This reverie began when I heard from S.M. Oliva, the proprietor of the indispensable Computer Chronicles Revisited.

He told me one of the “lost” episodes had been found, and described it in detail.

I double checked my CV; when 7.01 aired, I was just days away from being laid off after 14 months at PC Week.

Those 14 months were the only time in my decade-long Computer Chronicles career that I actually had a job that had something to do with PCs.

That didn’t matter because I was:

• •  a great and experienced public speaker
• •  an award winner in the high school speech event  “Extemporaneous Speaking”[1]
• •  lucky enough to find a great reviewing partner
• •  an entertaining television personality. That’s how I got on five game shows, starting with Wheel of Fortune in Oct. 1983, just two months before my first appearance on the Chronicles on Episode 6 of Season 1.

So, my lack of firsthand journalistic connection to PCs turned out to be not a problem. Besides, as Stewart used to say, “once you learn how to fake sincerity, you have it made.” The only other great lines I remember came from the director of the remote segments. I never did learn his name; I think it was Patrick. In any case, as we closed in on the 15th or 20th take, he always said two things. “Look like you’re having a good time.” And “no one’s dead yet.”

One of my favorite Chronicles stories, about Mic Checks.

[1] Speaking grammatical sentences that made sense and followed a mental outline, after just a few minutes of research