[Oldstuff78]

Originally Posted by ihmeyers

Interestingly, I've got a bunch of old network tapes of shows run in color that were recoded at the network in B&W. Wonder why they would do that?? Anyway glad to help out. People on this board have been very helpful to me.

I have a lot of old programming like that too. One show in particular is Ozzie & Harriet. The final season of that show (1965-1966) was the only one shot in color. When episodes turn up of that season, they are usualy b&w. The only color episodes that show up are about 4 that were released by Shout Factory. They are the only DVD's authorized by the Nelson family and they have been edited for syndication. These edited version were done in the 80's when Harriet Nelson hosted the show on The Disney Channel. The colors are washed out and need to be restored.

I have heard that some network affiliates couldn't brodcast color and were given b&w copies of shows. I have also heard that copies were made like that to ship over seas during the war for soldiers to watch. A lot of live shows were filmed in kinescopes (which is horrible). This was done by pointing a camera towards a monitor and filming it off there. A lot of shows only survive in this format. American Bandstand and Shindig are prime examples of this. A lot of daytime shows were not saved back then and were thrown out or the tape re-used. Soap Opera fans complain that a lot of early footage from long running shows no longer survive. I think I read Young and The Restless that started in the early 70's is one of the few that saved their footage.