Today is Lost TV Day at Television Obscurities! This is something I’ve wanted to do for more than a decade. I had big plans for the inaugural Lost TV Day but as always happens, didn’t have the time to finish everything.
What is Lost TV Day, you ask? It’s simple: Lost TV Day is a day dedicated to commemorating lost and missing television programs.
Why today? I picked July 1st for Lost TV Day because on July 1st, 1941 the first authorized television commercials aired in the United States on WNBT in New York City. It was a historic moment for the television industry but today is a forgotten milestone.
Check out the new and improved TV’s Lost & Found section of Television Obscurities, where you’ll find a new article about preserving television audio. I’ve also expanded and updated the list of “lost” television programs.
I have several blog posts scheduled throughout the day. You’ll be able to listen to audio from a September 1972 installment of Indianapolis TV station WISH-TV’s The Big News Final newscast that may be an example of a lost TV program. You’ll learn how many episodes of Kraft Television Theatre survive. And you’ll read about an on-air announcement NBC reportedly made about Star Trek in March 1968.
Also, you can find my Status Guides for TV shows like CBS Playhouse, Eye Witness, Cavalcade of Stars, The Mike Wallace Interview, and Vacation Playhouse. Plus, you can revisit my Tales of Lost TV and Tales of Recovery columns.
Robert Jay thank you for all your work to research and showcase lost and obscure TV series. My interest in the subject started in the early 1980s when, on a whim, I purchased a clearanced-priced copy of the first edition of The Complete Directory to Prime Network TV Shows 1946-Present. That book had a brief history of the defunct DuMont Television Network, and started my fascination with all things related to the network. When I later learned most of the DuMont kinescopes were believed to have been dumped into the East River I went into mourning for a network that ended before I was born. Through YouTube, 2 purchased DVDs, and a few websites (including yours) I’ve been able to few a dozen episodes of DuMont series.
Thank you for declaring today to be Lost TV Day.
Excellent website and commend your commitment to the genre of Television. I have for years been trying to find any episodes or clips of the early 1970’s tv show The Super will Richard Castellano. I just recently saw an intro footage of this show which was a rarity, any idea if any of this show exist to see on any platform.
Awesome idea! I look forward to celebrating this every year! Thank you for this and also for your fantastic web site! Been a fan for years!
Great website – thank you for putting this together.