“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.

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.

Side A: Welcome to New Sounds highlighting the burgeoning acts and micro-genres of the late 80s with Belgian synth act Front 242 (with a video from iconic photographer Anton Corbijn), Australian punk act Lime Spiders, Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians massive hit “What I Am,” and some fantastic Joy Division inspired coldwave from Siglo XX. Side B: Time for some rapid fire Flash Tracks featuring the masters of party anarchy: Fishbone, the brilliant vocal contortionist Bobby McFerrin, and finally the big sounds from Scotland’s Big Country.

Welcome back to Night Flight, in 1977 four London based musicians scraped together $180 to make a demo tape of their songs which prompted a friend to call their band "Dire Straits." Ten years later, with more than ten million albums sold Dire Straits stood at the forefront of the mid-80s music scene. Here's Night Flight's Video Profile.

Episode 266. An episode of Radio 1990 from 1984 featuring Billy Joel, the president of CBS Records and a Summer movie preview.

A special on legendary rock band Bauhaus, dubbed the "originators of Goth Rock," featuring interviews with members, videos from later spin-off band Love and Rockets, as well as the solo career of frontman Peter Murphy.

Tonight we’ve got a comprehensive survey of the music and visuals of Australian band INXS. (“The band from down under who've come out on top!” - Pat Prescott.) In 1983, Farriss brothers and co. came out of Sydney to become part of America’s “Aussie Invasion.” This episode tracks the band’s rise to the top with excellent visuals (like Director Richard Lowenstein's clip above), concert footage and a one-off interview with the the Farriss brothers brainstorming a future music video. Watch with us tonight.

Episode 285. An episode of Radio 1990 from 1984 featuring Kool & The Gang, The Cars, and more.

In a rare candid interview from the time, Janet Jackson discusses her famous family, especially her relationship to brother Michael.

“Millions have seen their work,” host Pat Prescott says, “but only a handful of people know who they are.” Tonight, we “Take Off” to Music Video Directors circa 1983 on Night Flight. The episode covers the music video work of two prolific leaders of the art form: American Bob Giraldi (Michael Jackson, Diana Ross) and British David Mallett (David Bowie, Joan Jett).

This special ‘90s syndication episode feature host Tom Juarez introducing multiple classic Night Flight segments. Juarez stops by Universal Studios in PAL Tape 19 delivers two Video Profiles: Steve Winwood and Ike & Tina Turner.

From Boston to LA, New York to DC, a musical explosion is taking place in Rock and Roll. Traditionally, success for bands came from touring, but today, the video explosion has given local bands national exposure sparking a renaissance in music and reinforcing the original roots of Rock 'n roll. Featuring 'Til Tuesday, Run DMC, REM 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. 

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.

Welcome to Night Flight circa 1993. “Ten years ago,” Pat Prescott tells us “The Replacements played their first ragtag gig in a church basement in Minneapolis. Much to everyone’s surprise, including their own, the ‘Mats became one of the hottest underground bands in the world.” Tonight’s Video Profile shows off some of the band’s finest moments and features ultra-candid interviews with Paul Westerberg. Part B of Night Flight's Original Episode tonight is the German-surrealist short film "Balance." Created by twin brothers Wolfgang and Christoph Lauenstein, this stark experimental animation allegory won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short in 1989. Another treasure of the archive.

Tonight’s new Night Flight Short Cut features one of the most iconic interviews from the original series: our exclusive sit-down with Ozzy Osbourne. Coming across as disarmingly self-aware, Mr. Osbourne sets the record straight on the infamous bat-biting incident, the media frenzy that followed, and more. Featuring vintage performance clips and classic Night Flight flair, this addition to our Short Cut Collection is a MUST-WATCH!

Tonight on Night Flight Originals, we’re prepared the best slice of nighttime TV you’re going to find anywhere on the dial. Put down that remote! You’re about to experience Video Profile’s of two of 1980s most intriguing dance rock bands: The Thompson Twins and OMD. Packed with rare deep cuts, sentimental favorites and behind the scene’s interviews, this two for the price of one special is a knockout!

Arthur Miller's The Crucible is regarded as a central work in the canon of American drama. Written in response to the Congressional investigations into American Communism in the 1950's, it is a semi-fictional dramatic play intended to parallel the Salem witch trials of the late 1600's. This landmark 1967 TV adaption starring George C Scott, Colleen Dewhurst, and Melvin Douglas garnered three Emmy nominations.

In this 2020 story, 60 Minutes covers the reunion of legendary rock and roll band AC/DC after the tragic death of co-founder Malcom Young.

Night Flight takes you for an exclusive look inside "Joe Coleman’s Carnival," the artist’s curated exhibition at Jeffrey Deitch Projects in New York City. Filmed on-site in June 2025, this special hour-long presentation follows Coleman as he personally guides Night Flight through the gallery, revealing works that directly connect him to the carnival world, including his portrait of Tod Browning (Freaks) and a world-renowned collection from sideshow legend Johnny Eck, all culminating in his magnum opus: a life-size biographical portrait of his wife and muse, Whitney Ward. “I believe that the carnival is a kind of profane, holy place,” Coleman says, “where the private desires, fantasies, and fears of a society are given uninhibited free expression.”

Eclectic music video magic from Amazulu, The Clash, Big Audio Dynamite & Thrashing Doves

A special program containing the ultimate highlights from the critically acclaimed nationally broadcast music/comedy cable program that literally revolutionized rock & roll television during its three year run. New Wave Theatre established its music guru host the late Peter Ivers as one of cable's top stars in America and as the voice and vision of the LA music renaissance, it put LA's bands on the national map with its own brand of anarchy, comedy and 'live taped' format.

Welcome to an uncut 3-hour episode of Night Flight! You are now entering “As Aired” territory. Now streaming on Night Flight Plus, we’ve got a full 3-hour original episode from 1984 streaming in all its glory. That's right, start to finish you'll see an excellent representation of all the classic segments (including the commercials!). Look out for the essentials: New Wave Theatre, Heavy Metal Heroes, Radio 1990 (featuring Eurythmics) and much more. We'll stop there before giving too much away. Where would the trademark Night Flight discovery be in that? Tonight, it's all yours. Enjoy. Note: the dominance of workout-themed anthems in the commercial free video segment can correlated to the on-going ’84 Summer Olympics. That being said, they are truly a sight to behold.

Tonight, fly around the globe with us while sampling the sounds of (nearly) every continent circa 1985 along the way. In this two hour block (featuring a treasure trove of original commercials) we ride the wave of cultural globalization as it arrives in Jamaica, Japan, Australia, and South Africa. Featuring global hits and b-sides from Nile Rodgers, Malcolm Mclaren, Juluka, Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse, and many many more.

“Female impersonator Divine portrays women from the sleazy to the sublime,” Pat Prescott says at the start of Night Flight’s “Take Off to Drag.” The episode is another timeless Night Flight classic that also features Joey Arias, David Bowie and more. It begins with scenes from 80s Canadian Drag star Craig Russell in clips from the film Too Outrageous! (1987), also featuring impersonations of Mae West and Barbara Streisand.

This first part of this classic Night Flight broadcast from 5/6/88 features music videos from legendary British goth rockers Bauhaus and their spin-off group Love and Rockets along with dark entries from singer-gone-solo Peter Murphy. Videos from the Attic revives several classics from Blancmange, Eurythmics, Billy Idol, Fine Young Cannibals, Peter Gabriel, and More.

New from the Night Flight vaults: Welcome to our Commercial Free Top Ten Video Picks, circa 1983. We won't give away #1, but expect to see some of the era's megastars including Adam Ant, Bowie & Jagger, a makeup-less Kiss for that year's album "Lick it Up," Bonnie Tyler, and more!

This week, Night Flight puts the focus on the visionaries behind some of the most experimental and interesting music videos of the 80s. This unique ‘Take Off’ takes music video directors as it’s subject, focusing specifically on the work of Creme & Godley and Zbigniew Rybczyński, including candid and creative interviews with the directors. Lol Creme and Kevin Godley (originally of the band 10cc) discuss the videos they created for Visage, The Police, Herbie Hancock (the excellent robotics video for "Rock-it"), the uncensored Night Flight favorite “Girls on Film” for Duran Duran and gorgeous video for their own song "Cry." For Part 2 of this special, Night Flight takes off to the work of Academy Award winning Polish director Zbigniew Rybczyński, featuring videos the surreal, groundbreaking music video classics for Art Of Noise, Chuck Mangione, Grandmaster Flash, and mysterious Columbia Records supergroup Iam Siam .

Featuring interviews with members Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, this 2013 story delves into the tumultuous history of Aerosmith and their well-publicized rock and roll lifestyles.

“They’re the flashiest bands in Rock ’n’ Roll” Pat Prescott says at the start of tonight’s new ‘Take Off’ arrival from the archives, “Musicians who express themselves as much through packaging as playing.” What follows is a high chroma, technicolor video mix featuring Fishbone’s “Modern Industry,” We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It!, Kid Creole and The Coconuta, and more.

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!

Brian Hansen’s Speed of Light (1980) is a strange, surreal 40-minute 16mm short about a neurotic blonde-bewigged mother and her young Oreo-munching daughter on a harrowing road trip across Central Texas in a beautiful red T-bird convertible. Speed of Light — using Apollo mission footage later seen in For All Mankind (1989) — was Hansen’s graduate thesis film and stars Sally Norvell, who memorably played “Nurse Bibs” in German auteur Wim Wenders’s film Paris, Texas.