With a few exceptions, tickets to see TV shows taped (or filmed or performed live) are free.  It was the same way in the days of radio, and some of the ducats that appear on the following pages are from that era, as well.  All of them are interesting relics of broadcasting history, telling us much about the shows, about the people who did them, and especially about the venues in which they were created.  They're also a good excuse to write little historical notes and tell anecdotes.

Going to see your favorite show in person can be a jarring experience.  Since the tickets are free, some folks don't use them.  Most of the scans on this site were made from tickets that someone got and elected not to use.  Since the producers want every chair filled, they distribute more tickets than they have seats.  Often, you get turned away, sometimes after a very long wait in line even though you have "Special" or "V.I.P." or something preferential stamped on your tickets and you've been waiting in line in the rain for three days.

Sometimes, they even try and bait-and-switch you to some other show that's having trouble filling the place.  Two or three times we've been to tapings of shows we wanted to see, only to have this happen in a manner that seemed premeditated.  That is, they'd consciously over-distributed tix for a popular show, hoping to use the refugees to pack the bleachers at a less unpopular one that taped at the same time.

All this casual dissemination of tickets means that a lot go unused, which has enabled us to assemble our little gallery.  (Actually, a few of the tickets posted on this site probably were used to gain admission but were retained or reclaimed by the audience member as a souvenir.)