|
It's hard to remember, but twenty to thirty years ago cable TV, especially the 'educational' channels, had shows that were not designed to pander to the lowest common denominator. Before TLC, The History Channel, and the Discovery Channel were tire fires of cheap and lazy reality shows they had actual programming that a person could argue was informative. So here, in this thread, have a think about what cable TV used to be like. Since I was a major dorkus malorkus even as a little girl I watched a lot of the educational channels and was legit psyched when The History Channel got added to our cable line-up. On TLC- My favorite was Great Books on TLC, back when The Learning Channel meant something. It was cliff notes for notable works of literature and I'd plop down and watch marathons of these. Was it the same as reading books? No! But it was much better than shows about marrying some scam artist or running a predatory pawn shop. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPxovAcCUrU There was also The Operation, which made me extremely nervous while watching but I saw a lot of it because my parents were fascinated by it. Real life operations! Inside of the body, if that's your thing! (Rescue 911, not a cable show, also made me nervous for the same reasons). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3QrSVcYJzY The History Channel History's Lost and Found was light-hearted telling of the story behind fun historical items like Lizzie Borden's Hatchet and Louis the XXVII mummified heart. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwXAIKMLPvI&list=PL_eqBZGVxBN9jmCRZvE_ClaDCGi9OFOKz A&E Kicking off a lifelong interest in true crime was American Justice on A&E. Not surprising that it ran until 2005. There was a companion show to it that was also themed on smaller town/lower profile murders but I can't remember the name of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1XzaVqYffY The Travel Channel I have fond memories of two types of show on The Travel Channel 1. Shows about how fun Vegas is! 2. Spooky ghost British castles. I'm still delightfully scared of this reenactment of when an old ghost lady frightingly loomed over a sleeping guest one night! I don't live in America anymore so I don't get American TV and we don't sub to cable at our house, but when I go back to visit I look at guides at my mom's house and ho boy, it has gotten bad! 57 channels and there's nothing on? The Boss knew what was up. I'm chattering away when we could all be watching TV! Post your favorite cable shows of days gone by here!
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2022 19:26
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 20, 2024 01:08 |
|
|
Ralph Crammed In posted:It's hard to remember, but twenty to thirty years ago cable TV, especially the 'educational' channels, had shows that were not designed to pander to the lowest common denominator. Before TLC, The History Channel, and the Discovery Channel were tire fires of cheap and lazy reality shows they had actual programming that a person could argue was informative. So here, in this thread, have a think about what cable TV used to be like. My mom and I used to watch The Operation while eating dinner. Also I used to love watching Biography on A&E
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2022 19:28
|
|
|
I remember watching Zoobilee Zoo on TLC as a kid. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oowOsEOTApA
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2022 19:50
|
|
|
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FED4Ja1AKRM
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2022 20:31
|
|
|
I have a four-year-old and I love getting on my old lady hat and saying "in my day we didn't have YouTube, we had to watch a channel to tell us what was on or look it up in the newspaper!"
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2022 20:43
|
|
|
I loved the loving Weather Channel as a kid. I thought I wanted to be a meteorologist at the time. I also hid in the bathroom every time there was a big thunderstorm though (which was pretty much weekly in Tennessee). Nowadays it's all storm chaser stuff which is fine but it's just not the same. I remember local on the 8s otherwise I have no idea what I was watching. I imagine it was similar to sports commentary but for weather.
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2022 20:44
|
|
|
TLC should be called The Suffering Channel.
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2022 20:45
|
|
|
The history Channel was primarily about ww2 history
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2022 20:47
|
|
|
One time I saw Candy from A&E's intervention during a layover in O'hare and I was staring at her for a good two minutes thinking she was a math teacher from childhood that I couldn't place. Finally, it clicked and I smiled & we met eyes and Candy winked at me.
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2022 20:47
|
|
|
Dixville posted:I loved the loving Weather Channel as a kid. I thought I wanted to be a meteorologist at the time. I also hid in the bathroom every time there was a big thunderstorm though (which was pretty much weekly in Tennessee). Nowadays it's all storm chaser stuff which is fine but it's just not the same. I remember local on the 8s otherwise I have no idea what I was watching. I imagine it was similar to sports commentary but for weather. my father worked outdoors so every morning, as we were eating breakfast, he'd be keeping a close eye on the daily weather to see if he would be able to work that day. for me, childhood mornings are being extremely sleepy and awake before dawn as my farm-rear end parents are greeting the day bright and early, set to weather channel smooth jazz/ambient electronic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXGJ6qhkzBc
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2022 20:52
|
|
|
Meatball posted:The history Channel was primarily about ww2 history At least ww2 happened and is still a relevant event as opposed to chucklefucks looking for gold or pawning fake historical documents to low level criminals.
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2022 20:52
|
|
|
Mr. Fall Down Terror posted:my father worked outdoors so every morning, as we were eating breakfast, he'd be keeping a close eye on the daily weather to see if he would be able to work that day. for me, childhood mornings are being extremely sleepy and awake before dawn as my farm-rear end parents are greeting the day bright and early, set to weather channel smooth jazz/ambient electronic Lol I forgot about the music
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2022 21:05
|
|
|
Mr. Fall Down Terror posted:my father worked outdoors so every morning, as we were eating breakfast, he'd be keeping a close eye on the daily weather to see if he would be able to work that day. for me, childhood mornings are being extremely sleepy and awake before dawn as my farm-rear end parents are greeting the day bright and early, set to weather channel smooth jazz/ambient electronic Snow day!!
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2022 21:36
|
|
|
That wasn't bad when you had 40 channels, but at 400 its useless. This channel is also something I remember waking up to many times, but not recognizing the TV or room/couch/trailer that I woke up in. There were also the community bulletin board type channels that were just generic text listing community events or menus for church dinners. Some would run dating ads (again, just text) so you'd call a 900number and leave a voice message for a person you were interested in. So, so so many lonley people on there. Um....that's what I heard anyway. I really miss public access. Cable companies had some agreement with municipalities (or maybe it was federal? I don't know) where they would provide broadcast facilitates to normal people, for free, in exchange for the city to prevent any competition from other cable companies so they can over charge the citizens who subsidized the building of the infrastructure anyway and..... Sorry, I'm ranting. Anyway, because they had to air pretty much anything you got a LOT of street preachers and their wives badly singing hymns. I didn't grow up in Ontario but this is too good to not post. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht_TmEMd4r4
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2022 21:59
|
|
|
The bible?
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2022 22:00
|
|
|
I remember there used to be operas and ballet on A&E (which once stood for ‘Arts & Entertainment’). Same with Bravo, too. Now I’m pretty sure they’re both the  channels 24/7.
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2022 22:06
|
|
|
Dixville posted:I loved the loving Weather Channel as a kid. I thought I wanted to be a meteorologist at the time. I also hid in the bathroom every time there was a big thunderstorm though (which was pretty much weekly in Tennessee). Nowadays it's all storm chaser stuff which is fine but it's just not the same. I remember local on the 8s otherwise I have no idea what I was watching. I imagine it was similar to sports commentary but for weather. Here's a simple web-based weather channel simulator: https://battaglia.ddns.net/twc/ And here's one that's so accurate as to be incredibly difficult to configure: http://www.taiganet.com/ They got the original voice actor to reprise his role!
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2022 22:23
|
|
|
Bonzo posted:That wasn't bad when you had 40 channels, but at 400 its useless. This channel is also something I remember waking up to many times, but not recognizing the TV or room/couch/trailer that I woke up in. I miss an easily accessible community events calendar / notification system like this. I never know what's going on in town.
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 06:03
|
|
|
https://i.imgur.com/W16dHCP.mp4 Art of War 2...
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 06:15
|
|
|
Turd Licking Crocodile
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 06:36
|
|
|
I knew TLC was trash when they made a series about my local high school football team
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 06:49
|
|
|
Vakal posted:I remember watching Zoobilee Zoo on TLC as a kid. Same, but I only got this version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKj2pMrHRhM
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 06:53
|
|
|
I remember seeing ads on the mid-80s Discovery Channel for multi-tape VHS compilations of World War Two stock footage and my very conservative dad getting annoyed because they were narrated by Walter Cronkite. Also ads for Celestial Seasonings tea and a labor union ad that ended in "Here's to productivity, it's what America is all about."
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 06:59
|
|
|
Here's what I know about TLC... The idea, was to do what public access did, but the problem with public access is there is never enough funding. So, instead of doing it as a non profit, run commercials, and then there will be much more funding, which should expand and enhance the quality of educational programming. The argument against it was that, if you run ads, you will find that some programs attract more viewers, and will be more profitable for the ads as you can charge more for ads on shows with higher ratings. The problem is that shows with higher ratings are less... educational. More entertainment. And you will want to make more of those kinds of shows because you can make more money with ads if they attract more viewers. Public access doesn't give a poo poo about this as it relies on funding, so there is no motivation to "sell out". When you look at what TLC turned in to, with shows like Honey Boo Boo, you can clearly see that the argument against it was correct.
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 07:14
|
|
|
https://twitter.com/GodGiong/status/1577908032335667200?s=20&t=9ENYRpu3dRq2Jx8vaHmLbw You MEAN... like this.
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 07:26
|
|
|
Mr. Fall Down Terror posted:my father worked outdoors so every morning, as we were eating breakfast, he'd be keeping a close eye on the daily weather to see if he would be able to work that day. for me, childhood mornings are being extremely sleepy and awake before dawn as my farm-rear end parents are greeting the day bright and early, set to weather channel smooth jazz/ambient electronic The neat thing about the local weather on the Weather Channel was that is was controlled by a proprietary computer at the cable operator. My family took a yearly trip to a small town and the cable system had the first version up to about 2010 or so. I was disappointed when they upgraded. Our local cable system was on the second version up until they went out of business in 2012.
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 07:43
|
|
|
 holy gently caress how did that I Am Shauna Rae show make it past S&P?
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 07:54
|
|
|
Those smart fuckers channels all have those Alaska shows now because it’s the only place that will let those insufferable pricks shoot footage anymore. That and like veterinarians offices because those people are used to dealing with animals.
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 08:06
|
|
|
kntfkr posted:TLC should be called The Suffering Channel. That’s not even the same loving letters. How about The Loser Channel hahahaaaa. 
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 08:07
|
|
|
did that hunting hitler show on history channel ever find hitler?
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 08:10
|
|
|
Bula Vinaka posted:Here's what I know about TLC... Capitalism is to blame for all our problems pretty much.
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 08:45
|
|
|
Remember Beyond 2000? I think it was on Discovery back in the 80s/90s and was a cool show that was about cutting edge tech that made me excited for the future. Well now that I'm here I desperately want a show called Behind 2000
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 09:02
|
|
|
Drive-Thru Salad Bar posted:Remember Beyond 2000? I think it was on Discovery back in the 80s/90s and was a cool show that was about cutting edge tech that made me excited for the future. Yeah, Australian show. Used to love that, when people thought the future was going to be good. MTV2 was amazing back then. After midnight it would show random unknown (back then) cool songs, and mind exploding to them trying not to wake my parents up Some memorable ones on it for me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnnGYaqjW-A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGW1dRNc314 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L64BcCRDAE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XHrsOdwF2U happyhippy fucked around with this message at 10:57 on Oct 6, 2022 |
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 10:54
|
|
|
Loved the great books show. Also used to tape dicovery channel's "WIngs" show cos planes are cool They would have marathons of it around the holidays. yeah, that opening riff... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew8NYGY5qnc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGkxA8vlhvA&list=PLG-Elwjfnra1-6gIMSiYg2PE8Tz-BFWKJ&index=2
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 15:10
|
|
|
flubber nuts posted:did that hunting hitler show on history channel ever find hitler? He's on the moon, the hitler channel couldn't get to him.
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 15:14
|
|
|
As a young poor kid in the country I was always wanted cable Then I got cable and it was stupid poo poo like worlds dumbest criminals footage with b list celebrities talking
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 15:43
|
|
|
I assume it's an attempt to imitate the Netflix binge model, but a lot of cable channels just air giant blocks of shows through out the week. There's not much variety anymore. IFC and Sundance were independent movie focus, now they air poo poo like MASH re-runs USA and TNT had a variety of programming. Now it's blocks of poo poo with some movies and sports MTV used to show music videos. now it's reality programming 24/7. I think the only channel that really has stayed true to its mission is Turner Classic Movies. The best OTA channel these days is MeTV. The Saturday Night sci-fi block is awesome.
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 16:03
|
|
|
is that deana carter
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 16:28
|
|
|
Jose Oquendo posted:I assume it's an attempt to imitate the Netflix binge model, but a lot of cable channels just air giant blocks of shows through out the week. There's not much variety anymore. I think it pre-dates Netflix, or at least binge-streaming, cause that's been going on for over a decade. It's just lazy, non-risk-taking behavior to rerun a bunch of popular shows and bet that there's an audience for them as opposed to taking a gamble and making your own programming.
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 19:15
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 20, 2024 01:08 |
|
|
Ralph Crammed In posted:I think it pre-dates Netflix, or at least binge-streaming, cause that's been going on for over a decade. It's just lazy, non-risk-taking behavior to rerun a bunch of popular shows and bet that there's an audience for them as opposed to taking a gamble and making your own programming. That is for sure. Cable channels have always aired reruns. I was referring to the scheduling itself where a cable channel will just air a couple of 4 hour blocks (for example) of a sitcom. That definitely wasn't prevalent a decade ago. Now that's all they do.
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 21:07
|
|