Conservative Folk Music

E1 5 juillet 2012 12 min

The Max Headroom Incident of 1987

On the night of Sunday, November 22nd, 1987, a mysterious figure in a Max Headroom mask hijacked two Chicago TV stations. Spoiler alert: The perpetrators were never found.

E2 19 juillet 2012 17 min

Emergency Broadcast Salute

An informal (not to mention, loose) history of Civil Defense Broadcasting in the U.S.

E3 2 août 2012 15 min

TV Sign-offs

Remember when TV stations used to go off the air late at night? Anyone?

E4 16 août 2012 21 min

Local TV Special

Interested in seeing a clown so laid-back, he forgets he's on camera? Now about a Hawaiian teen idol with a pen fetish? Maybe an American Bandstand ripoff with an evil spirit hosting? If you answered yes to any of these questions, watch this episode--then seek immediate professional help.

E5 30 août 2012 16 min

American EXXXtacy (and other C-band nastiness)

The Archive's most infamous episode--for some reason.

E6 13 septembre 2012 16 min

Conservative Folk Music

Meet the artists that made the likes of Joan Baez and Pete Seeger fear for their careers.

E7 27 septembre 2012 21 min

Format Wars

VHS or Beta? Laserdisc or CED? What the hell is a CED anyway? These burning questions (amongst others) answered in this episode!

E8 11 octobre 2012 21 min

1-900-ARCHIVE

Join Ben as he launches his own 1-900 number. What could possibly go wrong?

E9 25 octobre 2012 37 min

Halloween Special 2012 (Strange VHS Endings)

We still get a lot of flack for this episode (did you really think there were 37 minutes of odd VHS endings out there?). Nonetheless, it's still a favorite.

E10 8 novembre 2012 14 min

Captain Midnight / Vrillon

An Archive double header: The two most famous occurrences of Broadcast Signal Hijacking (well, save for the Max Headroom Incident) are discussed here.

E11 15 novembre 2012 14 min

Pay TV (but not Cable or Satellite)

The Oddity Archive will now be switching to scrambled mode. Please turn on your (preferably, circa 1984) decoder box now.

E12 22 novembre 2012 19 min

Top (Thanksgiving) Turkeys of the (19)90's

Because we always like to go the extra mile (at least, when it's convenient), the Archive tackles TWO lists of the worst of the (19)90's: The top 4 Trendy Turkeys and the top 4 Technological Turkeys of the (again, 19)90's.

E13 6 décembre 2012 32 min

Local TV vol. 2 (Kiddie Show Hosts)

The 13th episode is a very unlucky one for Ben as he discusses some (all too often, rather off) U.S. Kiddie Show hosts from the early 1950's through the late 1990's.

E14 20 décembre 2012 23 min

Christmas Special (A Fair Use Christmas)

All Ben wanted for Christmas was a silent night...

E15 3 janvier 2013 16 min

Teletext Heaven (or Hell)

Ceefax and Keyfax, Nite-Owl and Cable Chuckles, oh my...

E16 10 janvier 2013 13 min

Intermission

It's movie day at the Archive! Unfortunately, due to copyright issues, you're not invited. But, at least you can join us for an intermission reel (conveniently containing all Public Domain footage!).

E17 17 janvier 2013 16 min

Prehistoric Television

Given how much we discuss TV on the Archive, a history lesson seemed in order.

E18 31 janvier 2013 24 min

gniksaM sdrawkcaB (Backwards Masking)

?segassem lanimilbus tahW ?huH Everyone knows there are no subliminal messages in music...(!slatrom nwod wob ,woN)

E19 14 février 2013 26 min

Valentine's Day Special (Dating Services)

Join Ben as he discusses some of the Dating Services of the 1980's to present. And, if you're good, maybe Ben will let you join him in his own quest for a date.

E20 28 février 2013 20 min

Local TV vol. 3 (Public Access)

Temporarily exiled from the big leagues of Internet TV, Ben (again, temporarily) sets up camp at his local Public Access outlet.

E21 14 mars 2013 16 min

Protect & Survive

It's the feel-good episode of the year as Ben discusses the (in)famous British Nuclear War preparedness campaign.

E22 28 mars 2013 17 min

Duck & Cover

Because you can (apparently) never have enough nukes...

E23 11 avril 2013 23 min

Scary Logos (and other Nostalgic Video Terrors)

What is it about end logos and FBI Warnings that scared so many children of the VHS era?

E24 25 avril 2013 22 min

Hell's Bells (The Dangers of Rock and Roll)

Can pure rock sound really hard-boil an egg? Of course not. It does make for some wicked "deviled" eggs though.

E25 9 mai 2013 29 min

Employee Training Videos

Things have gotten so dire at The Archive that Ben's been forced to take a "real" job. Join him as he takes a look at his potential employers' training videos.

E26 23 mai 2013 22 min

VHS Vault vol. 1 (Amvest Video)

Ever wanted to know the absolute root of the Oddity Archive? Well, it involves a creepy guy in a Hamster costume...