Found something really special while looking through old tapes...

[JT]

I rarely make my own threads anymore, but when I found this, I just had to start a discussion on it because I am still in SHOCK of it all.

So, I was bored this morning, looking for something to watch. I started rummaging through old tapes that the family recorded things on over the years. Now, for the most part, I knew what was on these tapes: movies taped from HBO, sporting events, and that's pretty much it. Well, I was watching one of the tapes, and after a movie went off, classic "Saturday Night Live" from the late 1970s came on. I was really shocked because I had no idea where I came from. I didn't know it existed at all on this tape. The only TV show that I knew of on any of these old tapes was about 5-6 minutes of an episode of "Green Acres."

Well, since the movie before it was on HBO, I somehow just assumed that HBO had at one point aired SNL reruns some time. Well, SNL went to commercial break and all of a sudden, a promo for "The Donna Reed Show" started airing, and then I realized that this was classic Nick-at-Nite on this tape! Each commercial break gave me more clues to when this tape was made: promos for "Donna Reed" and "The Patty Duke Show," a commercial for "I Love Lucy" on video ("bringing 50s humor into the 80s!"), and more NAN promos. After SNL went off, there was a thing that showed what was coming up: "Fernwood 2Night" at 10:30/9:30, "On the Television" at 11:00/10:00, and "The Patty Duke Show" at 11:30/10:30! I just got online and did some investigating and it looks like this was recorded some time in the fall of 1990, when I was only a few months old!

I have no idea where this tape ends, but I hope it *doesn't* end! I hope that somehow my parents decided to tape the entire lineup! I've only seen one episode of "Patty Duke," and I've been itching to see another one, so I hope the tape goes that far!

Just thought I'd share that, because this tapes been sitting on the shelf for as long as I can remember and I had no idea at all that there was classic NAN on it. No idea!

ETA: Darn it! The tape stopped about 5 minutes into "Fernwood 2Night!" It was great while it lasted, and I'm definitely gonna look through the rest of the tape (and any others I can find) to see if there's anything else in there!

ETA again: Okay, I searched the boards for the Nick at Nite Log and according to that, this tape could have come from any Saturday or Sunday night from June 9, 1990, to July 29, 1990.

[JulieSomoski]

Wow, this is awesome! Too bad I was never smart enough to do that. I would have loved to see the old promos, plus Fernwood2Night. Too bad it ended.

[Ireneparalegal]

That reminds me of old vhs tapes I have in storage that have a few episodes of Phil Donahue, the Olympics ice skating right after the whole Tonya Harding matter, the O.J. Simpson trial and verdict, some local news stuff and other major news stories from the late 80's and early 90's. I also recorded the last episode of CHEERS, and some other notable episodes of certain sitcoms.

[Frischman_Fan]

I love looking through my old VHS tapes. Yes, I stil have them and I'm glad I've kept them. On my tapes I have:

• L.A. Law episodes

• A special epsiode from the talk show Rolanda(the ep is about classic tv sitcom stars sort of a where are they now. It features Joyce Randolph, David L. Lander, Al Lewis, Pat Priest, Bill Daily and Nichelle Nichols just to name a few. It's really neat).

• Some eps of The Honeymooners, Three's Company and Homocide:Life on the Street

• The 1992, 1996, 2000 & 2004 Olympics(gymnastics only)

• A bunch of Lifetime t.v. movies

But what I love too is looking at the old commercials.

[JT]

I took a hard look at the Nick at Nite Log, and boy, I have some vivid memories of those lineups.

I'll never forget the lineups from around 1994-1996. I'd watch NAN all night long. I distinctly remember not being allowed to stay up long enough for "The Bob Newhart Show," so I rarely, if ever, got a chance to actually watch it. So because of that, well up until I was maybe 7 or 8 years old, I had two strange misconceptions about the show: 1, that it was titled "Bob's New Heart Show," and it was about a guy, named Bob, who had a "new heart," and 2, that, because he always wore his dentist outfit, Jerry was actually Bob.

I'll never forget the one time I actually stayed up past "Bob Newhart." "Phyllis" came on right afterwards and I was in complete and utter shock that Phyllis had her own show. I had no clue. I watched "Rhoda" religiously, but never even knew "Phyllis" existed.

[friendsfan77]

I really wish I never taped over most of the early cable shows and other things I had recorded from TV years ago. Including N@N programming. I remember when I first got cable at home in 1995. I watched Mary Tyler Moore, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Bob Newhart every night. Then there was I Love Lucy and on weekends, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. Those were some fun times.

I taped a lot of that stuff, other shows on Nickelodeon, and I remember taping some episodes of Guiding Light and Days of Our Lives to watch when I got home from school. I KNOW I taped Sami's execution, unfortunately I just don't have it anymore.

[dakert]

It is fun looking at old tapes. I have an old 1985 tape of Boys Town on WGN and it is fun to hear the jingle 5-8-8-2-3-0-0 EMPIRE (I think that is the right #). On my 2002 or 2003 TVL marathon LITB tape there is Adam West saying, with TVL you avoid watching krapp. What a difference a few years makes. Now TVL is pretty much in the toilet.

[dawsongirl]

Awesome find! I have some episodes of Route 66 that were recorded off NAN in the 80s. So friggin cool.

[dawsongirl]

Originally Posted by friendsfan77

I taped a lot of that stuff, other shows on Nickelodeon, and I remember taping some episodes of Guiding Light and Days of Our Lives to watch when I got home from school. I KNOW I taped Sami's execution, unfortunately I just don't have it anymore.

I have like, half hour segments of DOOL when Bo and Billie got married (I mean OLD Bo and Billie- Lisa Rinna and Robert Kelker Kelly), Tony got shot when Kristen and John were a couple, Marlena was possessed, Hope thought she was Gina....back when DOOL was addicting. lol 1993-97...somewhere in there.

[Heather987]

I decided a few months back to clear out my collection of VHS tapes and transfer them to DVD....I really was interested in putting the movies not remembering that I had taped TV shows. I found some interesting things that somehow slipped my mind over the years....

3 episodes (CBS airings) of My Sister Sam
a bunch of Flinstone and Brady Bunch episodes when they were on TBS back in the 80's (assuming 84-85)
Local channel airings of Mash and the news for the day of the shuttle explosion (1986)
Advertisement for the New Orleans World Fair (1984)....I live in NO so prob why it was taped
Saints football game (Bobby Herbert was Quarterback)
Alice/One Day At A Time/Too Close For Comfort (E! Channel airings)

[OH Nuts!]

Originally Posted by JT

I rarely make my own threads anymore, but when I found this, I just had to start a discussion on it because I am still in SHOCK of it all.

So, I was bored this morning, looking for something to watch. I started rummaging through old tapes that the family recorded things on over the years. Now, for the most part, I knew what was on these tapes: movies taped from HBO, sporting events, and that's pretty much it. Well, I was watching one of the tapes, and after a movie went off, classic "Saturday Night Live" from the late 1970s came on. I was really shocked because I had no idea where I came from. I didn't know it existed at all on this tape. The only TV show that I knew of on any of these old tapes was about 5-6 minutes of an episode of "Green Acres."

Well, since the movie before it was on HBO, I somehow just assumed that HBO had at one point aired SNL reruns some time. Well, SNL went to commercial break and all of a sudden, a promo for "The Donna Reed Show" started airing, and then I realized that this was classic Nick-at-Nite on this tape! Each commercial break gave me more clues to when this tape was made: promos for "Donna Reed" and "The Patty Duke Show," a commercial for "I Love Lucy" on video ("bringing 50s humor into the 80s!"), and more NAN promos. After SNL went off, there was a thing that showed what was coming up: "Fernwood 2Night" at 10:30/9:30, "On the Television" at 11:00/10:00, and "The Patty Duke Show" at 11:30/10:30! I just got online and did some investigating and it looks like this was recorded some time in the fall of 1990, when I was only a few months old!

I have no idea where this tape ends, but I hope it *doesn't* end! I hope that somehow my parents decided to tape the entire lineup! I've only seen one episode of "Patty Duke," and I've been itching to see another one, so I hope the tape goes that far!

Just thought I'd share that, because this tapes been sitting on the shelf for as long as I can remember and I had no idea at all that there was classic NAN on it. No idea!

ETA: Darn it! The tape stopped about 5 minutes into "Fernwood 2Night!" It was great while it lasted, and I'm definitely gonna look through the rest of the tape (and any others I can find) to see if there's anything else in there!

ETA again: Okay, I searched the boards for the Nick at Nite Log and according to that, this tape could have come from any Saturday or Sunday night from June 9, 1990, to July 29, 1990.

If you like old shows & you're ever in NYC check out the Paley Ctr. (formerly Mus. of Radio & Television) they have a video viewing lib. w old shows. You can view for 2 hrs. Best to go early otherwise you may not get reservation to library.

[comedyfreak]

I bought a copy of a CBS special from 82 or 83 called Eunice and it has all the commercials from that era. It brought back memories.

[Mikado]

Most of the old stuff i have on VHS is hockey, most notably, the best game Patrick Roy played during his career in Montreal ( A game where he made 40 saves on a totally dominant Chicago team,and stole a win ), the game i actually attended at the Forum (Mont beats StLouis 7-6 in ot!), the 1993 Stanley Cup clinching game (Mont vs the LA Gretskys)
and the amazing 1987 Canada Cup win , with Mario Lemieux scoring the most amazing goal I ever saw! Other rarities include 2 eps of Sledge Hammer......a show that deserved a better fate, several eps of the Simpsons (Whod have thought the show would still be playing more than 20 years later), and bits and pieces ( skits ) taken from Latenight with David Letterman, Alexi Sayles and a skit show from Fox that starred Julie Brown and Jennifer Aniston....a really funny show that didnt last , for some reason! (I cant recall the name of the show )

[catlover79]

[treky]

I have a VHS tape of a STAR TREK 20th anniversary show that was on back in 1987 on Fox. I haven't watched it in YEARS but I remember it has a commercial for diet pepsi that stars a young Micheal J. Fox.