Oddity Archive

Season 1

26 episodes · Jul 5, 2012

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  • S1E1

    The Max Headroom Incident of 1987

    Jul 5, 201212m

    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.

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  • S1E2

    Emergency Broadcast Salute

    Jul 19, 201217m

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

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  • S1E3

    TV Sign-offs

    Aug 2, 201215m

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

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  • S1E4

    Local TV Special

    Aug 16, 201221m

    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.

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  • S1E5

    American EXXXtacy (and other C-band nastiness)

    Aug 30, 201216m

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

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  • S1E6

    Conservative Folk Music

    Sep 13, 201216m

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

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  • S1E7

    Format Wars

    Sep 27, 201221m

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

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  • S1E8

    1-900-ARCHIVE

    Oct 11, 201221m

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

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  • S1E9

    Halloween Special 2012 (Strange VHS Endings)

    Oct 25, 201237m

    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.

    Reviews
  • S1E10

    Captain Midnight / Vrillon

    Nov 8, 201214m

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

    Reviews
  • S1E11

    Pay TV (but not Cable or Satellite)

    Nov 15, 201214m

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

    Reviews
  • S1E12

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

    Nov 22, 201219m

    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.

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  • S1E13

    Local TV vol. 2 (Kiddie Show Hosts)

    Dec 6, 201232m

    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.

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  • S1E14

    Christmas Special (A Fair Use Christmas)

    Dec 20, 201223m

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

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  • S1E15

    Teletext Heaven (or Hell)

    Jan 3, 201316m

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

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  • S1E16

    Intermission

    Jan 10, 201313m

    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!).

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  • S1E17

    Prehistoric Television

    Jan 17, 201316m

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

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  • S1E18

    gniksaM sdrawkcaB (Backwards Masking)

    Jan 31, 201324m

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

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  • S1E19

    Valentine's Day Special (Dating Services)

    Feb 14, 201326m

    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.

    Reviews
  • S1E20

    Local TV vol. 3 (Public Access)

    Feb 28, 201320m

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

    Reviews
  • S1E21

    Protect & Survive

    Mar 14, 201316m

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

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  • S1E22

    Duck & Cover

    Mar 28, 201317m

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

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  • S1E23

    Scary Logos (and other Nostalgic Video Terrors)

    Apr 11, 201323m

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

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  • S1E24

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

    Apr 25, 201322m

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

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  • S1E25

    Employee Training Videos

    May 9, 201329m

    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.

    Reviews
  • S1E26

    VHS Vault vol. 1 (Amvest Video)

    May 23, 201322m

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

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