E1

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.

12m

E2

Emergency Broadcast Salute

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

17m

E3

TV Sign-offs

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

15m

E4

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.

21m

E5

American EXXXtacy (and other C-band nastiness)

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

16m

E6

Conservative Folk Music

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

16m

E7

Format Wars

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

21m

E8

1-900-ARCHIVE

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

21m

E9

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.

37m

E10

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.

14m

E11

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.

14m

E12

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.

19m

E13

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.

32m

E14

Christmas Special (A Fair Use Christmas)

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

23m

E15

Teletext Heaven (or Hell)

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

16m

E16

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!).

13m

E17

Prehistoric Television

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

16m

E18

gniksaM sdrawkcaB (Backwards Masking)

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

24m

E19

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.

26m

E20

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.

20m

E21

Protect & Survive

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

16m

E22

Duck & Cover

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

17m

E23

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?

23m

E24

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.

22m

E25

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.

29m

E26

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...

22m