Audio Taping Of Shows - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Dr. Thong · 01-14-2006, 08:53 PM

In 1976, VCRs hadn't made their debut in the US. However, that didn't stop me (and many others) from being enterprising and making home tapes of Happy Days and other shows.

I would put my portable mono tape recorder right up to the TV speaker and make an audio tape on cassette. Yes, in retrospect, they sounded horrible - but when you're 10, you're not exactly very demanding.

Of course, the funny thing is that I instructed my Mother not to laugh or say anything. The recorder got every noise in the room as it wasn't a direct recording from the TV to the recorder. There are some tapes that are augmented by a live cough or sneeze or a laugh that just snuck out.

In fact, I was so eager to hear my handiwork that I would oftentimes forego watching Laverne & Shirley afterwards. It seemed like a cool thing to do and in my own way, I was being an outlaw by taping a show off the air. Like many, we were engaging in an early version of downloading.

I have heard of others doing this - anybody else here guilty of this??

Keep in mind you younger ones that this was pre-VCRs, pre-home computers, pre-internet and that a very basic black and white home video game version of table tennis named Pong pioneered the way for the likes of Nintendo and Play Station.

At that time, it was revolutionary...and that's no joke!

treky · 01-15-2006, 12:10 AM

yes, I used to do it. Besides "Happy Days" I used to record "MASH" "Rohda" "Maude" "That's my Mama" "Chico and the man" and sometimes late night reruns of "The Jack Benny show" and "Dustys Trail". In fact, I remember, when Jack Benny died in 1974 I recorded a tribute special on him that NBC showed.

And, I remember once, I used up 2 cassetes recording "The Tonight show with Johnny Carson". I still have it, complete with my brother yelling at me to turn the TV down because he was trying to sleep

Cheryl Harrell · 01-15-2006, 05:27 AM

Boy did you bring back some memories.

I did it with The Monkees & Welcome Back Kotter & a few special shows with John Travolta in them. Most of them are on cassette. I even taped some Monkees eps on 8-track tape lol. My stereo had an am/fm radio, record player and an 8-track that recorded. I still have it & it still works except the 8-track doesn't record anymore. I'd hold the mike up to my b&w tv & tape away lol...

Dr. Thong · 01-15-2006, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheryl Harrell

Boy did you bring back some memories.

I did it with The Monkees & Welcome Back Kotter & a few special shows with John Travolta in them. Most of them are on cassette. I even taped some Monkees eps on 8-track tape lol. My stereo had an am/fm radio, record player and an 8-track that recorded. I still have it & it still works except the 8-track doesn't record anymore. I'd hold the mike up to my b&w tv & tape away lol...

My mic was built into my cassette recorder - one of those little radio shack jobs - so I just pushed it next to the TV and let it roll. I did, however, hit the pause button during commercials. Unless of course, it was a promo for the show or some other show that I liked.

Eight tracks!! Man, are we old!!

tv star collector · 01-15-2006, 03:56 PM

Oh, yes. I sure did. Back in the early seventies, I used the same procedure to audio tape episodes of several shows (most of which, regrettably, have since had to be discarded, unless they could be spliced or otherwise fixed). Surprisingly, a few have actually survived to this day: ROOM 222, LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, ONE DAY AT A TIME, a 1980 Steve Allen PBS special, FISH (pilot), and a Bob Hope special (a 1977 tribute to Bing Crosby). Actually, they still sound pretty good. I had the microphone close to the TV speaker and turned up the volume. I had scores of others, but they all wore out and broke.

snl 70s show fan · 01-20-2006, 06:59 PM

yes i used to do that all the time but all those golden treasures got lost in a move over 20 years ago i had happy days mork and mindy hee haw and all kinds of saturday morning cartoons and game shows on a side note i saw in interview on tv with jennifer aniston where she talked about this very subject and she said that she used to tape happy days and joanie loves chachi because she had a big crush on scott baio

tv star collector · 01-21-2006, 08:56 AM

I used to have two episodes of HAPPY DAYS on audio tape: "The Not Making of
a President" (1/28/75) and "The Motorcycle" (9/16/75). I'm a cartoonist and,
just for fun, drew comic books based on both episodes. The tapes are gone,
but I still have the comics.

I enjoyed drawing those adaptations so much that I did several other adaptations
of TV shows in comic book form using audio tapes: ALL IN THE FAMILY, BARNEY
MILLER, CARTER COUNTRY, CPO SHARKEY, FISH, LAVERNE & SHIRLEY, and WHAT'S
HAPPENING!!

Dr. Thong · 01-21-2006, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snl 70s show fan

yes i used to do that all the time but all those golden treasures got lost in a move over 20 years ago i had happy days mork and mindy hee haw and all kinds of saturday morning cartoons and game shows on a side note i saw in interview on tv with jennifer aniston where she talked about this very subject and she said that she used to tape happy days and joanie loves chachi because she had a big crush on scott baio

In the first episode of Friends, Jennifer's character Rachel left her fiancee Barry at the altar. Later in the episode, she's seen watching Joanie and Chachi's wedding, where she cries and says "But Joanie loved Chachi."

snl 70s show fan · 01-21-2006, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

In the first episode of Friends, Jennifer's character Rachel left her fiancee Barry at the altar. Later in the episode, she's seen watching Joanie and Chachi's wedding, where she cries and says "But Joanie loved Chachi."

i forgot all about that part of the ep tthanks for the reminder

Dr. Thong · 01-22-2006, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snl 70s show fan

i forgot all about that part of the ep tthanks for the reminder

No problem. Glad to be of help.

01-14-2006, 08:53 PM	#1
Dr. Thong a/k/a "ACK!" Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 10, 2001 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 5,546	Audio Taping Of Shows In 1976, VCRs hadn't made their debut in the US. However, that didn't stop me (and many others) from being enterprising and making home tapes of Happy Days and other shows. I would put my portable mono tape recorder right up to the TV speaker and make an audio tape on cassette. Yes, in retrospect, they sounded horrible - but when you're 10, you're not exactly very demanding. Of course, the funny thing is that I instructed my Mother not to laugh or say anything. The recorder got every noise in the room as it wasn't a direct recording from the TV to the recorder. There are some tapes that are augmented by a live cough or sneeze or a laugh that just snuck out. In fact, I was so eager to hear my handiwork that I would oftentimes forego watching Laverne & Shirley afterwards. It seemed like a cool thing to do and in my own way, I was being an outlaw by taping a show off the air. Like many, we were engaging in an early version of downloading. I have heard of others doing this - anybody else here guilty of this?? Keep in mind you younger ones that this was pre-VCRs, pre-home computers, pre-internet and that a very basic black and white home video game version of table tennis named Pong pioneered the way for the likes of Nintendo and Play Station. At that time, it was revolutionary...and that's no joke!
	__________________ "Sunday has been cancelled due to lack of interest. That is all."

01-15-2006, 12:10 AM	#2
treky star trek fan Eternal Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Feb 25, 2002 Location: Conshohocken, pennsylvania Posts: 14,490	yes, I used to do it. Besides "Happy Days" I used to record "MASH" "Rohda" "Maude" "That's my Mama" "Chico and the man" and sometimes late night reruns of "The Jack Benny show" and "Dustys Trail". In fact, I remember, when Jack Benny died in 1974 I recorded a tribute special on him that NBC showed. And, I remember once, I used up 2 cassetes recording "The Tonight show with Johnny Carson". I still have it, complete with my brother yelling at me to turn the TV down because he was trying to sleep
	__________________ the Clampetts are in a fancy Beverly Hills jewelry store. Granny points to a tray of rubies. Granny: "How much fer one o' them red diamonds?" clerk: "Madam, those are rubies." Granny: "OK ask her kin we buy one offa her." clerk: " The ruby I am talking about is not a lady." Granny: "Lissen, how she got them diamonds is her business. I'm just sayin' ask her kin we buy one from her."

01-15-2006, 05:27 AM	#3
Cheryl Harrell I Love You Mike 4-Ever Forum Veteran Join Date: Mar 23, 2001 Location: Pixley!!!! Actually VA--USA LOL! Posts: 6,192	Boy did you bring back some memories. I did it with The Monkees & Welcome Back Kotter & a few special shows with John Travolta in them. Most of them are on cassette. I even taped some Monkees eps on 8-track tape lol. My stereo had an am/fm radio, record player and an 8-track that recorded. I still have it & it still works except the 8-track doesn't record anymore. I'd hold the mike up to my b&w tv & tape away lol...
	__________________ RIP darling Mike. I love you forever... You are with Freddie Prinze & Jesus now. 1951-2009 "Make it your way, who can beat the Lord, the Son of God. Dear Lord, help me be strong where I am weak, if it be your will"-- The Late Freddie Prinze Sr

01-15-2006, 03:56 PM	#5
tv star collector I Love Susie Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Oct 18, 2005 Location: South Carolina Posts: 4,486	Oh, yes. I sure did. Back in the early seventies, I used the same procedure to audio tape episodes of several shows (most of which, regrettably, have since had to be discarded, unless they could be spliced or otherwise fixed). Surprisingly, a few have actually survived to this day: ROOM 222, LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, ONE DAY AT A TIME, a 1980 Steve Allen PBS special, FISH (pilot), and a Bob Hope special (a 1977 tribute to Bing Crosby). Actually, they still sound pretty good. I had the microphone close to the TV speaker and turned up the volume. I had scores of others, but they all wore out and broke.

01-20-2006, 06:59 PM	#6
snl 70s show fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Jun 14, 2005 Location: in the forman basment Posts: 2,454	yes i used to do that all the time but all those golden treasures got lost in a move over 20 years ago i had happy days mork and mindy hee haw and all kinds of saturday morning cartoons and game shows on a side note i saw in interview on tv with jennifer aniston where she talked about this very subject and she said that she used to tape happy days and joanie loves chachi because she had a big crush on scott baio

01-21-2006, 08:56 AM	#7
tv star collector I Love Susie Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Oct 18, 2005 Location: South Carolina Posts: 4,486	I used to have two episodes of HAPPY DAYS on audio tape: "The Not Making of a President" (1/28/75) and "The Motorcycle" (9/16/75). I'm a cartoonist and, just for fun, drew comic books based on both episodes. The tapes are gone, but I still have the comics. I enjoyed drawing those adaptations so much that I did several other adaptations of TV shows in comic book form using audio tapes: ALL IN THE FAMILY, BARNEY MILLER, CARTER COUNTRY, CPO SHARKEY, FISH, LAVERNE & SHIRLEY, and WHAT'S HAPPENING!!