Just in time for awards season, we're sharing Night Flight's "Take Off" special featuring video profiles on the 1986 Academy Awards acting and music nominees.

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

Classic dance videos from Robert Palmer, The Clash, Devo and more.

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.

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's celebrating Independence Day (in 1988 and today!) with a Red, White and Blue Take Off Special to Freedom. We'll take a musical look at the many faces of Freedom, at home and abroad with Billy Bragg, Robbie Robertson, Hulk Hogan, and Aztec Two Step.

"Take Off To Animation" takes a colorful look at the use of animation in music video over the previous few years in styles ranging from experimental camera technique to 'Saturday morning cartoon'. Many of the videos compiled for this episode first became well-known due to their repeat exposure on Night Flight. Bona fide Night Flight classics here include Tom Tom Club's "Pleasure of Love", Randy Andy's "The People (Livin' in the USA)", Machinations: "Pressure Sway" & Will Powers: "Adventures In Success". 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: 2-17-84

“Hot Music and Hollywood Movies are coming together in the new phenomena of Movie Music Videos” - Pat Prescott. Night Flight’s Film Music special is a bonafide who’s who of movie soundtrack anthems from 1984. Whether it’s a close look at Prince’s Purple Rain ("the hottest movie film of 1984)," a heartfelt Karate Kid soundtrack video from Survivor or Police guitarist Andy Summer’s update to the 2001: A Space Odyssey anthem, this episode is a stylish, free-form recap of the merge between Hollywood and the music industry.

Tonight, Night Flight Take’s Off to Eclectic Ladies in music in a 1994 syndication special. This Night Flight original episode is a tribute to female artists whose musical missions and video visions are what syndication host Tom Juarez refers to as “the most interesting, the most unusual and well… the most Night Flight.” Inquire within for music and videos from all stars Kate Bush, Juliana Hatfield, Bonnie Raitt, Siouxsie and the Banshees, a very special public service announcement from Laurie Anderson and here’s a bit of surprise: BJORK.

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!

Tonight we dive into the dark underworld of Gothic Rock! Rising from the ashes of late 70s punk, Goth Rock mixed the batwing style of Bram Stoker's Dracula with bizarre sentiments, black humor and a big beat. This classic episode (part of the Night Flight Series 'Twenty Years of Rock N' Roll Style') is a tour de force of goth bands and their myriad solo offshoots. Fittingly kicking off with Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead," this episode also features music from Peter Murphy, Love and Rockets, The Damned, Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim and more. Hope all you post-punk ghouls enjoy!

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!

Night Flight "Take's Off" to the once and future glory of Acid Rock. The original catalytic agent for Acid Rock faded away, but Night Flight tracked the visual cues and sonic elements of Acid Rock making a major flashback for the '80s through artists like S'Express, The Cult, The Psychedelic Furs, Nina Hagen and The Mission.

Night Flight's take off special feels uniquely 80s in its exposure of videos from Madonna, The Talking Heads and more relating to the culture of wealth and excess that defined the time.

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...

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.

What’s on the menu for tonight? Fish Heads! Our 1988 “Take Off” episode of Night Flight is a special salute to… Food? “Whether you slice it or dice it, chew it or spew it” Pat Prescott proclaims, “you can’t live without it!” Kicking off with Weird Al Yankovich’s “Eat It,” and including tunes from The Fat Boys, Tom Petty, Barnes and Barnes and a myriad of food-related, public domain interstitials, this episode is a pure cup of instant weird. Including the the notorious 'pot brownie' recipe from 'The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook!

"Viewer discretion is advised" Pat Prescott tells us at the start of tonight's 1988 Take Off episode to Controversial Videos. "Sex, Drugs, Religion, Politics..." what more can you want from Night Flight's curated collection of controversial music videos. Everyone knows that while other fledgling music networks from the era avoided controversy, Night Flight actively courted it. Just ask creator Stuart Shapiro about what happened the first time we aired The Clash's "Rude Boy" completely uncut :). This episode brings you music from Billy Idol, Motley Crue, Slovenian avant-gardists Laibach, Sheena Easton's fantastic "Sugar Walls", the always classy George Michael and maybe one of the best sequencing decisions ever: a transition from the "Ballad of Jim and Tammy Bakker" to a Raucous Dead Kennedy's performance with Jello Biafra compelling the audience to "Shoot Up With God." Then, stayed tuned for two films from the Glasshouse Production Team, Tom Stern & Alex Winter: "Aisles of Doom" and "Squeal of Death." CLASSIC NIGHT FLIGHT.

"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.

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.

“Their music was devil’s music: high decibel, tortured, frenzied songs about Death, Destruction and Black Magic.” Welcome to Night Flight’s 1984 Take Off to Heavy Metal History with a look at metal forgers Black Sabbath. We go back to the 1970s for classic Sabbath, trace the development of Ozzy Osbourne and Ronny James Dio from their days as Black Sabbath’s lead singers to their solo careers in the mid 80s as “Rock’s Top MadMen.” We’ve heard from many of you that your first exposure to BS was late at night on Night Flight, so consider this your return trip home to some 35 years ago. If you are a Black Sabbath original line-up purist and Dio isn't your thing, may we suggest the Black Sabbath Video Profile for another excellent episode?

Get ready for an epic border-crossing original episode of Night Flight. In this Take Off special from 1985, Night Flight heads north for a special survey on Canadian Rock. Featuring Bryan Adams, Corey Hart, Platinum Blonde, Honeymoon Suite, Parachute Club, Idle Eyes, Rush, Loverboy, and Canadian super-charity-group Northern Lights. This episode is rich with Canada’s unique input in ‘80s music landscape. Enjoy!

It's 1984. A Friday night. Maybe you're flipping through the channels thinking about how to crush it at the upcoming High School formal and BAM, you stumble upon Night Flight's special "Take Off to Dance," a special segment exploring dance in pop and rock through the ages. Featuring Electric Light Orchestra, Kool and the Gang and more, this episode is just what you needed. 

Music Video's directed by feature filmmakers for The Cars, Lionel Richie, The Art of Noise, Bruce Springsteen 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 many not-ready-for-MTV cult favorites. Original Air Date: 4-13-84 This episode "Take Off to Androgyny" premiered in 1984 and takes a provocative peek at gender-bending styles and comic cross-dressing in vintage video from the vaults featuring many pop icons such as David Bowie, Eurythmics, Grace Jones, Culture Club & Queen.

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

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.

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 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."

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.