One of the best Classic TV web sites and my primary go-to site for the playlists that I use for my fantasy TV channel is now history, with its domain having expired earlier this month without any warning. That site was called "Uncle Earl's Classic TV" and it was a large one-man operation that had been running since the late 1990s, when the Internet first gained popularity. That man was "Uncle Earl" Oliver, a retired musician now in his 70s who created the site as a spinoff of another popular site called "Solie's Vintage Wrestling" which showed highlights and full matches from all the popular wrestling organizations (WWF, WWE, WCW, etc.) The site had full episodes and playlists from classic TV series of the 50s, 60s, and 70s of all types: sitcoms, dramas, westerns, sci-fi and more. It was a valuable and informative source for me and now I will have to find other alternatives to use. If anyone can suggest any for me, I would appreciate it and I would love to see them. Thank you.

Thank you, Uncle Earl!!!

According to his Wikipedia page, Uncle Earl is 75. It's possible he passed away or had a medical issue. I couldn't find an obituary.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Oliver

His personal website earloliver.com doesn't work either. He was still performing as of December 22, so it doesn't look like he was fully retired. This is his Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/earl.oliver.33/

I once forgot to renew our domain name. Thankfully I was able to quickly reactivate it.

It looks like solie.org expired on December 22. It seems like he would have renewed it by now. Hopefully it comes back in some form.

There was show upload news on his updates page a few days ago.

Here's the main links from the Wayback Machine. They were last archived three weeks ago and you can still access the show pages but the videos don't play.

https://web.archive.org/web/20231216214524/https://solie.org/

https://web.archive.org/web/20231208120949/https://www.solie.org/ClassicTV/

https://web.archive.org/web/20231204031421/https://www.solie.org/alibrary/index.html

did uncle earl go off line once b4 several months ago ?

I've emailed suggestions to Earl in the past so I've been on his general email list.

A few days ago he wrote, "I wanted to let everyone know that the Uncle Earl site is down. Ther appears to be some problems with my web server - at the moment I am working to solve the problems, but it could be down for a while. I will let you know if and when I get it back up."

So hopefully things will be up and running soon.

Earl is done with the websites for good according to his recent FB post. Sad for us, but good for him to move on with his life and other interests.

I was thinking of doing my own Uncle Earl's type of webpage myself with the same type of setup that would focus mainly on classic sitcoms from the 50s to the 70s that would be found on YouTube and other video sharing platforms where you can find them easily. Earl never used any of the streaming sites to get his shows, just the ones that had been there before streaming became popular. The big risk of course is that a show could be on YouTube one day and gone the next before you know it. In cases like that, I would look to use more than one link. I could start it here in the DVD section but it could get moved somewhere else after I'm done. One site I like to use is OK.RU where I could make playlists like this:

The Brady Bunch (https://ok.ru/video/c3178992)

The Partridge Family (https://ok.ru/video/c3174896)

Gilligan's Island (https://ok.ru/video/c5930010)

Happy Days (https://ok.ru/video/c3879165)

Addams Family (https://ok.ru/video/c17192870)

This is just a small sample of what I wish to accomplish. I hope you will like it.

I was thinking of doing my own Uncle Earl's type of webpage myself with the same type of setup that would focus mainly on classic sitcoms from the 50s to the 70s that would be found on YouTube and other video sharing platforms where you can find them easily. Earl never used any of the streaming sites to get his shows, just the ones that had been there before streaming became popular. The big risk of course is that a show could be on YouTube one day and gone the next before you know it. In cases like that, I would look to use more than one link. I could start it here in the DVD section but it could get moved somewhere else after I'm done. One site I like to use is OK.RU where I could make playlists like this:

The Brady Bunch (https://ok.ru/video/c3178992)

The Partridge Family (https://ok.ru/video/c3174896)

Gilligan's Island (https://ok.ru/video/c5930010)

Happy Days (https://ok.ru/video/c3879165)

Addams Family (https://ok.ru/video/c17192870)

This is just a small sample of what I wish to accomplish. I hope you will like it.

Would internet archive be a better place for this? I know Earl has posted there and those post still exist.

The most useful thing about the Earl site was that you were able to find what show you wanted. Which once you clicked on it would take you to access of those shows on the Internet Archive. It was then on Internet Archive where you could download those shows. The trouble with only using Internet Archive if you try to find a particular series it most likely will not show anything. BUT using the Earl site first to find the show you want and THEN clicking on Internet Archive from the Earl site that would get you to the shows on I.Archive that you wouldn't find by just searching for them without first going thru Earl.

So it may be the easiest thing to do is to create a site of yours that would show just the names of TV classics which when you click on it from there would then lead you to those shows already available on Internet Archive. Using your new site as the place to go to help people find the shows they want on Internet Archive.

I hope all that makes sense. I know I've tried to find shows just using Internet Archive and the search there won't show you what you want. But when I went to the Earl site to find the show and then clicking on the Internet Archive symbol from the Earl site now that would lead you to the shows available on Internet Archive. If you could do that same thing with your new site then that would be perfect.

Good luck!

When Uncle Earl's site disappeared, I was asking for someone to find for me a site like his that carries a number of classic series of all types all in one place. The Internet Archive was suggested to me and it is a good place to go to find lots of classic series both popular and rare. If you're looking for a one-stop site with a large catalog of shows all in one place, I found a site called PDTV.LIVE (formerly called PDTV.ME) which has a lot of great shows to watch from all genres from Abbott & Costello to Zorro. The display layout is a little crude and awkward but you should still be able to find what you want and many series are complete and able to be downloaded. Take a look here and see what you think:

PDTV.LIVE (https://pdtv.live/)

When Uncle Earl's site disappeared, I was asking for someone to find for me a site like his that carries a number of classic series of all types all in one place. The Internet Archive was suggested to me and it is a good place to go to find lots of classic series both popular and rare. If you're looking for a one-stop site with a large catalog of shows all in one place, I found a site called PDTV.LIVE (formerly called PDTV.ME) which has a lot of great shows to watch from all genres from Abbott & Costello to Zorro. The display layout is a little crude and awkward but you should still be able to find what you want and many series are complete and able to be downloaded. Take a look here and see what you think:

PDTV.LIVE (https://pdtv.live/)

Thanks for sharing this. It is a difficult website to navigate.

Is anyone else not getting an sound on the videos from this site?

You need to cut the sound on, on the player.

When Uncle Earl's site disappeared, I was asking for someone to find for me a site like his that carries a number of classic series of all types all in one place. The Internet Archive was suggested to me and it is a good place to go to find lots of classic series both popular and rare. If you're looking for a one-stop site with a large catalog of shows all in one place, I found a site called PDTV.LIVE (formerly called PDTV.ME) which has a lot of great shows to watch from all genres from Abbott & Costello to Zorro. The display layout is a little crude and awkward but you should still be able to find what you want and many series are complete and able to be downloaded. Take a look here and see what you think:

PDTV.LIVE (https://pdtv.live/)

Hello, I was enjoying the pdtv site but as of 3-18 I can no longer connect to it. It just times out and never comes up. Are you having that issue too?

Hello, I was enjoying the pdtv site but as of 3-18 I can no longer connect to it. It just times out and never comes up. Are you having that issue too?

I had that same issue for the last couple of days but it should be better now if you try again.

I had that same issue for the last couple of days but it should be better now if you try again.

Thank You! I am able to get it now.

not working

not working

You are right. It is not working and I think I know why. The PDTV channel comes from Twitch which has a few good Classic TV pages, all of which are running live feeds. Unfortunately, there is one Twitch user that calls himself Lawless Child that got caught by the dreaded copyright police and had his page removed. Once that happened, the PDTV page got removed as well along with all the great shows that were on there. However, I have a hunch that he might try again. He has done so in the past and I don't believe he will give up. I will keep checking to make sure.

TWITCH TV (https://www.twitch.tv/lawless_child)

You are right. It is not working and I think I know why. The PDTV channel comes from Twitch which has a few good Classic TV pages, all of which are running live feeds. Unfortunately, there is one Twitch user that calls himself Lawless Child that got caught by the dreaded copyright police and had his page removed. Once that happened, the PDTV page got removed as well along with all the great shows that were on there. However, I have a hunch that he might try again. He has done so in the past and I don't believe he will give up. I will keep checking to make sure.

TWITCH TV (https://www.twitch.tv/lawless_child)

GOOD NEWS!! The page is working again!! All issues seem to be resolved --- for now. If it ever goes blank again, give it a couple of days. It should be fine.

Ok.ru might be a good option since it's based in Russia - American copyright laws should not apply.

Uncle Sal since our old Uncle Earl took a powder along with his website in the middle of the night without any warning. I have a hopeful request. You recently told where to find Honeymooners shows on the Archive. Could you please tell me where to find all the Love That Bob's that you used to be able to find using the Earl site first. Just going to Intrnet Archive and doing a search for the name of that show will only show you a few of the episodes we've all seen. BUT if you had first used the Earl site and then clicked on the Archive symbol from there then you'd find a boatload of episodes but all of them NOT using the name of the show but rather some odd code. So nowadays unless you know the crazy codes you can't find the shows Earl used to lead you to by just searching on the Archive by the name of the show. Hence I ask you to lead me to, like Earl would do, all those secret uploads of Love That Bobs on the Archive. Like I said simply searching for a show by the proper name leads you to just the basics, not the treasure trove.

Uncle Sal since our old Uncle Earl took a powder along with his website in the middle of the night without any warning. I have a hopeful request. You recently told where to find Honeymooners shows on the Archive. Could you please tell me where to find all the Love That Bob's that you used to be able to find using the Earl site first. Just going to Intrnet Archive and doing a search for the name of that show will only show you a few of the episodes we've all seen. BUT if you had first used the Earl site and then clicked on the Archive symbol from there then you'd find a boatload of episodes but all of them NOT using the name of the show but rather some odd code. So nowadays unless you know the crazy codes you can't find the shows Earl used to lead you to by just searching on the Archive by the name of the show. Hence I ask you to lead me to, like Earl would do, all those secret uploads of Love That Bobs on the Archive. Like I said simply searching for a show by the proper name leads you to just the basics, not the treasure trove.


Uncle Sal! I like that!

The Uncle Earl site was easy to use. His Archive pages were not, and it was all because of his coding system that you mentioned, which remained unchanged for more than 20 years. The way it works is this: The first episode of "Hazel" is called "Hazel And The Playground". If I was to look it up on Uncle Earl's Classic TV Channel or YouTube or other video sites, it would normally appear like this:

1x1 - Hazel And The Playground (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEkqdDsuQt4&pp=ygUQaGF6ZWwgcGxheWdyb3VuZA%3D%3D)

However, on Earl's Archive page, it would look something like this:

101Playground

Can anyone honestly tell what that is supposed to be?

So this is what I am going to do. Earl's Classic TV website is gone but his Archive channels are still there. Here is the whole group, all 743 pages of it:

Uncle Earl's Internet Archive Site (https://archive.org/details/@uncle_earl)

I am going to fearlessly attempt to go through all of these pages for you and post his sitcom links for you. Those are normally buried deep down beneath other playlists that feature Earl and his band and I have no idea what the shows or episodes are on there, but I will find them and post them for you. Look for them to emerge starting later today on a page which I will call "Uncle Earl's Classic TV Archives".

I have a beautiful collection of shows already EXCEPT for Love That Bob which I never got around to Earl's site to get. All I have are the official DVD releases and that ain't much. So, as far as I'm concerned, if you could just tell me where the Earl secret coded Love That Bob's are I'd be more than happy. I can save you the trouble of having to look for everything else.

Looking at that Internet Archive place you reference where Earl has posted showing hundreds and hundreds of unknown singers with no reference at all to TV shows. It would take you years to go thru all that lunacy and all those bad singers to find the TV treasures buried amongst them.

That was always the problem with that Earl site,:mad: you couldn't find shows you wanted unless you first finagled your way thru the secret ways of Earl to get to the Archive:confused:. And even that I had to figure out how to get to the Archive by first finding the show wanted on Earl:crazy:.

I have a beautiful collection of shows already EXCEPT for Love That Bob which I never got around to Earl's site to get. All I have are the official DVD releases and that ain't much. So, as far as I'm concerned, if you could just tell me where the Earl secret coded Love That Bob's are I'd be more than happy. I can save you the trouble of having to look for everything else.

Looking at that Internet Archive place you reference where Earl has posted showing hundreds and hundreds of unknown singers with no reference at all to TV shows. It would take you years to go thru all that lunacy and all those bad singers to find the TV treasures buried amongst them.

That was always the problem with that Earl site,:mad: you couldn't find shows you wanted unless you first finagled your way thru the secret ways of Earl to get to the Archive:confused:. And even that I had to figure out how to get to the Archive by first finding the show wanted on Earl:crazy:.

I would love to tell you but, just like you, I have absolutely no idea where they are, so I will have to keep looking until I find them!

As Mr. T would say, "I pity the foo" who has to go thru all that crapola. But as massive a job as it is it will be a great service to all here. Thank you Uncle Sal in advance, I wish you boundless energy for this task. Maybe even old Earl might reveal his secret codes to you if you smile and ask real nice with a pretty please thrown in.:D

As Mr. T would say, "I pity the foo" who has to go thru all that crapola. But as massive a job as it is it will be a great service to all here. Thank you Uncle Sal in advance, I wish you boundless energy for this task. Maybe even old Earl might reveal his secret codes to you if you smile and ask real nice with a pretty please thrown in.:D


Good news!! I found them!!!! :):):)

Just direct your eyes towards this link and all will be revealed to you:

Uncle Earl's "Love That Bob" Page - Internet Archive (https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showpost.php?p=6277707&postcount=26)