Tonight, we go back to 1988 to Take Off to Futurism in Music Videos. "The future is upon us, with Robots, Computers and new technologies" Pat Prescott informs us at the top of tonight's episode. Kicking off with Bonnie Tyler scored supercut of Fritz Lang's Metropolis this episode shows a multitude of visions of the future through music. Re-flex is "Hurt," the Earons explore "The Land of Hunger," Tangerine Dream's Peter Baumann signs of "Strangers in the Night" and DEVO tell the tale of the "Worried Man." This episode on the future has the special honor of being bookended by a good friend from the past, Mr. Bill.

1988's "Take Off" to Hardcore (and more!)  You gotta hand it to the original Night Flight writers. Every weekend for over seven years, the team put together 8 hours of cutting-edge television—mixing a complex blend of avant-garde, undiscovered and obscure visual/audio art. The amount of work this took on a weekly basis back in the 1980s is staggering.   Tonight’s episode is a one-two punch of amazing Night Flight curation. Take Off to Hardcore begins fittingly with Bad Brains and Bl'ast!’s “Surf and Destroy,” before taking a detour off the Hardcore Highway into Euro-Industrial tracks from Alien Sex Fiend and Nitzer Ebb, only to end with an awesome Peter Murphy clip and solo track. It’s disorienting for sure, but one hell of a watch!

"The sound of surf, sand and Sunset Strip..." Coming to you direct from the nerve center of the entertainment industry, tonight Night Flight "Takes Off" to the City of Angels. In this special syndication episode from 1992, we explore the troubadours and minstrels that help shape the musical legacy of Los Angeles and the California sound, from Folk to Surf, Rockabilly to Punk. Featuring The Beach Boys, The Doors, LA Guns, The Motels and more!

Join us as Night Flight "Takes Off" to the Sounds of South, from the Bayou and beyond. A mix of country music, blues and old time religion: the sounds that define the south are echoed in many of Rock’s key pioneers. Tonight, Night Flight takes this geographic prompt to explore a broad range of ‘80s acts that carried the torch and established a sound inspired by southern roots, including: Jason and the Scorchers, Blackfoot, Molly Hatchet, 38 Special and more. 

"All through the rich history of Rock N Roll, artists have claimed the material of others..." says Night Flight syndication host Tom Juarez at the start of tonight's Take Off to Cover Songs. The hour long episode salutes the great musical tradition in what turned out to be the golden decade of covers, featuring Fine Young Cannibals covering Elvis, Cyndi Lauper's best Marvin Gaye impression, and The Pretenders' Jimi Hendrix reinvention. Chrissie Hynde sits down at the Night Flight studio to talk us through how she created the tune, while additional cuts from Boomerang, Club Nouveau and more follow.

“In the ‘80s, America rediscovered the Body” Pat Prescott tells us. “We jogged, we danced, we exercised and put our bodies back into shape.” Right in time for that gym membership, we're kicking off another year of Night Flight Originals with "Take Off to Body Language," an excellent 1984 special featuring tunes from Thomas Dolby, Berlin, The Gap Band, Herbie Hancock and of course, Queen.

The sun has risen on the Aquarian Age. Tonight we return to 1988 for an intergalactic sojourn through the New Age movement. “A fascination with the eternal truths permeates New Age music…” Pat Prescott tells us, before jumping into an eclectic mix of Philip Glass, Ravi Shanker, Kitaro, and Yanni. Prepare your Pan Flutes, and ready yourself for New Age hour on Night Flight.

Tonight we Take Off to Cameos with “guest shot” appearances from Rodney Dangerfield, Milton Berle, Father Guido Sarducci, and more. Originally airing in 1984, tonight’s original episode features an eclectic music selection featuring the likes of Sons of Heroes, Tracey Ullman, Ratt, Ebn Ozn; all defined by their high-profile cameos.

Ever since “Rock Around The Clock” was heard on the soundtrack of the film Blackboard Jungle, rock music has targeted the classroom as a constant enemy of all that is fun and good in music. Tonight we look at the bands revolting against school authority and classroom discipline with tunes from The Stray Cats, Ramones, Twisted Sister and more. The 1980s had no shortage of music videos set in High School classrooms, so believe us, this episode DELIVERS. Who was your homeroom angel?

Kicking off with a rock and soul temptress Tina Turner, host Pat Prescott presents an eclectic selection of female trailblazers and provocateurs including Wendy O. Williams, Patty Smyth's Scandal, Sheena Easton, Sheila E. and more tonight. "Take Off" to Women In Rock explores the pop-rock voices that left us with some of the best music of the 1980s in their wake. Strut!

Culture is political on tonight’s original episode of Night Flight where we return to 1986 to “Take Off” to Politics. Kicking off with Edwin Starr’s “WAR,” Night Flight navigates the polarizing music terrain of the ‘60s and ‘70s with a visual backdrop of global conflict from the time period, highlighting the electrifying politics that power rock and roll. A couple ‘80s cuts sneak into this episode, with a focus on those songs affecting a more poetic political outrage: X’s “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts”, New Model Army’s “51st State” and Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Dylan Thomas inspired “Rage Hard.” Viewer discretion is advised. This episode features graphic footage of war.

Tonight, we "Take Off" to the Motown Sound, the most successful independent record label in the world. Former boxer and auto mobile assembly line worker, Berry Gordy Jr. founded Motown in 1959 and created the sound of young America with Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Little Stevie Wonder (pictured above), and Diana Ross and the Supremes. Gordy ran Motown like an assembly plant, churning out hits all through the 1960s, eventually making Motown the largest black-owned corporation in America. Unlike most music television programming, Night Flight went beyond genre when curating and tonight’s episode is one of our crown jewels!

Welcome to tonight’s "special investigation" into Satanic Metal circa 1988 (peak Satanic Panic!). Ever since the days of Paradise Lost, Faust and Hot Stuff Comic Books, the devil has been folk antihero numero uno and when Rock & Roll finally came along, he had his soundtrack (according to outraged fundamentalists).  Kicking off with Ozzy's "Miracle Man," join us as we descend into a realm of dark hymns from Damien, Iron Maiden, and much more…

Welcome to Night Flight. Tonight we Take Off to Rock and Roll Cowboys, original air date 1988. Sharpen your spurs and saddle up as Night Flight shows you how many of today’s rockers take their musical and visual style from the Wild Wild West. Kicking off with Martini Ranch’s “Reach,” The Damned’s Cinescope spaghetti-western themed cover “Alone Again Or,” and more from Robbie Robertson, Kool Moe Dee, and more!

Welcome back to Night Flight. Tonight, we jump into the world of Slapstick Comedy. “Drawing on the theatrical tradition of Vaudeville, Slapstick Comedy is one of America’s most enduring traditions in cinema history,” syndication host Tom Juarez tells us. Its visual, it’s physical, and tonight we present collected the masters of the genre: Chaplin, W.C Fields, The Three Stooges, Jerry Lewis in drag and more.

For three magical days in 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was a "Rock 'n' Roll City" half a million strong. Get ready for one of the headiest retro-television experiences of your life as Night Flight flashes back to Woodstock, with live documentation, concert footage and music from the iconic festival's key sets. 

Tonight we’re going to turn your living room into the after hours club of your dreams. Not only are you on the A list, you’ve got a ringside seat to the hottest talent The Big Apple has to offer. That’s right, tonight we “Take Off” to New York City Rock, featuring Lou Reed, The Ramones, Blondie, Grandmaster Flash, Yoko Ono, Run DMC and more. From the Velvet Underground in the ‘60s, to the Punk Explosion in the ‘70s and the ascendance of Rap in the '80s, let Night Flight be your guide to the metropolis that has it all.

Ya'll are watching Night Flight, the late night place to be. In this original episode, we saddle up and Take Off to Country Music with Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Crystal Gayle, Ronnie Milsap, the Judds and much more. Let Pat Prescott be your guide, reliving the classics and bringing you up to speed on peak ‘80s country and crossover.

Night Flight finally makes it to Alt Rock this weekend in a new addition to our “Take Off” features. This 1994 showcase appeared in the twilight of Night Flight’s 90s syndication. The music videos and concert footage included (The Breeders, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Afghan Whigs, Rage Against the Machine, and more) is as accurate a snapshot of the era as one could ask for, but it’s still a bit uncanny to see the NF chyron next to quintessential 90s acts.

Night Flight looks at the roots of Irish rock 'n' roll tonight in this original “Take Off” special from the mid-1980s. With Bodhrán, Fiddles, Uilleann pipes and Irish Harps in hand, we kick off with the Chieftans' "Irish Anthem" before looking at the Ireland’s strong music tradition. Dating back to Celtic culture, when poets were elevated to the status of aristocrats, we take a closer look at the island that produced '80s era acts like the Pogues, Van Morrison, Cactus World News, Bob Geldof, Zerra 1 and more. Stick around afterwards for some very rare animated cartoons & short films, including Ellen Foley in "Headshot."

Metal? Mostly. “You asked for a Metal night in your letters, so now you’re going to get it,” Tom Juarez announces before an episode that is mostly Metal. Metallica, Megadeth, and White Zombie represent the evolving sound of the early '90s, but Butthole Surfer’s Who Was in My Room Last Night? steals the show. You’d be hard pressed to call the Surfers Metal, so we’ll just assume the late-era Night Flight original producers were just looking for an excuse to play Wes Archer’s insane animated trip of a video. We’re not mad at it!

Night Flight rocks regional tonight as we travel to Asbury Park and beyond to explore the sounds of The Garden State. Featuring music from, of course, the Boss, blues revivalist Southside Johnny, Hackensack’s Joe Lynn Turner, Clarence Clemons and more!

“Heavy Metal is a musical reaction against the mellow love generation of the 1960s,” Pat Prescott tells us. Tonight’s 1984 Night Flight Original takes us away from this world for a history lesson in Metal with classics from Black Sabbath and Judas Priest and '80s arrivals in Heavy Metal of different varieties: German, (Accept, Scorpion), Woman-Fronted (Rock Goddess, Girlschool) and much more.  Watch in our “Take Offs” section tonight!

Night Flight’s 1985 “Take Off” to Animation Vol. 4 is a perfect mid-decade snapshot of the remarkable evolution of technology and creativity in animation happening in the 1980s. Featuring super-group The Power Station's composited cutout acid trip for their T-Rex cover, Machinations rotoscoped “Pressure Sway” (above), Steve Miller’s early 3D animation effort “Bongo Bongo," and even some interview segments with animators working on Disney's The Black Cauldron.

On tonight’s episode of “20 Years of Rock ’n’ Roll Style” Night Flight covers Glam Rock. “Twilight fell on the grassroots hippie sixties, and it was time to put the glitz and glamor back into rock,” Pat Prescott tells us before introducing T. Rex. From there we travel through Freddie Mercury solo cuts, D.A. Pennebaker’s live video for Bowie’s “White Light, White Heat” cover and much more.

Tonight’s original episode comes from 1983, i.e. the early days of discovery on NF that often featured uncut performance footage. Here, we see Toyah’s 1981 show at London’s Rainbow Theatre with the irrepressible performer at the top of her game. Listen up for excellent tunes like "War Boys," "Neon Womb" and more. 

Your perfect Oscar weekend companion has arrived... 35 years late. Tonight's Night Flight Original Episode is a preview for the 1985's Award's show! Ray Parker Jr. tells us about writing the Ghostbuster's theme, master filmmaker David Lean discusses Passage to India, up for Best Picture (lost to Amadeus) and much more.

Night Flight's "Take Off" to Guitar Rock is a syndication special with host Tom Juarez from 1994. This video mix includes Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, John Lee Hooker and more. Roots guitar music was probably the last thing on a young person's late night TV mind in the grunge era, but Night Flight could always be relied on to celebrate culture and not follow trends. Right?

The Doors Are Open is a 1968 black-and-white documentary first aired in the United Kingdom on 4 October 1968 and shown regularly on Night Flight. Combing footage of the Doors playing live at London's Roundhouse venue, interviews with the band members and contemporary news snippets of world current affairs. Watch Night Flight's original broadcast tonight!

Welcome to Night Flight! Tonight, we “Take Off” to Elvis. Ever since his 1956 debut, Elvis Aaron Presley has provoked more passion, more controversy and more adoration than anyone else in the history of Rock. Literally, the King. Fine Young Cannibal's Roland Gift sits down with Night Flight to discuss the sacredness of Elvis and the riskiness of their cover "Suspicious Minds."

“Here’s a look at the second British Invasion of America…” says Pat Prescott ahead of this brand new arrival from the vault featuring music videos from Adam Ant, Heaven 17, and Eurythmics. The first British music invasion was of course lead by The Beatles in 1964, so we start the show tonight with a rare performance from a 1982 documentary called The Compleat Beatles.

This Night Flight segment from one of our early seasons ('81-83 era) features a 1955 episode of "Showtime at the Apollo," featuring an ensemble of African American performers live from the the landmark Apollo Theater in Harlem. The show is hosted by "Mayor of Harlem" Willie Bryant and features incredible performances from Bill Bailey, Ruth Brown ("Have a Good Time"), Cab Calloway and his Orchestra ("Minnie the Moocher"), Lionel Hampton ("Cobb's Idea"), Leonard Reed, "Big" Joe Turner ("Oke-She-Moka-She-Pop") and Sarah Vaughan ("Perfidio").

Tonight we "Take Off" to Violence in Music Videos in this 1984 original episode of Night Flight; perfect for triggering your local PMRC chapter. “The following program contains controversial material…” Pat Prescott warns before contrasting the "psychological violence" of the Ramones against the "comic book violence" of Iggy Pop in this '80s time capsule that also features music videos from Golden Earring, and a piercing scream from the infernal beyond courtesy of Alcatrazz.