TELEVISION - THE 1980s & 1990s
1980
The Russell Harty Show - Chat show host Russell Harty's infamous interview with pop star Grace Jones. Jones becomes offended at Harty and slaps him around the face. The show also featured interviews with photographer Patrick Lichfield, clothes designer Tom Gilbey and perfume expert Walter Poucher. The original broadcast is missing the opening few minutes and is joined during the Grace Jones interview (10, 30 minutes on the same disc as the 1995 Parkinson Interviews : Orson Welles and David Niven, 1 Disc, BBC, PAL)
1981
The Royal Wedding : Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer - Original BBC coverage from the day, starting with 1 hour of Pre-Wedding, then the ceremony and finally the procession back to the Palace (8, 3 hours 15 minutes of coverage, 1 Disc, BBC, PAL)
Space Shuttle STS-1 Launch and Landing - Original broadcast coverage of the inaugural Space Shuttle flight, piloted by John Young and Robert Crippen. Coverage includes the BBC's "Tomorrow's World" launch programme, news bulletins from ITV and BBC of the 2 days in Space, and the BBC's "Tomorrow's World" landing coverage starting at the radio blackout (9, 2 hours in length, 1 Disc, BBC - Rodd/Prendiville/Pardoe, PAL)
Space Shuttle STS-2 Launch - Original broadcast coverage of the 2nd Space Shuttle flight, piloted by Joe Engle and Richard Truly. Coverage includes the original aborted launch + ITV's coverage of the re-scheduled launch, with Apollo 12's Dick Gordon as studio guest. The landing is not in the coverage (8, 2 hours 56 mins in length, 1 Disc, ITV - Sissons/Gordon, PAL)
1982
An Evening with Robin Williams - Stand up performance from Robin Williams at his hometown San Francisco American Music Hall (9, 1 Disc, PAL)
The Paras - A Fly-on-the-wall Documentary following a group of new recruits to the Parachute Regiment in 1982. The 7 epsiodes follow the recruits through basic training to passing out (8, Transfer from VHS - 7 episodes of 30 minutes each, 2 Discs, BBC, PAL)
Police Squad ! - Episode 1, The Broken Promise - Frank Drebin has to find the killer of a bank teller. 1st BBC broadcast in 1989 (9, 1 Disc, BBC, PAL)
Police Squad ! - All 6 episodes (10, Official DVD, 1 Disc, PAL)
1985
Steven Wright Special - US stand up comedian Steven Wright live on stage (9, 1 Disc, BBC, PAL)
Neighbours - Episode 1 - The 1st ever episode of the Australian Soap. Shane Ramsey is organising a stripper for his friend Des Clarke's stag do but the bride-to-be Lorraine seems to be having 2nd thoughts. On the same disc as the 1988 episode of Neighbours - Scott and Charlene's wedding and the 2015 30th Reunion (10, 2015 re-broadcast, 23 minutes, 1 Disc, Channel 5, PAL)
1986
Robin Williams - Live at the Met - Stand up performance from Robin Williams at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York (9, 1 Disc, PAL)
Jean Michel Jarre - Rendezvous Houston - To celebrate the 150th birthday of Texas, Jean Michel Jarre held a concert in Houston but the concert turned into a rememberance event for the astronauts who had died on the Space Shuttle Challenger only 2.5 months previously. Approximately 1.5 million people attended the concert, a world record for a concert at the time (8, 55 minutes, 1 Disc, CH4, PAL)
1987
Question of Sport - The sports-themed quiz show hosts a member of the Royal Family, as team captains Bill Beaumont and Emlyn Hughes are joined by HRH Princess Anne, Nigel Mansell, Linford Christie and John Rutherford (10, 2014 re-broadcast - 35 minutes, BBC, PAL)
The New Statesman - Series 1, Episode 1 - First ever episode. Newly elected Tory MP Alan B'Stard is blackmailed in an attempt to get a law passed that allows the Police to be armed (10, 2014 re-broadcast - 1 hour - On the same disc as "1993 Rik Mayall Presents...Dancing Queen", 1 Disc, ITV, PAL)
The Travel Show Guide to... - Presented by Paul Heiney with John Kettley and Matthew Collins, the shows investigates 5 summer holiday destinations for British people to visit (Corfu, The Algarve, The Costa del Sol, The Adriatic Riviera and Tunisia) and gives facts about each resort, including what the beaches are like, which resorts are noisy and how many British go there, plus general information on the area like what time it gets dark, when it normally rains, what the local drink is and how much it costs (8, Transferred from VHS, 5 episodes of 35 minutes - missing episode 6, 2 Discs, BBC, PAL)
1988
4 Days in November - CBS retrospective on the assassination of John F Kennedy in 1963 using actual TV news reports in chronological order to tell the stroy (8, 1 Disc, CBS, NTSC)
Neighbours - Episode 523 - The residents of Ramsay Street gather for the long-awaited wedding of Charlene Mitchell (Kylie Minogue) and Scott Robinson (Jason Donovan). On the same disc as the 1985 1st ever episode of Neighbours and the 2015 30th Reunion (10, 2015 re-broadcast, 23 minutes, 1 Disc, Channel 5, PAL)
1989
For All Mankind - A documentary about the Apollo moon landing, using only footage from NASA and narrated by the Astronauts themselves. The footage is taken from all 6 Apollo missions but is edited to make it look like 1 mission. This is a 2009 re-broadcast of the original 1989 film (10, 1 hour 15 minutes, 1 Disc, BBC, PAL)
San Francisco Earthquake - Approximately 6 hours of NBC news coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake that struck San Francisco at 5pm on the 17th October. Coverage starts with an NBC news special just after the quake and continues throughout the remainder of the day with additional news coverage from KRON-4 in San Francisco (8, 3 Discs, NBC, NTSC)
The South Bank Show : Jimi Hendrix - A retrospective look at the life, career and death of guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Includes concert footage + interviews with Chas Chandler, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell and celebrity interviews with Eric Clapton, Robert Cray and BB King (8, 50 minutes, 1 Disc, ITV, PAL)
1990
Jean Michel Jarre - La Défense, Paris - To celebrate Bastille day, Jean Michel Jarre held a concert in the La Défense district of Paris. Approximately 2.5 million people attended the concert, a world record at the time (8, 1 hour 5 minutes, 1 Disc, CH4, PAL)
1991
Tim Allen Re-Wires America - US stand up comedian Tim Allen, of Home Improvements fame, discusses "Mens Stuff" (6, 1 Disc, PAL)
Challenge Anneka - Mitcham Parish Church - Anneka has to renovate a 13th Century Church in Mitcham in time for a wedding that she also has to organise (8, Original broadcast - Slight Ghosting and Grainy picture, 1 Disc, BBC, PAL)
Challenge Anneka - Childrens Camp, Orwell, Cambridgeshire - Anneka has to convert a field into a childrens Camp for inner city children, then top off the day with a Fireworks display (8, Original broadcast - Slight Ghosting and Grainy picture, 1 Disc, BBC, PAL)
Gulf War : First Day - Documentary showing the British Armed Forces establishing their base in Saudi Arabia at the start of the 1991 Gulf War. Includes interviews with soldiers and support staff, including cooks, medics and engineers (9, 19 minutes - On the same disc as the 1991 Gulf War:Final Day, 1 Disc, ForcesTV, PAL)
Gulf War : Final Day - Documentary showing the British Armed Forces preparing to leave Saudi Arabia after the 1991 Gulf War, and the clean-up operation required. Includes interviews with soldiers and support staff (9, 19 minutes - On the same disc as the 1991 Gulf War:First Day, 1 Disc, ForcesTV, PAL)
1993
Robin Williams - Acting Funny - A review of the comedy, TV and film career to date of Robin Williams. Includes interviews and clips (9, 1 Disc, PAL)
Rik Mayall Presents...Dancing Queen - The story of a groom at his stag party in Kent who is drugged and sent on a train to Scarborough on the eve of his wedding. A stripper helps him cope with the experience, and the groom realises he is falling in love with her. Rik Mayall plays the Groom and Helena Bonham-Carter plays the Stripper (10, 2014 re-broadcast - 1 hour - On the same disc as "1983 New Statesman", 1 Disc, ITV, PAL)
Lily Savage Live : Paying the Rent - Filmed at the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden, London. Lily Savage, the Scouse bombshell, recounts her life, from her 1959 Miss Pears triumph to numerous shop-lifting convictions and finally her international sex-kitten status (9, Missing final minute, 1 hour, 1 Disc, PAL)
1994
Absolutely Fabulous – Series 2, Episode 4 - Morocco - Patsy and Eddie head to Marrakech for a photo shoot and end up selling Saffy to slave traders. Bubble ends up breaking the office computer (8, 1 Disc, BBC, PAL)
Smashie and Nicey : End of an Era - Radio DJ's Smashie and Nicey look back at the their careers as they retire from Radio 1. Includes cameos from Alan Freeman, Kid Jensen and John Peel. On the same disc as the "2015 An Evening with Harry and Paul" (10, 2015 Re-Broadcast, 40 minutes, 1 Disc, BBC, PAL)
1995
Jean Michel Jarre - Concert pour la Tolérance, Paris - To celebrate UNESCO's Year of Tolerance, Jean Michel Jarre held a concert on Bastille Day at the Eiffel tower in front of 1.25 million people (8, 1 hour 40 minutes, 1 Disc, CH4, PAL)
Parkinson Interviews : David Niven - Chat show host Michael Parkinson reflects on interviews he had with actor David Niven in 1972 and 1975, including coverage of both interviews (10, 40 minutes on the same disc as the 1995 Parkinson Interviews : Orson Welles and the 1980 Russell Harty interview with Grace Jones, 1 Disc, BBC, PAL)
Parkinson Interviews : Orson Welles - Chat show host Michael Parkinson reflects on a 1974 interview he had with actor Orson Welles and includes the complete interview as broadcast (10, 40 minutes on the same disc as the 1995 Parkinson Interviews : David Niven and the 1980 Russell Harty interview with Grace Jones, 1 Disc, BBC, PAL)
Smith and Jones : Prime Cuts - In a tribute to comedian Mel Smith who died in 2013, the BBC re-broadcast Smith and Jones : Prime Cuts, a compilation of the best bits of the show. The programme is introduced by Griff Rhys-Jones (10, 30 minutes - On the same disc as 2009 Not again : Not the 9 o'clock news, 1 Disc, BBC, PAL)
1997
Princess Diana's Funeral - Full coverage of the Funeral service + 50 minutes of post-funeral comment and pictures of the coffin procession back to Althorp. The funeral includes Elton John singing "Candle in the Wind". The post-funeral coverage is missing 30 minutes from the moment the coffin leaves Westminster Abbey (9, 2 Discs, BBC, PAL)
1998
Mir Mortals - The story of the problems that beset the American and Russian astronauts on-board the Russian Space Station Mir in 1997. They had to endure a fire, power blackouts and mechanical breakdowns + a dramatic mid-space collision that left everyone on board scrambling for their lives. Includes interviews with the Astronauts from both sides and archive footage (9, Copied from the Internet, 49 minutes, 1 Disc, BBC, PAL)
1999
Parkinson - Chat show host Michael Parkinson reflects on the career of comedy duo Morecambe and Wise with a re-broadcast of his 1972 interview of the pair (10, 45 minutes, 1 Disc, BBC, PAL)
Smack the Pony : Series 1 - The ground-breaking 1st series of the all-girl sketch show, starring Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan, Sally Phillips and Sarah Alexander. The sketches were of observational humour but also set alongside a surrealist silliness including Dating Agency Videos, High-heeled woman and Video Game Susan (9, 2020 re-broadcast, All 7 episodes, 2 Discs, Channel 4, PAL)