This falls under the “stocking stuffer” category… as a bonus extra on the final DVD collection of “Dark Shadows” episodes, MPI Home Video will be giving all of the faithful fans of the series a terrific little treat. As fans of the show no doubt know, the final collection of “pre-Barnabas” episodes of the Gothic soap opera is being released in December, under the title of “Dark Shadows: The Beginning, Volume 6″. Members who have subscribed to the release of the series through MPI’s website ( located at http://www.mpihomevideo.com ) will have first crack at the set, with regular retail outlets receiving their copies approximately 6 months later.

As a bonus on the final set, though, there’s a surprise waiting: the initial scene documenting Barnabas’ arrival at Colinwood will be included… in a newly-commisioned LiveFeed Video Imaging restoration! Yes, fans will once again get to see the introduction of one of television’s most enduring characters, just as it originally appeared on April 18, 1967!

Kevin Segura (“Elvis Presley - The Ed Sullivan Shows”, “The Vampira Show”) once again carried out the kinescope restoration, which was commissioned by MPI’s Jim Pierson. “Having grown up with “Dark Shadows”" Segura said, “it was more than a little surreal to find myself working on the series some 40 years later. But it was fantastic to be able to give a little something back to the show, and to the incredibly faithful fans that have supported it for so many years. Needless to say, we here at LiveFeed look forward to the opportunity to work with Jim and the great folks at MPI in the future.”

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For those who simply can’t wait, why not catch up by ordering the series here:

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“LiveFeed Video Imaging is pleased to announce the restoration of the only known video footage of Maila Nurmi, in her role as the legendary TV horror movie hostess “Vampira.”

Originally airing live during 1954-55, exclusively in the Los Angeles area, it was believed until recently that no footage of the iconic late-night program had been preserved—but during a recent vault search, it was discovered that about 3 minutes of studio material from the August 14, 1954 program had been incorporated into a sales film that the sponsoring station (KABC) used to attract advertisers to their local programming.

After securing the material, and giving loyal fans a “first look” at the footage on the popular “Vampira’s Attic” website (www.vampirasattic.com), Nurmi and her business associate, Clint Hickman decided to go one step farther with the presentation of the material, and hired video restoration expert Kevin Segura (“The Kingston Trio: Wherever We May Go” and “Elvis Presley: The Ed Sullivan Shows”) to assess the clips for a possible LiveFeed Video Imaging processing that would restore the program’s “live broadcast” look.

“Well, to say the least, it was a pleasant surprise to hear that the material had been located.” Segura said. “With a local television production, particularly one of this vintage, you always have to expect the worst, in terms of survival. Since there was no requirement or financial incentive in those days for a local station to preserve their originating broadcasts, all too often, when you go to look for something, the first thing you discover is that nothing was ever saved in the first place. And although we’d previously heard vague rumors of some “Vampira” footage actually having been archived, there was never any firm evidence offered to indicate that was actually the case.”

“As it turned, we were lucky– the film clips had been compiled and then largely overlooked for the intervening half-century— which meant they were in great shape when we viewed them. Fortunately for all of us, the surviving footage, like Vampira herself, just refused to stay buried. And as always, it was thrilling to see the LiveFeed treatment bring her so realistically back to life— er, death.”

A project which will showcase the restored footage is currently in development.”

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I found this restoration project quite satisfying, not only because it turned out quite well, but also because of the absolute rarity of the material… to anyone’s knowledge, there is no more Vampira footage out there. At least what has managed to survive has now been properly restored.

And– believe it or not, there’s another LiveFeed announcement to be made, but I’m afraid the details will actually have to wait until November, when the official project announcement is due to be issued… promise to fill you in as soon as possible, so stay tuned!!

PSAs weren’t always the most clever or technically perfect spots that you’d see on the tube, but they undeniably often had a neat “hook” in them somewhere that would stick with you long after they stopped running… it’s a rare TV viewer from the 60s that doesn’t have a jolt of memory at some of the following tag lines:

“Kick the habit. Join the “unhooked” generation”.

“All I wanted was one cigarette. Just one… just one.. just one!”

“Buckle up.”

“Only you can prevent forest fires.”

“Trick or Treat for UNICEF!”

“Give a hoot, don’t pollute.”

And of course, the title of this essay, which our friends from Mystery Science Theater like to dredge up every now and then.
As a TV archivist, I’m in a position that actually allows me to re-visit some of these immortal gems from time to time. I think I’ve seen all of the ones that I’ve listed above, but there are a few that have remained elusive so far:

1. An animated YMCA spot from the mid 60s that had a horrendously catchy tune that went like this: “If you like the water / then you really otter / learn how to swim at the YMCA…”

2. Another animated spot, this time for the American Dental Association, from about 1962-63. There’s a saxophone -driven “twist”-style tune in the background, and the visuals featured two young teenagers getting ready for a date, while an unseen announcer spouts awful couplets at them. The only ones I remember are: first, to the young man:

“Brush that hair down thick or thin / if it’s too long, get a trim / to make her dig you / (Kid): Yeah? / Brush your teeth!”

and then one that I only remember the last part of:

“…But if you want to hold her tight / at that dance on Saturday night / (Kid): Yeah?? / Brush your teeth!”

3. And finally, there was one that I’ve sadly forgotten the puchline to, but which I remember running about 1968, and had to do with the Federal Fair Housing Act… I only remember that it was animated, and featured a couple trying to rent a house or apartment, only to run afoul of some restriction that the owner has. As they’re leaving, the male half of the couple angrily tells the next guy in line “Hey buddy– are you _(**some trivial thing**)____?? Because if you are, forget it!” And the humor was in the fact that whatever he thought they were being refused for was obviously not the actual reason at all. (If anyone can refresh my memory about that spot, I’d surely appreciate it!)

As time has gone on, of course, you don’t see these sort of spots nearly as often– networks and indie stations are much more careful about selling all of the time possible in the shows they air; and when you do spot one these days, it’s much more likely to be some errant celebrity’s attempt at fulfilling a community service requirement, rather than a true dedication to a social cause. Which is a pity, really– I’ve often thought that there should be a little corner in some broadcast museum set aside for these unforgettable jewels. At their worst, they’re just forgettable, but at their best, they’ve proved to be as durable as any of the advertising spots they substituted for… and just maybe, managed to teach us to do the right thing every now and then, in the bargain.

Think about it.

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Who else remembers **your** favorite ad or PSA??? Why not click on the link over in the left-hand column, and sign up for the ACTV Forum? Hurry– operators are standing by!
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That little news-nugget is contained in an interesting article from today’s “New York Times”.  You can read the full article here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/12/technology/12video.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

As you might guess, however, there are ramifications concerning the larger issues raised by this article for all of us that are fans of classic television— with the additional layer (and expense) of record label clearance to contend with, there remains less and less of a chance that many variety shows from the 50s and 60s will ever see legitimate release.

With the system that is currently in place, before a musical clip can be legitimately cleared for release, a producer has to clear (read: pay for):

a)      The use of the performer’s likeness, through their representatives or their estate,

b)      The performance fee for the performer,

c)      Union fees for the performing musicians

d)      The publishing rights to the song being performed,

e)      The approval of the performer’s record label, if the performance is live and performer’s live recording rights were assigned to the label, OR

f)        The performer’s record label, for master recording rights if the performance is lip-synched.

g)      And of course, footage licensing fees to the company that owns the show.

For those few remaining folks that may want to insist that TV programs are “Public Domain”, just because they’re old… I think the somewhat eye-opening list above should be a little food for thought.

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Got a different point of view you’d like to air… or just something you’d like to add?  Click on the link to the left and join the ACTV Forum.  Serious talk about classic television!

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I mean, how many other TV hosts have a math problem named after them?

But as undeniably glib as he is, Monty has a story he tells that illustrates how thinking too fast can get anyone in trouble:

One day, near the end of a “Deal” taping, Monty turned to the traders to try some “quickie” deals, a device he often used to pad time in the event that the show ran a little short. Eventually, he happened upon a woman who, as part of her costume, was carrying a baby’s bottle. After trying unsuccessfully to buy other assorted odd items from her, he spied the bottle. And without thinking twice, he blurted out possibly the most interesting offer ever made to a contestant on the trading floor:

“I see this bottle has a nipple on it. Show me **another** nipple, and I’ll give you $100.00.”

Fortunately for Monty, she didn’t. And to show what a different time it was, in spite of the pandemonium that arose from the studio audience, it took Monty almost 30 seconds to realize what he had said. And by that time, Jay Stewart was somehow managing to avoid dissolving completely into laughter as he signed off the show.

A great story– but here’s where probability rears its head… since the year was 1969, what do you suspect the chances are that it was ever shown? Not very good, eh?

Well, never bet against the thriftiness of a network… unbelievably enough, this exchange was indeed left in the show when it aired on ABC! Even more impressively, unlike most LMAD episodes from the 60s and 70s, this one has survived to the present day, preserved as a kinescope in a private collection.

We recently had the pleasure of telling the staff of Hatos-Hall Productions of the discovery of this show… and as you might guess, just like anyone who catches their boss making a big mistake, they were ecstatic at the prospect of sharing it with everyone. To that end, both Monty and his agent (the legendary Fred Wostbrock) are looking for the proper “highlights” or “blooper” show on which to debut it. If you’re associated with a show of this type (or know someone who is) give H-H or Fred a call… or just get in touch with us here at ACTV– we’ll be happy to pass along the word.

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Got any other great classic TV “blooper” stories **you’d** like to share? Well, click on the link to the left, and sign up for the ACTV Forum. We’d love to see you there!

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As I’m sure no one reading has to be told, this broadcast was watched by over 115 million people, and for years was thought to be lost to history, until a somewhat gritty kinescope was uncovered in the late 1990s. All other original elements, including a back-up B&W videotape used for the time-delayed West Coast replay, had been discarded or reused in the intervening years.

Eventually, the kinescope was repaired enough to lead to a home video release in 2004, but as might be expected, serious fans of the work found that although the airy beauty of the material shone just as brightly as the day it was conceived, the present-day presentation was– well, somewhat lacking in comparison. Although allowances could be made for the loss of the original color signal, the video image now had also acquired the flickery, “old movie” look so common to kinescoped broadcasts, and the film soundtrack was muted considerably, in an effort to camoflauge peristent mid- and high-frequency noise and distortion. All in all, a bit of a letdown from what was hoped for.

So, you can imagine our delight at this most recent discovery. As if Edie Adams had waved her hand, half of the problems plaguing the presentation of this epic program were suddenly gone. With a volume and dynamic range that easily surpassed the surviving film soundtrack, a quantum improvement could be achieved through that substitution alone.

But what to do about the picture?

Three words: LiveFeed Video Imaging.

Ever wondered what it would have been like to have at least been able to see the B&W videotape of the broadcast, with its marvelous natural motion and crisp sound? Well, after having done a “quick and dirty” LiveFeed demo on two minutes of the DVD kinescope footage matched to the new soundtrack, I can tell you, it makes a **world** of difference. With a sleek new re-imaging to match its vibrancy of the sound, the show literally comes back to life.

However, as we’ve all learned as adults, not all stories come complete with happy endings… as of this writing, the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization has nixed the prospect of any remastering of their current DVD release, leaving a proper restoration of the epic TV spectacular as nothing more than a hazy wish, at best.

But, you never know. As Godmother says: “Impossible things are happening every day”. Perhaps it just takes enough people wishing to make it so.

If you’d like to contact the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization on this topic, you can find their website at:

http://www.rnh.com/org/index.php?page=contactus

Welcome to American Classic Television!

Here on the main page, you’ll see whatever it is that’s caught our attention on any given day… archival finds, info about new releases of classic material, links to reference material… or possibly just good-natured rambling!

In any event, pull up a chair and get comfy– we’ll be right back!