The handwritten label promises Home, All My Children, Oprah, Arsenio on Sally, Morning Exchange, 5 News, and America’s Funniest Home Videos. The person recording it caught minutes at a time, cut commercials unpredictably, and kept changing direction. This is the monster tape.
There are fragments of Home with Gary Collins and Wolfgang Puck, Geraldo on Tourette’s syndrome, a 20/20 cocaine segment, Father Dowling Mysteries, One Life to Live, Oprah, Roseanne, Coach, Regis and Kathie Lee, and Bob Saget hosting America’s Funniest Home Videos. Arsenio Hall turns up on Sally Jessy Raphael. Morning Exchange appears in short pieces.
The Cleveland material does not stay in the background. WEWS Eyewitness News covers a Mansfield courthouse hostage situation where the demand included a dozen McDonald’s cheeseburgers. Live on 5 has James “Buster” Douglas back in Ohio and Clevelanders singing about Nelson Mandela.
Program and commercial inventory
- Home, Geraldo, 20/20, Father Dowling Mysteries, Sally Jessy Raphael, Morning Exchange, Regis and Kathie Lee, One Life to Live, Oprah, Roseanne, Coach, and America’s Funniest Home Videos
- WEWS Eyewitness News, 5 News, and Live on 5
- Finast, Spitzer used cars, Love Furniture, Carpet Barn and Tile House, Rent-A-Center, Cleveland Eye Clinic, Eyeglass Factory, Schwebel’s, Dollar Bank, and Society Banks
- Morning Exchange promos for permanent eye makeup and child-support advice, plus promos about Donald and Ivana Trump, local rehab services, and replacement windows
- Hostess Lite, Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, Spiffits, Endust, Baskin-Robbins, Mrs. Butterworth’s Light, Kenny Rogers for Dole Juice, Payless Shoes, Wendy’s potatoes, and Burger King
Many segments are partial, and their exact original broadcast dates are not settled. Geraldo does not get much time before the next cut.
