Turn-On (found ABC sketch comedy series; 1969)

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The show's logo.

Status: Partially Found

On February 5, 1969, ABC premiered a television pilot for a comedy series titled Turn-On. The cast included Teresa Graves, Hamilton Camp, Mel Stewart, and guest host Chuck McCann. Many people across America complained about the show and its sexual and religious content. Co-creator of the show Ed Friendly decided to respond to the complaints by interrupting the live broadcast of the show and stating that "the remainder of this program will not be seen this evening, or ever". The screen then cut to black and the show was never broadcast again.

Eventually, the pilot fell into obscurity until one day in the 1980s, when ABC News aired a news report featuring footage from the show and subsequently revealed that a second episode of Turn-On had been recorded, though not broadcast. Additionally, according to Andrew Sandoval's book The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, The Monkees made an appearance in a different unaired episode, meaning that more episodes of the show may have been filmed.

Availability

While the two known episodes can be viewed at The Paley Center for Media in New York City, it is unknown if any other copies are available elsewhere, and the episodes can not be viewed outside of the Center.

Gallery

News report featuring snippets from the second episode of "Turn-On".

"Turn-On" Executive Producer George Schlatter telling the story about the series.