The Game Show Forum

The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: The Pyramids on January 15, 2005, 11:21:20 AM

Title: I erased the tapes just like the professionals!
Post by: The Pyramids on January 15, 2005, 11:21:20 AM: In 1984 - 85 the t.v. after dinner switched from 'Family Feud' to 'Wheel of Fortune' just like in homes across America.

I was such a fan that I taped the NBC show as well and would watch it after school. On Fridays I was known to set the VCR for an hour and look at 'Super Password' as well. Among other things I recall the first show w/ Pat and his new haricut that he has had ever since, and the first show with the flashier graphics (both came to NBC first before they came on the syndicated show as you can imagine).

Anyway I would always just tape over the last show without exception. 20 years later there is nothing left, nor has there ever been. Had I filled a tape or two of shows I could have posted online a simple list and wrote my own tickett regarding tape trades.

Who else has similar stories?
Title: I erased the tapes just like the professionals!
Post by: Jimmy Owen on January 15, 2005, 11:36:04 AM: [quote name=\'PaulD\' date=\'Jan 15 2005, 11:21 AM\']In 1984 - 85 the tv after dinner switched from 'Family Feud' to 'Wheel of Fortune' just like in homes across America.

I was such a fan that I taped the NBC show as well and would watch it after school. On fridays I was known to set teh VCR for an hour and look at 'Super Password' as well. Among other things I recall the first show w/ Pat and his new haricut that he has had ever since, and the first show with the flashier graphics (both came to NBC first before they came on the syndicated show as you can imagine).

Anyway I would always just tape over the last show without exception. 20 years later there is nothing left, nor has there ever been. Had I filled a tape or two of shows I could have posted online a simple list and wrote my own tickett regarding tape trades.

Who else has similar stories?
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I never taped over the game shows I wanted, but now I find many of the tapes I have from that era are snowy and are deteriorating. It's funny that my audio cassettes from 30 years ago are in better shape.
Title: I erased the tapes just like the professionals!
Post by: MikeK on January 15, 2005, 12:12:33 PM: [quote name=\'PaulD\' date=\'Jan 15 2005, 11:21 AM\']Who else has similar stories?[/quote]
When our family first got cable around 1986/87, I used to tape some USA reruns, specifically Bullseye and Play the Percentages, as well as Classic Concentration. (I know CC didn't start till April 87, Zach. I'm generalizing with the dates.) One day, my mom wanted to tape several of her shows while she was at work. Since she couldn't find her tape, she found a tape clearly labeled "MIKE'S TAPE. DO NOT TOUCH." and decided to...I can't go on with this story. It's too emotional. Let's just say Geoff was replaced with Geraldo and Trebek was replaced with Oprah.
Title: I erased the tapes just like the professionals!
Post by: Shredder on January 15, 2005, 12:46:09 PM: I didn't tape any gameshow moments, but with regular TV Shows, I used to tape over all the time.

These where the days when I still had a mono VCR, didn't have a drivers liscence to easilly go out and get new tapes, or a paying income to easilly get tapes, so I had to pick and choose what I wanted to keep. I have a few tapes where I started to tape something over one show, decided I didn't need it, and stopped. Another where I taped the first 5 minutes of it, decided I didn't need it, and stopped...

Years later, of course, when I become a better organizer of the shows I tape, this made it increasingly annoying to organize all these shows, as they where scattered across many a different tape. It wasn't untill 1993 that I started organizing things better.
Title: I erased the tapes just like the professionals!
Post by: Skynet74 on January 15, 2005, 12:49:50 PM: Fortunately I still do have many of the Game Show tapes that I recorded back in the 80's. One day this could be a Bonus to all of you since I have never traded Videos. Therefore chances are good that I have a few things that have not been circulated. If I ever feel motivated to start making a few copies..... it could be a nice thing for people here. I don't have a Lot. But I know that I have a few things.

Getting back to the topic. Just seeing your subject I actually started laughing. I can relate. Not with Videos.. but with Audio. I am a diehard fan of the original Cross-wits with Jack Clark. I used to audio tape it all the time. We had a cool TV with a patch cable output that I hooked up to a tape recorder. Thefore the sound quality was very good. We are talking back in the 70's before the widespread popularity of VCR's. Audio taping was about the only option. So I did it.

Unfortunately just being a kid without a lot of cash..... I needed to recycle those tapes. Therefore I ereased over lots of things. Through all that erasing I somehow ereased myself out of virtually ANYTHING Cross-Wits! Something I regret to this day. I really wish I still has those audio cassettes to listen to. Once the early 80's hit I was much better at keeping everything I taped. Unfortunately it came just a snippet to late for Cross-wits.

So Yes.... I feel your pain.

John
Title: I erased the tapes just like the professionals!
Post by: The Pyramids on January 15, 2005, 02:02:33 PM: [quote name=\'Skynet74\' date=\'Jan 15 2005, 12:49 PM\']Fortunately I still do have many of the Game Show tapes that I recorded back in the 80's. One day this could be a Bonus to all of you since I have never traded Videos. Therefore chances are good that I have a few things that have not been circulated. If I ever feel motivated to start making a few copies..... it could be a nice thing for people here. I don't have a Lot. But I know that I have a few things.
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Well, be in touch. I'd say the most popular things I have came from a non-trader.

A non-trader being someone who just happened to tape 'Scattergories' , Clark/Hall NBS 'Let's Make a Deal' and the like randomly but is not into 'trading'. I was lucky to come into contact with this person for three trades (the really last NBC 'Wheel' that is out there now originally came from him).

I also did a similar deal w/ another such person who is 'in the wind' now. Becuase off him some 'new' Nineties Dawson shows and a 'new Wipeout' have started to appear.
Title: I erased the tapes just like the professionals!
Post by: aaron sica on January 15, 2005, 02:15:38 PM: [quote name=\'PaulD\' date=\'Jan 15 2005, 11:21 AM\']Who else has similar stories?
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Had I been able to see the future for this, my stuff wouldn't have been all that great, but would include such things as:

* Episode 2 of PYL w/o/c
* USA's entire game show lineup from 1/2/89
* Entire first week of MG90 and first episode of 2nd week w/o/c
Title: I erased the tapes just like the professionals!
Post by: Kevin Prather on January 15, 2005, 02:25:36 PM: Yeah. I'm always careful to check my tapes to make sure I'm not taping over anything good.
Title: I erased the tapes just like the professionals!
Post by: geno57 on January 15, 2005, 04:13:45 PM: From 1962 to around '71, I recorded and saved many game shows -- audio only. The original Match Game (NBC version), You Don't Say!, Jeopardy, Concentration, Hollywood Squares, and many less-remembered games (such as Call My Bluff, I'll Bet, and PDQ) were in my library.

When I was a teenager, my parents talked me into letting them dump the collection, which also included a few-dozen tickets to some of the above shows, to make room in the house.

Tell ya what, I could almost shoot myself now.
Title: I erased the tapes just like the professionals!
Post by: zachhoran on January 15, 2005, 07:41:52 PM: A relative had a Betamax in the late 70s, long before most had them. Yes, I got to record a few shows. Yes, there are some shows I taped episodes of that don't have a huge representation in the trading circuit. But they were taped over several years later, not by me of course.
Title: I erased the tapes just like the professionals!
Post by: bellbm on January 15, 2005, 10:10:05 PM: I used to tape various game shows throughout the day back in the 80s/early 90s. I never gave any thought to saving them, and would always rewind the tape every night and re-record. Occasionally, I wouldn't rewind the entire way, and the taping would start in the middle of the tape, resulting in me running out of tape, and only getting a partial show. There are still a couple tapes like this at my parents house.

Funny thing is, there was an episode of Wheel of Fortune I discovered that had the opening and a little bit of the first round taped before it ran out. I did a tape trade recently, and one of the episodes I received was that episode. What are the chances?
Title: I erased the tapes just like the professionals!
Post by: ChuckNet on January 16, 2005, 11:00:34 PM: If I had the foresight to save much of what I taped in the mid-80s, there'd be:

- Another OB ep of TTD, near the end of Wink's run
- *8* or so eps of Pitfall, all from local station WLIG (TV-55)
- Another Cullen Pyramid (this one w/Besty Palmer and Tony Roberts)
- Several CBN games from 1985 or so (Perry CS, Hot Potato, Bullseye)
- More USA games (Pt%, Jackpot, Chain Reaction)
- Daytime eps of $otC and WoF from 1985

...currently floating around out there.

Chuck Donegan (Th eIllustrious "Chuckie Baby")
Title: I erased the tapes just like the professionals!
Post by: joshg on January 17, 2005, 08:25:16 AM: I'm glad I was the only one in my family who was able to program the VCR, otherwise I wouldn't be watching the same episodes of 'Classic Concentration' over and over again...

I did recycle tapes, though. I seem to remember that I did have one or two tapes in rotation at the time so all sorts of bits and pieces of shows seem to pop up.

Josh
Title: I erased the tapes just like the professionals!
Post by: Ian Wallis on January 17, 2005, 09:05:11 AM: Add me to the list. We first got a VCR Christmas 1982, and I started taping games in early 1983. Stuff like early "Sale of the Century", additional "Hit Man", "Dream House", "Press Your Luck", "Strike it Rich (86)", "All Star Blitz", and Elaine's "Dating Game", just to name a few. Videos were expensive back then, and with college looming on the horizon, I just didn't have enough money to buy tapes to save all of that stuff. If only I'd known...
Title: I erased the tapes just like the professionals!
Post by: Jamey Greek on January 17, 2005, 12:27:53 PM: I remember when I was in second grade back in 1993, my mom taped half of PYl and Scrabble for me. But, my ex-stepfather would watch and tape Guiding Light every day! I rememer coming home from school my first day of Second Grade, and my mom taped Game Shows for me, and I was in the middle of a sprint round of scrable and then suddenly Guiding Light came on! I was so mad!
Title: I erased the tapes just like the professionals!
Post by: bscripps on January 17, 2005, 06:53:12 PM: I still kick myself for these...considering a) I did both of 'em, and b) I was old enough to know better...:-)

Back in the '90s, before I got my DSS, I had a coworker (who had Dish Network) tape three tapes of GSN for me. This, of course, was back in the golden days of the network, when they were running nighttime TPiR with Tom Kennedy, Blockbusters '87, and all that other stuff that we wished we would've seen more of in the later years.

I loved the tapes so much that I went out and got myself a DirecTV system. And promptly taped over the tapes my friend had made for me. After all, I thought, why would I ever need tapes if I've got a full-time channel of them?

And that's not even my worst "tape-over" offense. When I was in high school in 1991, I found that at the end of my dad's tape of "Casablanca" was about 2 hours of old stuff--an hour of "Saturday Night Live", an hour-long "Ironsides" rerun, then a 10-minute news broadcast featuring an update on the still unfolding disaster at Three Mile Island. And did I grab the tape and lock it up somewhere? Of course not...