Oddity Archive

  • Rank #
  • Premiered: Jul 2012
  • Episodes: 289
  • Followers: 0
  • Running
  • YouTube
  • Thursday
  • Documentary History

Seasons:

You need to be logged in to mark episodes as watched. Log in or sign up.

Season 1
1x1
The Max Headroom Incident of 1987
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 05, 2012
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.
1x2
Emergency Broadcast Salute
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 19, 2012
An informal (not to mention, loose) history of Civil Defense Broadcasting in the U.S.
1x3
TV Sign-offs
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 02, 2012
Remember when TV stations used to go off the air late at night? Anyone?
1x4
Local TV Special
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 16, 2012
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? .. show full overview
1x5
American EXXXtacy (and other C-band nastiness)
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 30, 2012
The Archive's most infamous episode--for some reason.
1x6
Conservative Folk Music
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 13, 2012
Meet the artists that made the likes of Joan Baez and Pete Seeger fear for their careers.
1x7
Format Wars
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 27, 2012
VHS or Beta? Laserdisc or CED? What the hell is a CED anyway? These burning questions (amongst others) answered in this episode!
1x8
1-900-ARCHIVE
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 11, 2012
Join Ben as he launches his own 1-900 number. What could possibly go wrong?
1x9
Halloween Special 2012 (Strange VHS Endings)
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 25, 2012
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.
1x10
Captain Midnight / Vrillon
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 08, 2012
An Archive double header: The two most famous occurrences of Broadcast Signal Hijacking (well, save for the Max Headroom Incident) are discussed here.
1x11
Pay TV (but not Cable or Satellite)
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 15, 2012
The Oddity Archive will now be switching to scrambled mode. Please turn on your (preferably, circa 1984) decoder box now.
1x12
Top (Thanksgiving) Turkeys of the (19)90's
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 22, 2012
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.
1x13
Local TV vol. 2 (Kiddie Show Hosts)
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 06, 2012
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.
1x14
Christmas Special (A Fair Use Christmas)
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 20, 2012
All Ben wanted for Christmas was a silent night...
1x15
Teletext Heaven (or Hell)
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 03, 2013
Ceefax and Keyfax, Nite-Owl and Cable Chuckles, oh my...
1x16
Intermission
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 10, 2013
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!).
1x17
Prehistoric Television
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 17, 2013
Given how much we discuss TV on the Archive, a history lesson seemed in order.
1x18
gniksaM sdrawkcaB (Backwards Masking)
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 31, 2013
?segassem lanimilbus tahW ?huH Everyone knows there are no subliminal messages in music...(!slatrom nwod wob ,woN)
1x19
Valentine's Day Special (Dating Services)
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 14, 2013
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.
1x20
Local TV vol. 3 (Public Access)
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 28, 2013
Temporarily exiled from the big leagues of Internet TV, Ben (again, temporarily) sets up camp at his local Public Access outlet.
1x21
Protect & Survive
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 14, 2013
It's the feel-good episode of the year as Ben discusses the (in)famous British Nuclear War preparedness campaign.
1x22
Duck & Cover
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 28, 2013
Because you can (apparently) never have enough nukes...
1x23
Scary Logos (and other Nostalgic Video Terrors)
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 11, 2013
What is it about end logos and FBI Warnings that scared so many children of the VHS era?
1x24
Hell's Bells (The Dangers of Rock and Roll)
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 25, 2013
Can pure rock sound really hard-boil an egg? Of course not. It does make for some wicked "deviled" eggs though.
1x25
Employee Training Videos
Episode overview
Air date
May 09, 2013
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.
1x26 Season finale
VHS Vault vol. 1 (Amvest Video)
Episode overview
Air date
May 23, 2013
Ever wanted to know the absolute root of the Oddity Archive? Well, it involves a creepy guy in a Hamster costume...

If there are missing episodes or banners (and they exist on TheTVDB) you can request an automatic full show update:

Request show update

Characters