CineScope
Oddity Archive

Oddity Archive

2012 - 2025

The Max Headroom Incident of 1987

5th July 2012
Episode 1
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.

Emergency Broadcast Salute

19th July 2012
Episode 2
An informal (not to mention, loose) history of Civil Defense Broadcasting in the U.S.

TV Sign-offs

2nd August 2012
Episode 3
Remember when TV stations used to go off the air late at night? Anyone?

Local TV Special

16th August 2012
Episode 4
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.

American EXXXtacy (and other C-band nastiness)

30th August 2012
Episode 5
The Archive's most infamous episode--for some reason.

Conservative Folk Music

13th September 2012
Episode 6
Meet the artists that made the likes of Joan Baez and Pete Seeger fear for their careers.

Format Wars

27th September 2012
Episode 7
VHS or Beta? Laserdisc or CED? What the hell is a CED anyway? These burning questions (amongst others) answered in this episode!

1-900-ARCHIVE

11th October 2012
Episode 8
Join Ben as he launches his own 1-900 number. What could possibly go wrong?

Halloween Special 2012 (Strange VHS Endings)

25th October 2012
Episode 9
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.

Captain Midnight / Vrillon

8th November 2012
Episode 10
An Archive double header: The two most famous occurrences of Broadcast Signal Hijacking (well, save for the Max Headroom Incident) are discussed here.

Pay TV (but not Cable or Satellite)

15th November 2012
Episode 11
The Oddity Archive will now be switching to scrambled mode. Please turn on your (preferably, circa 1984) decoder box now.

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

22nd November 2012
Episode 12
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.

Local TV vol. 2 (Kiddie Show Hosts)

6th December 2012
Episode 13
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.

Christmas Special (A Fair Use Christmas)

20th December 2012
Episode 14
All Ben wanted for Christmas was a silent night...

Teletext Heaven (or Hell)

3rd January 2013
Episode 15
Ceefax and Keyfax, Nite-Owl and Cable Chuckles, oh my...

Intermission

10th January 2013
Episode 16
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!).

Prehistoric Television

17th January 2013
Episode 17
Given how much we discuss TV on the Archive, a history lesson seemed in order.

gniksaM sdrawkcaB (Backwards Masking)

31st January 2013
Episode 18
?segassem lanimilbus tahW ?huH Everyone knows there are no subliminal messages in music...(!slatrom nwod wob ,woN)

Valentine's Day Special (Dating Services)

14th February 2013
Episode 19
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.

Local TV vol. 3 (Public Access)

28th February 2013
Episode 20
Temporarily exiled from the big leagues of Internet TV, Ben (again, temporarily) sets up camp at his local Public Access outlet.

Protect & Survive

14th March 2013
Episode 21
It's the feel-good episode of the year as Ben discusses the (in)famous British Nuclear War preparedness campaign.

Duck & Cover

28th March 2013
Episode 22
Because you can (apparently) never have enough nukes...

Scary Logos (and other Nostalgic Video Terrors)

11th April 2013
Episode 23
What is it about end logos and FBI Warnings that scared so many children of the VHS era?

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

25th April 2013
Episode 24
Can pure rock sound really hard-boil an egg? Of course not. It does make for some wicked "deviled" eggs though.

Employee Training Videos

9th May 2013
Episode 25
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.

VHS Vault vol. 1 (Amvest Video)

23rd May 2013
Episode 26
Ever wanted to know the absolute root of the Oddity Archive? Well, it involves a creepy guy in a Hamster costume...
Top Cast
Director
Ben Minnotte
Writer
Ben Minnotte
Documentary

The Oddity Archive is a web series that revolves around the "cultural dustbin", especially as it pertains to media. The Archive also functions as an actual archive of sorts, with a modest collection of off-air Betamax and VHS recordings (about 400 total as of June, 2014). There's also a decent collection of ephemeral video, "ripoff" and "drugstore" LP's/cassettes/8-tracks, as well as (working) obsolete technology.

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