For a new experience, try listening to TOS only

[Redfern]

Thankfully UK viewers of Doctor Who in the 1960s had the same idea or many of the stories would be truly lost. While the video for many episodes were wiped (due to clerical error before they had a chance to be transferred to film), savvy watchers recorded the audio, so that portion for ALL the episodes still exist.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Bones_McCoy21]

good I thought that this was just me I do this all the time. I love to listen to This Side Of Paradise to lull me to sleep it works every time

 

[Gary7]

Recorded Star Trek episode audio was also how I first learned about the record tabs. I accidentally hit "record" on a critical part of one episode, ruining it. I then realized how precious these recordings were and tried to figure out how I could preserve them. There were no instructions on the blank cassette case liner. But by observing how the record button wouldn't press down on store bought tapes, I compared them and then finally saw the missing tabs. I quickly knocked them all out of my fully recorded Star Trek cassettes. (And, of course also realized that you could tape over those holes to re-record).

 

[Green Shirt]

I recorded the episodes on those 3 for a dollar cassette tapes from Woolworth's. They had red, blue, green and maybe yellow stick on labels. I don't think they came with cases, but they held up pretty well.

 

[Doug Otte]

I also used to tape them on a cassette recorder and play them back. It was poor quality as I would be just leaving the recorder next to the television, there was also that awful clunking noise as I turned it off and on to avoid commercials. I remember it was quite special to actually own the episodes and be able to listen to them any time I wanted. Oh and yeah I remember I had my sister talking in the background and me yelling at her to shut up on some!

In the early 70s, when we got a portable cassette recorder for Xmas, I did the same thing (after we got tired of recording our own improv comedy shows!). I'd put a little footstool next to the TV speaker, and set the microphone directly in front of it. I think I had one cassette w/ 2 episodes on it: Corbomite Maneuver on one side and The Ultimate Computer on the other side.

I listened to it so many times that, for several years, I had a hard time enjoying actually watching the episodes because I anticipated every little sound, and I wasn't used to having the images along with the sounds.

Doug

 

[HGN2001]

Try listening to the animated episodes. With the original actors' voices speaking, you can almost visualize what it would have looked like shot live instead of animated.

Harry

 

[jayrath]

Try listening to the animated episodes. With the original actors' voices speaking, you can almost visualize what it would have looked like shot live instead of animated.

Harry

I wish this were facebook, so I could hit "like."

 

[bbailey861]

Try listening to the animated episodes. With the original actors' voices speaking, you can almost visualize what it would have looked like shot live instead of animated.

Harry

When I am in my office, at home, I will often do that. Put episodes on, as background noise. I don't need to watch. I just imagine what is going on and visualize it 'live action'.

 

[Elder Knight]

TV sets didn't always have earphone jacks. I had to take the back off the set and connect a cable with alligator clips to the volume control terminals. Using this cable plugged into the tape recorder, I could make clean recordings even if grandma was using the vacuum cleaner at show time.

 

[Redfern]

Whoa! Risky business, there! I've read that some of the components within tube based TVs can maintain a potentially deadly charge for some time even after the unit's unplugged. You're fortunate you didn't didn't zap your a$$ across the room!

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Johnny_Fizzbin]

I used to do this as well. My dad was a cab driver in the 70s and early 80s when I was a kid and being that he couldn't leave me at home and didn't known anyone he trusted to babysit, I had to ride along with him. So I'd record episodes of TOS on audio cassette and listen to them as I rode along or just sat in front of the airport/bus terminal for hour after hour. I haven't thought of that in years.

 

[Elder Knight]

Whoa! Risky business, there! I've read that some of the components within tube based TVs can maintain a potentially deadly charge for some time even after the unit's unplugged. You're fortunate you didn't didn't zap your a$$ across the room!

Sincerely,

Bill

I guess that I was lucky. I did unplug the set before doing the surgery, and had researched a bit to locate the place to tap.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

audio-only Trek & Star Wars

You can hear all sorts of things in the Trek TV feature films if you choose a foreign language audio track (where you don't understand the spoken dialog). Sound Effects and music really rise up and you hear so much more in 5.1 surround sound. see this thread:
Anyone else listen to foreign language audio for fun to hear audio mix?

also if you really want to let your imagination work try the Star Wars radio dramas done in the 1980s and 1996. see this thread:
"Star Wars: A New Hope" NPR radio serial 1981
I picked mine up recently on Amazon the trilogy of all 3 films which is 15 audio CDs for about $65. I've only listened to 2 of the episodes so far. the first film was 15 episodes. enjoyable but somewhat hokey. Lot's of backstory and I wonder if Lucas used any of it when writing the prequels starting in 1997. Listen in a quiet room with the lights off and maybe with headphones as it is really in stereo (with wide panning). I listened in front of my 5.1 surround stereo with the Dolby ProLogic turned on and a lot was from center channel but some audio was from Left speaker only.