About this season
The Oddity Archive is a web series that revolves around the "cultural dustbin", especially as it pertains to media. The Archive also functions as an actual archive of sorts, with a modest collection of off-air Betamax and VHS recordings (about 400 total as of June, 2014). There's also a decent collection of ephemeral video, "ripoff" and "drugstore" LP's/cassettes/8-tracks, as well as (working) obsolete technology.
Episodes (24)
1. How I Spent My Summer III
Aired 7 July 2016 • 29 min
A little success, a little failure, a little intrigue, a little frustration. In other words, your standard between-season break for Ben.
2. Record Ripoffs Vol. 6 (98% 70's-free!)
Aired 21 July 2016 • 34 min
…dragging the Record Ripoff concept kicking and screaming out of the 70’s. What the hell was I thinking?!?
3. Home Shopping Channels
Aired 4 August 2016 • 27 min
Have your credit cards handy because we're about to launch our own Home-Shopping-type channel! What could possibly go wrong?
4. LaserKaraoke Vol. 4 (+ VHS Karaoke Vol. 1)
Aired 18 August 2016 • 50 min
Crank it up and sing along! The madness will naturally follow.
5. Ben's Random Audiocassette Haul
Aired 1 September 2016 • 39 min
Oddity Archive®: Now in ULTRA lo-fi!
6. Talking House Transmitter Redux (or, Part 15 Microbroadcasting: The Final Chapter?)
Aired 15 September 2016 • 30 min
Oddity Archive: Your home for absurd, costly and borderline-useless “broadcast” experiments since 2015!
7. The Official Oddity Archive Guide To Retro A/V
Aired 29 September 2016 • 56 min
…because I haven’t REALLY opened myself up to mass criticism for a long time now.
8. Betamax
Aired 13 October 2016 • 23 min
The Archive takes it to the max--the Betamax, that is.
9. Conelrad (Halloween Special 2016)
Aired 27 October 2016 • 27 min
This is your Civil Defense announcer speaking (er, typing) with a VERY important message. But first, this nearly 27-minute Oddity Archive episode. NOTE: Yes, I’m well aware that the LP’s discussed in the video have nothing to do with the Conelrad broadcasting stuff—just humor me, will ya?
10. VHS Vault Vol. 10 (Learning With The Stars)
Aired 10 November 2016 • 32 min
…because as we all know, learning is most fun with famous people.
11. Top 10 Gaming Turkeys (of the 80's and 90's)
Aired 24 November 2016 • 26 min
Another Thanksgiving episode? Must be time to unload some more proverbial turkeys (now more cynically than ever)!
12. The Official Oddity Archive® Idiot’s Guide To A/V Transfer
Aired 8 December 2016 • 46 min
The second (and hopefully final) installment in the Archive’s “Idiot’s Guide” how-to series.
13. Christmas Special 2016 (A Musical Masochist's Christmas)
Aired 22 December 2016 • 34 min
The most deep-hurtingest Christmas ever!
14. VideoGuide (+2 other early Interactive Program Guides)
Aired 5 January 2017 • 20 min
Looking at the Interactive Program Guide’s especially awkward adolescence.
15. Local TV Vol. 5 (More Local Commercials)
Aired 19 January 2017 • 25 min
Bargain Bennie is having his all-time biggest sale on local (and regional) TV commercials! Get ‘em before they’re gone!
16. VHS Vault Vol. 11(D-I-V-O-R-C-E)
Aired 2 February 2017 • 28 min
‘Tis the season for love—and love gone down the garbage disposer.
17. Random Kiddie Records
Aired 16 February 2017 • 23 min
Crank up the Fisher-Price turntable!
18. Minidisc
Aired 2 March 2017 • 25 min
It’s (100% showtune-free) Musical March (read: Audio Geek March, “Musical March” is just a lot catchier) in Archiveland! Let’s kick it off with a little reevaluation of a format that I’ve bashed in the past.
19. Ben Vs. The Reel-To-Reel
Aired 16 March 2017 • 37 min
Oddity Archive®: Now with new Superlife® coating!
20. DBX Noise Reduction System
Aired 30 March 2017 • 25 min
And welcome to the Oddity Archive…the show that rapidly contracts and expands—but clearly not rapidly enough.
21. Ben's Random Reel-To-Reel Haul
Aired 13 April 2017 • 44 min
A mere 5 years in the making! You’d never know it though…
22. Useless VHS Tapes
Aired 27 April 2017 • 34 min
No, this isn’t about those 100 million (or more) copies of “Titanic” and “Jerry Maguire”—useless as they are.
23. Going (Proto-)Mobile! (Sony Data Discman & Apple Newton)
Aired 11 May 2017 • 29 min
With all this talk of so-called “mobile devices” these days, it seemed worth taking a look into.
24. Video Magazines (or, Oddity Archive: Issue #126)
Aired 25 May 2017 • 36 min
And welcome to the Oddity Ar-ar-ar-ar-ar-arc-arch-(SLAP)-Archive!