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Oldest Extant Off-Air VHS/Beta Tape You Have

Next here are the tapes from the Akron estate sale I mentioned earlier. I picked these up in two different visits in two days. Tapes were found in the basement of the house and in a bedroom.

Day 1--tapes from the basement, ended up leaving some behind, some unlabeled, most without cases
TAPE 1: Dateline NBC taped from WKYC on 6/13/2003 with commercials; The Private Lives of Pompeii and partial episode of Third Watch taped from A&E on 6/13/2003 with commercials; The Agency taped from WOIO on 6/14/2003 with commercials; partial episode of Nash Bridges taped from USA on 3/13/2003 with commercials; partial broadcast of Dateline NBC taped from WKYC on 1/24/2003 with commercials; first few minutes of 20/20 taped from WEWS on 1/24/2003. RCA T-120.

TAPE 2: ABC Sunday Night Movie presentation of Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) taped from WEWS on 3/14/1983 with commercials; partial episode of General Hospital taped from WEWS on 3/15/1983 with commercials; partial broadcast of 20/20 taped from WEWS on 3/17/1983 with commercials; clip from That's Incredible taped from WEWS circa 1983; partial Channel 43 Prize Movie presentation of Out of the Past (1947), The Little Rascals and Laurel and Hardy Laughtoons taped from WUAB on 3/15/1983 with commercials. Scotch T-120.

TAPE 3: NCIS (both parts of "Kill Ari"), 48 Hours Mystery ("The Mystery of Christmas"), 19 Action News at 11 and Late Show with David Letterman taped from WOIO on December 20-21, 2005 with commercials; partial episode of Ghost Whisperer taped from WOIO on 10/27/2005 with commercials; partial broadcast of Late Show with David Letterman taped from WOIO on October 28-29, 2005 with commercials. RCA T-120.

TAPE 4: Most of Dateline NBC and first few minutes of Channel 3 News at 11 taped from WKYC on 6/22/1998 with commercials; Dateline NBC and start of Channel 3 News at 11 taped from WKYC on 6/23/1998 with commercials; Prime Time Live and start of News Channel 5 at Eleven taped from WEWS on 6/24/1998 with commercials; partial Movie 5 presentation of Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam (1987 NBC made-for-TV movie) and first few minutes of News Channel 5 at Eleven taped from WEWS on 6/25/1998 with commercials (my guess is they intended to record ABC News Thursday Night and didn't know it would be preempted by the movie for some unknown reason); 20/20 and start of News Channel 5 at Eleven taped from WEWS on 6/26/1998 with commercials; TV Censored Bloopers '98 and partial broadcast of Dateline NBC taped from WKYC on 6/28/1998 with commercials, interrupted three times by severe weather bulletins (tornado warnings). Scotch T-120.

TAPE 5: Partial broadcast of Late Show with David Letterman taped from WOIO on 2/20/2006 with commercials, rough quality; partial broadcast of 60 Minutes taped from WOIO on 3/12/2006 with commercials, rough quality; Criminal Minds taped from WOIO on 6/27/2007 with commercials; partial broadcast of Taste of Chicago: 2007 Fireworks Spectacular (MyNetworkTV special) and partial broadcast of 19 Action News at 10 taped from WUAB on 7/4/2007 with commercials; Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis (NBC concert special), Channel 3 News at Eleven and first few minutes of Saturday Night Live taped from WKYC on 7/7/2007 with commercials. RCA T-120.

TAPE 6: The Bachelor: After the Final Rose taped from WEWS on 5/22/2007 with commercials; Criminal Minds taped from WOIO on 6/13/2007 with commercials; The Next Best Thing, American Inventor, Traveler and start of News Channel 5 on the Nightbeat taped from WEWS on 6/20/2007 with commercials; Deadliest Catch: Behind the Scenes and partial episode of Dirty Jobs (incidentally, Mike Rowe also narrated the Deadliest Catch special) taped from the Discovery Channel on 6/23/2007 with commercials; few minutes of a broadcast of 60 Minutes taped from WOIO on 11/20/2005 (partial feature on U2). RCA T-120.

TAPE 7: The King of Queens and Yes Dear taped from WOIO on 5/6/2002 with commercials. RCA T-120.

TAPE 8: Nova taped from WVIZ in December 2003 with promos; The Most Outrageous Live TV Moments taped from WKYC on 12/31/2003 with commercials; Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve, News Channel 5 at 11 and partial broadcast of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve (ran from 11:30 PM to 2AM, recording stopped around 1:30 AM) taped from WEWS on 12/31/2003-1/1/2004 with commercials; partial broadcast of Ice Wars: North America vs. the World taped from WOIO on 11/29/2003 with commercials. RCA T-120.

TAPE 9: Two episodes of Real TV taped from TNN in November 2002 with commercials; two more episodes of Real TV and partial episode of Miami Vice taped from TNN in November 2002 with commercials; three episodes of Real TV taped from TNN on 12/22/2002 with commercials; one partial episode and three full episodes of Real TV taped from TNN on 12/23/2002 with commercials; clip from a broadcast of Action News at 11 taped from WOIO in December 2002; partial episode of Magnum P.I. taped from A&E in November 2002 with commercials; partial episode of Dr. Phil ("More Controlling People") taped from WKYC on 11/11/2002 with commercials. RCA T-120.

TAPE 10: City Club of Cleveland Forum taped from WVIZ circa 1990; The Best of National Geographic taped from WVIZ circa 1990; most of Marriage in the '90s (local special hosted by Cleveland radio personality Ted Lux) taped from WVIZ circa 1990. Scotch T-120.

TAPE 11: The World's Most Shocking Moments Caught on Tape, WGN News at Nine and Funniest Pets & People taped from Superstation WGN on 2/2/2007 with commercials; end of When Good Pets Go Bad 2, The World's Most Shocking Moments Caught on Tape, The World's Most Shocking Moments Caught on Tape 2 and The World's Most Shocking Moments Caught on Tape 3 (again) and partial episode of CSI: NY taped from Spike TV 2/3/2007 with commercials; partial broadcast of 60 Minutes taped from WOIO on 11/13/2005 with commercials. RCA T-120.

TAPE 12: Partial episode of JAG and partial episode of The Guardian taped from WOIO on 4/2/2002 with commercials; Hudson Heritage Association and Visit Landsberg: Hudson's Sister City taped from Hudson Cable TV (public access) on 3/29/2002, community bulletin board runs in between programs accompanied by '50s and '60s music (not from a local radio station); partial broadcast of the 74th Annual Academy Awards and first few minutes of News Channel 5 at 11 taped from WEWS on March 24-25, 2002 with commercials; partial broadcast of 60 Minutes II taped from WOIO on 12/19/2001 with commercials. RCA T-120.

TAPE 13: 60 Minutes 35th Anniversary Special and part one of Hitler: The Rise of Evil (CBS miniseries) taped from WOIO on 5/18/2003 with commercials; Martha Inc.: The Story of Martha Stewart (NBC made-for-TV movie) taped from WKYC on 5/19/2003 with commercials. RCA T-120.

TAPE 14: Last Comic Standing taped from WKYC on 7/25/2007 and 8/1/2007 with commercials, the latter is interrupted by an NBC News Special Report on a bridge collapse in Minneapolis; partial episode of Wheel of Fortune and partial episode of Jeopardy taped from WEWS on 4/3/2007 with commercials; partial broadcast of 48 Hours Mystery ("Perfectly Executed," featuring former WOIO weekend news anchor Tiffany Burns) and partial broadcast of 19 Action News at 11 taped from WOIO on 9/15/2007 with commercials; partial episode of Jeopardy and Dancing with the Stars Performance Recap Show taped from WEWS on 4/10/2007 with commercials; partial episode of Wheel of Fortune taped from WEWS on 4/17/2007 with commercials; partial episode of Ellen (performance by Harry Connick Jr.) taped from WKYC in June 2004 with commercials (not the original broadcast). JVC T-120.
 
Day 2--tapes from the upstairs bedroom, a LOT there that I left behind, along with a bunch of recorded DVDs, mostly labeled "music," "music videos" and "NCIS," and I think I also saw one labeled "American Idol 2013"--one tape included local content from Washington D.C.
TAPE 15: The Magic of David Copperfield XV taped from WJW on 3/30/1993 with commercials; Dateline NBC taped from WKYC on 3/30/1993 with commercials; most of 20/20 and partial broadcast of News Channel 5 at 11:00 taped from WEWS on 4/2/1993 with commercials; 60 Minutes and Murder She Wrote taped from WJW on 4/4/1993 with commercials; Donahue (in vitro fertilization) and start of Channel 3 News at 6 taped from WKYC in March 1993 with commercials; partial episode of Donahue taped from WJW in December 1988 with commercials. Scotch T-120.

TAPE 16: Partial episode of The Benny Hill Show and start of Hee Haw taped from WUAB in January 1990 with commercials; partial episode of Unsolved Mysteries taped from WKYC on 1/24/1990 with commercials; partial episode of The Benny Hill Show taped from WUAB in January 1990 with commercials; Mark Russell Comedy Special taped from WVIZ in February 1990; two episodes of The Benny Hill Show taped from WUAB in February 1990 with commercials; partial broadcast of The Crazy World of Benny Hill (1988) taped from WUAB on 2/22/1990 with commercials; three more episodes of The Benny Hill Show taped from WUAB in February 1990 with commercials; partial broadcast of Late Night with David Letterman taped from WKYC on 10/6/1988 with commercials. Scotch T-120.

TAPE 17: End of Jeopardy (Celebrity Jeopardy with Jeff Probst, CCH Pounder and Joshua Malina), two episodes of America's Funniest Home Videos, 20/20 and partial broadcast of News Channel 5 at 11 taped from WEWS on 5/2/2003 with commercials; most of the Late Show with David Letterman taped from WOIO on May 2-3, 2003 with commercials; partial episode of World's Best taped from the Travel Channel in April 2003 with commercials; Nash Bridges taped from USA in February 2003 with commercials; partial episode of Dr. Phil ("Follow Ups") taped from WKYC on 3/31/2003 with commercials. RCA T-120.

TAPE 18: Biography taped from A&E on January 3, 4, 5 and 6, 1999 with commercials; partial episode of JAG and start of I'll Be Home for Christmas (not the Disney movie) taped from WOIO on 12/22/1998 with commercials; partial episode of Oprah (guest Jason Alexander) taped from WEWS on 4/23/1997 with commercials. Scotch Retaping T-120.

TAPE 19: Parts two through ten of Rock & Roll (PBS docuseries) taped from WETA on September 24-28, 1995 with promos, the first and last parts on the tape are incomplete. Sony T-160.

TAPE 20: Hunter taped from WUAB on 6/29/2003 with commercials; 60 Minutes taped from WOIO on 6/29/2003 with commercials; The Moody Blues at the Royal Albert Hall taped from WVIZ on 6/29/2003 with pledge breaks; JAG taped from WOIO on 7/1/2003 with commercials; Wimbledon Update and most of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno taped from WKYC on July 1-2, 2003 with commercials. RCA T-120.

TAPE 21: The Magic of David Copperfield XIII (not the original broadcast) taped from WJW on 6/24/1992 with commercials; Donahue (interview with the cast of A Different World) taped from WJW on 6/19/1992 with commercials; partial broadcast of Round 3 of the 92nd U.S. Open Championship taped from WEWS on 6/20/1992 with commercials; partial broadcast of Major League Baseball on CBS (San Diego Padres vs. San Francisco Giants) taped from WJW on 6/20/1992 with commercials; partial broadcast of Round 4 of the 92nd U.S. Open Championship taped from WEWS on 6/21/1992 with commercials; partial TV8 Sunday Matinee presentation of The Wilby Conspiracy (1975) taped from WJW on 6/21/1992 with commercials; partial episode of Oprah taped from WEWS on 6/22/1992 with commercials. JVC T-120.

TAPE 22: CSI two-hour season finale taped from WOIO on 5/19/2005 with commercials, copied from a DirecTV TiVo recording (incidentally, I spotted a DirecTV DVR in the basement of this house, but it wasn't a TiVo). RCA T-120.
 
I just checked a lot of 21 Beta tapes from an eBay seller from Ford, WA. If you don't know where that is (maybe crainbebo does), that's around 30 miles northwest of Spokane. With one exception that partially taped over what was found on one of the labels that came off of a Seattle station, all tapes were indeed recorded of Spokane stations. It was hit and miss regarding commercials and there were a few duds including a tape with a "Barbara Mandrell" label that ended up being bulk erased and another with a Gremlins/Ghostbusters label that would only played during rewinding and fast forwarding, the bulk of the tapes still delivered. A couple tapes were placed in the sell pile due to recordings I've already got, including day two of the 1986 Men's World Figure Skating Championships (I've got this off KDKA), the NBC Movie presentation of The Karate Kid off KHQ on 3/2/1987 (have this off KING), and the 1988 Ice Capades with Kirk Cameron special (got this off WTAE).

TAPE 1: Most of the 1984 Spokane Lilac Parade recorded off KHQ on 5/19/1984 with no commercials or close, followed by about the last hour of the Sound Of Music (1965) taped off presumably KHQ/NBC circa 1983 with no commercials. Even though the ads got scoped out by the Whammy, most of this parade can't be found online, so its worth keeping. Fuji L-750, BIII mode.

TAPE 2: Begins with about the last 20 minutes of a preview show on the Washington Centennial Summer Games taped off KHQ on 8/11/1989 with commercials, followed by the first seven minutes of the recap show of the following day's events of the same sports special taped off KHQ with a few commercials, then it cuts to most of the 1989 Miss Teen USA Pageant followed by the first several minutes of the KREM 11 PM News, recorded off KREM/CBS on 7/25/1989 with commercials (I've already got this pageant), then it cuts to about the last 35 minutes of Top Gun (1986) taped off KHQ/NBC on 5/8/1989 with commercials. Sonly L-750, BII mode

TAPE 3: Not a commercially recorded tape, but contains over two hours worth of Betacam personal footage from a vacation in various parts of the mountain northwest, including Yellowstone National Park and Custer Gallatin National Forest, recorded in February/March 1989. Since this was still the offseason and the region was snow covered, it was interesting to see the animals in action as well as some snowmobile footage. The beginning of a middle school basketball game rounds out the tape. Scotch L-750, BII mode.

TAPE 4: The 1985 Spokane Lilac Parade taped off KHQ on 5/18/1985 with commercials, and then ends with a partial intro of Jeopardy! which surprised me since this aired on a Saturday evening, and Jeopardy! didn't air weekend reruns until the following season. It was one of the Mike Day episodes which aired in April in most stations that carried it. Crainbebo found this special awhile back, but I'm not sure how much of this parade was included since this is a complete copy. Polaroid L-750, BIII mode.

TAPE 5: Men At Work (1990) and the first ten minutes of Pretty Women (1990) taped off The Movie Channel on 11/3/1991 with a 23-minute promo break between the movies. This was part of a free trial. Sony ES L-750, BIII mode

TAPE 6: Begins with about two hours worth of family movies, including middle school basketball games, a middle school graduation ceremony, and a portion of the 1989 Spokane Lilac Parade (not from the KHQ broadcast), then it cuts to about the last eight minutes of part one of The Women Of Brewster Place, then continues with about the first hour of part two of The Women Of Brewster Place, recorded off KXLY/ABC on 3/19-20/89 with commercials. Sony L-750, BIII mode

TAPE 7: Once again, not a TV recording, but a cultural event worth savoring. Features a performance of the Lilac City Figure Skating Club's presentation of All That Jazz at the Eagles Ice-A-Rena (in the north side of Spokane) on 6/1/1985, and includes "credits" using apparently the paper program crawling down on the cast & crew. Polaroid L-750, BII mode

TAPE 8: The Karate Kid, Part II (1986) taped off KHQ/NBC on 11/15/1988 with commercials (I've already farmed the commercials from this same station back in 2017), followed by Canvas Of Ice taped off KXLY/ABC on 12/19/1988 with some commercials, followed by about the first 75 minutes of The World Cup of Professional Figure Skating taped off ESPN on Christmas Eve 1988 with commercials. Sony L-750, BIII mode

TAPE 9: Begins of the ABC Afterschool Special (the 100th special in fact) of The Gift of Amazing Grace taped off KXLY on 11/19/1986 with commercials (missing the end credits), followed by the Disney Sunday Movie presentation of The Parent Trap (1961) recorded off KXLY/ABC on 4/5/1987 with no commercials. Maxell EX 750, BIII mode

TAPE 10: The Lilacs Turn Golden retrospective special on the 50th anniversary of the Spokane Lilac Festival taped off KHQ on 5/21/1988 with commercials, followed by the entire 1988 Spokane Lilac Parade taped off KHQ from the same evening with commercials (missing the end credits). Sony L-750, BIII mode

TAPE 11: Starts off with around two hours worth of figure skating footage from the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, recorded off KXLY/ABC with only a few commercials, followed by a little over an hour's worth of footage from the 1988 World Figure Skating Championships taped off KREM/CBS on 3/26/1988 with some commercials. Sony L-750, BII mode

TAPE 12: Starts off with an unknown movie taped off KSTW circa 1987 with no intro, commercials, or close, then it cuts to around the last 70 minutes of the 1987 Miss America Pageant recorded off KHQ/NBC on 9/19/1987 with commercials, followed by the first hour of the NBC Movie presentation of Eight Is Enough: A Family Reunion taped off KHQ on 10/18/1987 with commercials (I've already got this in full). Sonly Dynamicron L-750, BII for the Miss America and Eight Is Enough segments, BIII for the KSTW movie.

TAPE 13: Similar to tape 7, we've got another ice show from the Lilac City Figure Skating Club (even though its during pool n' beach season!), "Somewhere In Time", also taped via Betacam at the Eagles Ice-A-Rena on 6/13/1987. No "credits" unfortunately this time. Maxell L-750, BII mode.

TAPE 14: My favorite from this lot, this tape begins with the 1987 Spokane Lilac Parade and continues with most of Hunter (JIP after about five minutes) and most of the KHQ 11 PM News, taped off KHQ/NBC on 5/16/1987 with commercials. TDK L-750, BIII mode.

I purchased several Beta lots from a Spokane seller back in 2017, and while this didn't include as many dramas, Friday Night Videos, or stateside Top of the Pops episodes, it was still an enjoyable hunt. Next up for me is a local Craigslist search where around two dozen VHS tapes are offered for free. Sure, no pics, but you can't go wrong when the cost is just the price of gas to get there and back.
 
Here's what I ended up finding on the tapes I got from the aforementioned Medina estate sale a few weeks ago. Some out-of-market content from Savannah, Georgia in this mix as well.

TAPE 1: Coverage of the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery taped from Fox News Channel on 5/31/2008 minus commercials; Stonehenge: Decoded taped from National Geographic Channel on 6/1/2008 minus most commercials. Maxell T-120.

TAPE 2: Three episodes of Touched by an Angel taped from WOIO in November and December 1995 minus commercials, second generation recordings; Touched by an Angel taped from WOIO on 12/23/1995 minus most commercials; Walker Texas Ranger taped from WOIO on 12/23/1995 with commercials; partial episode of The Bold and the Beautiful and partial episode of As the World Turns taped from WOIO on 11/27/1995 with commercials. Polaroid T-120.

TAPE 3: It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (1984 made-for-TV movie) taped from the Family Channel in December 1989 with commercials; partial broadcast of An Eight Is Enough Wedding (NBC Sunday Night Movie) taped from WKYC on 10/15/1989 with commercials; partial broadcast of Hard Copy taped from WKYC on 10/16/1989 with commercials; MacGyver taped from WEWS on 10/16/1989 with commercials. Kodak T-120.

TAPE 4: End of an episode of L.A. Heat taped from TNT circa 2000 with a few commercials; Touched by an Angel taped from WOIO on 2/9/2002 with commercials; 7th Heaven taped from WBNX on 2/11/2002 with commercials; Ally McBeal taped from WJW on 2/11/2002 with commercials; Judge Judy, Judge Mills Lane and partial broadcast of Hometeam 19 News at 6 taped from WOIO on 3/15/2000 with commercials. TDK T-120.

TAPE 5: JAG taped from WTOC on 3/19/2002 with commercials; Doc taped from PAX TV on 3/24/2002 with commercials (likely from the national satellite feed, I don't think Savannah had a PAX TV affiliate); JAG taped from WTOC on 3/26/2002 and 4/9/2002 with commercials; partial episode of Touched by an Angel taped from WOIO on 5/20/2001 with commercials. Fuji T-120.

TAPE 6: Looks Like Christmas taped from the Hallmark Channel on 12/4/2016 with commercials; The O'Reilly Factor taped from Fox News Channel on 4/30/2009 with commercials; clip from America's Newsroom taped from Fox News Channel circa 2009; Hannity taped from Fox News Channel on 4/28/2009 with commercials (Darryl Strawberry is interviewed in the last segment); partial broadcast of Hannity (including part of an interview with Dick Cheney and an interview with Monica Seles in the last segment) and partial broadcast of On the Record with Greta Van Susteren (Rush Limbaugh talks about Barack Obama shaking hands with Hugo Chavez) taped from Fox News Channel on 4/21/2009 with commercials; partial episode of Murder She Wrote taped from the Hallmark Channel in April 2009 with commercials; partial broadcast of On the Record (Jamie Colby fills in for Greta Van Susteren) taped from Fox News Channel on 4/10/2009 with commercials; partial broadcast of The O'Reilly Factor taped from Fox News Channel in March 2009 with commercials. Maxell T-120.

TAPE 7: Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of A Heavenly Christmas taped from the Hallmark Channel on 11/26/2016 with commercials (all Hallmark ads and Hallmark Channel promos this time); Journey Back to Christmas taped from the Hallmark Channel on 11/27/2016 with commercials; A Dream of Christmas taped from the Hallmark Channel on 12/3/2016 with commercials; partial recording of Wild Wild West (1999) copied from DVD. JVC T-120.

TAPE 8: Broadcasting Christmas taped from the Hallmark Channel on 11/23/2016 with commercials; Christmas in Homestead taped from the Hallmark Channel on 11/24/2016 with commercials; Christmas List taped from the Hallmark Channel on 11/25/2016 with commercials. Maxell T-120.

TAPE 9: Touched by an Angel taped from WVPX on 5/17/1999 with commercials; Ally McBeal taped from WJW on 5/17/1999 with commercials; Touched by an Angel taped from WVPX on May 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1999 with commercials. Fuji T-120.

Also at that sale, I picked up a cassette labeled "October 4 95 Hurricane." I grabbed it thinking it would be breaking news coverage of Hurricane Opal from a news radio station, but it turned out to be an amateur tape recording of somebody describing the storm as he was witnessing it. I'm guessing this is where the Savannah, Georgia connection comes into play, maybe these people had distant relatives down there. It's on both sides of the cassette, but I haven't listened to very much of it. Quality's not great, plus it taped over a dub of a Mills Brothers greatest hits album, which can still be heard in the background.

I left a few VHS tapes of Dancing with the Stars episodes from 2008 behind at this one. And for a family that appeared to have a conservative Christian background, there were quite a few vintage Playboy magazines spotted at this house as well.


Earlier today, I went to an estate sale in Brunswick where I came home with 11 more tapes. There were several boxes full of more tapes that I left behind, quite a few of which were moldy. A few of the tapes I did get had quite a few Three Stooges shorts, including from the time in the late '90s with Big Chuck and Lil John would host showings of The Three Stooges on WJW, mixed in with the comedic sketches that had made them a fixture of Cleveland TV for decades. Other tapes included news recordings pertaining to John Glenn on the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1998 (I still remember watching that in school when I was in fourth grade) and the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal. More on these contents later as I look at these tapes in more depth.
Looking at the merchandise throughout the house, it looks like the homeowner worked as a Parma police officer, having spotted several Parma Police Department uniforms, patches, etc. In fact, one tape includes a video on the history of the Parma Fire Department that was copied from a DVD.

My mom's friend sent me ten more of his tapes as well. One of the only ones of these I've looked through thus far includes, among other things, episodes of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy during Wheel's Olympic Kickoff Week in 1996, including the episode that aired on my eighth birthday that year (4/23/1996)!
 
More finds starting with the latest tapes my mom's friend sent me.
TAPE 1: Plunder of the Sun (1953) taped from TCM circa 2005; partial broadcast of House of Strangers (1949), The Boy Who Swims Like a Fish (????) and start of When the Whales Came (1989) taped from Fox Movie Channel in February 2005 with commercials and promos. Maxell T-120.

TAPE 2: Bye Bye Birdie (ABC made-for-TV movie) taped from WEWS on 12/3/1995 with commercials (already have a partial recording of this plus the first few minutes of local news afterward); partial episode of Wheel of Fortune taped from WEWS on 4/22/1996 with commercials; Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy taped from WEWS on 4/23/1996 with commercials; reverts back to the end of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy on WEWS on 4/22/1996 with commercials (4/22/1996 recording was in SP mode, and 4/23/1996 recording was in SLP mode, as was Bye Bye Birdie). TDK T-120.

TAPE 3: Parts one, two and three of Danielle Steel's Crossings (ABC miniseries) taped from WEWS on February 23, 24 and 25, 1986 with commercials. Kodak T-120.

TAPE 4: The Spiral Staircase (1975) taped from HBO in 1987 with promos; Remains to Be Seen (1953) taped from the Movie Channel in 1987 with promos; The Music Man (1962) and partial broadcast of Cocoon (1985) taped from Cinemax in 1987 with promos. Laser T-120.

TAPE 5: Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) taped from Cinemax on 5/12/1994 with promos. BASF T-130.

TAPE 6: Dear Ruth (1947) taped from AMC in March 1995 with promos. RCA T-120.

TAPE 7: Part one of Texas Justice (ABC miniseries) taped from WEWS on 2/12/1995 with commercials (evidently he must have had more than one VCR at his house because a few years ago, he sent me a tape of A Walton Wedding, which aired at the same time on WOIO); partial episode of Models Inc. taped from WJW on 2/13/1995 with commercials before switching over to the rest of part two of Texas Justice on WEWS on 2/13/1995 with commercials. RCA T-120.

TAPE 8: Pony Express Days (1940), They Drive by Night (1940) and partial broadcast of John Nesbitt's Passing Parade (1938) taped from TCM in 2003 with promos. TDK T-120.

TAPE 9: Come Fill the Cup (1951) taped from the Movie Channel in December 1987 with promos; Anatomy of a Murder (1959) taped from Cinemax in December 1987 with promos. JVC T-120.

TAPE 10: Trapped (USA made-for-TV movie) taped from USA on 6/14/1989 with commercials; Split Second (1953), Destination Murder (1950) and Two O'clock Courage (1945) taped from AMC in June 1989 with promos. Polaroid T-120.


Here's what I ended up finding from last week's estate sale in Brunswick. Lot more that I left behind, and I probably would have grabbed more if so many of them weren't caked full of mold.
TAPE 11: Various episodes of The Three Stooges taped from AMC on 12/31/2010 with commercials. Sony T-120.

TAPE 12: Parts one and two of Op Center (1995 NBC miniseries) taped from WKYC on August 14 and 15, 1998 minus commercials; clip from Fox 8 News at Six taped from WJW on 8/17/1998; various coverage of Bill Clinton's presidential address following his grand jury testimony taped from WEWS, WOIO and WJW on 8/17/1998 minus most commercials; Waiting for the Light (1990) taped from WBNX in September 1998 minus most commercials. Sony T-120.

TAPE 13: Three episodes of Lost in Space taped from the Sci-Fi Channel on 4/1/1998 minus most commercials, obviously from a marathon in commemoration of the release of the film adaptation. TDK T-120.

TAPE 14: Big Chuck and Lil John Couch Potato Theater presentation of The Three Stooges taped from WJW on 5/2/1998 minus commercials, but does include some BC & LJ skits; partial episode of The Three Stooges (another Big Chuck and Lil John Couch Potato Theater presentation with at least one of their skits) taped from WJW on 5/9/1998 with commercials; The New Batman/Superman Adventures taped from WBNX in June 2000 minus most commercials; Batman Beyond taped from WBNX in June 2000 minus most commercials; another episode of The New Batman/Superman Adventures taped from WBNX in June 2000 with commercials; partial broadcast of Extra Weekend and partial episode of Poltergeist: The Legacy taped from WJW on 5/9/1998 with commercials; Ghosts Caught on Tape: Fact or Fiction? and UFOs: The Best Evidence Ever Caught on Tape 2 taped from WJW on 4/27/2000 minus most commercials. Memorex T-120.

TAPE 15: The Thing (1982) taped from the Sci-Fi Channel in September 2000 with commercials. MGM T-120.

TAPE 16: Clip from Channel 3 News at Noon taped from WKYC on 11/7/1998; Fox 8 News coverage of the launch of STS-95 taped from WJW on 10/29/1998 with commercials; ABC News coverage of the launch of STS-95 taped from WEWS on 10/29/1998; clip from Fox 8 News at Six taped from WJW on 10/29/1998; clip from Channel 3 News at 11:00 taped from WKYC on 10/29/1998; Secrets of the Bible Code Revealed (PAX TV special) taped from WVPX in October 1998 minus commercials; Fox 8 News coverage of the landing of STS-95 taped from WJW on 11/7/1998. Sony T-120.

TAPE 17: Guadalcanal Diary (1943) taped from WVIZ in April 1998; The Pretender taped from WKYC on 4/11/1998 minus commercials; This Old House and The New Yankee Workshop taped from WVIZ in April 1998 with promos; Cinema 19 presentation of Deceived (1991) taped from WOIO circa 1998 minus commercials; partial broadcast of To Have and Have Not (1944) taped from WVIZ circa 1998. Sony T-120.

TAPE 18: Partial episode of Combat taped from Action (Encore sister network) circa 1998; The Adventures of Robin Hood taped from Action circa 1998; another episode of Combat taped from Action circa 1998 with promos. Sony T-120.

TAPE 19: Various episodes of The Three Stooges taped from AMC on 12/31/2003 with commercials. Sony T-160.

An honorable mention goes to a tape of a documentary titled The History of the Parma Fire Department, copied from DVD. The documentary was produced in 2004 by a Parma Fire Department lieutenant who is now retired and is now a successful YouTube influencer.
www.youtube.com

A Tale of Three Cabins

Watch as we juggle between 3 different properties. Our log home in the woods of Northern Ohio, our hunting cabin in rural Southern Ohio, and Our vacation rental in Tennessee just outside of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Many projects involve our John Deere 1025r from prepping for a...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
 
Tape 444
1.2000/2/x Outer Limits 5x16 repeat “Deja Vu” (UPN WRDC) (58m)
2.2000/2/x Kickin’ It With Byron Allen (UPN WRDC) (9m) partial
3.2000/4/x Its A Miracle end,Sunday Mystery Movie- Agatha Christie’s A Carribean Mystery (PAX WRPX) (2h1m)
4.2000/4/x Chicken Soup for the Soul unknown episode (PAX WRPX) (6m partial)
5.Unknown date The Norm Show end and 20/20 Wednesday open (10m partial) (WTVD presumably)
6.2000/10/x? Tons of channel flipping, with most of Tea With Mussolini, some of Austin Powers, a bit of a Jenna Jameson softcore pr0n, and Fox News go figure (2h41m total)
TRT 6h5m EP

Tape 445
1.Lean On Me (1h40m) possibly HBO airing
2.2001/1/29 General Hospital (WXLV) (1h)
3.Little Nikita rental copy (34m partial end only)
4.Places In The Heart rental copy (1h48m)
TRT 5h2m EP

Tape 446
1.2003/5/23 and 2003/5/23 episodes of Nightly Business Report (WUNC)
2.2003/3/x random partials of Nova, Foyle’s War, Eastenders (WUNC)
TRT 2h46m EP

Tape 447
1.2006/6/25 College World Series Championship Game 2 Oregon St vs UNC starts top 5th inning (ESPN2) (1h32m)
2.2004/3/26 The Players Championship 2nd RD (ESPN) (33m) partial
TRT 2h3m SP

Tape 448
1.1998/12/20 Clinton Impeachment Coverage from CNN and ABC (46m)
2.unknown movie off AMC (46m)
TRT 1h32m SP

Tape 449
1.1994/4/27 ABC News coverage of President Nixon Funeral (1h30m) few or no commercial breaks (WTVD)
2.1994/4/27 Nightline- Richard Nixon In His Own Words (29m) (WTVD)
TRT 1h59m EP

Tape 450
1.1988/2/16 Perry Mason (WTBS) (1h) uncertain of episode because opening cut
2.1988/2/x The Naked Spur (WTBS) (1h5m partial)
TRT 2h5m SP

Tape 451
2003: Charlie Chaplin Marathon- Chaplin Today on Modern Times, Modern Times, Chaplin Today on Limelight, Limelight, Pete Smith Special Film Antics, Chaplin Today on The Gold Rush partial (TCM) (5h16m total)

Tape 452
1.1991/10/13 A Woman Named Jackie Part 1 (WPTF) (1h59m)
2.1991/10/14 A Woman Named Jackie Part 2 (WPTF) (1h59m)
3.1991/10/15 A Woman Named Jackie Part 3 (WPTF) (2h)
4.1988/1/1x Take Down- 1979 movie (TBS) (10m partial)
TRT 6h8m EP

Tape 453
1.1985/12/12 Cosby Show 2x11 premiere (WPTF) (32m)
2.1985/12/12 Family Ties 4x10 premiere (WPTF) (30m)
3.1985/12/12 Cheers 4x11 premiere (WPTF) (30m)
4.1985/12/12 Night Court 3x10 premiere (WPTF) (28m)
5.1985/12/x Night of the Comet (HBO) (1h35m)
6.1985/12/14 Hunter 2x11 (WPTF) (58m)
7.1985/12/x Into The Night (Showtime) (1h41m most)
TRT 6h13 EP

Tape 454
1.1997/2/23 Schindler’s List network premiere (3h29m) presented commercial free with interviews (WNCN)
2.1997/2/23 WNCN 11PM News first 5m
TRT 3h34m

Tape 455
1.1986/1/16 Cosby Show 2x14 premiere (WPTF) (25m) commercials cut
2.1986/1/20 MLK Birthday Celebration (WPTF) (1h39m) commercials cut
3.1986/1/23 Cosby Show 2x3 Happy Anniversary repeat (WPTF) (22m) commercials cut
4.1986/1/25 Lady Blue Maximum Force (WTVD) (1h)
5.1986/1/30 Cosby Show 2x15 premiere (WPTF) (24m) commercials cut
6.1986/2/2 Cosby Show 2x16 premiere (WPTF) Danny Kaye’s last appearance (23m) commercials cut
7.1986/2/20 Cosby Show 2x18 premiere (WPTF) (25m) commercials cut
8.1986/4/10 Cosby Show 2x23 premiere (WPTF) (23m) commercials cut
TRT 5h2m EP

Tape 456
1.1987/12/2x Warrior and the Sorceress (Showtime) (1h19m with promos)
2.1987/12/2x The Jazz Singer 1951 (Showtime) (21m partial)
3.1987/6/26 Guiding Light (WRAL) (49m some commercials cut, missing first scene)
4.1987/6/26 Small Wonder syndicated 1x16 repeat (WRAL) (30m)
5.1987/6/26 Happy Days (WRAL) (5m partial)
6.1987? The Manhattan Project (Showtime) (55m partial)
7.1987/6/x Divorce Court (WPTF) (31m)
8.1987/6/x Love Connection (WPTF) (12m partial)
9.1987/6/1x Oprah Winfrey- Religious Obsession, PTL, Scientology, etc. (WTVD) (1h)
10.1987/6/1x Superior Court (WTVD) (4m partial)
11.1987? Raw Deal off HBO presumably (21m partial)
TRT 6h7m EP

Tape 457
1.1985/10/9 Good Morning America (WTVD) Cruise Ship Hostages, Ike Turner interview, some local elections coverage from local news WTVD, WRAL, WPTF (38m total with some commercials)
2.1985/10/10 Cosby Show 2x3 (WPTF) (21m) commercials cut
3.1985/10/17 Cosby Show 2x4 (WPTF) (24m) commercials cut
4.1985/10/23 Brothers 2x19 (HBO) (26m)
5.1985/10/24 Cosby Show 2x5 (WPTF) (24m) commercials cut
6.1985/10/31 Cosby Show 2x6 (WPTF) (27m) with commercials but ending credits cut
7.1985/11/5 The A Team 4x6 Rick James Issac Hayes episode (WPTF) (57m)
8.1989/3/19 The Women Of Brewster Place Part 1 (WTVD) (1h55m)
9.1989/3/20 The Women Of Brewster Place Part 2 (WTVD) (37m cuts off as tape runs out)
TRT 6h9m EP

Tape 458
1.1987? Rocky 4 (HBO) (1h32m)
2.1987/6? The Hitchhiker 4x2 “Minuteman” (HBO) (31m with promos)
3.1987/6? Tina Turner- Break Every Rule (HBO) (55m)
4.1987/6? The Goonies (HBO) (2h1m with promos)
5.1987/6? White Nights (HBO) (1h9m until tape runs out)
TRT 6h8m EP

Tape 459
1.1985/11/21 Cosby Show 2x9 (WPTF) (24m all commercials cut but first two)
2.1985/11/2x Crimes of Passion (Showtime) with promos before and after (1h55m)
3.1985/11/23 Hunter 2x9 (WPTF) (1h4m)
4.1985/11/28 Cosby Show 1x10 repeat Thanksgiving episode (WPTF) (24m commercials cut)
5.1985/11/28 The Patti Labelle Show Special (WPTF) (45m commercials cut)
6.1985/12/5 The Cosby Show 2x10 premiere (30m) (WPTF)
7.1985/12/5 Family Ties 4x9 premiere (WPTF) (30m)
8.1985/12/5 Night Court 3x9 premiere (WPTF) (28m)
TRT 6h6m EP

Tape 460
1.1993/12/x Oprah Conversations with Maya Angelou (WTVD) (59m)
2.1994/5/2x Donahue Making Clones of Famous Foods At Home (WTVD) (54m most) some channel surfing
3.1994/5/23 Star Trek TNG 7x25 (WLFL) with some channel surfing (1h14m partial)
4.1994/6/x The Urban Peasant (TLC) (37m with tail end of unknown prior cooking show)
5.1994/6/x Yan Can Cook (TLC) (20m partial)
TRT 4h5m EP/SP

Tape 461
1.1988/2/2x The All New Dating Game (6m ending segment only) (WDZL)
2.1988/2/2x The 8 o’clock Movie- 2010 (network premiere) (WDZL) (2h25m)
3.1988/2/2x Hollywood Preview (6m open segment only) (WDZL)
4.1987/6/2x Top Hat hosted by Bill Kelley (WCIX) (1h56m most)
5.1987/6/2x WCIX 10PM News (7m partial)
TRT 4h52m EP

Tape 462
1.2001? Million Dollar Movie- No Mercy (WTVD) (first 10 minutes only)
2.2001/6/6 Before He Wakes repeat TV movie on local murder case (WRAL) (2h)
3.2001/6/9 WB Saturday Movie- A Walk In the Clouds (WLFL) (2h)
4.2001/6/10 CBS Sunday Movie- Something To Talk About (WRAL) (2h9m)
5.2000/8/1x partial episodes of Guiding Light (WRAL) (1h7m total)
TRT 7h25m (honestly didn’t know this was a T160 given the lack of markings)

Tape 463
1.1987/7/24 The AIDS Connection- An All Night Dialogue (WRAL) (5h) nearly all commercials were PSAs
2.1987/7/24 Headline News (1h5m) partial but a loop
TRT 6h5m EP

Tape 464
1.White Men Can’t Jump (rental copy) (1h56m)
2.1993/3/26 Rapid Fire (Request PPV) (1h42m with promos before and after)
3.1991/7/9 MLB All Star Game top of the 9th to end only (19m) (WCBS)
4.1991/7/19 WCBS 11PM News (3m open only)
5.1991/7/12 Geraldo- Penn & Teller reveal magic secrets (WCBS) (37m partial)
6.1991/7/12 WCBS 5PM News (23m most)
TRT 5h EP

Tape 465
1.Dune (HBO presumably)
2.1985/6/1 Gidget’s Summer Reunion (WFLD) (2h1m)

Tape 466
1.1995/12/x end of InfoPower with Matthew Lesko infomercial, Damn Right Diner with David Asman and Rich Lowry with guest Jim Mauro from Spy Magazine- Federal Student Loan Debate (rare Conservative call in talk show in the Rush Limbaugh period, couldn’t find any info online about it), Top Cops, Movie Greats Network: The Little Princess first half of it (2h3m total)(WRAY/WFAY rare indie channel in middle of nowhere NC, WRAY became WNCN within a year of this)
TRT 2h3m SP
 
chandler0201 said:
Tape 466
1.1995/12/x end of InfoPower with Matthew Lesko infomercial, Damn Right Diner with David Asman and Rich Lowry with guest Jim Mauro from Spy Magazine- Federal Student Loan Debate (rare Conservative call in talk show in the Rush Limbaugh period, couldn’t find any info online about it), Top Cops, Movie Greats Network: The Little Princess first half of it (2h3m total)(WRAY/WFAY rare indie channel in middle of nowhere NC, WRAY became WNCN within a year of this)
TRT 2h3m SP
Click to expand...
WNCN was never WRAY, WRAY was, & still is, a completely separate TV station.

WNCN

WRAY-TV
 
Great finds as always, Chandler, especially those NBC sitcom blocks from December 1985 with the commercials intact. Speaking of which, I've already got the 12/5 episode of Cheers from a trade around 2017 off WTMJ (including the Night Court episode that follows it), and have three-quarters of that 12/14 NBC Saturday Night sitcom block preceding Hunter. Lady Blue is also tough to find as ABC canned that short-lived drama after just half a season following that airing you've discovered. Lots of great daytime stuff on Tape 456. You definitely beat me out on my latest round off of M*****i, two lots of from a seller near Joshua Tree NP of 30 VHS tapes, and over half were duds. The majority of the tapes were recorded in SP, so that limited the potential for good stuff. Still, the labels in the listing regarding some musical stuff didn't disappoint in addition to a few other finds. Despite being over two hours away, all finds were from LA stations (LOTS of Dodgers fans at a casino in nearby Indio, CA last year on the way to their MLB title). Based on a couple family movies found on a couple tapes, the recorder enjoyed horses and farming.

TAPE 1: The Bionic Woman syndicated rerun (1976 episode) and the opening to The Joker's Wild taped off KHJ on 6/29/1984 with commercials, followed by most of a CHiPs syndie rerun (1982 episode) taped off KTLA in Mid-June 1984 with commercials. TDK T-120, SP mode

TAPE 2: Starts off with the end of a couple vintage Disney cartoons, followed by a promo break and membership plug (from a free preview), Pete's Dragon (1977), another short promo break/membership plug, and Gulliver's Travels (1977) taped off The Disney Channel in August 1985 (my oldest find from the network), then it jumps to about the last ten minutes of the Covenant made-for-TV movie that I've previously found, followed by a special rerun of the short-lived series Scene of The Crime, taped off KNBC on 8/5/1985 with commercials, but ends before the credits on that show which originally aired for an hour when broadcast the previous April, but edited down to 30 minutes. TDK T-120, EP mode

TAPE 3: Most of Oprah Winfrey (begins about ten minutes into the broadcast), the KABC 4 PM News, and the first minute of the KABC 5 PM News taped on 9/15/1998 with commercials. TDK T-120, EP mode (video quality is just fair with some color contrast issues)

TAPE 4: The 16th American Music Awards taped off KABC on 1/30/1989 with commercials. The label mentioned "War of the World", but no episode of that series was found with the second half of the tape blank. Scotch T-120, EP mode

TAPE 5: The Doobie Brothers live at the Hollywood Bowl taped off Request Pay-Per-View on 1/26/1990 with a 30-minute preshow included. Maxell HGX T-120, EP mode

TAPE 6: The Rolling Stones Steel Wheels concert live from Atlantic City taped off Viewer's Choice PPV on 12/19/1989 with a 25-minute preshow before the concert. Memorex HS T-120, EP mode. I also have the edited FOX broadcast from 5/30/1990 that is filled with commercials and edited out footage from portions of the show (one of my early finds), in particular the supporting backing singers, so this is a nice upgrade from the "free" version with about an hour's worth of additional footage included here.

TAPE 7: Most of Dallas and Falcon Crest recorded off KCBS on 11/15/1985 with commercials, followed by most of Rocky III (1982) also recorded off KCBS on 11/16/1985 with commercials, followed by a couple more episodes of Falcon Crest from late 1985/early 1986 with no intro, commercials, or closing. Maxell T-120, EP mode

TAPE 8: The USA World Premiere Movie presentation of The China Lake Murders recorded on 1/31/1990 with commercials, followed by another syndicated rerun of CHiPs taped off KTLA circa 1990 with n commercials. Maxell HGX-Gold 120, EP mode for the movie, SP for the CHiPs epsiode

TAPE 9: The last couple minutes of Home Improvement, Roseanne, and the intro the premiere of the sitcom Room For Two taped off KABC on 3/24/1992 with commercials. Unknown tape stock, T-60, SP mode. This tape has worn lettering for "NOR CAL CHEVY DEALERS", indicated that this may have at one time been at an auto dealer.

TAPE 10: Most of the Sons Of Katie Elder (1965) recorded off WTBS on 9/13/1987 with some commercials (with the blank screen instead of the usual skipping during that one break and U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name" music video and a brief KCOP news clip on another), then it jumps to about the last five minutes of NFL Live taped off KNBC also from the same day, then it jumps over to KCBS for most of the first quarter of the Los Angeles Rams-Houston Oilers NFL game. I do find it strange that the recorder suddenly pressed "STOP" despite having enough tape remaining for most of the game. TDK E-HG T-120, EP mode

In addition, there was a promotional tape for Aida Thibant's Secret To Beautiful Skin from 1993. Several other finds going into the "sell" pile include the 1990 Grammy Awards with commercials (found this off WLNE back in 2015), an episode of Lost and the KABC 11 PM News on 6/27/2007 (too recent by my standards although I've started to include some early 2000s stuff lately), episodes of Medium, Desperate Housewives, and Dateline from 2005 with commercials. Next up (perhaps my last hunt of 2025 as I'm slated to take a vacation to Florida right after Christmas) is another lot from SoCal, this time with a much better eBay description: "Mixed Lot of 120 VHS Tapes Sold As Blanks Sony Maxell Memorex JVC RCA USED tv shows with commercials. Some music videos. Etc. 80s stickers are unused Tapes are not marked". Hopefully this seller is correct given that there's another lot out where a couple of labels show just movies, but this was listed first and another lot mentions "martial arts/kung fu movies" and a lot that sold in October didn't mention anything about commercials, TV shows, or the possibility of MTV/VH1. The seller has been around for over a decade, so hopefully it doesn't end up being just rental duds, pay TV airings, or worse yet, zapped out ads.
 
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I just checked out that latest lot mentioned above. It was about as feast or famine as I've experienced in awhile, with 11 tapes being chock full of good stuff and almost all unscoped with commercials, and 13 being just Macrovision rental duds, with one tape having a couple minutes of an unknown stock. More early '90s than '80s in terms of finds, but you can't go wrong with the specials and some hard to find musical programming on the hits. All were taped off OTA stations from LA's six major commercial stations with just one tape recorded off cable and oddly, no PBS programming. All tapes were recorded in EP mode and contain commercials unless otherwise noted.

TAPE 1: Begins with the last eight minutes COPS along with the FOX Summer Games special (counterprogramming to the Albertville Winter Olympics on CBS) taped off KTTV on 2/22/1992, followed by a brief clip from A Current Affair circa March 1992, followed by the last few minutes of the KCAL 9 News at 10 and the late movie In The Line of Duty: The FBI Murders (1988) recorded off KCAL on 3/22/1992, followed by about the last five minutes of Beverly Hills, 90210 and around the first ten minutes of the KTTV 10 PM News on 4/2/1992, followed by most of the Hammer From The Heart special taped off KCBS on 4/3/1992, then wrapping up with the last few minutes of I-Witness, Mann & Machine, and the first few minutes of Steel Justice recorded off KNBC on 4/5/1992. Maxell HGX-Gold T-120

TAPE 2: Manhunter (1986), taped off KCOP on 5/14/1992, followed by Eddie and the Cruisers II (1989), also recorded off KCOP on 5/16/1992, followed by most of Bob Hope's America: Red, White And Beautiful taped off KNBC on 5/16/1992. EP mode for the movies, LP mode for the Bob Hope special. Kodak T-120

TAPE 3: It may have snowed for the first time this season on the day I searched it, but this tape certainly left winter behind and will surely provide eye candy for those yearning for warmer climates or seasons. Features three installments of The Bikini Open taped off KCAL on 5/23, 7/11, and 8/22/1992. Kodak T-120, EP mode

TAPE 4: Starts out with the last few minutes of America's Funniest People followed by part one of Stephen King's It (1990) taped off KABC on 8/2/1992, then rinse and repeat as above on the following night, which also includes about the first dozen minutes of the KABC 11 PM News. I've already got the original broadcasts in a trade of this mini-series earlier this year, so this will be mostly an "ad farmer" tape. Kodak T-120

TAPE 5: Married With Children taped off KTTV/FOX on 11/24/1991, followed by Paul Rodriguez: Crossing Lines also off KTTV/FOX from later that same evening, followed by another episode of Married With Children (I've already got this broadcast) as well as most of Sunday Comics taped off KTTV/FOX on 12/1/1991, then it continues with a partial episode of Sally Jessy Raphael taped off KCAL in early December 1991, followed by the nearly complete broadcast of Remember Pearl Harbor taped off KCBS on 12/7/1991. Maxell EX-120

TAPE 6: Beverly Hills, 90210 taped off KTTV/FOX on 12/12/1991 (I've got this already), followed by an episode of ABC In Concert taped off KABC on 12/13/1991, followed by another episode of Beverly Hills 90210 taped off KTTV/FOX on 12/19/1991 (also got this), followed by the KCOP Movie presentation of The Siege Of Firebase Gloria (1988) and the first five minutes of the KCOP 10 PM News from January 1992. Maxell EX-120

TAPE 7: Starts off with a collection of clips from A Current Affair, Hard Copy, Entertainment Tonight, and a couple other sources mainly featuring fashion models from January/February 1990, followed by most of Married With Children taped off KTTV/FOX on 2/22/1990, followed by the KABC special The History Of The Swimsuit from 2/23/1990, followed by Totally Hidden Video and most of The Reporters taped off KTTV/FOX on 2/24/1990 with most commercials. Maxell T-120

TAPE 8: Starts off with the last eight minutes of Rescue 911 followed by the CBS Tuesday Movie presentation of Laker Girls, taped off KCBS on 4/3/1990, followed by an encore presentation of the 1989 OP Pro Surfing Championships taped off KCOP in May 1990, followed by Totally Hidden Video: Summer Surprise taped off KTTV on 5/20/1990. Maxell T-120

TAPE 9: Games 1 and 2 of the 1989 NBA Finals taped off KCBS on 6/6 and 6/8/1989, all uncut with commercials, halftime, and Lakers postgame shows following Game 1 and about half of Game 2's before the tape runs out. Maxell HGX-Gold 120

TAPE 10: Kicks off with the KTTV Midnight Movie presentation of Nightmares (1983) on 1/7/1990, followed by the first few minutes of the "When You're Ready To Quit" infomercial, then it cuts to the last few minutes of Freddy's Nightmares before the KCOP Late Movie presentation of From Beyond The Grave (1973), also recorded circa January 1990, followed by 2nd Generation (local KTLA urban-oriented music video show) from August 1991. Despite being a major market, these urban R&B/hip-hop/dance-type shows are always fun finds and something you just won't find out in flyover country. Maxell T-120

TAPE 11: Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985) and Sword of the Valiant (1984) taped off The Movie Channel on 7/13/1986 with a few promos, then it jumps to about 19 minutes of American Bandstand from the middle of the episode featuring Bananarama as that week's guests, taped off KABC on 7/19/1986 with some commercials (to my knowledge, none of this episode circulates since VH1 reruns didn't go past the 1984-85 season), followed by about the last 23 minutes of the syndicated version of the MTV Top 20 Video Countdown taped off KTLA on 9/6/1986 with some commercials, followed by most of America's Top 10 with Casey Kasem taped off KTLA on 12/13/1986 with commercials (my second episode of AT10 found this year), followed by the last few minutes of an encore presentation of the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards taped off KTLA on 9/8/1986 with a few commercials (and one of the Viacom V of Doom's last appearances before the switch to the V of Steel!) Sony T-120

That's probably it in terms of hunting for 2025 as I'm going on a trip to Florida right after Christmas, but it was another great year of finds overall.
 
pannoni1 said:
Great finds as always, Chandler, especially those NBC sitcom blocks from December 1985 with the commercials intact. Speaking of which, I've already got the 12/5 episode of Cheers from a trade around 2017 off WTMJ (including the Night Court episode that follows it), and have three-quarters of that 12/14 NBC Saturday Night sitcom block preceding Hunter. Lady Blue is also tough to find as ABC canned that short-lived drama after just half a season following that airing you've discovered. Lots of great daytime stuff on Tape 456. You definitely beat me out on my latest round off of M*****i, two lots of from a seller near Joshua Tree NP of 30 VHS tapes, and over half were duds. The majority of the tapes were recorded in SP, so that limited the potential for good stuff. Still, the labels in the listing regarding some musical stuff didn't disappoint in addition to a few other finds. Despite being over two hours away, all finds were from LA stations (LOTS of Dodgers fans at a casino in nearby Indio, CA last year on the way to their MLB title). Based on a couple family movies found on a couple tapes, the recorder enjoyed horses and farming.

TAPE 1: The Bionic Woman syndicated rerun (1976 episode) and the opening to The Joker's Wild taped off KHJ on 6/29/1984 with commercials, followed by most of a CHiPs syndie rerun (1982 episode) taped off KTLA in Mid-June 1984 with commercials. TDK T-120, SP mode

TAPE 2: Starts off with the end of a couple vintage Disney cartoons, followed by a promo break and membership plug (from a free preview), Pete's Dragon (1977), another short promo break/membership plug, and Gulliver's Travels (1977) taped off The Disney Channel in August 1985 (my oldest find from the network), then it jumps to about the last ten minutes of the Covenant made-for-TV movie that I've previously found, followed by a special rerun of the short-lived series Scene of The Crime, taped off KNBC on 8/5/1985 with commercials, but ends before the credits on that show which originally aired for an hour when broadcast the previous April, but edited down to 30 minutes. TDK T-120, EP mode

TAPE 3: Most of Oprah Winfrey (begins about ten minutes into the broadcast), the KABC 4 PM News, and the first minute of the KABC 5 PM News taped on 9/15/1998 with commercials. TDK T-120, EP mode (video quality is just fair with some color contrast issues)

TAPE 4: The 16th American Music Awards taped off KABC on 1/30/1989 with commercials. The label mentioned "War of the World", but no episode of that series was found with the second half of the tape blank. Scotch T-120, EP mode

TAPE 5: The Doobie Brothers live at the Hollywood Bowl taped off Request Pay-Per-View on 1/26/1990 with a 30-minute preshow included. Maxell HGX T-120, EP mode

TAPE 6: The Rolling Stones Steel Wheels concert live from Atlantic City taped off Viewer's Choice PPV on 12/19/1989 with a 25-minute preshow before the concert. Memorex HS T-120, EP mode. I also have the edited FOX broadcast from 5/30/1990 that is filled with commercials and edited out footage from portions of the show (one of my early finds), in particular the supporting backing singers, so this is a nice upgrade from the "free" version with about an hour's worth of additional footage included here.

TAPE 7: Most of Dallas and Falcon Crest recorded off KCBS on 11/15/1985 with commercials, followed by most of Rocky III (1982) also recorded off KCBS on 11/16/1985 with commercials, followed by a couple more episodes of Falcon Crest from late 1985/early 1986 with no intro, commercials, or closing. Maxell T-120, EP mode

TAPE 8: The USA World Premiere Movie presentation of The China Lake Murders recorded on 1/31/1990 with commercials, followed by another syndicated rerun of CHiPs taped off KTLA circa 1990 with n commercials. Maxell HGX-Gold 120, EP mode for the movie, SP for the CHiPs epsiode

TAPE 9: The last couple minutes of Home Improvement, Roseanne, and the intro the premiere of the sitcom Room For Two taped off KABC on 3/24/1992 with commercials. Unknown tape stock, T-60, SP mode. This tape has worn lettering for "NOR CAL CHEVY DEALERS", indicated that this may have at one time been at an auto dealer.

TAPE 10: Most of the Sons Of Katie Elder (1965) recorded off WTBS on 9/13/1987 with some commercials (with the blank screen instead of the usual skipping during that one break and U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name" music video and a brief KCOP news clip on another), then it jumps to about the last five minutes of NFL Live taped off KNBC also from the same day, then it jumps over to KCBS for most of the first quarter of the Los Angeles Rams-Houston Oilers NFL game. I do find it strange that the recorder suddenly pressed "STOP" despite having enough tape remaining for most of the game. TDK E-HG T-120, EP mode

In addition, there was a promotional tape for Aida Thibant's Secret To Beautiful Skin from 1993. Several other finds going into the "sell" pile include the 1990 Grammy Awards with commercials (found this off WLNE back in 2015), an episode of Lost and the KABC 11 PM News on 6/27/2007 (too recent by my standards although I've started to include some early 2000s stuff lately), episodes of Medium, Desperate Housewives, and Dateline from 2005 with commercials. Next up (perhaps my last hunt of 2025 as I'm slated to take a vacation to Florida right after Christmas) is another lot from SoCal, this time with a much better eBay description: "Mixed Lot of 120 VHS Tapes Sold As Blanks Sony Maxell Memorex JVC RCA USED tv shows with commercials. Some music videos. Etc. 80s stickers are unused Tapes are not marked". Hopefully this seller is correct given that there's another lot out where a couple of labels show just movies, but this was listed first and another lot mentions "martial arts/kung fu movies" and a lot that sold in October didn't mention anything about commercials, TV shows, or the possibility of MTV/VH1. The seller has been around for over a decade, so hopefully it doesn't end up being just rental duds, pay TV airings, or worse yet, zapped out ads.
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Lifetime did rerun Lady Blue in the late 80s. And I can’t wait to see your finds from FL!
 
Pannoni some great finds as always! I would definitely be interested in that 1991-12-13 ABC In Concert episode, that one seems to be missing though many episodes from that year seem to be online. Also, the repeat airing of "It" is actually quite rare, I've seen no less than 5 different recordings of the original airing from November 1990, but none of the 1992 repeat.
 
Latest finds.

10/30/25 - Estate sale in West Valley. Decent finds, my pick of the lot is tape #2.
Tape 1 - 'Dead Ringer' (1964) taped off AMC circa 1995 with a Nick Clooney segment; followed by two hours of recorded static, and then "The Rockford Files: A Blessing in Disguise" (1995) taped off KIMA/CBS on 5/14/1995 with commercials. Fuji T-120, Hi-Fi
Tape 2 - 4 hours of KIMA/CBS from 11/24/1996 with commercials: "The Beguiled" (1971), part of the Sunday Silver Screen, The Hitchhiker, the CBS Evening News with John Roberts, weekend repeats of Seinfeld and Mad About You, and a partial broadcast of 60 Minutes. Kodak T-120 in LP
Tape 3 - Another 'let it run', this time from USA Network on 4/17/2004 with commercials: "Six Days, Seven Nights" (1998), "Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss" (2004) and another repeat of "Six Days, Seven Nights". Panasonic T-120 going to mixed lot. Normally I wouldn't, but with a few hundred tapes outstanding, I am chucking some of the later cable stuff unsearched.
Tape 4 - 'Tea for Two' (1950) taped off AMC on 4/3/1999 with promos and commercials in between, also includes the first several minutes of 'We're No Angels' (1955). Fuji T-120 in SP
Tape 5 - 'Babycakes' (1989) taped off Lifetime on 2/13/1994 with commercials; part of "The Public Eye" (1992) taped off unknown pay-TV channel; part of the Hanes 500 from Martinsville taped off ESPN on 4/28/1991 with commercials. The power goes out during the broadcast leading to a several-minute delay. Kodak T-120
A sixth tape has a movie taped off WeTV in 2003 or 2004 w/ commercials, I haven't scanned the rest of it yet. I'll update later.

11/29/25 - Tapes found at a thrift/liquidation store in Naches, and also a couple from a good friend of mine who now runs a vintage store:
Tape 1 - 'Shrek' (2001), HBO First Look on Solaris and part of "Vertical Limit" (2000) taped off HBO on 11/20/2002 with promos. Unknown T-120, SP Hi-Fi
Tape 2 - Saturday Night Live (season finale with Jim Carrey) and a homebuyers' infomercial taped off KNDO/NBC on 5/18-19/1996 with commercials. Nice find! SKC T-120 in SP Hi-Fi
Tape 3 - Starts with a 5-minute clip of Ripley's Believe It or Not! taped off TBS Superstation circa 2000; then cuts to the last hour of WWF Raw is War and part of Farmclub.com (music show) taped off USA Network on 5/1/2000 with commercials. Local inserts for Ellensburg. SKC T-120 in SP
There was another tape with a brief 2-3 minute clip of KNDO NewsCenter 23 from February 1988 (with a few ads), before it cuts to a Showtime airing of Crocodile Dundee with no promos.

And now we come to today. Another estate sale in West Valley. This was the former residence of a CFO for an agriculture packing company in Oregon, as well as the former President of Tree Top. He had MONEY, and it shows. This is a massive house. Downstairs was an entertainment center where most of the drawers had VHS tapes. Here's the first few:

Tape 1 - SOLID start for the first tape. 'Annie' (1982) taped off KNDO/NBC on 12/21/1986 with commercials (already have this from KING); Wonderful World of Disney taped off KIMA-29 on 2/10/1987 with commercials (part 2 of The Three Lives of Thomasina); cuts to some AWESOME '80s PBS programming: a partial broadcast of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (Fred visits the Little Tikes factory), 3-2-1 Contact and The Secret City taped off KYVE/PBS on 11/25/1986 with promos! The 3-2-1 is my first find of this show. It's episode #312. Then cuts to part of Guiding Light taped off KIMA/CBS on 10/23/1985 with commercials; ending with most of the 10/24/1985 episode taped off KIMA/CBS with commercials. There's also the last 30 seconds and credits to Capitol before the show. Too bad it wasn't complete! This is the first time I have found any sign of the Washington D.C.-based soap. Unknown T-120, probably a Certron.
Tape 2 - Last several minutes of A Garfield Christmas Special and Mickey's Christmas Carol taped off KOIN/CBS on 12/19/1996 with commercials; How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Smudge (Christmas special about a girl with Down syndrome) and most of "E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial" (1982) taped off TNT on 11/30/1997 with commercials. Fuji T-120, LP.
Tape 3 - 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (1981) taped off KAPP/ABC on 9/28/1986 with commercials (already have this); 'The Empire Strikes Back' (1980) taped off KNDO/NBC on 11/22/1987 with commercials; last several minutes of Late Night with David Letterman and a 1:30AM sign-off from KNDO/NBC early on 9/25/1986 with commercials. Sony T-120
Tape 4 - Starts with two June 1986 news clips from KNDO on the closure of Carroll High School (the Catholic high school in town); cuts to Simon & Garfunkel: The Concert in Central Park taped off KYVE/PBS in August 1988 with pledge breaks, rest of the tape is static. Sony T-120
Tape 5 - 1960 version of Peter Pan taped off KNDO/NBC on 3/24/1989 with commercials (already have this); 'Alien' (1979) and part of "Of Unknown Origin" (1983) taped off TNT on 6/1-2/1997 with commercials (Salem OR local inserts); part of "Chariots of Fire" (1981) taped off KIMA-29 early on 3/19/1989 with commercials. Cuts off before the end, as it was in SP. Fuji T-120
Tape 6 - 'Out of Africa' (1985) taped off TNT on 1/9-10/1998 with commercials; part of "The Young Philadelphians" (1959) taped off AMC on 9/28/1997 with promos; ends with coverage of the U.S. Open taped off USA Network on 8/28/1996 with commercials. Scotch T-120
 
I have a couple of episodes of Farmclub.com following WWF Raw broadcasts from around that time. One of them is the reunion of N.W.A. with Snoop Dogg taking the place of the late Eazy-E, and another has the premiere of the music video for Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff" plus a live performance from Sonique.

Little Tikes was the local underwriter for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood on WVIZ, as the company is based in Hudson, Ohio. Eat N Park was the local underwriter for the show on WVIZ's competitor down south, WNEO/WEAO in the Akron/Canton/Youngstown area. I remember the underwriting spot for the latter station included the famous "Eat N Park's the place for smiles!" jingle.

I remember The Hitchhiker aired on WOIO and WUAB in Cleveland, both of which are sister stations, and strangely enough, it also aired on the low-powered Akron station known as "The CAT," W35AX and WAOH-LP Channel 29.
 
Actually, I had the hunch to check one more lot of tapes given that I'm getting a bonus day off for the holidays, and once again, another decent mix of content. I just checked 22 VHS tapes from an eBay seller from Greenfield, MA in the northwestern part of the Bay State. Despite being a few hours away, a lot of NYC area content in addition to a little Springfield, MA, Boston, and even some SW CT stuff present. The local Fairfield County, CT inserts on one tape indicate the reasoning for the NYC content before moving around 1996. The seller has two other lots for sale if anyone is interested. Duds included three tapes filled with vintage Charlie Chan movies from the 1930s/40s recorded off AMC in October 1990 with only a few promos, along with three tapes that had Greenfield Community College's ACE: No Chickens Here video circa 2003, along with two other tapes from a direct marketing seminar starring Jim J, located in a Dallas hotel in 1991. Sell pile tapes included a rerun of the 1986 TV movie Women of Valor taken from WCBS on 9/6/1988 with commercials (already got this) and another with the Peter, Paul and Mary 25th anniversary concert from 1986 with a few promos.

TAPE 1: Choices of the Heart, the Lifetime original movies from 3/8/1995 with commercials and Fairfield County, CT inserts, followed by Bye, Bye, Birdie (1995) taped off WABC on 12/1/1995 with commercials (already got this), followed by the last 30 minutes of Presumed Innocent (1990) taped off WCBS on 1/15/1995 with commercials, followed by the last few minutes of Party of Five and the first few minutes of the WNYW 10 PM News circa late 1994 with a few commercials. Mid-90s Fuji T-120, EP mode

TAPE 2: The series premiere of Star Trek: Voyager taped off WWOR/UPN on 1/16/1995 with commercials, followed by the premiere of Second Noah taped off WABC on 2/5/1996 with ads (missing the opening), followed by Star Trek VII: Generations (1994) taped off HBO circa 1996 with no promos, followed by the series finale of Roseanne taped off WGGB/ABC on 5/20/1997 with commercials (missing the intro), followed by several minutes of Coach circa 1996 to round out the tape. Unknown circa mid-90s tape stock, EP mode

TAPE 3: East & West: The Boston Higami School, the Bridge of 10,000 Miles, a 1981 episode of Are You Being Served?, and most of Newsnight with R.D. Sahl taped off WGBH on 5/5/1995 with promos and a Nightly Business Report brief. Mid-90s Fuji T-120, SP mode

TAPE 4: Both parts of the CBS miniseries True Women from 5/18 and 5/20/1997 taped off WFSB with commercials, followed by most of Law & Order (the seventh season finale), the WWLP 11 PM News, and about three-quarters of The Tonight Show taped off WWLP/NBC on 5/21/1997 with commercials. Mid-90s Fuji HQ, EP mode

TAPE 5: An encore presentation of the first installment of the Pride and Prejudice miniseries taped off A&E on 1/27/1996 with commercials, followed by most of Sentinel (my first find of this drama) taped off WWOR/UPN on 4/10/1996 with commercials, followed by a rerun of a Star Trek: Voyager episode taped off WWOR/UPN on 4/1/1996 with commercials, followed by American Masters: Buckminster Fuller Thinking Out Loud and a Passover documentary (narrated by Edward Asner; I've also found the Hanukkah documentary and will be posting this to the Internet Archive soon) taped off WNET/PBS on 4/10/1996 with a few promos, followed by about a 40 minute compilation of CBS Sunday Morning clips taped circa May/June 1997 with no commercials. Mid-90s Maxell T-120

TAPE 6: Ten episodes from WPIX's 1992 4th of July Twilight Zone Marathon, Op Sail '92, and about the first 15 minutes of the 1992 edition of Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular taped off WPIX with commercials. Early '90s Fuji T-120, EP mode

TAPE 7: Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes, the NBC Monday Night At The Movies presentation taped off WNBC on 8/6/1990 with commercials (begins about 40 minutes into the movie and unlike most broadcasts that time of year, it was a premiere), followed by Field of Dreams (1989), the CBS Tuesday Movie taped off WCBS on 9/18/1990 with commercials (I've already farmed the ads off WBBM), followed by part of the CBS Special Movie presentation of The World's Oldest Living Bridesmaid (begins about 35 minutes into the movie) and the first eight minutes of the WCBS 11 PM News taped off WCBS on 9/21/1990 with commercials, followed by about the last half hour of an episode of War and Remembrance taped off presumably WABC in May 1989 with no commercials. Recoton T-120, EP mode

TAPE 8: Part of the CBS Tuesday Movie presentation of Firefighters taped off WCBS on 9/23/1986 with commercials (missing approximately the first 35 minutes), followed by Murders In The Rue Morgue (1932) taped off AMC in April 1991 with a few promos (this will be out of copyright in just over two years), followed by the CBS Tuesday Movie presentation of Sometimes They Come Back taped off WCBS on 5/7/1991 with commercials, followed by the last few minutes of a Knight Rider episode taped off WNBC circa 1985 with a few commercials at the end. Mid-80s Fuji T-120, EP mode

TAPE 9: Lot of nice finds, but a little frustrating given that I already have three of these five broadcasts already, and one of the two that I don't isn't completely spared from the ad zapper. Starts off with Quantum Leap taped off WNBC on 12/6/1989 with commercials, followed by episodes of Beauty and the Beast taped off WCBS on 12/13/1989, 12/13/1989, 1/3/1990, and 1/10/1990 with commercials on every episode except for the 1/10/1990 broadcast, which only has the first two ad breaks intact and is missing the end credits. Mid-80s Fuji T-120, EP mode

TAPE 10: Begins with some French foreign language movie taped off Bravo in July 1989 with a few minutes of promos after the movie (begins about midway through the movie, also Bravo still had its stylish cursive logo), followed by La Nuit de Varennes (French movie) and a rerun of The "Slap" Maxwell Story taped off A&E on 7/9/1989 with commercials (different from the episode I found earlier this year), followed by most of the WABC Late Movie presentation of Stalker (1971) from 7/7/1989 with commercials, followed by Dr. No (1962), the ABC Monday Movie and the first few minutes of the WABC 11 PM News taped off WABC on 7/10/1989 with most commercials. Recoton T-120

TAPE 11: Parts one and two of Concealed Enemies taped off WNET/PBS on 5/7/1984 with a few promos (the tape gets stuck right before the beginning of part two, so I'm only going to record the second half), followed by the series finale of Happy Days taped off WABC on 5/8/1984 with commercials, followed by parts three and four of Concealed Enemies taped off WNET/PBS on 5/8 and 5/9/1984 with no promos, followed by the series finale of Family Ties taped off presumably WNBC on 5/14/1989 with no commercials (I've already got this anyway), followed by about 20 minutes in the middle of an episode of Blue Thunder taped off WABC on 5/11/1984 with a couple commercial breaks. First find of this Airwolf competitor that didn't last nearly as long. Mid-80s Fuji T-120, EP mode

TAPE 12: Starts off with The Paper Chase: Second Year episode "Not Prince Hamlet" taped off Showtime in late 1984 or early 1985 with no promos, followed by the last eight minutes of Streethawk and Matt Houston recorded off WABC on 1/11/1985 with commercials, followed by about half of Airwolf taped off WCBS on 1/12/1985 with commercials (I've got the whole broadcast already), followed by part one of the A.D. miniseries taped off WNBC on 3/31/1985 with some commercials, followed by a rerun of the short-lived 1984 series Steambath taped off Showtime on 4/11/1985 with several minutes of promos after the show, followed by the last several minutes of Secret Weapons, the NBC Sunday Night Movie and the first 21 minutes of the WNBC 11 PM News from 3/3/1985 with commercials. Mid-80s Fuji T-120, EP mode
 
Appropriately, 2025 began with some Star Trek finds (1982 Canadian broadcasts followed by that big WXIN lot) and ended with a couple more finds, with lots of goodies along the way ranging from that George H.W. Bush inauguration overnight aircheck featuring lots of game shows and an episode of Friday Night Videos, mid '80s New Orleans content including some 1984 World's Fair coverage, Christmas and a few Halloween specials, '90s college basketball, 1985 Chicago Bears games and local coverage, a nearly full primetime block off NBC from March 1987, the 1983 USFL championship, a partial WFLD cartoons block from 1986, several Spokane Lilac Festival parades from the '80s including a KHQ newscast and Hunter episode after the 1987 parade, a partial CBS soaps block from September 1985, an overnight aircheck from ESPN in April 1988 including some fitness and business programs following part of an NHL game, a late night block from 1982 featuring my oldest David Letterman and first NBC News Overnight finds, a four-hour block of MTV from September 1992, a couple episodes of America's Top 10 with Casey Kasem, lots of 20/20 and a few 48 Hours episodes from the late '80s and early '90s, a tape full of Bikini Open specials from 1992, and even some jazz taped off radio station WSVH from 1986 with some DJ segments. Although my original Toshiba DVD recorder has gone through about 5000 DVD conversions since I first received it for Christmas in 2013, it is still productive.

I'll be visiting my uncle in Florida around New Year's and mentioned that he had a couple tapes from the 1983 ALCS between the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles. I previously received from the 1983 World Series from him, which had a mixed rate of commercials, but since I'll be driving with my family, I'll try to get those. Otherwise, I'll probably be busy taking in the sights, getting some winter beach time like Santa after his big flight, and drive around after spending a few nights in Sarasota. 2026 may be a little more challenging for me as my work commute will increase by about an hour daily, but will still try to post a lot of stuff in my backlog (over 300 tapes) in the new year, including many of the finds that I have posted in 2025 along with a few stragglers from previous years. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!
 
Here's the results from several more tapes I purchased from that giant West Valley estate sale the weekend of December 13th. I went back the next day and got another stack of tapes, all of them had commercials on them and were uncut tapings for the most part...some really nice stuff on the second batch as well.

Tape 10 - 'Mr. Mom' (1983) taped off KAPP/ABC on 2/16/1986 with commercials (already have this from KOMO, so I get to 'farm' the local ads from this station); after a bunch of blank space is a NOVA episode taped off KYVE/PBS in February 1986 (The Frozen Addict); coverage of the Winter Olympics from Calgary taped off KAPP/ABC on 2/27/1988 with commercials (or whenever the Figure Skating exhibition performances happened...could have been 2/28, prior to the closing ceremonies). Sony T-120
Tape 11 - A full 6-hour "let it run" here, a nice one too, all the way to the early morning sign-off: "The Wizard of Oz" (1939), The Equalizer, NewsBeat at 11, CBS Late Night with Adderly and "Endless Love" (1981), followed by KIMA/CBS wishing us a good night...taped 2/24-25/1988 with commercials. Sony T-120. Ironically, I found another Oz "let it run" tape earlier this year, via KLAS Las Vegas and from the February 1991 broadcast.
Tape 12 - "The Music Man" (1962) taped off KYVE-47 on 3/24/1985 with several pledge breaks (oldest pledge drive I have ever found from this station); part of "Deadbolt" (1993) taped off KIMA/CBS on 6/8/1993 with commercials (rough signal, but it's in color). Sony T-120
Tape 13 - "Never Cry Wolf" (1983) taped off KIMA-29 on 10/20/1987 with commercials; "Terms of Endearment" (1983) taped off KNDO/NBC on 12/27/1987 with commercials; partial episode of Days of Our Lives taped off KNDO/NBC in August 1988 with commercials. TDK T-120
Tape 14 - 'The Sandlot' (1993) taped off Disney Channel on 4/26/2002 with promos; partial broadcast of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and part of an opera special taped off KOAC/PBS in March 1996 with promos (OPB, but I assume it was from Corvallis channel 7 given he lived in Salem); most of Law & Order taped off KGW/NBC on 2/28/1996 with commercials and first five minutes of Northwest NewsChannel 8 at 11; partial broadcast of Chicago Hope and first few minutes of KIMA News at 11 taped 3/13/1995 with commercials; partial broadcast of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and part of Late Night with Conan O'Brien taped off KNDO/NBC on 2/27-28/1995 with commercials. Fuji T-120
Tape 15 - "Some Like it Hot" (1959) taped off TNT on 6/1/1996 with commercials; partial episode of Saturday Night Live taped off KNDO/NBC in September 1985 with commercials; part of Hollywood Wives (part 3) and part of News 35 at 11 taped off KAPP/ABC on 2/19/1985 with commercials; part of Saturday Night Live taped off KNDO/NBC on 5/4-5/1985 with commercials. Great find!! Certron T-120
Tape 16 - 5 hours of The Godfather Saga taped off USA on New Year's Eve 2000 with commercials. The last hour is recorded static. Master T-120
 
crainbebo said:
Here's the results from several more tapes I purchased from that giant West Valley estate sale the weekend of December 13th. I went back the next day and got another stack of tapes, all of them had commercials on them and were uncut tapings for the most part...some really nice stuff on the second batch as well.

Tape 10 - 'Mr. Mom' (1983) taped off KAPP/ABC on 2/16/1986 with commercials (already have this from KOMO, so I get to 'farm' the local ads from this station); after a bunch of blank space is a NOVA episode taped off KYVE/PBS in February 1986 (The Frozen Addict); coverage of the Winter Olympics from Calgary taped off KAPP/ABC on 2/27/1988 with commercials (or whenever the Figure Skating exhibition performances happened...could have been 2/28, prior to the closing ceremonies). Sony T-120
Tape 11 - A full 6-hour "let it run" here, a nice one too, all the way to the early morning sign-off: "The Wizard of Oz" (1939), The Equalizer, NewsBeat at 11, CBS Late Night with Adderly and "Endless Love" (1981), followed by KIMA/CBS wishing us a good night...taped 2/24-25/1988 with commercials. Sony T-120. Ironically, I found another Oz "let it run" tape earlier this year, via KLAS Las Vegas and from the February 1991 broadcast.
Tape 16 - 5 hours of The Godfather Saga taped off USA on New Year's Eve 2000 with commercials. The last hour is recorded static. Master T-120
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Wow yet another recorded version of Mr. Mom from the 1986/2/16 ABC network premiere, I've found two as well, so that makes 4 from 4 different affiliates. Tape 11 with the CBS late night is a must, may have to trade with you for that, CBS late night recordings are quite rare, and they used to air uncommon TV airings of movies with Endless Love being no exception. Didn't CBS air The Wizard of Oz about once a year in that era? I recall seeing it on TV often in the early 90s too. That is a rare airing of the Godfather Saga, some years ago someone found the original network airing from the early 80s, its unique because it was never released on DVD or Bluray (in Region 1/North America at least) just on a VHS boxset sometime in the 1980s. With as many releases of Godfather as there are on DVD and Bluray you would think they would finally release that alternate edit but no.
 
Chandler, I normally won't sell tapes that have complete Yakima newscasts, given they are guaranteed lost footage (KIMA threw out much of their archives in the late '00s, and so did KAPP and KNDO when they closed their Yakima studios). I may make an exception on this one however given the late night stuff. The Adderly episode was called "See How They Die." Of course, the Endless Love film has 40 minutes or more cut from it due to the 80-min. timeslot that CBS scheduled for the second feature. Plus, there's a good chunk of commercials and PSAs. So it might be 60 minutes of film.
 


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