# Possible to see missing episodes of "Turn On?"
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-see-missing-episodes-of-turn-on/686892
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [April 24, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-see-missing-episodes-of-turn-on/686892 "2014-04-24T21:09:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-see-missing-episodes-of-turn-on/686892/1 "2014-04-24T21:09:24Z")
I was in one of those places that did not get to see the entire one episode of the quickly yanked sketch comedy show, “Turn One.” I heard, however, there were a total of four episodes actually made. Is this true and if it is, is it possible to see the entire group of this mid-'60s show? (for that matter to see the entire episode that I never got to see?)
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2014, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-see-missing-episodes-of-turn-on/686892/2 "2014-04-25T00:19:55Z")
According to Wikipedia, only two episodes were produced.
[Turn On](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn-On_(TV_series)).
Interestingly, the fallout from _Turn On_ led ABC to reject a show proposed to them by Norman Lear, stating that the lead character was foul-mouthed and bigoted and would anger viewers. The show became _All in the Family_ and was a ratings smash for CBS.
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### Author:  [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-see-missing-episodes-of-turn-on/686892/3 "2014-04-25T00:56:28Z")
[The Paley Center definately has the pilot episode](http://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=turn+on&p=1&item=B:14019), but it’s going to require a visit to either NYC or LA to see it on site. The listing doesn’t really indicate whether they have the other episodes.
BTW, why didn’t you see the full episode? There are a lot of rumors of stations that didn’t air the full program, but not many first hand accounts of the show being pre-empted.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2014, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-see-missing-episodes-of-turn-on/686892/4 "2014-04-25T03:10:36Z")
Cleveland’s WEWS-TV pulled the episode after about 11 minutes. Other stations in Denver, Seattle, and Portland previewed it and decided not to run it at all.
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### Author:  [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-see-missing-episodes-of-turn-on/686892/5 "2014-04-25T13:56:51Z")
I did some research that involved the history of “Turn On” a few years back. Yes, the only way to see it is to go to one of the Paley sites; no one else has it and they don’t “lend out” or stream material in any form.
My recollection is that the pilot was the only completed episode, but that there might have been some set-piece sketches filmed for later episodes. LIke any quickly-yanked show, it left behind a declining trail of episodes in production, but as a “spontaneous” show much like Laugh-In and other variety shows, it wasn’t shot very far in advance. So there might be scripts, production notes and a very few filmed sequences, I don’t believe there are any further episodes as that term is usually intended.
As for being cut off halfway through, it most certainly did happen in many areas, although not all. It deserves its title as the shortest-running series of all time: one-half ep.
ETA: The one sample joke widely quoted for it is this: A beautiful woman is tied to a pole. The leader of the firing squad walks up to her and says, “Miss, I know this is unusual, but in this case the \*squad \*has one last request…” Pretty salty stuff for 1970, but it would have passed with yuks just a few years later.
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2014, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-see-missing-episodes-of-turn-on/686892/6 "2014-04-25T14:27:09Z")
[Here are some clips from the second unaired episode.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zny4LxAC0C8)
Well, more like a few seconds of it, but still.
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### Author:  [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2014, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-see-missing-episodes-of-turn-on/686892/7 "2014-04-25T15:56:36Z")
The first [Reader Comments entry](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063960/reviews?filter=chrono;filter=chrono;start=0) on the show’s IMDB page has the fullest description of some of its sketches I can find.
Sounds pretty dire for the most part.
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### Author:  [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-see-missing-episodes-of-turn-on/686892/8 "2014-04-25T20:38:36Z")
> [@installLSC](#):
>
> [The Paley Center definately has the pilot episode](http://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=turn+on&p=1&item=B:14019), but it’s going to require a visit to either NYC or LA to see it on site. The listing doesn’t really indicate whether they have the other episodes.
> BTW, why didn’t you see the full episode? There are a lot of rumors of stations that didn’t air the full program, but not many first hand accounts of the show being pre-empted.
I was pretty young at the time, but I was watching the show. Tim Conway was hosting, as I remember. I was a big Tim Conway fan and was watching pretty much because of that. The show was a raunchy rip-off of Laugh-In with second rate jokes…really not that funny. The last scene I saw had a black out of two people making sexy banter in bed and somebody turns on the lights and the two people are topless guys in bed together. At that point, the network broke for a commercial and never came back. Well, the network came back but with some other show.
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### Author:  [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-see-missing-episodes-of-turn-on/686892/9 "2014-04-25T20:42:03Z")
Thanks, that’s one of the few first-hand accounts I’ve ever heard.