We here already know about the 1972-75 Joker's Wild tapes (which were thought to be gone forever) being unexpectedly discovered at WCBS during a remodeling, as well as much of the original Hollywood Squares being found in a forgotten area at NBC Burbank. I could imagine the people at both places who found those treasures going, "HOLY MOTHER-(bleep) GOD TO HEAVEN!!!!"
Now I wouldn't be surprised if that same underground mine that holds much of the Carson "Tonight Show" secretly holds, say, the 1971-75 ABC "Password."
A few thoughts about missing master tapes: I guess most of us have wondered exactly what's in the network's storage vaults. Growing up, I always assumed everything a network aired they'd keep a copy of. It wasn't until I watched a few talk shows with game show personalities as guests that I realized that wasn't the case.
It's been widely reported that NBC erased many of their old tapes in 1978, yet certain shows from before that have mysteriously "reappeared" - such as the original "Hollywood Squares". Other shows to have been "found" include CBS "Joker's Wild" (although GSN was always thought to have the last year of this run) and "Spin-off".
I guess as long as a show was in production, their tapes must have been still around. Case in point: on the final episode of the original "Jeopardy", they showed a few highlights from earlier shows, so a good portion of the 11 years of tapes must have survived until that point.
Also, the last year of "Joker's Wild" was syndicated in 1977, which led to the revival that fall. When they had their first Tournament of Champions in late 1977, they aired clips of all the former champions they brought back, some going back as far as the first group of shows in 1972, so those must have existed until that time. It seems odd they'd disappear after that.
I find it kind of surprising that the producers who were best at saving their shows - such as Goodson-Todman, or Barry-Enright - would allow the networks to dispose of the tapes without getting copies of them. One wonders if all four years of "Password" still existed in 1975, or maybe the network started reusing them before the run was even over. Whatever happened to "Showoffs", or "The Better Sex"? For that matter, since Sony has the rights to Barry-Enright shows, where's "Hollywood's Talking" and "Blank Check"?
I guess even the best can slip up occasionally, but it just seems odd to me that so much of this stuff would just disappear, with nobody knowing it's whereabouts.