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.

Kicking off with Lisa Robinson's inside scoop on Debbie Harry's 1983 Broadway debut, this April 12th, 1983 is definitive Radio 1990.  Tracks from Culture Club, Gary Numan, and a flashback to Ike and Tina Turner's epic performance of Honky Tonk Woman on BeatClub, soundtrack this excellent episode.

Lee Umstetter (Academy Award® nominee* Nick Nolte, 48 Hrs., Warrior) is serving 'life without possibility' at San Quentin - a life sentence, with no possibility of parole. While other men might give up hope, Lee puts pen to paper and writes a play about living behind bars. Performed with his fellow inmates it causes a sensation, winning him the heart of a local drama critic (Rita Taggart, Mulholland Drive) - and a pardon. Now a free man, Lee reunites his prison buddies to perform the story of their lives across America. With the harsh and brutal reality of a criminal's life behind them, Umstetter and his troupe get a new chance to experience a world they never dreamed possible. Music by Angelo Badalamenti (Twin Peaks).

Night Flight's take off to Rock and Cult films. This is A special preview of some of the films Night Flight showed in 1985 including Rude Boy (starring the Clash), Breaking Glass, Smithereens, Debbie Harry in Union City, Warhol's Frankenstein and more...

This episode of Heavy Metal Heroes profiles Dokken, Keel, Raven and Def Leppard.

This edition of Night Flight Goes to The Movies looks at the holiday new releases for 1987 including "Throw Momma From The Train", "The Last Emperor" & "Overboard". Latin Sounds features sizzling South-of-the-border inspired music videos from Miami Sound Machine, Kid Creole & The Coconuts, Madonna and more!

This 1987 relic of pride and passion for America features videos from Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Brown, John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band and more.

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.

Night Flight’s classic “Video Essays” were a completely unique programming concept for the era. Lead by Night Flight’s writer Stuart Samuels (an instructor at the Cannes Film Festival), editors crafted hypnotizing video collages sourced from public domain archive footage and lost video artifacts - all linked by a common theme. Tonight’s original episode is the Video Essay “Machine Medley,” an adventurous mix of industrial sights and sounds featuring SPK’s “Machine Age Voodoo,” Swinging Piston’s “I Love The Sound Of Machines “ and more.

Phil Soussan, proper birthname Philip Raphael Soussan was born June 23. 1961 in London, England. A successful veteran bass guitarist, songwriter and producer, his resume boasts tours and tracks with Last in Line, the Vince Neil Band, Big Noize and most famously for slapping the fat stings during Ozzy Osbourne’s historic 1986 Ultimate Sin campaign. He co-authored the hit single, “Shot in the Dark.” I’ve always found him to be immensely intelligent and well-spoken, like a couple other not so mad Englishmen whose company I long enjoyed, Bruce Dickinson and Lemmy Kilmister.

Tonight, we look at the progenitors of the music video genre. Night Flight was born at bleeding edge of the music video era, and tonight's exhibit of gorgeously preserved early adopters shows it. Within you'll find slices of video brilliance from some of the pioneers of the genre including Michael Nesmith (whose "Rio" kicked off the music video art form), Devo, David Bowie and Todd Rundgren.

“She was born Norma Jeane Baker in 1926,” Pat Prescott says at the start of tonight’s new Video Profile, “but as Marilyn Monroe, she became a sex symbol that millions of women modeled themselves after and millions of men dreamed about.” Night Flight’s tribute to the icon features Monroe’s 1950 original screen test with Richard Conte for 20th Century Fox’s “Cold Shoulder" and a mix ‘80s musicians that carried the torch: including the Night Flight-staple "She Went Pop" from Synth Pop from Iam Siam in the Zbigniew Rybczyński-directed video (below), 'Blitz Clubber' and Boy George associate Marilyn's single "You Don't Love Me," and more.

Tonight’s Night Flight Original Episode is from our “Video Artist” series, focusing on the animation and film art of Herbert Wentscher. The German video artist sources a variety of media for his projects: Super 8 footage, painting, and ancient iconography. “Eventually, everything gets blended into the video medium” he says to Night Flight interviewer and writer, Stuart Samuels.The episode includes his piece “SuperFaust” which features the german cultural icon Ampelmann, the country's universal green walk symbol (above), interpreted through Goethe’s Faust. 

Night Flight's 1989 Video Profile of "The Man and The Band" Bon Jovi, who made "Metal-lite safe for teenage consumption" according to Pat Prescott, arrives tonight on Night Flight Plus. The late-era Night Flight special episode covers all the essential Jovi Cuts, including the original videos from the New Jersey native for "Runaway," "In And Out Of Love," and more.

Visions was an original series of 'Yesterday and Today' type music video features covering Sting, Beach Boys, Robert Plant, Bob Dylan and David Bowie/Mick Jagger. Hidden David Lynch interview inside as well!

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.

“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?

"New Age music is a global sound that reaches for the stars," says Pat Prescott in tonight's brand new Night Flight Short Cut. The best in New Age music is rounded up in this bite-sized Night Flight episode, featuring classics from Bowie collaborator Carlos Alomar as well as Yellow Jackets and Al Di Meola.