has a built-in winter sleeve for your hand as you scrap ice off the car. Neat find, especially for next winter! And I found a 1925 Good Housekeeping magazine in relatively good condition, a vintage Certo Pectin bottle, and another CWU Wild Boar Dinner collectible glass, this time from 1987 (I already have a 1985 glass bought at another estate sale).
 
Recent finds from the last couple of weeks...

Estate sale #1--Wadsworth, OH
TAPE 1: Three episodes of Insomniac with Dave Attell, Insomniac Seasons One and Two Clip Show Special and another episode of Insomniac taped from Comedy Central on December 31, 2002-January 1, 2003 with commercials; original broadcast of an episode of Insomniac taped from Comedy Central on 1/1/2003 minus commercials; partial episode of Insomniac taped from Comedy Central in January 2003 minus most commercials, but does include a promo for an upcoming episode filmed in Cleveland! Sony T-120.


Estate sale #2--Wadsworth, OH--11 keepers out of 13 tapes picked up, a few others were left behind, labels on those hinted toward family home video footage
TAPE 2: Partial broadcast of PM Magazine taped from WJKW on 12/14/1984 minus commercials; partial episode of Agri Country taped from WAKC on 7/6/1991 with commercials; home video of a Smith's Dairy Company gathering. RCA VK-250 T-120.

TAPE 3: Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris (1992 CBS made-for-TV movie) taped from WJW on 1/30/1994 with commercials; Regarding Henry (1991) taped from WKYC (NBC Sunday Night Movie) on 2/6/1994 with commercials; first few minutes of Christy (the movie that started the CBS series) taped from WJW on 4/3/1994. Kodak T-120.

TAPE 4: 1989 Iditarod Sled Dog Race taped from WEWS on 3/26/1989 minus most commercials; partial pilot episode of Aaron's Way taped from WKYC on 3/9/1988 with commercials; episodes of Aaron's Way and Highway to Heaven taped from WKYC on 3/16/1988 with commercials, the latter program is interrupted by an NBC News Special Report. Fuji T-120.

TAPE 5: Partial broadcast of part one of Anne of Green Gables taped from WVIZ on 3/13/1992; partial broadcast of the 1992 Iditarod Sled Dog Race taped from WEWS on 3/14/1992 with a few commercials; partial episode of The Lawrence Welk Show taped from WVIZ on 3/14/1992; part two of Anne of Green Gables taped from WVIZ on 3/14/1992, one pledge break is included; part three of Anne of Green Gables taped from WVIZ in March 1992 with pledge breaks. Kodak T-120.

TAPE 6: Episode of Second Noah taped from WEWS on 4/8/1996 with commercials; tape then reverts to blank picture (static) accompanied by distorted audio from WZIP 88.1 (University of Akron radio station) circa 1995 for about 15 minutes or so. My Shazam app was unable to identify some of the songs played due to the distorted audio, but "Funny How Time Flies (While You're Having Fun)" by Janet Jackson and "Red Light Special" by TLC were two of the songs that were heard--strange find. RCA T-120.

TAPE 7: Home video of a gathering of people viewing the solar eclipse of 6/30/1992; partial episode of Cops taped from WUAB in July 1994 with commercials; partial broadcast of Good Morning America on location in Alaska taped from WAKC on 5/18/1994 with commercials (during the 8AM hour, so WEWS up north was airing The Morning Exchange at that time); episode of Nature (Kingdom of the Ice Bear) taped from WVIZ sometime in 1994, one partial promo block is included; video of a Wadsworth High School choir concert taped from a public access channel (Wadsworth Cable, I'm guessing?) circa 1994; partial episode of Home Improvement taped from WEWS on 3/16/1994 with commercials; partial broadcast of Day One and partial broadcast of Spenser: Ceremony (1993 ABC made-for-TV movie) taped from WEWS on 3/14/1994 with commercials. Kodak T-120.

TAPE 8: Part four of Anne of Green Gables taped from WVIZ in March 1992 with pledge breaks; Perlman in Russia taped from WVIZ in March 1992 with pledge breaks; partial broadcast of Horowitz in Moscow taped from WVIZ in March 1992 with pledge breaks; partial episode of Wheel of Fortune and episode of Jeopardy taped from WEWS on 3/26/1992 with commercials. Kodak T-120.

TAPE 9: O Pioneers (CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie) taped from WJW on 2/2/1992 with commercials; clip from Newscenter 8 at 6:00 (during John O'Day's Money Matters report) taped from WJW on 2/3/1992; partial broadcast of ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings and episodes of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy taped from WEWS on 2/3/1992 with commercials; last segment of News Channel 5 at 6:00 and most of ABC World News Tonight taped from WEWS on 2/4/1992 with commercials; episodes of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy taped from WEWS on 2/4/1992 with commercials; partial broadcast of ABC World News Tonight and episodes of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy taped from WEWS on 2/5/1992 with commercials; partial broadcast of ABC World News Tonight and partial episode of Wheel of Fortune taped from WEWS on 2/6/1992 with commercials. Kodak T-120.

TAPE 10: Partial broadcast of Today in Cleveland taped from WKYC on 10/21/1992 with a few commercials; partial broadcast of Today in Cleveland (Del Donahoo and Tom Haley broadcast live from the Geauga County Fair) taped from WKYC in August 1994 minus commercials; partial broadcast of Today in Cleveland taped from WKYC on 10/4/1994 with a few commercials; partial broadcast of Today in Cleveland taped from WKYC on 10/5/1994 minus commercials; partial episode of Quilting for the '90s and episode of Sew Many Quilts taped from WNEO/WEAO in February 1995 with promos; partial broadcast of Newscenter 8 at 10:00 taped from WJW on 2/22/1995 with commercials; partial broadcast of Newscenter 8 at 10:00 taped from WJW on 2/23/1995 with commercials; partial broadcast of Newscenter 8 at 10:00 taped from WJW on 2/24/1995 with commercials; partial broadcast of The Morning Exchange (discussion on educating children with ADHD) taped from WEWS on 4/26/1995 with commercials; partial episode of Jeopardy, My So-Called Life, Matlock and partial broadcast of Prime Time Live taped from WEWS on 10/20/1994 with commercials. Memorex T-120.

TAPE 11: The Yearling (CBS Kraft General Foods Premier Movie), Newscenter 8 at 11:00, Siskel & Ebert and the Movies, Home Videos of the Stars, Inside Edition Weekend, Court TV: Inside America's Courts, CBS Sunday Night News with Bill Plante, rebroadcast of Newscenter 8 at 11:00 (this one had the weather and sports segments omitted), Personal Power with Anthony Robbins infomercial and partial broadcast of CBS News Up to the Minute taped from WJW on April 24-25, 1994 with commercials. Kodak T-120.

One tape I didn't pick up from the box I found these in had a Medina Chorus concert from 1989, footage that was edited together by a local company called Weygandt Video Productions. Would have been interesting to see that since I once sang in the Medina Chorus myself--in much more recent years, of course.


Will continue in another post because apparently there's a 10,000 character limit.
 
Garage sale--Medina, OH--six keepers out of 12 tapes picked up, left behind one tape of Garth Brooks Live from Central Park on HBO (already have it) and a couple of other recorded tapes that had some mold
TAPE 12: Partial broadcast of Entertainment Tonight and Garth Brooks: Ireland and Back (NBC special) taped from WKYC on 3/4/1998 with commercials; partial episode of Dawson's Creek taped from WBNX on 3/10/1998 with commercials. Sony T-160.

TAPE 13: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) taped from the Movie Channel circa 1984, starts with a partial Feature Presentation intro and ends with a promo for the next movie. Scotch T-120.

TAPE 14: This one I won't be keeping, but managed to salvage the YouTube-worthy content from--Starts with part of Game 1 of the 1995 NHL Eastern Conference Finals taped from ESPN on 6/3/1995 minus most commercials, has a couple of instances of channel surfing with the original owner briefly flipping over to Bob Vila's Home Again on A&E and Cops on WJW; then the tape cuts to a smattering of clips from some softcore porno movies taped from Playboy TV, including a promo intershow (Jenny McCarthy is featured in a couple of the clips); then the tape reverts back to more of the Stanley Cup Playoff game, although the rest of the game is not complete; partial broadcast of Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) taped from the Movie Channel circa 1986; episode of The Cosby Show taped from WKYC on 1/23/1986 with commercials; Star Wars (1977) taped from Showtime circa 1986; partial episode of All My Children taped from WEWS in November 1985 with commercials. Scotch T-120.

TAPE 15: Barbra Streisand: One Voice taped from HBO in 1986; Carly Simon in Concert: Coming Around Again taped from HBO on 8/10/1987 with promos; Barbra: The Concert taped from HBO on 8/21/1994 (already have this on another tape); partial broadcast of The Quiet Man (1952) taped from SuperStation WTBS in March 1987; partial episode of Hill Street Blues taped from WKYC on 3/10/1987 with commercials; partial broadcast of Who Is Julia? (CBS made-for-TV movie) taped from WJW on 10/26/1986 with commercials. Panasonic T-120.

TAPE 16: Partial broadcast of Entertainment Tonight and This Is Garth Brooks Too (NBC special) taped from WKYC on 5/6/1994 with commercials; partial broadcast of Garth Brooks: The Hits: Live from Texas Stadium (already have this) taped from WKYC on 1/18/1995 with a few commercials (second generation recording); most of Garth Brooks: Tryin' to Rope the World (NBC special) taped from WKYC on 12/13/1995 with commercials (already have this, and this might also be a second generation recording); music video of "The Red Strokes" by Garth Brooks taped from TNN circa 1996(?); episode of Muppets Tonight (guest starring Garth Brooks) taped from WEWS on 3/15/1996 with commercials; partial broadcast of This Is Garth Brooks (NBC special replayed on PBS) taped from WVIZ circa 1995. Maxell T-120.

TAPE 17: Diana Ross: For One and for All (syndicated concert special) and start of Eyewitness News at 11:00 taped from WEWS in February 1985 with commercials (aired in prime time, so it preempted a couple of ABC programs that night). Scotch T-120.


Two more "donations" from my mom's friend who has been sending me tapes from his collection:
TAPE 18: Danger Signal (1945) taped from TCM sometime in 2005 with promos; partial broadcast of A Letter to Three Wives (1949) taped from AMC in March 1990 with promos. Kodak T-120.

TAPE 19: Shadow on the Wall (1950) taped from TCM on 6/27/2000 with promos; partial broadcast of The Towering Inferno (1974) taped from Cinemax in July 1989 with promos. JVC T-120.
 
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Great finds on tape #9! Always fun to find old Wheel and Jeopardy! episodes on tape. Tape 11 isn't bad either, with a rare weekend show ('Home Videos of the Stars') that only ran one season, a rare recording of the CBS Sunday Night News, and Siskel & Ebert. And as for the Christy movie, I have the KIMA broadcast on tape, along with Mrs. Arris Goes to Paris, from the 12/27/92 original broadcast.
 
I've just finished hunting the Ishperming lot. Lots of great finds with 37 out of 40 being keepers (one of them was just an unused blank and two others were discarded unfortunately due to tape wear). Still, a great mix of Marquette and Green Bay/Appleton content, mostly from 1991, but quite a few tapes recorded from 1988-1990, and even a tape recorded in 1986. It appears that the users liked to tape over a ton, and many of the Post-It notes indicate dates/shows that were wiped off, with the items appearing toward the bottom tending to be what was actually on the tape. And best off, with just a couple lone exceptions, all contain commercials or pledge breaks when found. All OTA with the exception of one tape recorded off HBO. A nice mix of daytime soaps/talk shows , TV movies, a few specials, primetime stuff, some news programs, and even a game show episode from a show that hasn't been rerun anywhere since 1995!

TAPE 1: Four consecutive episodes of Sally Jessy Raphael from 10/1-10/4/1991 off WLUK, followed by a partial episode of The Peoples Court off WLUK from summer 1991.

TAPE 2: An NBC Sunday Night At The Movies double feature presentation of "Where Pigeons Go To Die" and the world premiere presentation of "In The Line of Duty: A Cop For the Killing" off WLUK on 11/25/1990, followed by a partial episode of Oprah Winfrey off WLUC from August 1990.

TAPE 3: Sally Jessy Raphael and The Joan Rivers Show off WLUK on 11/3/1989, followed by most of General Hospital off WIMN/ABC from the same day, then it cuts back for most of Oprah Winfrey off WLUC on 11/3/1989.

TAPE 4: The last 20 minutes of Sally as well as most of the premiere of I'll Fly Away off WLUK/NBC on 10/7/1991, followed by the last 40 minutes of Donahue from October 1991. The tape quality was barely satisfactory with the beginning of the tape snapping while playing, forcing me to manually open the tape and then rolling it back and screwing it again, meaning that this tape won't be sold once its been dubbed.

TAPE 5: The Young & The Restless and The People's Court off WLUK on 7/23/1991, followed by a partial episode of Oprah from July 1991 off WLUK along with the first several minutes of the WLUK 5 PM News, then it cuts to the last 25 minutes or so of Windmills of the Gods on 7/2/1991 off WLUK/NBC, then continues with Hard Copy off WLUC on 6/11/911, then wraps up with an episode of Sally from June 1991 off WLUK.

TAPE 6: About 3/4 of NBC Sportsworld: Ali vs. Frazier- the Greatest Fights Ever off WLUK/NBC on 8/4/1991, followed a full and partial episode of Donahue from August 1991 off WLUK, including an EBS test.

TAPE 7: Episodes of Sally, The People's Court, and The Young & The Restless off WLUK on 10/21/1991, then cuts back to about 3/4 of Geraldo and about half of Donahue off WFRV and WLUK respective from March 1990.

TAPE 8: Episodes of Sally, The People's Court, and Y&R off WLUK on 2/1/1991, then a syndicated rerun of Highway to Heaven off WLUK circa August 1990, then wraps up with about half of Donahue off WLUC circa August 1990

TAPE 9: Most of Brooklyn Bridge and the first 3/4ths of the CBS Sunday Movie "Stranger At My Door" off WLUC on 9/27/1991, followed by about 2/3 of Oprah, The People's Court, most of Roseanne, and about half of the premiere of Homefront off WLUK and WJMN.

TAPE 10: Y&R off WLUC on 10/4/1991, followed by the last 2/3 of Donahue and most of Y&R from September 1991 (The video quality on Y&R is barely watchable unfortunately), then cuts back to a short clip of Jeopardy from 9/26/1991.

TAPE 11: 60 Minutes and most of Sunday Dinner off WLUC/CBS on 6/23/1991, followed by a classic episode of All In The Family off the same station on 9/13/1991, surprisingly since another classic episode of AITF followed that short-lived, six episode sitcom that turned out to be the biggest bomb of Norman Lear's career.

TAPE 12: Begins with short clip of WLUC News circa March 1991, then cuts to most of the World Class Dance roller skating championships, a rerun of SCTV from the Cinemax season in 1984, as well as the first several minutes of the MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour off WNMU/PBS on 11/17/1986, followed by last ten minutes of Guiding Light and most of Donahue off WLUC/CBS circa November 1986.

TAPE 13: Episodes of 60 Minutes and Murder, She Wrote off WLUC/CBS on 9/29/1991, followed by episodes of Sally and Donahue off WLUK from September 1991

TAPE 14: Most of Sally from 9/19/1991 off WLUK, then most of the TGIF Comedy Preview special off WJMN/ABC on 9/13/1991, followed by most of Days of Our Lives, Another World, and the first third or so of Santa Barbara off WLUK/NBC on 8/31/1991.

TAPE 15: Episodes of America's Funniest Home Videos and America's Funniest People off WJMN/ABC on 9/29/1991, followed by much of the NBC Sunday Movie "And Then She Was Gone" (missing approximately the first 15 minutes), then another Sally off WLUK on 9/30/1991, followed by about half of P.S. I Luv U off 9/28/1991 off WLUC/CBS.

TAPE 16: My only tape recorded off cable, this tape begins with Cocoon (1985) recorded off HBO on 1/24/1988, with promos and he first ten minutes of Fraggle Rock after the movie, followed by a vintage B&W film off AMC circa February 1988 with a long promo break (over 20 minutes) following the movie

TAPE 17: Starts with nearly half of Austin City Limits (featuring Randy Travis) recorded off WNMU circa 1989, then cuts over to most of America's Funniest Home Videos: An Inside Look off WJMN/ABC on 9/12/1990, then cuts back to about the last five minutes of that same ACL episode, then over three hours of 1988 daytime gold follows! It begins with the last few minutes of Donahue and then the first ten minutes or so of Family Feud circa August 1988 off WLUK, then cuts to about 3/4 of Sally, a little more than half of a Gimme A Break syndie rerun, Scrabble, the first 1/3 of Days of our Lives, Guiding Light, and about the first 20 minutes of Oprah Winfrey off WLUK on 8/31/1988 (yes, I got Rick Rolled here with a local music chain offering a CD of you know who!)

TAPE 18: Ice Capades with Peter Scolar: 20th Anniversary and ABC News Primetime Live off WJMN on 12/27/1990, followed by about 2/3 of Geraldo circa February 1990, then wraps up with a portion of Frontline as well as a few promos off WNMU circa February 1990

TAPE 19: A rerun of a season 1 episode of AFHV with no commercials, followed by an episode of Tim Conway's Funny America from summer 1990 off presumably WJMN/NBC without commercials, then cuts to most of the premiere of Small Talk and a Candid Camera special off WLUC/CBS on 5/4/1990 with commercials, followed by most of AFHV from 5/6/1990 w/ads, then finishing up with the last few minutes of Donahue, The People's Court, and part of Anything For Laughs off WLUK on 4/27/1990 w/commercials.

TAPE 20: Live From Lincoln Center and Innovation with Jim Hortz off WNMU on 7/10/1991 w/pledge breaks, then cuts to most of a rerun of the NBC Monday Movie "False Witness" on 6/3/1991 off WLUK, then about the last half of Oprah from May 1991 off WLUC.
 
TAPE 21: Begins with episodes of Sally and Y&R off WLUK on 10/8/1991 with commercials, but the tracking/wear was too poor to make it worth recording, then the quality improves with most of another episode of Sally along with Donahue off WLUK on 8/16/1991.

TAPE 22: Starts with most of a Mormon Tabernacle Choir special off WNMU/PBS from December 1990 with promos after the presentation, followed by the last few minutes of Empty Nest, Carol & Company, and American Dreamer off WLUK/NBC on 12/1/1990, then jumps to most of The Young & The Restless and Guiding Light off WLUC/CBS on 9/4/1990.

TAPE 23: Starts with most of an episode of Hard Copy circa Fall 1991 off WLUC, then continues with most of an episode of Jeopardy! from June 1991 off WLUC (not in the J! Archive as of this post). This was an unusual tape in that the box is marked as an L-750, but the total length of the reel looks to be about a L-165, meaning that the case/reel was likely replaced at one point.

TAPE 24: About 90 minutes of an NBC News Special Report on the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill hearings from October 1991 with a commercial break. A bit disappointing in that about 2/3 of the tape was blank here, and we even get to hear from you know who.

TAPE 25: Begins with A Peter, Paul & Mary Holiday Concert off WNMU/PBS from December 1989 with pledge breaks and promos, followed by most of The Young & The Restless, Geraldo, and about ten minutes of the NBC Nightly News off WLUC and WLUK from 12/5/1989, then it cuts back o about the last 15 minutes of Guiding Light and about the first 15 minutes of Oprah off WLUC from summer 1989.

TAPE 26: Starts with the holiday specials "For the Night of Christmas" and "The Serendipity Singers: Christmas In Europe" off WNMU/PBS from December 1989 with promos and a sign-off, then after about 15 minutes of static, jumps back to about half of Geraldo and 3/4ths of Y&R off WLUC/CBS on 12/21/1989, then finishes up with about the last 15 minutes of The Joan Rivers Show from December 1989 off WLUC.

TAPE 27: Starts with six episodes of the British series Mother and Sun off WNMU with no promos, then cuts to about the last hour of Game 5 of the ALCS between the Twins and Blue Jays off WLUC/CBS on 10/13/1991 with commercials, then cuts to about the last quarter of Donahue and the first 20 minutes of The People's Court off WLUC circa spring 1991.

TAPE 28: Starts with the NBC Monday Movie "Wild Texas Wind" off WLUK on 9/23/1991, then jumps to Reasonable Doubts, the WLUK late news, and The Tonight Show (Jay Leno guest host) off WLUK/NBC on 9/27/1991.

TAPE 29: Starts with the special Treasure At The South Pole and most of Expose off NBC/WLUKE on 7/21/1991, then continues with a rerun of a portion the 1988 miniseries "The Murder of Mary Phageon", with an episode of Star Search taped over part of the movie. Unfortunately, I've already got that same episode of Star Search from April 1991 that I discovered in that Yardley, PA lot full of Pittsburgh content back in 2019.

TAPE 30: Kicks off with the CBS Sunday Movie "Guilty Until Proven Innocent" off WLUC on 9/22/1991, then cuts over to about three-fourths of a rerun of the 1990 miniseries "Blind Faith", the second part off WLUC/NBC on 9/9/1991, then cuts to about the last half of the WLUC 10 PM News and about the first 20 minutes of the Crimetime After Primetime presentation of Fly By Night from 6/6/1991.

TAPE 31: Starts with the first episode of The Search For Mind with George Lage off WNMU/PBS from circa fall 1991, followed by another rerun from the 1988 NBC miniseries "The Mind Murder of Mary Phageon, part 2" off WLUK on 7/22/1991, then part of "Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love" off WLUC/CBS on 5/17/1991 (approximately the last half).

TAPE 32: This nearly complete primetime block off WJMN/ABC from 10/3/1991 starts with Gabriel's Fire: Pros & Cons, followed by FBI: The Untold Stories, American Detective, and about 3/4ths of Primetime Live, including an interview with Fred Savage. The tape then ends with most of 20/20 from the following night, but the quality is unwatchable at times due to wear.

TAPE 33: Most of the NBC Monday Movie "On Thin Ice: he Tai Babilonia Story" off WLUK on 11/5/1990, then continues with about half an hour of Ken Burns "The Civil War" off WNMU/PBS with some promos after the installment, continuing on with most of A World Of Ideas with BIll Moyers, before cutting over for Guiding Light and about three-fourths of Oprah off WLUC on on 9/25/1990.

TAPE 34: Starts with the last half of Unsolved Mysteries off NBC/WLUK on 1/10/1990, followed by the 1990 edition of Championship Ballroom Dancing off WNMU/PBS in January 1990 with a few promos (I've already got this off KCET), then it cuts back for episodes of Y&R, Geraldo (a rerun from 1988), and about the first 20 minutes of Donahue off WLUC/CBS on 1/4/1990.

TAPE 35: Another L-165 disguised as an L-750, this tape with marginal video quality features a nearly full episode of Donahue and the first couple minutes of The People's Court off WLUK circa September 1990

TAPE 36: Begins with most of the I Love Lucy Christmas special and about half of Murphy Brown off WLUC/CBS on 12/10/1990, then continues with Kenny Rogers in Concert off WNMU/PBS circa December 1990 with some promo breaks, then continues with part of the CBS Schoolbreak Special off WLUC/CBS in December 1990 along with Coach and the first 15 minutes of thirtysomething off WJMN/ABC from 12/4/1990, then finishes up with about 20 minutes of Oprah from August 1990.

TAPE 37: "The People Across the Lake", the NBC Monday Night Movie off WLUK on 10/3/1988 (the first night following the Seoul Olympics), followed by the premiere of the short-lived newsmagazine High Risk off WLUC/CBS on 10/4/1988, then cuts to about half of a WLUC newscast from circa August 1988, then jumps to about half of Oprah from 7/25/1988 off WLUC (including a generic Donahue promo that features the pre-1976 logo!), then finishes up with about the last 20 minutes of 48 Hours from 10/4/1988.

It appears that WLUC was primarily a CBS station first despite officially being designated as sharing affiliation with NBC, and I've received some translator bumpers for WLUK and WJMN which explains their coverage to serve such a small market like you see more of west of the Mississippi.

Scott, nice job on the Wheel/Jeopardy! finds. Season 9 Wheel (1991-92) is an especially difficult season to find since it was never run on GSN and it was before a certain person recorded almost every episode nightly beginning with Season 14. A couple of those Jeopardy! episodes aren't in the Archive, and one of them is incomplete.

Well, I just missed out on a Craigslist lot that featured 50 free blank VHS tapes due to someone beating me out, despite the listing appearing just two days beforehand. At least the tape stock didn't look too old from the photos, but there's always more, and there are quite a few yard sales this weekend!
 
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Some good small-town TV finds here. Wish you could have found some more local newscasts from WJMN and WLUC, but such is the hobby. Great find on the 1988 Scrabble episode and the soaps and talk shows.
 


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