brian_m_hass During the early 1980's, NBC viewers could stay tuned after "Late Night with David Letterman" to enjoy one of the most unique newscasts on American television. Anchored by Lloyd Dobyns (later replaced by Bill Schechner) and Linda Ellerbee, "NBC News Overnight" was American television's first full length late night newscast; and, it was a newscast with a difference. Dobyns and Ellerbee presented the news in a tongue-in-cheek manner. The program had a sense of humor. In addition to the national headlines, this newscast presented some of the most unusual and quirky human interest stories on television.Why was this newscast ultimately taken off the air? During the early 1980's, most television stations went off the air at around one in the morning; so, most people were not in the habit of staying up for an extra hour after Letterman's show to watch more television. At the time, there were no other late night newscasts; and, there were definitely no newscasts which broadcast throughout the overnight hours. In short, this newscast was an experiment; and, it was probably too far ahead of its time.Those who managed to stay awake long enough to watch the news program will remember it fondly. The show's small number of fans will remember the show's warmth, humor, and intelligence. Its legacy lives on with other late night newscasts, including "ABC World News Now" (which followed in the footsteps of "Overnight"). And, so it goes!

8ntnomo I work for a Railroad which means that we work day and night. We are on a twenty-four call basis. Sometimes I would get in at 1:00AM Utah time (which is where I live), but most of the time, I would set my alarm to get me up by 12:50AM just so that I could watch NBC News Overnight. It was the most comprehensive, fulfilled news show of it's time. The "good old" prime time news shows of the time could not hold a "frog's fart under water" compared to "Overnight". When it started, it had Lloyd Dobyns and Linda Ellerbee as co-anchors. Lloyd was kind of a "stiffed" face anchor and Linda had this kind of a "sneaky, shifty" smile like she knew something that nobody else knew. The two of them together made the show unique, exciting and well worth watching. I was sorry to see Lloyd leave and was not sure what to expect with Bill Schechner. I was pleased to see that he was a good replacement for Lloyd. He smiled more than Lloyd, but he filled in well. They had segue's such as "on a reel" and "on a roll" that made the news more interesting and informative. It was a news show like no other. I even wrote the producer and told him that "Overnight" kicked Rather, Brokaw, Cronkite,etc. in the "Mudd". I really can't remember who was on the air at the time, but that is the gist of it. Nothing against the anchors on the air now, but Dobyns, Ellerbee and Schechner were the tops. I really wish they were doing a prime time newscast like Overnight now. Even if they went back to 1:00AM, I would set my alarm to watch them again. To quote the "greats", "And that's the way it was." "And So It Goes!"

cellmaker I'm sure the only people watching this show were college students, but we needed it. All around were the media lapdogs of the Reagan Administration, passing off absurdities as though they were normal. Only Ellerbee and her colleagues got on national TV and said, "Do they really expect us to believe that garbage?" That it was at 2:30 a.m. made it all the more real.That the news show was short-lived was inevitable. But for a short time, while we were going without sleep, we believed a dissenting voice might be possible.And so it goes....

Zorro-3 If only we had a news show like this today! NBC Overnight circled the globe with footage of what was going on at every hot spot. It went on at length about what all was REALLY going on there. Even for its time, it was amazing that they were allowed to be that honest. I can't imagine a major network showing us those sorts of things today. Perhaps WE CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!!Cost me some credits in college. I'd stay up way too late watching the blasted thing. I couldn't turn away.