By Request…A Wonderful Minute From NBC NY and Burbank & Good Comments[fb_vid id=”732580183446200″]Short But Sweet…NBC NY & Burbank Quick Shots, Early 70s
Thanks to our friend John Schipp, we are able to see a little over a minute’s worth of rare footage inside 30 Rock and Burbank.
This is from a behind the scenes episode of NBC’s ‘The Go Show’ which aired briefly around 1973. It was a unique show, shot mostly in the field with RCA TK 76 ENG cameras and recorded on Ampex VR-3000 VTRs, a portable 2-inch quad machine.
With a little help from NBC’s Dennis Degan, here’s what we are seeing. “The first two shots look like Studio 5H Control Room, originally built in 1954. The TCR-100 (tape cartridge machine) shown in the clip was Machine #31, the one furthest to the left in a line of six TCR-100’s at NBC-NY. My maintenance shop was on the other side of the wall seen in the shot. The clip jumps to Burbank and Studio 4’s elephant doors, then home to ‘The Flip WIlson Show’ and ‘Midnight Special’. You can also get a glimpse of the set for ‘Sanford & Son’ which I think was in Studio 3. Then we flip back to NY for a shot of Frank Blair at his news desk, most likely Studio 3K and I think the closing moments are in Studio 4 again. I believe the clip was probably made in 1973. The TCR’s were first brought to market no earlier than 1972.” Comment, enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee
Wow, a TCR 100! Wish I had kept a cassette!
Love this site… Thank you!
I remember that beast. one of my first jobs in tv. I couldn’t get sound to play. anyone else have that problem with the clip?
Loved “Go.” Didn’t Bob and Ray host it!
We had two TCR-100’s in our Master Control… I loved airing spots & doing dubs… they were interesting to work with when they worked properly!!!
You’re in the right time frame for “Go!” I remember watching it on NBC only because they did an episode on The Raspberries in the studio recording an album.
Brings back memories at the Burbank Peacock Factory…
Pinched my fingertips in the TCR100 many times.
I miss loading “the tractor” (as we called it).
Pnuematic cart machines! Great when they worked!! Also, the TK 74 was my first experience with a broadcast camera. AND, we used them in the field!!
Thing about the TCR- 100 was that you developed an ear for trouble… you knew if it loaded and threaded the tape by the sound of air valves and switches!!!
The TK 76 came out in 1976.
Quick Question, Bobby. My recollection is that the TK-76s didn’t come out until late 75 or early 76. Were there some that the network had access to earlier?
A brief Wikipedia article on “Go” which ran Saturday Mornings from 1973 to 1976. The first two seasons focused on the behind-the-scenes look at various fields of work, and was narrated by Greg Morris (of “Mission: Impossible” fame). The final season in 1975-1976 was retitled “Go USA”, and became a drama series spotlighting periods of American history, as a salute to the American Bicentennial — it left the air after that season:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_%281973_TV_series%29
Brings back great memories of my days at RCA and NBC 🙂
I worked with tractors. Preferred the Ampex ACR though. Could play 10’s back to back all day long and had random access.
Is that Rex Bagwell in the picture? ?
I still have some TCR carts. You forgot how loud these machines were until they were shut down for repairs and master control became eerily quiet.
Those RCA cart machines used to give me nightmares.