A Channel One news bulletin

Good evening, this is a Channel One news bulletin.


In response to our "Endangered List" report on the original Channel One tapes and subsequent e-mail enquiry two weeks ago, we received this very nice response from Channel One/GROOVE TUBE co-creator Lane Sarasohn:

Hi, Chris --

Thanks for writing and for your interest in Channel One. The original Channel One shows were done on very primitive video equipment in the late sixties. I have some of the original tapes, but the machines to play them haven't worked in many years. Some were copied onto Betamax and from there onto VHS, but most have severe tracking problems. My former partner, Ken Shapiro, has copies of most of the shows, but his copies are no better than mine. GROOVE TUBE was a "best of" Channel One re-done in 35mm for the big screen, so things like Kramp Kitchen and Sex Olympics are much, much better than the grainy black and white originals. But there are a bunch of things done for Channel One that didn't get into the GROOVE TUBE for one reason or another and some are quite good. I've had some success in the past year making transfers of some pieces from VHS to DVD and from there capturing them onto my computer as mpgs. Little by little, I'm hoping to salvage as much as possible of the old shows. I know there are some companies around that maintain obsolete equipment for making transfers of video in obsolete formats.

I hadn't really thought of posting the Channel One material on YouTube, but after receiving your email, I think I might do that. I need to re-do all the videos that I have on my YouTube page now, because the picture quality and audio level is poor on almost all of them. When I get around to it, I'll also include some of the old black and white sketches from Channel One. I'll keep your email and send you a note when I get to that. It could be several months. I'm in the middle of another project.

Thanks again for writing.

Lane

The Endangered List (Case File #33)

The original GROOVE TUBE tapes

CHANNEL ONE

UNDERGROUND TELEVISION

(1967-1972)

Principals

Ken Shapiro (producer/director/writer/actor)

Lane Sarasohn (producer/writer)

Chevy Chase (writer/actor)

Richard Allen (writer/actor)

Karen Shapiro (actress)

Myra Epstein (theater design)

Ed Epstein (art director)

Lincoln Harrice

Anthony Loder

Paul Geyer

Susan Chase

Winnifred Mayo

Kathy Allen

Victoria Udovik

Roxanne Loder

and

Richard Belzer

In July of 1967, former child actor Ken Shapiro and his buddy from Bard College, Lane Sarasohn, opened the Channel One Theatre at 62 East 4th Street (Greenwich Village, N.Y.C.) as a showcase for their outrageous and satirical "underground television" productions (The initial show cost $7,000 including the theater's rental). These shows were shot on video and exhibited on three 21-inch b&w closed-circuit television sets hanging from the theater ceiling. The best skits from their first three 90-minute programs ("First Production," "Second Production," and "Fugue Tube") were compiled to form "The Groove Tube," which premiered as an Off Broadway show in October of 1969. "The Groove Tube" became so popular that a second theater was added in Manhattan (Theater East, located at 211 East 60th Street). The Channel One team took on business partners (including actor Scott Hylands) and were soon franchising their tapes to college campuses and performance spaces across the country. Venues showing "The Groove Tube" and its sequel, "Groove Tube II," were outfitted with couches, oversized pillows and even refrigerators stocked with soft drinks and munchies to simulate the experience of watching TV at home (!).

In 1972, Shapiro and Sarasohn began work on the motion picture version of THE GROOVE TUBE, which was comprised of skits from the Channel One productions. Released in 1974, THE GROOVE TUBE paved the way for Saturday Night Live and KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE and became one of the biggest independent comedies of the 1970s, grossing over $35 million (on a budget of $350,000). The film is available on DVD from Hen's Tooth Video, but the original Channel One videos have probably not been shown publicly in 35 years. It's time for a DVD set packed with extras, including audio commentaries by Shapiro and Sarasohn, interviews with Chevy Chase and Richard Belzer, a visit to the site of the original Channel One Theatre (the building is still standing), press clippings, program reprints and other cool stuff. Write your favorite DVD company and demand they look into this.

In the meantime, for more information on Channel One, check out Lane Sarasohn's Channel One Video Theater webpage.