Buzz
In the early days of television, much of the content was aired live and never preserved. This included not only news and variety programs but also pioneering dramas and comedies. Even shows that were recorded faced risks, as film reels were often discarded to free up storage or make room for new equipment. Expensive video tapes were frequently erased and reused, as the concept of future DVD sales was nonexistent in the 1960s. While many classic TV shows remain preserved for endless reruns, these 11 are either partially or entirely lost.
1. Mary Kay and Johnny (1947-1950)
Image credit: CBS/Landov
This groundbreaking sitcom featured a real-life married couple portraying a quirky wife and her more grounded husband, navigating her chaotic antics. While it may not have reached the fame of I Love Lucy or the slightly earlier George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Mary Kay and Johnny holds the distinction of being the first series to depict a married couple sharing a bed (not The Brady Bunch, as some might believe) and the first to integrate the lead actress’s pregnancy into the plot (again, predating I Love Lucy).
Why has this show faded into obscurity? Like much of 1940s television, this DuMont production was aired live from New York and never recorded, leaving us to wonder if its humor would still resonate today. Later episodes were captured on kinescopes for West Coast broadcasts, but most of these were lost. The Paley Center for Media holds one complete episode from 1949, along with a handful of fragments from later installments. John Stearns continued his career producing comedy variety shows, while his wife, Mary Kay Stearns, largely stepped away from television. Remarkably, she is still alive at 86. For more insights, here’s a 1999 interview with the couple.
2. Jerome I. Rodale’s death on The Dick Cavett Show (1971)
This episode has become a legendary piece of television history, though few outside the live audience that night have ever seen it.
Rodale, a multimillion-dollar publishing magnate and early advocate for organic food, appeared on the popular late-night show at the peak of his fame, fresh from gracing the cover of The New York Times Magazine. Cavett recalled Rodale as “hilarious” for the first half-hour, proudly discussing his excellent health. However, during Cavett’s conversation with New York Post columnist Pete Hamill, both noticed something was amiss with Rodale. He had suffered a fatal heart attack mid-segment. Just moments earlier, Rodale had declared, “I’ve decided to live to be a hundred.” He was 72.
The episode was never broadcast, and Cavett believes the only way anyone could have seen the recording was if they knew a couple of ABC engineers who made a copy that night to scare their wives or girlfriends. Despite this, Cavett noted in 2007 that he still encounters people who insist they saw the episode air. Its notoriety is such that many believe they witnessed this historic moment firsthand.
3. The Avengers (1961)
The debut season of this iconic British spy series feels almost unrecognizable today. Missing were the action heroines Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) and Cathy Gale (Honore Blackman). Even the charismatic John Steed (Patrick Macnee), who would dominate the show throughout its nine-year run, played a secondary role. The original lead was Ian Hendry (previously of the short-lived Police Surgeon) as Dr. David Keel, who partnered with Steed to crack cases. This version was a far cry from the “classic” Avengers known for judo and sleek leather outfits, but was it any good? Unfortunately, it’s difficult to judge. Out of the 26 episodes from that first season, only two remain—one of which doesn’t even feature Steed. Many episodes were broadcast live in the UK but never preserved on film.
4. A for Andromeda (1961)
During the 1950s and 1960s, the British Broadcasting Corporation created vast amounts of television content, much of which was erased to free up storage. Recently, through public appeals, they’ve been recovering lost pieces of their archive. One such show, the sci-fi serial A for Andromeda, which launched Julie Christie to fame, remains mostly lost. Only a single episode survives, returned to the BBC by a private collector in 2005.
5. The first episode of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson* (1962)
Johnny Carson reigned as the undisputed king of late-night talk shows for 30 years, and his debut episode set the tone for his legendary career. The inaugural show opened not with Ed McMahon’s iconic “Heeeeeeere’s Johnny!” but with a witty monologue by Groucho Marx. The lineup of guests was equally stellar, featuring Rudy Vallee, Tony Bennett, Joan Crawford, and a rising comedian named Mel Brooks. While it sounds like an unforgettable 105 minutes of television, like most of Carson’s 1960s episodes, it’s likely lost forever.
6. Walter Cronkite reads the CBS News (1962-1967)
Many remember Walter Cronkite’s emotional reaction to announcing President Kennedy’s assassination, a clip famously used in the film JFK. Others might recall his earlier broadcast during the Cuban Missile Crisis, especially if they’ve seen X-Men: First Class. However, recalling any of Cronkite’s other broadcasts from that era would require an exceptional memory. Despite being “the most trusted man in America” for decades, most of his 1960s news bulletins were not preserved. Until 1968, only those two historic moments were deemed important enough to save.
7. The Madhouse on Castle Street (1963)
This TV play by Evan Jones, another casualty of the BBC’s tape-wiping practices, told the story of a man who chose to “retire from the world,” causing distress among his loved ones. The play is particularly notable for featuring the acting debut of a young American folk singer, Bob Dylan, who performed his iconic song "Blowin’ in the Wind" during the opening and closing credits. Sadly, no video footage of the production survives today.
8. Doctor Who (1964-1969)
Among the most eagerly sought-after lost episodes of any television series are those from Doctor Who. The BBC, during the 1960s, discarded numerous episodes of this popular yet modestly budgeted children’s show. While some have been recovered, 108 episodes remain missing. Thankfully, dedicated fans preserved audio recordings of every episode using reel-to-reel tapes, as video recording technology was not widely available at the time. (Piracy, it seems, has a long history.)
These audio recordings have been utilized by BBC Audio to produce enhanced audio adventures, featuring narrations by some of the original cast members. In 2006, the BBC released a digitally restored DVD of the 1968 story “The Invasion,” where the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) battles the Cybermen. Since two of the eight episodes were missing, Cosgrove Hall created black-and-white animated versions using the surviving audio recordings.
9. Search for Tomorrow (1951-1968)
This enduring daytime soap opera ran for an impressive 35 years, concluding with a happy ending in 1986. However, very little remains from its most beloved and highly rated initial 16 years, when it aired as a 15-minute serial alongside Guiding Light before expanding to a half-hour format. Originally broadcast live, the show transitioned to pre-recorded episodes in 1968. The live format made an unexpected return in 1983 when all copies of an episode were lost, forcing the cast to perform it live for the first time in 16 years.
NBC faced accusations of fabricating the “lost episode” story as a publicity stunt, possibly inspired by a similar scenario in the movie Tootsie. Thankfully, unlike Tootsie, the cast stuck to the script, though the episode still turned out to be a bit of a mess. Other iconic soap operas were better preserved on kinescope: the entire runs of Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless remain intact, ready to fill years of your free time if you’re so inclined.
10. At Last the 1948 Show (1967)
The BBC wasn’t the only one guilty of discarding classic British TV. This commercially produced series brought the influential Cambridge Footlights comedians to television, featuring future Monty Python stars John Cleese and Graham Chapman, alongside rising comedy talents Marty Feldman and Tim Brooke-Taylor. Despite its cultural impact and popularity, the show lasted just 13 episodes, with only five surviving in their entirety.
11. The Magnificent Marble Machine (1975-1976)
Only two full episodes of this celebrity game show remain today. Hosted by Art James, Marble Machine was a quintessential example of 1970s kitsch (which, back then, was perfectly acceptable). Game shows, in general, haven’t fared well in preservation; many episodes of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune have also been lost over time.
Do any of these shows ring a bell? Are there other forgotten gems you think should have been included?
