Alice Cooper: The Nightmare (1975)

First aired by ABC on April 25, 1975 Alice Cooper: The Nightmare presents a little over a hour long descent into the world of Alice Cooper as it showcases songs from his Welcome To My Nightmare album, plus "Ballad of Dwight Frye" from Love It To Death. We follow the character Steven through a nightmare world from which he cannot escape.  Making a special appearance as the "Spirit of the Nightmare" is horror favorite Vincent Price. I missed the first television airing of this special, but gained access to this thanks to its availability on VHS in the 1980s.

In Search Of: The End of the World

 In Search Of...  

The End of the World  

Originally broadcast on 30 April 1981, 

this was Episode 22, from Season 5 of this 

"gone but not forgotten" review of weirdness, 

hosted by Leonard Nimoy. 

Thanks to TheDocumentarySite for posting this 

and many other In Search Of episodes.

Darkroom - 11 Dec. 1981 Episode

Hosted by James Coburn, Darkroom was a horror/fantasy anthology television series that ran from 1981 to 1982 on ABC. Some of the episodes created for the program were deemed too intense for broadcast television by the network, were subsequently beefed up with additional footage and released in 1983 as the film Nightmares.

My favorite episode was first aired on December 11, 1981. There were two stories, the first Needlepoint, has to do with a grandmother using voodoo to extract revenge while the second Siege Of 31 August, concerns army toys coming to life and attacking.

Freaks and Geeks - 1999 - pilot episode

The 1999 series Freaks and Geeks was a one of a kind television series. Fairly realistically and thoroughly engaging, the program depicted life in the early 1980s at McKinley High School. Created by Paul Feig (who also directed the 2000 Discos and Dragons episode and has gone on to direct episodes of Arrested Development, The Office, Nurse Jackie, and others) the show was an early showcase for many young actors who went on to greater acclaim. Here's the pilot episode.

The Fall - 1983 - UK tv

The Fall
with Jools Holland and John Peel introducing
The Tube - 1983




bonus video
for this favorite from The Fall
Bill Is Dead
from 1990s Extricate

Cocteau Twins - 1983 - UK tv

In 1979 Robin Guthrie (guitar, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass guitar) met up in Scotland and formed the Cocteau Twins. A short time later they would incorporate Elizabeth Fraser on vocals. The band took their name from a song by fellow Scottish indie rockers Johnny and the Self-Abusers, who would later go on to greater fame and fortune after a name change to Simple Minds. Around 1983 Heggie left. While making contributions to 4AD's This Mortal Coil, Guthrie and Heggie became acquainted with Simon Raymonde and he joined the pair as the band's bassist, more or less remaining in that position until the band broke up in 1997.

Their overall sound is most notable for Ms. Fraser's often indistinct, fragile and airy vocalizing combined with tsunami like cascades of heavily treated guitar fueled arpeggios from Robin Guthrie. I first heard the Cocteau Twins during the mid/late 80s when I was most interested in heavy, fast and weird music - with emphasis on the first two; but it was impossible to dismiss their sonic spectrum of new school psychedelic pop art and I've remained a fan since.

Here's an early television appearance from the
Cocteau Twins
The Tube - late 1983

From the Flagstones


Musette and Drums

What's Happening!! - a Christmas minisode

Rather loosely based on the somewhat more seriously minded 1975 film Cooley High, the television show What's Happening!! presented a family centric sitcom throughout it's run from 1976 to 1979. During it's tv tenure the What's Happening!! crew had more than a few memorable and funny adventures, such as the botched bootlegging escapades at a Doobie Brothers concert.

Presented below is a condensed episode, set during Christmastime. Raj and Rerun deal with the Grinch-like theft of not only their tv and stereo, but also all their Christmas presents!


What's Happening!! - Positive Identification - 1978

selections from The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)

This television special tie-in to the wildly successful feature film was a rather unusual prospect when it first aired in 1978 with content best described as a bizarre train wreck of a program. I have not included the entire special, only 4 selections. Unlike the film this is connected with, The Star Wars Holiday Special has several musical interludes. Songs from Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia and Bea Arthur as the cantina bar keep can be viewed below. The cartoon segment is notable as the first appearance of the popular character Boba Fett. If you want to nerd out even harder, you can easily find the entire program on YouTube or elsewhere. Happy Life Day!


opening segment




cantina scene




cartoon segment




Princess Leia sings