Tonight on Night Flight, we feature masters of rock and roll comedy genr, including Weird Al, Dog Police, The Muppets, Mr. T., Doug and The Slugz and a whole new set of commandments from the bible of Mr. T! There are a bunch of hidden treasures in this hour long episode from 1985 that also includes the British TV show “Spitting Image.”

Kicking off with 1984’s “Ooh Ooh” song, Night Flight takes you on a complete tour of the artist’s numerous smash hits. Ten years before this episode aired, Benatar was “working as a bank teller and supplementing her income while singing in motel lounges,” host Pat Prescott tells us.

Welcome to part 2 of Visions of Platinum! We look at the top selling artists of today (1985!). You'll see videos from best selling artists Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, ACDC, and Kiss. We also speak to the producers behind some classic records Nile Rodgers producer of David Bowie and Duran Duran, Phil Ramone, the main producer of Billy Joel and Julian Lennon, and Madonna's producer Jellybean Benitez.

This review of the early 80s Aussie rock scene on video features the likes of Jo Jo Zep, Men At Work, Divinyls, Midnight Oil, Inxs and New Zealand's Tim Finn (of Split Enz fame) and more. Night Flight's innovative "Take Off" series dispensed with playlists, bland VJ set-ups and the usual tired video countdown format and instead cleverly programmed music videos and performance clips by theme. The series regularly featured hits from Eighties pop icons juxtaposed against obscurities from not-ready-for-MTV cult favorites. Original Air Date: 11-11-83

Phil Morrison directed "Tater Tomater" for his NYU Film School Senior Project. It started out as a short skit written by Angus MacLachlan, who like Morrison was a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts in 1979-1980. It then appeared in several comedic revues, and whenever it was performed, Beth Bostic -- who played "Doris," the not-quite-all-there cafeteria worker -- never failed to bring down the house. "Tater Tomater" was screened at a film festival in New York and reviewed -- by Frank Rich in March of 1990 and by Jami Bernard -- in the New York Times. In January of 1992, it was shown at the Sundance Film Festival, and before then we believe it made its national broadcast debut on PBS's "American Playhouse," before appearing during the '90s syndication era of "Night Flight."

Watch the director discuss "tired" comparisons to Hitchcock, the importance of beauty in horror, and the potential pitfalls of directing music videos all while seeing pivotal scenes from Carrie, Phantom Of The Paradise, Body Double and more...

This installment Heavy Metal Heroes features mind-melting video classics from the likes of April Wine, Alcatrazz, Girlschool & W.A.S.P. Videos of the finest vintage from David Bowie, The Clash, Fleetwood Mac, Blondie & The Police are served chilled direct from Night Flight vaults.

In Take Off To Self Destruction (1986), Night Flight focuses on some of the darker elements that defined the 1980s, looking at music that dealt with topics like drug abuse and crime. Featured songs like “Stop The Madness” and “Just Say No” convey a conflicted range of emotion when watched today. The videos are definitely humorous in their categorically ‘80s presentation but they also require a somber reflection of the ineffective and corrosive drug policies promoted by the Reagans. Along with artist interviews and PSA style interstitials (including a brilliant one from Frank Zappa), this episode features videos from Armband, Jazzy Jeff, Fine Young Cannibals and more. A closing video of David Bowie’s “Ashes To Ashes” for this segment proves that Night Flight was willing to take on uncomfortable topics like drug abuse and suicide with an elegance you couldn’t find anywhere else on TV at the time. That’s a fact.

Your original Night Flight programming returns with a 1988 episode of Flash Tracks. Tonight we have neo-60s psychedelia Australian style with Hoodoo Gurus, gritty english rock Flesh for Lulu, and from Bradford, England it's "Sanctuary” for your soul with The Cult! And for a timely bonus, stay tuned at the end of this episode for Australia's roaming reporter Norman Gunston who pays a visit to the 1979 Grammys!

Night Flight’s June 1988 New Sounds provides the pulse of new music from the past, featuring Joni Mitchell and Peter Gabriel, a lost X video for “Devil Doll,” Yugoslavian Avant-pop, and early sample-based techno from Coldcut.

In this excellent Flash Tracks episode from June, 1987 Night Flight covers Women in Rock including Siouxsie and the Banshees, Yazoo's Alison Moyet and Suzanne Vega. Born Susan Janet Ballion in a London suburb, Siouxsie Sioux cut her musical teeth on rock legends the Sex Pistols and David Bowie. Siouxsie Sioux brought unrestrained fashion and rock together, (what Night Flight's Pat Prescott calls a modern day "Mata Hari") with a style imitated all over England. Performing since 1976, Siouxsie and the Banshees unique sound smacks of their fascination of the bizarre. 

1985's "Take Off" to street music featuring Chaka Khan, Grand Master Flash, Run DMC and more...