The CLASSIC PBS Thread!

[Mystic]

Thanks for the links. If it wasn't for YouTube I would probably never see any of these Classics again. Hulu doesn't work up north, and Netflix doesn't offer TV programs up here.

[walker7]

It's time for another rarity: A West Michigan Public Television continuity compilation, circa 1986-87. Among the video, there are several station IDs for WGVC/WGVR (the first is at 1:13), the WTVS/Detroit logo at 1:27, a NewsHour promo for a special with a different version of the theme, and many other different things.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T6id1zC9Ew

[walker7]

Episode #505 of Square One TV:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6emC2KmXX4

[walker7]

This is the premiere episode of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? from 1991:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_rWzUlBJS0

A better copy of Square One TV episode #114:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ubTYBiIASQ

Square One TV episode #423:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgLoH81swuI

[RJermaineSchex]

A longtime fan of the original version of The Electric Company, I found two clips from the show's first season with bloopers in them.

First is a sketch from the premiere episode, the Fargo North sketch "Gus, Go Get Gas" featuring Bill Cosby. Twice, as Bill walks toward the door, you can clearly see a camera on the set.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ooT5TFj7hM

Second, from Episode 128, is the song "Apostrophe S", sung by Lee Chamberlin. (That 8-inch Afro she wore during Season 1 really "turned me on" and "gave me the power"!) Several times, most notably after the line, "the hat is Jim's and that's that!", a white-sleeved arm (likely that of a crew member) is seen at the bottom right of the screen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUqV-03W5NU

[MDCSWildcats86]

I'd love to see some clips from the original (1970's) version of "Zoom."

I couldn't agree with you any more.

Especially those with a ZOOMer named "Lori". She and her husband did Newlywed Game in 1998, on one of Bob Eubanks's last hosted cycles. They didn't win, and I still wonder if they are still married.

[walker7]

Three closings from Frontline:

From 1989: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZms27BWPJA
From 1992: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hJgFdOL0-o
From 2001: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojLRT0JgVnM

[RJermaineSchex]

Reading this thread gave me an idea for a new channel: it could be called "PBS Classic" or "PBS Retro", or any similar name. It could be a cable/satellite network, or even a digital subchannel network. The network would have classic PBS shows from the 70's, 80's, and 90's, like many of the shows mentioned throughout this thread.

[preatyboy75]

i miss the good old days

[walker7]

There was a show called Computer Chronicles that lasted from 1981-2002. Here are a few episodes for you:

The Apple Macintosh episode, from 1985: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u497lO2DX9w
A UNIX episode, also from 1985: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7P16mYDIJw
A show about computer games, from 1984: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLpP2uh-zmE

[vto66]

Reading this thread gave me an idea for a new channel: it could be called "PBS Classic" or "PBS Retro", or any similar name. It could be a cable/satellite network, or even a digital subchannel network. The network would have classic PBS shows from the 70's, 80's, and 90's, like many of the shows mentioned throughout this thread.

Sounds like a great idea!! I'm all for it.

[CardSharks8689]

The only problem with a PBS Classic channel is that some, or a lot of PBS's currently airing shows are older. One prime example being The Joy Of Painting. Plus older Sesame Street episodes and maybe even The Electric Company (70s episodes) will never air again thanks to content deemed politically incorrect. And Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? episodes are deemed questionable in nature - could be because the first season used U.S.S.R. instead of Russia (redundancy issue), and one episode from the first season, "The Taking Of The Towers" featured Double Trouble pilfering the World Trade Center twin towers - which would be deemed a bad reminder, and also redundant since the towers no longer exist thanks to Osama bin Laden (good riddance to him).

Such examples of politically incorrect material on Sesame Street include:

• Bert's temper flare-ups, causing he and Ernie to repeatedly get into a fight, only to get resolved afterwards,
  
  
• Rooms or studios filling with water (like in the Name That Tune spoof called "Name That Sound", where the game show studio filled up with water - quite creepy!),
  
  
• The blonde female Muppet demonstrating the number 11 on the floor and the set being rotated 180 degrees (Herbert Birdsfoot discussed the letter "M" vs. the letter "W" in the same fashion) - again, quite creepy.
  
  
• An animated segment where a girl was demonstrating hot vs. cold, a la Goldilocks, and then briefly seen nude while stepping into the bathtub.
  
  
• And let us not forget Cookie Monster frequently seen eating a plate of cookies - a really bad influence, no wonder the obesity rate was on the rise!

That taken into consideration, I really am glad the Sesame Street of today is made more user-friendly, and I bet this user-friendly version will be a better influence for my niece, unlike the era I grew up with that was a bad influence and caused me behavioral issues. It makes me wonder if content deemed controversial in nature was to blame for the sky-high ratings back in the 1970s and 1980s? If so, I can see why the animated The Monchhichis/Little Rascals/Richie Rich Show, Shirt Tales, and Saturday Supercade was unable to compete against Sesame Street in some U.S. states. But I personally think today's Sesame Street is pure crap, while my mother thinks the show was crap since it debuted. Seems like "Sunny Days" is more like "Rainy Days" when it comes to the show.

[BarkerisEvil]

The only problem with a PBS Classic channel is that some, or a lot of PBS's currently airing shows are older. One prime example being The Joy Of Painting. Plus older Sesame Street episodes and maybe even The Electric Company (70s episodes) will never air again thanks to content deemed politically incorrect. And Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? episodes are deemed questionable in nature - could be because the first season used U.S.S.R. instead of Russia (redundancy issue), and one episode from the first season, "The Taking Of The Towers" featured Double Trouble pilfering the World Trade Center twin towers - which would be deemed a bad reminder, and also redundant since the towers no longer exist thanks to Osama bin Laden (good riddance to him).

This has got to be the worst thing you have ever said. Older shows being the main reason they're not rerun? Anyone really gonna ban an episode of WITWICS because of 9/11? Come the fudge on!

Just admit it. You have no clue what you're talking about. And don't use that autism thing as an excuse! It didn't work then, and it doesn't work now!

[walker7]

A closing of The French Chef:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8rnk3-P2SA

An extended version (over 5 minutes) of the theme from The Joy of Painting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIAI-Ivv6H4

The intro to a 1983 PBS show called Sprockets:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUFRlU3FmD0


And now, some more logos:

This is the opening of a very rare show from 1977, called "Music." And at the beginning is the 1976 WETA logo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwzc7_MIxjw

The KCET "greeting card" logo from 1978:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hReJRc7mfo

A montage of ID's from Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79Gpt8fHWpE

At the beginning of this clip, there is the New Jersey Network logo (the "band-aid" logo with the synth tune). I already found the WNJS version, but this time, it's the WNJT version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4lgyChswIc

And I've uncovered yet another rare PBS station logo: This time, it's the South Dakota Public Broadcasting logo from circa 1981. It's the Special Presentation variant, and it comes at the beginning of Dennis Westphal's Secret Band. Check it out from 0:10 to 0:22.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqevede-Ey8

Speaking of South Dakota Public Broadcasting, here is the 20th anniversary special from 1987, and you can see the regular logo at 0:53.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoBEOx_kHW4

And another rare vintage PBS station logo: The KCPT logo from the late '70s. Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr3LZfsxfQY

[TVLubber]

The only problem with a PBS Classic channel is that some, or a lot of PBS's currently airing shows are older. One prime example being The Joy Of Painting. Plus older Sesame Street episodes and maybe even The Electric Company (70s episodes) will never air again thanks to content deemed politically incorrect. And Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? episodes are deemed questionable in nature - could be because the first season used U.S.S.R. instead of Russia (redundancy issue), and one episode from the first season, "The Taking Of The Towers" featured Double Trouble pilfering the World Trade Center twin towers - which would be deemed a bad reminder, and also redundant since the towers no longer exist thanks to Osama bin Laden (good riddance to him).

Such examples of politically incorrect material on Sesame Street include:

• Bert's temper flare-ups, causing he and Ernie to repeatedly get into a fight, only to get resolved afterwards,
  
  
• Rooms or studios filling with water (like in the Name That Tune spoof called "Name That Sound", where the game show studio filled up with water - quite creepy!),
  
  
• The blonde female Muppet demonstrating the number 11 on the floor and the set being rotated 180 degrees (Herbert Birdsfoot discussed the letter "M" vs. the letter "W" in the same fashion) - again, quite creepy.
  
  
• An animated segment where a girl was demonstrating hot vs. cold, a la Goldilocks, and then briefly seen nude while stepping into the bathtub.
  
  
• And let us not forget Cookie Monster frequently seen eating a plate of cookies - a really bad influence, no wonder the obesity rate was on the rise!

So they can add disclaimers, like they did in the Sesame Street: Old School DVD's.