Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Here's the complete broadcast of the 1978 film "The Great Brain" as presented on the NBC Late Night Movie over WMAQ Channel 5. Sort of a Tom Sawyer / Little House on the Prairie type thing. Wholesome family entertainment. Featuring The Osmonds (of course!)
This movie was based on a series of classic children's books by John D. Fitzgerald. Starring Jimmy Osmond (once "Little Jimmy," of "Long Haired Lover From Liverpool" fame) as Tom, a young boy who has fun conning family, friends and neighbors, this wall-to-wall Osmond Family production (Donny Osmond sings the theme which was penned by his brothers) also co-stars Pat Delaney, Fran Ryan, Cliff Osmond, Arthur Roberts, Lynn Benesch, and introducing James Jarnagin and Len Birman (Ken Osmond, however, does not appear in this).
All movie bumper voiceovers by Donald Rickles.
Includes:
Movie show open (with elements that, later in the decade, would be incorporated into the open of Movie 5 here), with preview of film (voiceover by Mel Brandt)
(first commercial break edited out on tape)
Act I
Commercials for:
Milk-Bone Dog Biscuits - "The Crunch Food"
Mobil Super 10W40 and Mobil 1 Motor Oil
Pine Sol grease cleaner (with Katie the Cleaning Lady)
American Express Card (with bike mogul Edward R. Schwinn, Jr.) (voiceover by Peter Thomas)
Bumper
Promo for NewsCenter5 with Chuck Henry and Linda Yu - in Spanish(!¡), touting their simulcast on "Radio Ambiente," WOJO 105 FM
Commercials for:
Tuscan Pops (short version - with Dick and Pat Van Patten) (voiceover by Skip Hinnant?)
Red Lobster (with shrimp)
Goodyear Tires - "4 for the 4th"
Station ID / Today in Chicago promo (with Jorie Lueloff)
Act II
Commercials for:
Windex Glass Cleaner (with Ammonia-D)
Excedrin PM
Maybelline Fresh Lash mascara (with Lynda Carter)
Pillsbury Frosting Supreme
Act III
Commercials for:
Marriott Hotels (with Bill Marriott)
Purolator Courier
Chicago Health Club - 2 for the price of 1 (expires July 10th)
Mega Tech sound systems
Bumper
Promo for NewsCenter5 (repetir)
Commercials for:
Illinois Lottery - Instant Money Match Lottery
First Federal of Chicago - with offer of dining set
DHL package delivery
Station ID / promo of traffic reporter Gary Lee on NewsCenter5
Act IV
Offer for book, "99 New Ideas," from Changing Times magazine
Act V
Commercials for:
Hamm's Beer (the bear and other animals jump off a plane)
Chicagoland Pontiac Dealers - choose Bonneville, Firebird or Grand Prix for under $7,900
Wickes Furniture - "Exciting Things Are Happening" Sale
Tuscan Pops (long version - with Dick and Pat Van Patten)
Act VI
Commercials for:
Oil of Olay
Air Force PSA - "A Great Way of Life"
NBC - "America: Our Pride Is Showing"
(some videotape distortion - at station side?)
PSA for National Alliance of Business - "Hire a Teenager"
Bumper
Promo for NewsCenter5 (repetir)
Promo for Hill Street Blues
Commercials for:
A&P - "The Great A&P Price Rollback" (voiceover by ?)
Century 21 realtors (with actor John Lawlor)
Station ID / promo of traffic reporter Gary Lee on NewsCenter5
Act VII
Commercials for:
Budweiser beer - "This Bud's for You"
Chicagoland Pontiac Dealers - T1000 for around $5,300
Final weeks of "Evita" at Shubert Theatre before national tour
Gulf Lite Charcoal Starter
Act VIII
(audio starts warbling pretty bad before end of recording)
(final commercial break, and preview of next week's movie, are not included)
This aired on local Chicago TV on Sunday, June 28th 1981 into early Monday, June 29th 1981 during the 10:45pm to 12:45am timeframe.
About The Museum of Classic Chicago Television:
The MCCTv (FuzzyMemoriesTV) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose primary mission is the preservation and display of off-air, early home videotape recordings (70s to early 80s, mostly) recorded off of TV (in Chicago or other cities now too); things which would likely be lost if not sought out and preserved digitally. If you have any old 1970s videotapes recorded off of TV please email: tapes@fuzzy.tv Even though (mostly) short clips are displayed here, we preserve the entire broadcasts in our archives - the complete programs with breaks (or however much is present on the tape), for historical preservation. For information on how to help in our mission, to donate or lend tapes to be converted to digital, please e-mail tapes@fuzzy.tv Thank you for your help!
Here's the complete broadcast of the 1978 film "The Great Brain" as presented on the NBC Late Night Movie over WMAQ Channel 5. Sort of a Tom Sawyer / Little House on the Prairie type thing. Wholesome family entertainment. Featuring The Osmonds (of course!)
This movie was based on a series of classic children's books by John D. Fitzgerald. Starring Jimmy Osmond (once "Little Jimmy," of "Long Haired Lover From Liverpool" fame) as Tom, a young boy who has fun conning family, friends and neighbors, this wall-to-wall Osmond Family production (Donny Osmond sings the theme which was penned by his brothers) also co-stars Pat Delaney, Fran Ryan, Cliff Osmond, Arthur Roberts, Lynn Benesch, and introducing James Jarnagin and Len Birman (Ken Osmond, however, does not appear in this).
All movie bumper voiceovers by Donald Rickles.
Includes:
Movie show open (with elements that, later in the decade, would be incorporated into the open of Movie 5 here), with preview of film (voiceover by Mel Brandt)
(first commercial break edited out on tape)
Act I
Commercials for:
Milk-Bone Dog Biscuits - "The Crunch Food"
Mobil Super 10W40 and Mobil 1 Motor Oil
Pine Sol grease cleaner (with Katie the Cleaning Lady)
American Express Card (with bike mogul Edward R. Schwinn, Jr.) (voiceover by Peter Thomas)
Bumper
Promo for NewsCenter5 with Chuck Henry and Linda Yu - in Spanish(!¡), touting their simulcast on "Radio Ambiente," WOJO 105 FM
Commercials for:
Tuscan Pops (short version - with Dick and Pat Van Patten) (voiceover by Skip Hinnant?)
Red Lobster (with shrimp)
Goodyear Tires - "4 for the 4th"
Station ID / Today in Chicago promo (with Jorie Lueloff)
Act II
Commercials for:
Windex Glass Cleaner (with Ammonia-D)
Excedrin PM
Maybelline Fresh Lash mascara (with Lynda Carter)
Pillsbury Frosting Supreme
Act III
Commercials for:
Marriott Hotels (with Bill Marriott)
Purolator Courier
Chicago Health Club - 2 for the price of 1 (expires July 10th)
Mega Tech sound systems
Bumper
Promo for NewsCenter5 (repetir)
Commercials for:
Illinois Lottery - Instant Money Match Lottery
First Federal of Chicago - with offer of dining set
DHL package delivery
Station ID / promo of traffic reporter Gary Lee on NewsCenter5
Act IV
Offer for book, "99 New Ideas," from Changing Times magazine
Act V
Commercials for:
Hamm's Beer (the bear and other animals jump off a plane)
Chicagoland Pontiac Dealers - choose Bonneville, Firebird or Grand Prix for under $7,900
Wickes Furniture - "Exciting Things Are Happening" Sale
Tuscan Pops (long version - with Dick and Pat Van Patten)
Act VI
Commercials for:
Oil of Olay
Air Force PSA - "A Great Way of Life"
NBC - "America: Our Pride Is Showing"
(some videotape distortion - at station side?)
PSA for National Alliance of Business - "Hire a Teenager"
Bumper
Promo for NewsCenter5 (repetir)
Promo for Hill Street Blues
Commercials for:
A&P - "The Great A&P Price Rollback" (voiceover by ?)
Century 21 realtors (with actor John Lawlor)
Station ID / promo of traffic reporter Gary Lee on NewsCenter5
Act VII
Commercials for:
Budweiser beer - "This Bud's for You"
Chicagoland Pontiac Dealers - T1000 for around $5,300
Final weeks of "Evita" at Shubert Theatre before national tour
Gulf Lite Charcoal Starter
Act VIII
(audio starts warbling pretty bad before end of recording)
(final commercial break, and preview of next week's movie, are not included)
This aired on local Chicago TV on Sunday, June 28th 1981 into early Monday, June 29th 1981 during the 10:45pm to 12:45am timeframe.
About The Museum of Classic Chicago Television:
The MCCTv (FuzzyMemoriesTV) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose primary mission is the preservation and display of off-air, early home videotape recordings (70s to early 80s, mostly) recorded off of TV (in Chicago or other cities now too); things which would likely be lost if not sought out and preserved digitally. If you have any old 1970s videotapes recorded off of TV please email: tapes@fuzzy.tv Even though (mostly) short clips are displayed here, we preserve the entire broadcasts in our archives - the complete programs with breaks (or however much is present on the tape), for historical preservation. For information on how to help in our mission, to donate or lend tapes to be converted to digital, please e-mail tapes@fuzzy.tv Thank you for your help!
![WREG Channel 3 [Memphis, TN] - Early Saturday Morning (5/12/1979)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DrsIPdWlG0A/mqdefault.jpg "WREG Channel 3 [Memphis, TN] - Early Saturday Morning (5/12/1979)
Heres the complete, over 16-minute sample of what aired over WREG Channel 3 in Memphis, TN - then as now a CBS affiliate - on an early Saturday morning in May of 1979.
Includes:
Ending of a Crime Does Not Pay MGM short
PSA for American Cancer Society - Raise Your Hand Against [Breast] Cancer
Opportunity Line segment on available jobs in Memphis area (presented in association with Tennessee Department of Employment Security) (whos the lady?)
Station ID / promo for Tarzans New York Adventure (voiceover by ??)
Short in MGMs John Nesbitts Passing Parade series, A Really Important Person [1947], featuring a young Dean Stockwell in a tale of a policemans son seeking a suitable subject for an essay about an important person
Station sign-on, with shot of their Channel 3 Drive studios, U.S. flag (but no National Anthem) and a particularly colorful 1965 variant of National Association of Broadcasters Television Code display (posted separately here: https://youtu.be/Z48sRvuJ7O4) (voiceover by ??)
Thought for the Day, delivered by Chaplain Raymond Cook, starting off reading from John 14:14
The Archie Show opening with first minute of Sabrina, The Teenage Witch segment Tragic Magic (posted separately here: https://youtu.be/kaCxqmfuARg)
This aired on local Memphis TV on Saturday, May 12th 1979 between around 6:15am and 6:31am.
About The Museum of Classic Chicago Television:
The MCCTv (FuzzyMemoriesTV) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose primary mission is the preservation and display of off-air, early home videotape recordings (70s to early 80s, mostly) recorded off of TV (in Chicago or other cities now too); things which would likely be lost if not sought out and preserved digitally. If you have any old 1970s videotapes recorded off of TV please email: tapes@fuzzy.tv Even though (mostly) short clips are displayed here, we preserve the entire broadcasts in our archives - the complete programs with breaks (or however much is present on the tape), for historical preservation. For information on how to help in our mission, to donate or lend tapes to be converted to digital, please e-mail tapes@fuzzy.tv Thank you for your help!")
![KTTV Channel 11 [Los Angeles, CA] - The 10 OClock News (Complete Broadcast, 8/20/1984) 📺](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EfcCz4S7fKg/mqdefault.jpg "KTTV Channel 11 [Los Angeles, CA] - The 10 OClock News (Complete Broadcast, 8/20/1984) 📺
Heres a complete broadcast of The 10 OClock News on KTTV Channel 11 in Los Angeles, CA, anchored by Ken Matz. A little bonus will follow.
Includes:
Newscast open (first few seconds recorded over) (same theme package as used by sister station WNEW Channel 5 in New York), leading with coverage of Day 1 of 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas, plus:
- Olympic Volleyball Gold Medalists Steve Salmons and Dusty Dvorak being among the delegates
- Hot temperatures outside ruin a planned protest, as CNNs Frank Seltzer reports
- Reagan contrasts his policies with Carters in a Cincinnati speech
Commercials for:
Minolta Talker camera
Riviera Express to Las Vegas
Ken Cranes Audio Video
Bold 3 detergent plus fabric softener
- Eric Rabe reports on Geraldine Ferraros release of her tax returns
- Walter Mondale watching convention from his home, asked about Ferraro disclosure
- Women (and others) at Republican National Convention sound off about Ferraro revelations, as reported by CNNs James Alan [Jim] Miklaszewski
- VP George Bush said itd be too difficult to release his tax returns
- Voters in 14th District to decide on whether to recall Councilman Art Snyder, as reported by Larry Attebery; Elizabeth Anderson interviews some of the voters
- George Putnam One Reporters Opinion commentary on whats at stake in coming 14th District election
- Hal Eisner reports on admission of first women to Jaycees
Commercials for:
The Intercept Program of Parkview Community Hospital (for people with drinking problems)
2000 Flushes toilet bowl cleaner (with inventor Al Eisen)
Chrysler Fifth Avenue - at Southern California Chrysler-Plymouth Dealers
Zachary All mens clothes
- Delays and legal maneuvering in first day of preliminary hearings for McMartin Pre-School molestation case
- Michael David Ruby, 17, arraigned in Torrance on child molestation charges at Manhattan Ranch Pre-School in Manhattan Beach
- Cathy Evelyn Smith loses bid to fight extradition over John Belushis death
- Hal Eisner reports on joint Marine exercise at Port Huemene naval base
- State and County officials imposing quarantine to fight against Oriental fruit flies
- L.A. Board of Education signs off on closing 7 elementary schools
- Letter carriers agree to arbitration over planned Federal wage freeze
- Business news, including Miller beer introducing quart can, report from CNNs John Holliman on economy, Wall Street closes, and Kaiser selling Fontana Works to California Steel Industries
Sponsor billboard for Daily News Los Angeles
Commercials for:
Daily News Los Angeles
Sparkletts (featuring Harvey Hood)
Value Dodge Clearance Sale
Mobil Mart
Promo for 2nd Annual Kick-Off Classic (with Curt Gowdy)
- Andy Reynolds reports on Derrick Gordon, 20, in critical condition as his body rejects new heart
- Army Corp. John Hicks becomes father of baby daughter whose mother (and his wife Tammy, 16) is in coma following February auto accident and may not survive
- U.S. Swimming Long Distance Championships held in San Pedro
- Caribbean salvage crew finds sunken treasure off Haiti coast, as reported by CNNs John Zarrella
List of Billboard Top 5 LPs
Commercials for:
Jack LaLannes Health Spas (with Heather Thomas)
Jet America
Roto-Rooter
Worthington Ford
Pampers Double Elastic diapers
- Tom Kelly sports report, featuring Elaine Perkins report on polo tournament
Commercials for:
Fotomat Preferred Customer Card
C&R Clothiers
La Mesa RV Center
Los Alamitos racetrack (voiceover by Gary Owens?)
- Weather forecast with Bill Austin
- CNNs Robert Vito reports on people who collect reamers
End of newscast
Commercials for:
Dodge Daytona Turbo-Z at Value Dodge
Jell-O Gelatin
Arrowhead water - Official Water of the 1984 Olympics
Station ID, plus Welcome for Marcia Brandwynne to The 10 OClock News starting in September
Bonus: The Jeffersons opening with closed captions notice (reversed to avoid YouTube blocking)
Commercials for:
Coors Light
New Luvs diapers with 1-step refashionable tapes
This aired on local Los Angeles TV on Monday, August 20th 1984 during the 10pm to 11:02pm (Pacific) timeframe.
About The Museum of Classic Chicago Television:
The MCCTv (FuzzyMemoriesTV) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose primary mission is the preservation and display of off-air, early home videotape recordings (70s to early 80s, mostly) recorded off of TV (in Chicago or other cities now too); things which would likely be lost if not sought out and preserved digitally. If you have any old 1970s videotapes recorded off of TV please email: tapes@fuzzy.tv We preserve the entire broadcasts in our archives - the complete programs with breaks (or however much is present on the tape), for historical preservation. For information on how to help in our mission, to donate or lend tapes to be converted to digital, please e-mail tapes@fuzzy.tv Thank you for your help!")
![WNAC-TV - The Streets of San Francisco - The Thrill Killers-Part I [with TD Moment!] (12/20/1979)📺](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FuEfn6GqWj4/mqdefault.jpg "WNAC-TV - The Streets of San Francisco - The Thrill Killers-Part I [with TD Moment!] (12/20/1979)📺
Heres the complete broadcast of a rerun of the 1972-77 cop show The Streets of San Francisco (starring Karl Malden and Michael Douglas), more specifically the episode The Thrill Killers - Part I (S05E01, original airdate September 30th 1976) as presented over WNAC Channel 7 (later WNEV, now WHDH) in Boston, MA.
In the first of a two-part episode, an entire jury is kidnapped by four dangerous killers who threaten to murder them all if their demands are not met. Like all Quinn Martin (or is it Norman Fell?) productions, this features an all-star guest cast (including Patty Duke Astin, Darleen Carr, Susan Dey, Norman Fell (or is it Quinn Martin?), Doris Roberts, Dick Van Patten - and, listed in the end credits, Anthony Geary (!), Ron Glass (of Barney Miller fame), and Marion Ross (from Happy Days!).
All local voiceovers are by longtime WNAC staff announcer Leif Jensen.
Includes:
Station ID slide / PSA for Child-at-Risk Hotline
Show opening titles (voiceover by longtime QM announcer Hank Simms) (music modification to prevent YouTube blocking) (Norman Fell modification just for fun)
Commercials for:
Crimson Travel (with Rex and Sgt. Billy)
Birds Eye French Style Rice
Promo for The Newlywed Game
PSA for OXFAM-America (with international disaster expert Jim Howard talking about situation in Cambodia)
Act I (as with all QM productions, this and other acts are shown as such on screen)
Commercials for:
StarCase (movie channel) (voiceover by Jackson Beck)
Promo for Newsroom 7: The 11 OClock Update
Access (a public-affairs segment) - Sen. Sharon Pollard (D-Methuen) speaks about solar power in New England
Act II (ends with return in a moment bumper, voiceover by Hank Simms)
December Community Calendar (special event at Worcester Art Museum and goings-on at Salvation Army Harbor Lights Center)
Commercial: Victors Cough Drops - from Vicks
Promo for Candlepins for Cash
Act III
Theatrical trailer for The Electric Horseman
Looking Good promo of station lineup (featuring clips from various CBS shows like M*A*S*H, Candlepins for Cash, Dinah & Friends, Newsroom 7: The 11 OClock Update, The Newlywed Game, The Bad News Bears, The Bugs Bunny / Road Runner Show, At Noon, Peanuts specials, CBS News Sunday Morning, The Jokers Wild, Sha Na Na [with guest Dusty Springfield], Hawaii Five-0, Movie 7, Newsroom 7, Rebop, Dance Fever, and others)
PSA from U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission - Childrens Hazards
Act IV [Technical Difficulties Alert!] - note that from 43:16 to 44:17, the sound disappears, after which a station ID slide with CBSs 1979-80 slogan Looking Good is on the screen for 1 minute and 12 seconds; at 44:41, the mellifluous tones of Leif Jensen advise, Please stand by, followed at 45:11 by, We regret the interruption in this program, whatever difficulties should be cleared momentarily. Please stand by. Thank you. The action then resumes as normal at 45:53]
Christmas Greetings from John Henning (flanked by other members of Newsroom 7 team)
Commercial: Thomas English Muffins - Thomas or Toast? (at Belleville School No. 3 in New Jersey) (voiceover by Peter Thomas)
PSAs for:
School Volunteers for Boston - requiring tutors in Boston public schools
Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD!) (with M.L. Carr of Boston Celtics) (background music: Aint No Stoppin Us Now by McFadden & Whitehead)
Epilog
Followed directly by closing credits (station cuts out of credits midway through them)
Preview of Newsroom 7 (with Mike Taibbi)
Animated station promo of three children outside snow-covered street wishing everybody happy holidays
Commercial: Purity Supreme, The Basic Value Store - Big Holiday Meat Sale
PSA from National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute and U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare on controlling your diet and blood pressure (voiceover by Karl Weber)
Station ID / Happy Chanuka wishes
First minute of The Jokers Wild (full broadcast posted separately here: https://youtu.be/YseICbLM-3c)
This aired on local Boston TV on Thursday, December 20th 1979 during the 4pm to 5pm (EST) timeframe. (incidentally, this was day 47 of the ongoing Iranian hostage crisis)
About The Museum of Classic Chicago Television:
The MCCTv (FuzzyMemoriesTV) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose primary mission is the preservation and display of off-air, early home videotape recordings (70s to early 80s, mostly) recorded off of TV (in Chicago or other cities now too); things which would likely be lost if not sought out and preserved digitally. If you have any old 1970s videotapes recorded off of TV please email: tapes@fuzzy.tv We preserve the entire broadcasts in our archives - the complete programs with breaks (or however much is present on the tape), for historical preservation. For information on how to help in our mission, to donate or lend tapes to be converted to digital, please e-mail tapes@fuzzy.tv Thanks for your help!")
