A classic "Take Off" episode highlighting European rock including videos from Peter Schilling, Nina Hagen, Scorpions and more.

What begins as backstage banter and a photoshoot turns into a fun interview packed with Scorpions lore in this new Night Flight Short Cut. The band goes celebrating Rudolph's birthday to a candid recollection of playing Roger Waters’ The Wall concert in a newly unified Berlin, originally shot for Stuart S. Shapiro’s MetalHead Magazine.

Take a ride down the glory days of the Sunset Strip, featuring some of the hardest-rocking and hardest-partying bands of the era including Poison, Great White and Kik Tracee, as well as legendary venues such as the Rainbow.

Night Flight profiles quintessential rock video director Bill Fishman, on the debut of his film Tapeheads (1988) with John Cusack and Tim Robbins. This tour de force of his work explores videos by Suicidal Tendencies, The Ramones, and more.

"TV 2000's a different kind of video show: We've got everything!" The 1985 music series and Night Flight sister show hosted by John Kassir (voice of the Cryptkeeper) and Joe Gallo includes a top ten countdown, home movies, artist conversations with Night Flight & Radio 1990 resident interviewer Lisa Robinson, and some fantastic sweepstakes (sorry, entry is now closed!). Tonight's show, dubbed Episode 1 in the library, features videos from Duran Duran, Til Tuesday, Lisa Robinson on location with model Jerry Hall and a sizzling video Hot Pick of the Week. Commercials included!

In 1965, as leader of the NY Band: The Velvet Underground, Lou Reed became Rock's first leather-clad social outcast. At the age of 20, Reed took violence, drugs, sadomasochism, and sang about them in a rock context creating music as painful as it was compelling. He set the stage for the punk revolution. Night Flight tells the story of Reed with music videos, live footage and amazingly candid interviews discussing his love for performance, writing and his unique approach to recording.

One of the more popular animated short films that aired during Night Flight’s '80s heyday was Wes Archer’s cult fave Jac Mac & Rad Boy, Go!, a wonderfully frenetic cartoon about two party-bound teens who inadvertently destroy a city on their way to hell, which Archer admits he may have also been inspired by his own wayward youth in Houston, Texas. Note: Wes went on to have an amazing career in animation and is currently the supervising director on Rick and Morty.

A young girl develops telekinesis.

A 1932 Rudy Vallee short is remixed for Night Flight audiences.

Welcome to Night Flight goes to the movies, a. Tonight we look at the growing emergence of black leading men in a variety of film genres including Carl Weather's "Action Jackson" and Spike Lee's "School Daze" including interviews. This episode also previews "The Return of Ruben Blades," now come full circle and streaming on Night Flight Plus.

Travel way back to the Halcyon days of Night Flight with tonight's New Arrival from the vault: a 1982 Video Profile of Adam Ant. This early episode format gives an uncut feel to the interview in which Ant talks about meeting the Queen, what it takes to break in America and taking inspiration from the fashion of the French Revolution.

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. 

Resurrecting the sizzling pre-punk R&B attitude of British pub rock, The Godfathers came slamming onto the scene in 1986. Tune in for an interview with founders the Coyne brothers and hits from the band's discography, including '87's existential anthem "Birth, School, Work, Death."

In "Take Off to Comedy IX," enter Jackie Mason's mind with the brilliant compilation “The World According To Me,” Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi get Brian Wilson out of bed to go surfing in a long forgotten clip that was one of our most popular stories on the blog last year. Other gems include Divine’s “These Lips Were Made For Kissing,” Dweezil Zappa, Weird Al Yankovich and an original segment with comedian Ritch Shydner’s hilarious bit in the Night Flight studios.

Night Flight takes off to Animation, Part 3! This segment features traditional Hollywood animation, stop motion, pixelation, and computer animation. Featuring videos from Cyndi Lauper, George Clinton, Jean Luc Ponty and more...

"Good Evening, ladies and gentlemen," 1990s syndication host Tom Juarez exclaims, "and welcome to Night Flight: a beacon of fun, fantasy, and pure entertainment..." What follows is a hand-picked rerun of some classic Night Flight segments including a Bruce Springsteen Video Profile and an hour of cult classics. "You may as well put on another cup of coffee, because no matter how sleepy you think you're feeling, you're going to want to stay up for tonight's wild ride." You bet!

Afro Beat: A look at Africa's music and politics. It's no secret that Rock and Roll is based on African Rythyms. Africa created tempo and 4/4 time, the basis for all our generation's popular dance music. Today, another sound is coming from Africa as the world turns to the political abuses on the continent. African-born musicians are crying out for their civil rights. Featuring preeminent pan-africanist Fela, Senegalese brothers Toure Kunda, Nigerian Juju music leader King Sunny Ade, South African Apartheid activists Juluka (with Johnny Clegg) and much more. This is Night Flight at it’s absolute finest: musical, cultural and historical.

Yothu Yindi combine rock music with traditional Aboriginal instrumentation to create a distinct sound all their own. This 1992 60 Minutes story covers their history, influences and politics.

Ryuichi Sakamoto's passing in 2023 has left an enormous void in the world of music, film, and beyond. Here at NF HQ, we were comforted by bittersweet arrival of a tape from the archives that includes Sakamoto's Man Ray inspired video for “Risky,” which features the inimitable croon of Iggy Pop. This "New Sounds" episode also highlights songs from ex-Go-Go's band House of Schock, The Smithereens, Pop Will Eat Itself, and more. Stick around for a New Filmmakers Showcase featuring a musical saga about a small-time hustler called Honky Tonk Bud (Scott Laster, 1986) the urban folk legend.

Conceived by the creators of the successful USA cable program "NIGHT FLIGHT," this light-hearted, off-the-wall exposé includes the unlikely supporting cast of Queen Elizabeth, Richard Nixon, Colonel Kaddafi, Yasser Arafat, Jayne Mansfield, Margaret Thatcher, the Ayatollah Khomeini, and many more. America's Leading Man, Ronald Reagan, is the subject of this hilarious, tongue-in-cheeck scrapbook on our most colorful president. ROCKIN' RONNIe takes a deliciously irreverent look at the life and times of America's smiling hero — from smooth-talking actor to silver-tongued politician. Watch the screen as we throw darts at Ronald Reagan "the calvaryman," "the slugger," "the fighter pilot," "the priest," "the sailor," "the football player," "the Fighting Marshall," "the detergent salesman," "the gangster," "the ballroom dancer," and "The Mystery Date. With unforgettable on and off-screen bloopers as well as superb animation and puppetry, ROCKIN' RONNIE exposes Ronald Reagan like no program has ever dared. (45-minutes)

“If we combine the modern new wave elements with the old, beautiful melodies, that might be an intriguing mixture,” says Taco discussing his hit cover of “Puttin’ on the Ritz” in this exclusive Night Flight interview. Later on in this brand new Night Flight Short Cut, Falco talks about translating rap music influences into his German-language hits.

Night Flight’s 1987 episode of New Sounds is teeming with deep cuts and lost treasures. Mondo Boffo with Scorpio (!), Prince proteges Wendy and Lisa's excellent tune "Waterfall," Squeeze's Dali-esque video painting and more.

Tonight we find out what gives a six string its zing! We look at the origin of some of the most soul-stirring, far out guitar sounds with a special "Take Off" to Guitar Heroes. We salute the creme-de-la-creme of guitar playing with a look at virtuosos like Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page and the Firm, Stanley Jordan, Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King and more on this special trip to Valhalla of Guitar Gods. Tune Up, and Take Off. Then, stay tuned for European import videos from Peter Schilling, Nena, Nina Hagen, the Scorpions, George Kranz, Taco, Telephone, Chagren d'Amor, Yello and Krokus!

In tonight’s original episode of Night Flight, Annie Lennox shape-shifts through the video work of Eurythmics and own her own. The gender-bending music videos featured tonight find Lennox portraying an 18th century dilettante, 1960s-era flip wig singer, and in "Little Bird," a Cabaret performer playing her most challenging role yet: a confederacy of all her previous personas! Tonight, we salute a pop music chameleon of the highest order. As syndication-era host Tom Juarez tells us, Night Flight was the only TV show that dared to spend an entire hour one artist’s music video efforts. This episode is a perfect example of that!

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. 

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.

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.

“Take Off” to Animation is one of the most beloved original Night Flight formats, as true today as it was in the 1980s. Like our other animation specials, this 1987 arrival from the vault is a one-of-a-kind time capsule from an era when music videos and animation technologies were evolving side by side. Featuring Grace Jones’ multi-media visual spectacle, vibrant cel animation for Wally Badarou’s “Highlife,” and David Bowie’s rotoscoped video for “Underground” from Labyrinth (also streaming on Night Flight Plus), the episode highlights hybrid formats and emerging tools like early 3D computer animation at the height of the cultural zeitgeist.

This time capsule compilation from Night Flight creator Stuart Shapiro and Laurie Dolphin celebrates the work of 40 innovative media artists using Flash in the early 2000s. At the time, Flash animation was the heartbeat of a new generation of pop culture enthusiasts at the beginning of the Internet. Whether creating their own independent animated clips or working with some of the biggest names in the music world, such as Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Todd Rundgren, Dr Dre and Phish, these Flash artists used the medium's unique quality to make art that defined a pivotal internet era.

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.

Tonight we bring you a July 1989 episode of Hit Parader Magazine's Heavy Metal Meltdown! Visit a Sunset Strip tattoo parlor with L.A. Guns, get up close and personal with Badlands' lead vocalist Ray Gillen, go on the road with Winger and step inside the Elektra Records office for a little Metal Business Advice. Get ready for the meltdown!

An evil demon runs a toy store.

Night Flight's iconic interview with Kiss from 1983. “Tonight, we introduce you to the men behind the masks with an exclusive interview as well as concert films from their Inner Sanctum and Japanese tours.” - Night Flight's season 2 host, Al Bandiero.

Night Flight highlights the funniest women in showbiz in this special on female comedians, featuring material and interview clips from Tracy Ullman and Sandra Bernhardt.

A series of vignettes told by a woman relating to her television obsession.

Classic Night Flight profile of avant-garde experimentalist Laurie Anderson. Featuring an incredibly candid interview with Anderson about her background and work.

In this bite-sized episode of Night Flight, future Academy Award nominee Marky Mark discusses the criticism he's received for being a white rapper, while Vanilla Ice introduces the man behind his iconic wardrobe.

Welcome to Night Flight’s exclusive Video Profile of Kate Bush. “This multimedia performance artist has combined dance, music, literature and mime on her way to becoming Britain’s most popular female star,” Pat Prescott says to introduce the pop polymath. Featuring Bush’s candid interview from the Night Flight studios (recorded in November 1985), this episode is an immersive survey of her creative vision and premiered as “Running Up That Hill” was topping the charts. A timely treasure from the archive in 2022!

This classic episode of Night Flight's venerable "Take Off" series which premiered in 1984 features music videos featuring flashy female rock icons such as Debbie Harry, Grace Slick, Tina Turner, Wendy O. Williams & Stevie Nicks.

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.”

This Night Flight original episode from our 1983 season is rife with deep cuts and nostalgic video gems from a lost era. The highlight is of course, Nameneko Punk Rock Kittens which features cats in punk outfits on cat-sized diorama sets (known as Perlorian cats in the US) created by photographer and artist Satoru Tsuda. These feline punkers join the ranks of other zoological video oddities like Dog Police and Fish Heads that were seared into the dazed minds of teenagers up way past their bedtime in the '80s.