What Is This Thing
An unmarked T-120 from the Sunbury Collection. Six hours in EP mode from February 8-18, 1990. Recorded off WEWS Channel 5, Cleveland’s ABC affiliate. The label lists: Home, All My Children, Oprah, Arsenio on Sally, Morning Exchange, 5 News, America’s Funniest Home Videos. That’s the optimistic reading. What’s actually on it is considerably more chaotic.
Morning Exchange
WEWS’s morning show. Cleveland’s locally produced daily program that ran from 1972 to 1999. Good Morning America was modeled after it. One other episode, from May 1994, exists publicly on the Internet Archive. This February 1990 footage is among the earliest known surviving recordings of the show. Two partial segments, scattered through six hours of tape, jumped between other programs by someone with competing recording priorities.
Arsenio Hall on Sally Jessy Raphael
Early 1990 was peak Arsenio. The Arsenio Hall Show was running at full power. Sally Jessy Raphael’s show had been on for years. This tape has Arsenio appearing as a guest on Sally’s show, recorded on her set. Arsenio’s own show produced over 1,100 episodes with no official release ever. Sally produced 3,820 episodes with barely any surviving publicly. A crossover appearance between the two is not something that turns up anywhere.
America’s Funniest Home Videos
Bob Saget hosting. The show had premiered just months before this recording. Early episodes are scarce even on streaming platforms.
News from February 10, 1990
WEWS Eyewitness News carries a story about twins holding hostages in a Mansfield, Ohio courthouse. They demanded a dozen cheeseburgers from McDonald’s. The situation resolved. Also on the same broadcast: coverage of the 1990 MLB lockout, and a segment on James “Buster” Douglas returning to Ohio, days after his February 11 defeat of Mike Tyson. Buster Douglas coverage, Donald and Ivana Trump divorce news promo, and Nelson Mandela release coverage all on the same local news hour.
The Home Show and Dr. Ruth
Gary Collins hosting ABC’s The Home Show. Only one other partial episode from December 1990 exists online. The show ran daily from 1988 to 1994, never released on home video. This recording has a segment with Wil Shriner in New York presenting new toys for 1990, a Dr. Ruth segment (partial), and a poll about spouse faithfulness. The Dr. Ruth segment alone is probably unique.
Commercial Inventory
Over 100 commercials from the February 1990 Cleveland market. Heavy on local and regional spots. A partial list:
- Oscar Mayer Weiner Mobile
- Endust – animated commercial
- 5th Avenue candy bar – animated ad
- Pillsbury crescent rolls – rap song
- Dennis Miller Genuine Draft
- Dole Juice in Paradise – Kenny Rogers
- Bill Cosby Jello Pudding
- Eyeglass Factory – local, lots of yelling; confirmed lost media
- Finast grocery – defunct Cleveland chain; confirmed lost media
- Hostess Lite – virtually no digital footprint online
- Spitzer used cars – local Cleveland; confirmed lost media
- Nutri System Cleveland – local; confirmed lost media
- Donald and Ivana divorce news promo – WEWS local; confirmed lost media
- Love Furniture clearance sale – local; confirmed lost media
- Cleveland Eye Clinic – free transportation and snacks; confirmed lost media
- Carpet Barn and Tile House – local; confirmed lost media
- Rent a Center Cleveland – local pick a pair sale; confirmed lost media
- 2000 Flushes – blue and green
- Vanish Drop Ins – singing toilets
- MacGyver promo
- Robocop promo
Lost Media on This Tape
Confirmed items with no online presence:
- Morning Exchange (February 1990) – earliest known surviving recordings; one other episode exists publicly
- The Home Show (Gary Collins, ABC) – one other partial episode exists online; the Dr. Ruth and toy segments are almost certainly unique
- Arsenio Hall on Sally Jessy Raphael – a crossover appearance not documented anywhere in surviving footage
- WEWS Eyewitness News, February 10, 1990 – local news not systematically preserved; Mansfield hostage situation has no online record
- 10+ confirmed local Cleveland commercials – regional advertisers whose vintage ads are not archived anywhere
This tape streamed on 90s Craig across four sessions in January and February 2026. Watch live every Thursday on Twitch.