Watch episodes 1-25 of the experimental music TV show New Wave Theatre on archive.org.
New Wave Theatre was broadcast locally in the Los Angeles area during the early 80s as part of the late-night variety television show Night Flight. Peter Ivers hosted New Wave Theatre, David Jove produced, created, and co-wrote the program with Billboard magazine editor Ed Ochs. New Wave Theatre stood out for showcasing rising punk and new wave acts such as X, Bad Religion, Fear, the Dead Kennedys, 45 Grave, The Angry Samoans, and The Circle Jerks.
From Wikipedia:
The show started with a montage of clips from punk and new wave acts while the title appeared and the theme song, an abrupt mixture of Fear's "Camarillo" and The Blasters' "American Music" played. Ivers would appear at the beginning and end of each show wearing dark glasses, spouting a stream-of-consciousness spiel about life, art, and music.
New Wave Theatre abruptly ended in 1983 when Ivers was tragically found bludgeoned to death in his Los Angeles Apartment. To this day, nobody has been able to find the murderer responsible for his death.
I wish I would have been around in the '80s to feel the excitement of this cutting-edge show coming on late at night, but I'm having a blast watching the episodes that have been uploaded to Archive.org. I can't think of anything on TV today that compares to the coolness of New Wave Theatre on any level.
