Let me explain this. I've been on this board for just about a year and I've noticed something. I noticed a lot of people liked the old days of TV. The thing is that the time I've been on here or on youtube, the people love the old USA Network, TNN, WTBS or any other older cable channel.

My question is WHY did you like it? What made the USA Network of the 80s so great? What made TBS of the 80s so great? What did you like about it?

I think people liked TBS because their daily programming was filled with classic TV. You didn't have to watch 3 or four networks like you do now to get your fill of the shows you grew up with.

Nostalgia. It tends to cloud people's minds, we don't always recall things as they were.

Plus, TV was simply a lot more fun back then. It seems a lot of today's show have forgotten that tv is meant to entertain.

Cable TV back then provided a variety of programing from classic to obscure TV shows to a variety of movies which was cool especially the late night scene which was far better than it is today.

It's all about the choices. I was raised on antenna TV (small 'a') and had essentially the content of three local VHF channels and one or two UHF (depending on how much snow you were willing to put up with) to choose from. There was precious little nostalgia being carried by any of the stations in my market at that time. They tended to pick up the latest nighttime hit to enter syndication (I Dream Of Jeannie and Partridge Family readily come to mind) and play them for relatively short periods, then drop them for the next wave of recent available shows. Spending summers in Cleveland and a trip out west at age 9 when I got a chance to tune around on a set in the Los Angeles market gave me a glimpse of what real choice in TV fare looked like.

Then in 1976 my town was finally wired for cable, bringing in three independent stations--two in Chicago and another from Detroit--that all rounded out their schedules with generous helpings of classic TV shows which never had been nor would be seen locally after leaving the network.

USA was never a big favorite of mine, though it did allow me to see how great Good Morning, World was along with a few other goodies now and then. But it was good for the same reason as were the independents from the early days of cable--it often had programs worth watching at times when not one of your local stations did.

I grew up in the Detroit Area, and there were 4 VHF Stations and 4 UHF Stations to choose from (The fourth VHF Station was CBET in Windsor, Ontario.) Yes there were times when it seemed like there was "Nothing on TV" from time to time (A Presidential Address/News Conference would REALLY Wreck Havoc on one's viewing! :mad: ). However, were were't that all concerned about Cable TV at the time, as this was something that those who were living in the Boondocks used to get Stations that were otherwise not available. The first hint about the possibility of Cable coming to the City came in the early 1970s, when Movie Theatres ran an Advertisement warning us we may soon have to PAY to watch TV, and they wanted us to sign a Petition to Congress asking them to outlaw Pay-TV. Shortly afterwards something did happen that would make us City Folk ENVIOUS of those who lived in the Boonies. They got a new channel! A little something called "Cinema Plus" that featured Movies UNCUT (Including the "R" Rated Ones):eek: and WITHOUT COMMERCIALS! :D Hey! why can't we get that channel! Then word got out they were getting a slew of other Channels, so many in fact that they had to place a special device on their TV Set so they could get all of these Channels. These included TV Stations from Atlanta, New York and Chicago, an All-Sports Channel, a Children's Channel and even an All-News Channel! Now we were REALLY getting ENVIOUS! tv_on_the_porch, you mentioned how you looked forward to traveling to larger cities to taste the greater variety of what the got to view. The EXACT OPPOSITE happened to me. I began looking forwards to seeing my Relatives who lived in the Country in order to see all these newfangled channels THEY got to see! Then, in the Spring of 1980 it happened, news came out that MY City (Redford, Michigan), :banana: WAS GETTING CABLE! :banana: It took them about six monthes to wire the city, naturally, my neighborhood was among the last to get wired, however in October of 1980 a Salesman knocked on our door, He was getting people signed up to receive Cable TV. I DID NOT HESITATE TO SIGN UP! three days later they came to hook us up. I was like a Child on Christmas Morning. OH BOY!!! ALL MINE!!! :D GONE were the days of "Nothing on TV"! One of the first things I did was round up all my friends and have a "Cable TV Party" We had it the same evening then-President Carter held an Evening News Conference. For some odd reason HBO would schedule their movies to start five minutes after the hour, but we used this to our advantage. We first tuned to CBS and watched the beginning of the News Conference. We then recreated what all of us did whenever we first noticed these things pre-empted OUR Programs :angryfire Switch to NBC, then ABC, saying quite loudly "He's on THOSE channels too! :( Then we looked at our Watches (Those new Newfangled LCD Digital Ones) It was now 8:04 PM Eastern Daylight Time. When the Seconds got to 50, a Countdown Begin. 10, 9, 8 .... THREE, TWO, ONE, SO LONG, SUCKER!!! Click! On came HBO and we watched the James Bond Movie Moonraker, cerimoniously leaving the President behind. :p Ah, life was good. Unfortunately that was 32 years ago, at the time I NEVER imagined the day would come where I would get tired of all those channels, and woud cancel the service. On September 29, 2006 something would happen that caused me to make that very decision, but I still get the same benifits I had when I first subscribed to Pay-TV, I watch my Programs Uncut and WITHOUT Commercials. (Including the one that :mad: :angryfire INFURIATED :angryfire :mad: me, resulting in my decision to "Cut the Cord). But I have one ADDITIONAL Benefit that Subscribing to Cable DOESN'T have, that is after I finish watching a Program, I GET TO KEEP IT!!! :D

I actually first got cable tv in the early 1970's but cable tv back then meant that you could get your local channels clearer and you could pick up a few locals that you could barely pick up with an antenna. My locals always had classic syndicated shows from the 60's airing. I remember coming home from school and watching Batman, The Big Valley, Andy Griffith, Gomer Pyle, The Beverly Hillbillies and other classic shows. I remember in third grade coming home and watching The Three Stooges-Little Rascals Hour. That's how I became a Three Stooges fan. I actually only had 7 channels plus PBS but there was always something to watch. Then in 1978 we finally got our first non local tv channels. That was HBO and TBS ( although it was called something else then). TBS brought a bunch of classic shows to the air. I always hated that they started airing the shows on the off-hour by 5 minutes but the channel was still great. We didn't get the rest of the channels until the early 80's. Our cable was very bad in those years. Not as far as quality but the fact that half the channels wouldn't come in clearly. Some of the channels barely came on at all. As far as the ones that did, WGN was one of my favorites. They always aired great classic shows. Luckily our cable improved as the decade went on. Now the cable comes in great. Unfortunately the quality sucks. If it wasn't for the NFL, I'd probably get rid of it.

Well, in the earlier days of the cable/satellite channels, each one of them seemed to have very individual and very distinct "identities." From WTBS to CBN to the Nashville Network or the beginnings of Nick at Night, they all had their own unique 'house style,' so to speak. You almost instinctively developed brand loyalties. It added to the fun and satisfaction of viewing.

And before that time, the offerings on VHF and UHF stations also had their own memorable merits. Especially in the way they represented a common sense of locality, from whatever towns and cities they broadcast. Local hosts and local-area commercials. It exuded a rather cozy element of regional community. You could walk down your street, run into a neighbor, and discuss the 'afternoon movie' you both just saw.

But nowadays, with hundreds of channels, and so many of them running the very same kind of programs and reruns, nothing tends to stand out anymore. I can't tell the difference between TBS, TNT, FX, or USA when I run across them. Television seems to be such a chaotic, raggedy mess to me these days. Navigating through the channels in search of something to view (usually in vain) is a far more vapid, empty experience.

Well, in the earlier days of the cable/satellite channels, each one of them seemed to have very individual and very distinct "identities." From WTBS to CBN to the Nashville Network or the beginnings of Nick at Night, they all had their own unique 'house style,' so to speak. You almost instinctively developed brand loyalties. It added to the fun and satisfaction of viewing.

And before that time, the offerings on VHF and UHF stations also had their own memorable merits. Especially in the way they represented a common sense of locality, from whatever towns and cities they broadcast. Local hosts and local-area commercials. It exuded a rather cozy element of regional community. You could walk down your street, run into a neighbor, and discuss the 'afternoon movie' you both just saw.

But nowadays, with hundreds of channels, and so many of them running the very same kind of programs and reruns, nothing tends to stand out anymore. I can't tell the difference between TBS, TNT, FX, or USA when I run across them. Television seems to be such a chaotic, raggedy mess to me these days. Navigating through the channels in search of something to view (usually in vain) is a far more vapid, empty experience.

well said.

Well, in the earlier days of the cable/satellite channels, each one of them seemed to have very individual and very distinct "identities." From WTBS to CBN to the Nashville Network or the beginnings of Nick at Night, they all had their own unique 'house style,' so to speak. You almost instinctively developed brand loyalties. It added to the fun and satisfaction of viewing.

And before that time, the offerings on VHF and UHF stations also had their own memorable merits. Especially in the way they represented a common sense of locality, from whatever towns and cities they broadcast. Local hosts and local-area commercials. It exuded a rather cozy element of regional community. You could walk down your street, run into a neighbor, and discuss the 'afternoon movie' you both just saw.

But nowadays, with hundreds of channels, and so many of them running the very same kind of programs and reruns, nothing tends to stand out anymore. I can't tell the difference between TBS, TNT, FX, or USA when I run across them. Television seems to be such a chaotic, raggedy mess to me these days. Navigating through the channels in search of something to view (usually in vain) is a far more vapid, empty experience.

Pretty much this. The cable channels of the time seemed to revel in their uniqueness and the variety of their programs. They would air horror, comedy, drama, sci-fi and mysteries in a blend and they catered to every viewing taste. Today, it seems it's all run together. Not to mention, every channel apparently just has to jump on the reality bandwagon. When The Weather Channel and The History Channel starts producing and airing reality shows...it's a sign that the originality is gone and it's all about holding on to a tired trend.

The reason why I posted this thread was because I don't remember the cable stations any other way. Call me naive, but Im only 29 so I dont really remember the glory days of USA or TBS.

As far as mentioning the reality tv bandwagon, ever since Survivor started, its like most tv executives have been in love with reality tv. Its really sickening because of this, game shows, sitcoms, soap operas, etc. have gone right down the crapper.

With that being said, what you guys are saying is that the reason why cable stations were so great is because they aired variety? Game shows, soap operas, movies, cult classic movies etc.? Do you see any station or stations that come close to the old days?

The reason why I posted this thread was because I don't remember the cable stations any other way. Call me naive, but Im only 29 so I dont really remember the glory days of USA or TBS.

As far as mentioning the reality tv bandwagon, ever since Survivor started, its like most tv executives have been in love with reality tv. Its really sickening because of this, game shows, sitcoms, soap operas, etc. have gone right down the crapper.

With that being said, what you guys are saying is that the reason why cable stations were so great is because they aired variety? Game shows, soap operas, movies, cult classic movies etc.? Do you see any station or stations that come close to the old days?
TCM is still a great channel as far as airing classic movies. I used to love AMC but it's worthless anymore as far as movies are concerned. Many of the cable channels are now in the original series business. Some of them have good shows that I watch but the channels themselves aren't what they used to be. I used to watch USA, FX, TBS, N @ N, TV Land, AMC, GSN. Other than the occasional original series, I don't even turn the channel on anymore.

i reocmmed me tv you should getit. it show clsscs show liketwligth zone gomerpyle my three sonsi love lucy and the unctoable it on channel 226.

When the Disease knon as "Reality TV" began infesting the Broadcast Networks in the late 1990s I found refuge in the Cable Channels, primarily The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel and the History Channel, along with the Hallmark Channel, Unfortunately, things began to change there as well, and not for the better. :( Whoever owned The History Channel seemed to have an obsession about World War II and Psuedoscience, because that what began dominating the evenings. The Learning Channel started airing shows about various Human Freaks and Extremely Large (and often Dysfunctional) Families. The Discovery Channel, which was once dedicated to showing Science Documentaries, began showing "Reality" Shows about Subjects that were NOTHING about Science. Such as that fellow who makes Fancy Motercycles for the One Percenters. The Hallmark Channel, along with TV Land and Nick at Night were my last holdouts, unfortunately I began noticing something going on there as well, the Commercials became more frequent, and longer in length. Then TV Land abandoned it's Classic TV Format, opting to air EVEN MORE "Reality" Shows. Then in September of 2006 the Last Straw occured. I was asked to serve Lemonade to a Group of Children at a Church Function. In their Activity Room they had a TV Set to Nickleodeon. The Show they were watching went to a Commercial Break, and on came a Commercial for an "ED Pill". :angryfire I yelled for the Host, and she came running, arriving in time to see the end of that Ad. We both complained to Nickleodeon and the Cable Company, and got the same Runaround. My mind was made up that day. for the past three years I questioned why was I PAYING to watch all this garbage. I cancelled my Subscription, and went totally DVD. 5 1/4 years later and today I run my own "Network". :lol:

The "coziness" that broadmoor mentioned is what I miss the most about television. I love being able to buy my favorite tv shows on DVD, but I still miss the general flow of creative energy that drove 80s-early 90s cable.

TBS of the 90's is now a combination of Antenna TV and Me-Tv in 2012

Ok, now if you were in charge of these networks and had to decide programming based on what you think and said in this thread, how would you do it and what shows would you put on?

So basically what your saying is that every channel had there own niche? If you wanted classic shows, watch Nick at Nite. If you wanted to watch a variey of shows like comedies, dramas, movies etc. you had USA or TBS. Now everything blends together. I dont know if there is an end in site. I think they have expanded the channels for no reason. What I mean is that you have MTV, MTV2, MTV3, MTV Hits, MTV Jams etc. But you could easily merge a couple of those channels together.

So basically what your saying is that every channel had there own niche? If you wanted classic shows, watch Nick at Nite. If you wanted to watch a variey of shows like comedies, dramas, movies etc. you had USA or TBS. Now everything blends together. I dont know if there is an end in site. I think they have expanded the channels for no reason. What I mean is that you have MTV, MTV2, MTV3, MTV Hits, MTV Jams etc. But you could easily merge a couple of those channels together.

Niche was the definition of cable channels until the new millennium came. I myself am only 26 but definitely notice a huge difference between the cable I recall from my youth and the cable of today. Each channel had it's own identity cultivated by carrying only a very select type of programming (and even a select type of advertising). Thus people could become fans of whole channels instead of just specific shows. So it's pretty easy to see why almost everyone is displeased with cable in the year 2012. It's a textbook case of corporate America selling out.

Cable used to be so straightforward and honest. If you wanted to watch a science documentary then you flipped on the Discovery Channel and there it was. If you wanted classic sitcoms, then you went to N@N or TVLand and there it was. If you wanted some music videos then you went to MTV and there it was. A few networks had multiple niches, but they were still niches and you knew what you were in for depending on what time it was. USA, TBS, and TNT come to mind.

Nowadays, it's the same pool of programming that nearly all of them draw from. I think money-grubbing executives eventually realized that they could either run noble, dedicated networks with loyal fan bases that made little money or carry broad programming for the masses while raking in the cash. I applaud the select few who haven't sold out (yet) and continue to be niche in a time when it's not cool to be niche.

VERY WELL SAID!!!

Thank God for Digital TV

I did not have cable until 1989. There were fewer commercials and more variety of shows. Niche was part of it, but now it seems the cable networks feed off one main show that runs repeatedly with cuts for extended commercials. I used to love TV Land now they butcher episodes so badly especially during certain hours of programming it is useless to watch the show. I used to hold off buying dvd's in case one of my favorite channels picked up a show, now I just get the dvd to see complete episodes without commercials. The only hope of seeing it without dvd is if netflix gets the show.

The 2 most dreaded words in television: ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING. No thanks, I'll take my original programming from the real broadcast networks, thank you.

But, a brief summary:

When cable networks exploded in the late 70s, early 80s, they didn't have a lot of money so they bought any old shows they could get their hands on. That meant that so many programs that had either been out of syndication for many years were put back on the air. In addition, through some quirk in the rules, cable networks could buy shows which had never been cleared for domestic syndication. So series that had never made it to syndication were all of a sudden being aired again for the first time in decades. Lifetime, USA, CBN (although they cut shows up very badly), TNT, BET, The Nostalgia Channel, Disney, even Showtime, Nick at Nite were running so many great, long lost shows. Nick at Nite for the first few years ran the shows complete and uncut. Route 66, they even ran the coming attractions for the next episode. Later on, other networks came along, like HA!, SciFi, Encore, FoxNet and for a few months, Star TV, which also picked up many long dormant series. Finally, the first few years of TV Land, while it did have flaws (they rarely bought a full run of a show, preferring to just get a few episodes and run them over and over) was amazing with the shows they aired. All of that is now a memory and unless you recorded like crazy, as my friends and I did, you'll never see 80% of those shows anywhere again.

The 2 most dreaded words in television: ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING. No thanks, I'll take my original programming from the real broadcast networks, thank you.
That's your prerogative, but you're definitely missing out on some great shows.

That's your prerogative, but you're definitely missing out on some great shows.

When Original comes in, great, obscure shows are the very first to go.

Digital TV is now more appealing than Cable.

I can watch basically anything I want, I like Regulas have tons of stuff on DVD, I went for almost half a year without the cable channels at all, and I can say you don't really miss it after a short while

The question was, What made cable channels great? Then "80's" was specified.

Now this is gonna take some popping of fingers, 'cause I'm gettin' ready to wind up. I hope you'll pardon the length, but I got quite a bit to say. Keep in mind these are some of my own personal observations, and there will still be quite a few things I miss, but I hope what I put here will be interesting.

I think if there's one thing that would summarize cable TV then Vs. cable TV now, the first thing that pops in my mind is one particular news story that appeared on the local cable channel that showed news on the screen in electronic white letters on a blue background with the time and current weather on the bottom, and using NOAA Weather Radio as the sound (This replaced "the dials"). A news story showed on the screen for about 30 seconds at a time. The morning after the "Dallas" episode when "Who Shot JR" was revealed, this was one of the stories - probably the shortest in the history of the channel.

DALLAS (UPI) - Kristen did it.

There was a whole bunch of blue screen when that was on. Anyway, I guess the way it worked was, whatever went over the UPI wire, it showed up on the screen. Especially during prime time, when hardly anyone was watching this channel. One such hidden gem was when I saw the horoscope, for I think the next day, on the screen! They ran through one sign at a time. I heard a radio news report in 1982 about cable systems complaining about CNN because it was taking viewers away from their local cable channels. Within a few years, our cable system stopped running news, and switched to electronic ads (with Atari-quality graphics) for businesses, which no-one but me watched. Other areas had other things, such as good ol' channel 8 in Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge, Tenn., with videotaped ads for businesses and attractions - no "theaters" in those days. Some of these channels have morphed over the years into houses-for-sale channels. Others have shows with local music artists. I'm sure there are other comments about "the local cable channel" that could be made by others relating to the one(s) in their area, but I wanna go on to other things now.

In the beginning, ESPN signed on and off every day. During the times it wasn't "on", it slowly scrolled the next day's schedule on an electronic screen. If I'm not mistaken, I think it kept playing an instrumental version of its "Everything worth seein'" jingle over and over again during this. There was a different, neat kind of "atmosphere" I felt while watching boxing or bowling on ESPN back then.

WTBS. Note the W at the beginning, and no other words (unless you count "Atlanta"). "Superstation Funtime" was the cartoons / "Rascals" / "Stooges" show then - including some convoluted late-40's color version of "Our Gang", and Encyclopedia Brittanica Films. There were little skits in the show, with "Donna Didjaknow", and "Mr. Miserable" played by Bill Tush (who had some kind of variety show every week at this time). This show would later be the shouting ground for the female under-10 Cronkite herself, Audra Lee with "Kids' Beat". WTBS also ran a movie (or was it 2?) every afternoon - unless the Braves played the night before, then they showed a replay of last night's game. It was a sitcom rerun paradise, with such shows as "What's Happening", "Bob Newhart", and "Sanford & Son" every weeknight. Whatever shows weren't on there, other TV stations would pick up the slack - and that was TV stations, not some cable channel or rerun "network" stepping up to be a guardian of what shows we can see, where and when, and what scenes can stay on them. Then there was the wrestling show. Tommy "Wildfire" Rich, Tony Atlas, The Freebirds and their "1979 Lincoln Continental", Mr. Saito, Dusty Rhodes, Jimmy Valiant, etc. Who owned the show then? "©1981, WTBS, Atlanta". If only it could've stayed that way.

Back then, there were TV stations other than local ones that ran on cable in our area, which had shows that the local stations didn't run - "Morning Stretch", "Bullseye", "Play the Percentages", those Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin shows that were listed in "TV Guide" but we couldn't pick up those stations here, reruns of sitcoms that our stations didn't run. Our area's cable system was running 2 stations that were affiliates of each network. I guess someone considered this a "problem", so sometime in 1980 an FCC law was passed where network programming on stations other than local ones was "blacked out". In our case, there was a black electronic screen with a message in white letters that mentioned this law and that network programming on this station couldn't be seen on cable in this area. If nothing else, it was neat seeing this message being typed up on the air when it was first shown. A country station ran as the sound whenever this screen was shown. I actually tuned into this from 11AM-12 every morning for a while, because it was "different" - even though it was sign one that things were starting to go "wrong" with cable TV. Anyway, these stations still had neat programming that showed up on cable, and it was a shame when they were cut by our cable system, to keep just the local ones.

From the late-80's to early-90's, cable still had some heart left. With non-local stations gone, we had to rely on cable channels for the bulk of what we watched. TBS, without the W, now became a cable channel, but hey, they still ran "Sanford & Son" uncensored. Unfortunately, their wrestling show was done in an arena instead of that studio. During this time, I had my first cable TV crushes. Jeanetta Jones, Cynthia Kereluk - then later on, a little shoulder-length brown-haired gal named Dianne Barone killed my Jeanetta crush - after I had just completed my "6 Hours of Jeanetta Jones" videotape. Oh, well. It took one heck of a gal to do that, and I'm glad there's now a few clips of Dianne on YouTube. There was "On the Television", with parodies of TV shows. Reruns of "Tic Tac Dough" from after they stopped running it locally here. I saw the CVN / QVC changeover, and was disappointed that Colleen couldn't show up there.

From the 90's to the early 2000's cable still had a few good things. For a while, USA still had the reruns of game shows, along with 80's court shows (a far cry from the Judge Ghettotrailer shows of today), but then they were gone. The Weather Channel was still mostly all-weather, but those "specials" kept cropping up more and more. Nick at Night had some good stuff, but by this point they were appointing themselves one of said "guardians", and there was this annoying phony sincerity in the way they "talked" to us in their promos (Just tell us what's on, when it's on, and what's next. Nothing else, please!). My crushes during this time included Lisa Nelan of "Easy Does It", Lynne Russell, and Sara Moulton.

Then came the "original series", which became unoriginal in short order. Then MTV stopped having music videos. TV Land, originally a rerun channel, started having "original series". And The Weather Channel has these little weather forecast "shows", but that's it. The PC and the mutilation have been mentioned already so I won't go into that anymore here. And I'd hate to think how they'll spell Sci-Fi next.

But before that, buddies...

The question was, What made cable channels great? Then "80's" was specified.

Now this is gonna take some popping of fingers, 'cause I'm gettin' ready to wind up. I hope you'll pardon the length, but I got quite a bit to say. Keep in mind these are some of my own personal observations, and there will still be quite a few things I miss, but I hope what I put here will be interesting.

I think if there's one thing that would summarize cable TV then Vs. cable TV now, the first thing that pops in my mind is one particular news story that appeared on the local cable channel that showed news on the screen in electronic white letters on a blue background with the time and current weather on the bottom, and using NOAA Weather Radio as the sound (This replaced "the dials"). A news story showed on the screen for about 30 seconds at a time. The morning after the "Dallas" episode when "Who Shot JR" was revealed, this was one of the stories - probably the shortest in the history of the channel.

DALLAS (UPI) - Kristen did it.

There was a whole bunch of blue screen when that was on. Anyway, I guess the way it worked was, whatever went over the UPI wire, it showed up on the screen. Especially during prime time, when hardly anyone was watching this channel. One such hidden gem was when I saw the horoscope, for I think the next day, on the screen! They ran through one sign at a time. I heard a radio news report in 1982 about cable systems complaining about CNN because it was taking viewers away from their local cable channels. Within a few years, our cable system stopped running news, and switched to electronic ads (with Atari-quality graphics) for businesses, which no-one but me watched. Other areas had other things, such as good ol' channel 8 in Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge, Tenn., with videotaped ads for businesses and attractions - no "theaters" in those days. Some of these channels have morphed over the years into houses-for-sale channels. Others have shows with local music artists. I'm sure there are other comments about "the local cable channel" that could be made by others relating to the one(s) in their area, but I wanna go on to other things now.

In the beginning, ESPN signed on and off every day. During the times it wasn't "on", it slowly scrolled the next day's schedule on an electronic screen. If I'm not mistaken, I think it kept playing an instrumental version of its "Everything worth seein'" jingle over and over again during this. There was a different, neat kind of "atmosphere" I felt while watching boxing or bowling on ESPN back then.

WTBS. Note the W at the beginning, and no other words (unless you count "Atlanta"). "Superstation Funtime" was the cartoons / "Rascals" / "Stooges" show then - including some convoluted late-40's color version of "Our Gang", and Encyclopedia Brittanica Films. There were little skits in the show, with "Donna Didjaknow", and "Mr. Miserable" played by Bill Tush (who had some kind of variety show every week at this time). This show would later be the shouting ground for the female under-10 Cronkite herself, Audra Lee with "Kids' Beat". WTBS also ran a movie (or was it 2?) every afternoon - unless the Braves played the night before, then they showed a replay of last night's game. It was a sitcom rerun paradise, with such shows as "What's Happening", "Bob Newhart", and "Sanford & Son" every weeknight. Whatever shows weren't on there, other TV stations would pick up the slack - and that was TV stations, not some cable channel or rerun "network" stepping up to be a guardian of what shows we can see, where and when, and what scenes can stay on them. Then there was the wrestling show. Tommy "Wildfire" Rich, Tony Atlas, The Freebirds and their "1979 Lincoln Continental", Mr. Saito, Dusty Rhodes, Jimmy Valiant, etc. Who owned the show then? "©1981, WTBS, Atlanta". If only it could've stayed that way.

Love the shoutout about Georgia Championship Wrestling. Are you a wrestling fan? Actually they had a pretty good run when it became World Championship Wrestling.

Back then, there were TV stations other than local ones that ran on cable in our area, which had shows that the local stations didn't run - "Morning Stretch", "Bullseye", "Play the Percentages", those Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin shows that were listed in "TV Guide" but we couldn't pick up those stations here, reruns of sitcoms that our stations didn't run. Our area's cable system was running 2 stations that were affiliates of each network. I guess someone considered this a "problem", so sometime in 1980 an FCC law was passed where network programming on stations other than local ones was "blacked out". In our case, there was a black electronic screen with a message in white letters that mentioned this law and that network programming on this station couldn't be seen on cable in this area. If nothing else, it was neat seeing this message being typed up on the air when it was first shown. A country station ran as the sound whenever this screen was shown. I actually tuned into this from 11AM-12 every morning for a while, because it was "different" - even though it was sign one that things were starting to go "wrong" with cable TV. Anyway, these stations still had neat programming that showed up on cable, and it was a shame when they were cut by our cable system, to keep just the local ones.

From the late-80's to early-90's, cable still had some heart left. With non-local stations gone, we had to rely on cable channels for the bulk of what we watched. TBS, without the W, now became a cable channel, but hey, they still ran "Sanford & Son" uncensored. Unfortunately, their wrestling show was done in an arena instead of that studio. During this time, I had my first cable TV crushes. Jeanetta Jones, Cynthia Kereluk - then later on, a little shoulder-length brown-haired gal named Dianne Barone killed my Jeanetta crush - after I had just completed my "6 Hours of Jeanetta Jones" videotape. Oh, well. It took one heck of a gal to do that, and I'm glad there's now a few clips of Dianne on YouTube. There was "On the Television", with parodies of TV shows. Reruns of "Tic Tac Dough" from after they stopped running it locally here. I saw the CVN / QVC changeover, and was disappointed that Colleen couldn't show up there.

From the 90's to the early 2000's cable still had a few good things. For a while, USA still had the reruns of game shows, along with 80's court shows (a far cry from the Judge Ghettotrailer shows of today), but then they were gone. The Weather Channel was still mostly all-weather, but those "specials" kept cropping up more and more. Nick at Night had some good stuff, but by this point they were appointing themselves one of said "guardians", and there was this annoying phony sincerity in the way they "talked" to us in their promos (Just tell us what's on, when it's on, and what's next. Nothing else, please!). My crushes during this time included Lisa Nelan of "Easy Does It", Lynne Russell, and Sara Moulton.

Then came the "original series", which became unoriginal in short order. Then MTV stopped having music videos. TV Land, originally a rerun channel, started having "original series". And The Weather Channel has these little weather forecast "shows", but that's it. The PC and the mutilation have been mentioned already so I won't go into that anymore here. And I'd hate to think how they'll spell Sci-Fi next.

But before that, buddies...

Excellent job on your post. For all the flack USA gets, it seems like there doing a good job now because they have a lot of original shows that seem to be popular even though I dont watch any of them.

Problem is high budgets with no imaginations. They seemed to have better imaginations with lower budgets.

Like I said, I do like some of the original series. Take AMC for example, a channel I used to love. I do enjoy The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad. They are 2 of the best shows on tv. The rest of the channel is garbage in my opinion though. They no longer air classics and the movies that they do air are all cut up. I like Justified on FX but the channel as a whole isn't as good as it was back in the old days when I used to watch it constantly. That's the same with USA. I watch more original series on there then anywhere but other than that, I don't watch the channel at any other times.

I also dont by "Thats what people want excuse." Thats what it is, an excuse. The executives and the head honchos program what THEY THINK we would like to watch. It never was like that.

You hate to say it but its almost like you have to create a dozen classic tv channels now because you figure the more classic channels, maybe they'll drive reality tv away. I mean you have 3 or 4 real classic channels now as opposed to, seeing reality tv on every broadcast and cable channel. Classic tv gets outnumbered, thats why the more classic channels, the more, maybe, they can compete with reality tv.

Well with

Hub-TV
Antenna TV
Me-TV
TV One


We don't need a clasic TV channel anymore

I also dont by "Thats what people want excuse." Thats what it is, an excuse. The executives and the head honchos program what THEY THINK we would like to watch. It never was like that.

You hate to say it but its almost like you have to create a dozen classic tv channels now because you figure the more classic channels, maybe they'll drive reality tv away. I mean you have 3 or 4 real classic channels now as opposed to, seeing reality tv on every broadcast and cable channel. Classic tv gets outnumbered, thats why the more classic channels, the more, maybe, they can compete with reality tv.

Frankly despite the constant gripes here and on other web message boards, I'm just not sure there is a huge demand for classic TV these days. I think most people watching TV these days aren't so interested in seeing shows from Pre-1990's anymore.

Frankly despite the constant gripes here and on other web message boards, I'm just not sure there is a huge demand for classic TV these days. I think most people watching TV these days aren't so interested in seeing shows from Pre-1990's anymore.


if that was true bonanza and gunsmoke wouldn't still be on tv land

if that was true bonanza and gunsmoke wouldn't still be on tv land

I'm not saying there is NO market, I'm just saying I'm not sure it's as huge as some would have you think. I don't really see much demand for a full scale network that only airs pre-1980's TV.


There is a reason after all that even TV Land, AMC and TMC abandoned classic programming.

Frankly despite the constant gripes here and on other web message boards, I'm just not sure there is a huge demand for classic TV these days. I think most people watching TV these days aren't so interested in seeing shows from Pre-1990's anymore.
I've noticed this on the web and in real life too. In recent years, it seems like not many people really care to rewatch pre-1990's, even pre-2000's TV shows. Even I took a "break" for a few years and didn't watch my favorite classics shows too much. I still have a love and appreciation and rewatch my favorite sitcoms from generations before. But I really do feel as if many people prefer to live ONLY in the "now."

Why do you think this is? Was it like this before? When it was the late '90s/early '00s, did many many people of that time only enjoy TV from pre-90s?

I've noticed this on the web and in real life too. In recent years, it seems like not many people really care to rewatch pre-1990's, even pre-2000's TV shows. Even I took a "break" for a few years and didn't watch my favorite classics shows too much. I still have a love and appreciation and rewatch my favorite sitcoms from generations before. But I really do feel as if many people prefer to live ONLY in the "now."

Why do you think this is? Was it like this before? When it was the late '90s/early '00s, did many many people of that time only enjoy TV from pre-90s?


Well the NANNY is a pre-2000 show that people still love

Well the NANNY is a pre-2000 show that people still love
I didn't say people don't still love older sitcoms. They just seem a lot less relevant in 2012 society. I love that there's more cable networks showing classics we haven't seen outside of the rare TV Land appearance. Cable is much better for classic TV than it was in 2004-2010.

I was talking about this in another thread. I was a 10 year old watching Married...With Children, All In The Family, The Honeymooners, Cheers, Seinfeld, Friends, and Murphy Brown. I can't picture a 10 year old in 2012 switching over to Antenna TV in between Tweets. Older TV doesn't get the recognition or respect like it used to. Did it lose it's appeal because of this ever changing world? I, along with a lot of my generation grew up with Nick at Nite and other daily syndicated reruns of the past. That doesn't seem to be the case with a lot of people these days.

As far as younger viewers go, even the stuff from the 90's looks ancient with Seinfeld talking on that huge cordless phone and watching a VCR and renting VHS tapes "Rochelle Rochelle" LOL. When I was a kid I still had no clue that my parents never had TV until they were adults. TVLand and Nick were great years ago with Jeannie, Adam 12, Emergency and so on. I gave up when I could not turn on TVLand without seeing Roseanne or The Nanny. I used to want the Cloo channel but now I see they mostly show one program all day long. I remember when USA had fun low budget shows and reruns now it is NCIS or Law and Order half the time unless their originals are on. I am happy to have MeTv where I can watch older shows and I hope they succeed without changing. I look forward to "Cannon" on my DVR every night.

It is also almost amazing how many older shows plots revolved around lack of a telephone. One cell phone would have ended the whole episode in minutes. I remember laughing at one show less because it was funny than it revolved around someone staying home afraid to leave because they were expecting an important phone call and kept waiting and waiting.

It is also almost amazing how many older shows plots revolved around lack of a telephone. One cell phone would have ended the whole episode in minutes. I remember laughing at one show less because it was funny than it revolved around someone staying home afraid to leave because they were expecting an important phone call and kept waiting and waiting.

That is funny. I've thought of that myself. In fact, there were even a few old movies which hinged almost entirely on phone calls. Conversely, though, I do occasionally find some modern fare, like crime shows, rather tiresome in how they rely so much on computers, with depictions of investigators constantly staring at screens and clicking away. The scenes are always directed for maximum dramatic effect, yet they invariably make me yawn and miss the vibrant days when legwork got the job done, a la Joe Friday, Mannix, Magnum and such.

The other night I happened to tape a show and I played it back. I watched the time of the length of commercials and found I had 4 minutes straight of ads. Later on another 4 minutes. Decades ago a minute here and minute there and the show lasted 27 minutes. You now can microwave a dinner in the ad time.
I look at it . What made Cable tv so lousy. Broadcast tv of the 1960 and 1970's was never this bad.

I mentioned this on another post somewhere, but I have a Recording of an episode of Kraft Suspense Theater that has its original commercials INTACT. Timing the show I found the show was 52 minutes long without the commercials. The Show went something like this: "Teaser" and Opening Theme/Credits. First Commercial Break. One Minute long, for Kraft. (The Sponsor had the lions share of the ad time). Act One. Second Commercial Break, One Minute long, also for Kraft. Act Two. Third Commercial Break, 90 seconds long. First Ad for Kraft. Second Ad Local (For 30 seconds all you saw was "Place Commercial Here"). Act Three. Fourth Commercial Break, one Minute Long, for Kraft. Act Four. Fifth Commercial Break, 90 seconds long, first Ad for Kraft, then another 30 second "Place Commercial Here" Tag. Epilog, Sixth Commercial Break, also for Kraft. Preview for Next Weeks Episode, duration one minute, then Closing Theme and Credits. All Commercials were informative, and none were presented in an aggressive, obnoxious manner. (One Commercial actually had a Recipe for a Chili Mac Dinner that I made and found to be quite tasty! :liplick: I posted that recipe in the "Chit Chat" portion of this board). :D

It's a far cry from what's tossed at you these days. :confused:

I didn't say people don't still love older sitcoms. They just seem a lot less relevant in 2012 society. I love that there's more cable networks showing classics we haven't seen outside of the rare TV Land appearance. Cable is much better for classic TV than it was in 2004-2010.

I was talking about this in another thread. I was a 10 year old watching Married...With Children, All In The Family, The Honeymooners, Cheers, Seinfeld, Friends, and Murphy Brown. I can't picture a 10 year old in 2012 switching over to Antenna TV in between Tweets. Older TV doesn't get the recognition or respect like it used to. Did it lose it's appeal because of this ever changing world? I, along with a lot of my generation grew up with Nick at Nite and other daily syndicated reruns of the past. That doesn't seem to be the case with a lot of people these days.


It lost it's appeal because local stations stopped airing older shows along with cable. My local CW station used to air Good Times and Sanford and Son in 2002, now they air shows that are older like

The Office
Friends
Seinfeld
Everybody Loves Raymond
The King of Queens



Looks like the local stations followed the direction of TBS and TV land

That is funny. I've thought of that myself. In fact, there were even a few old movies which hinged almost entirely on phone calls.

When I go and watch old movies, especially horror movies, based on phones, it's quaint in a weird way to see characters using the old rotary phones without caller ID. That's why movies today that uses phones aren't as exciting because you don't have that suspense element of who the mystery callers are and where they're calling from and then when you do find out, it really gets suspenseful. Makes you wonder how they could do something like Sorry, Wrong Number today. :D


Conversely, though, I do occasionally find some modern fare, like crime shows, rather tiresome in how they rely so much on computers, with depictions of investigators constantly staring at screens and clicking away. The scenes are always directed for maximum dramatic effect, yet they invariably make me yawn and miss the vibrant days when legwork got the job done, a la Joe Friday, Mannix, Magnum and such.

Not only that, the computers are super-fast with fancy graphics. While my computers are pretty speedy there are times when I'm sitting waiting for pages to load. :lol: I'd like to know what networks these crime fighters are using.

Originally Posted by Buffyboy323
I didn't say people don't still love older sitcoms. They just seem a lot less relevant in 2012 society.

One reason I think older tv shows may not do as well as one may think is, the average tv watcher is 30 and that takes you back to 1982. Most
re runned shows are from the the last 30 years. I for one like the old shows for I was born way before 1982.

I also think the reason why people dont even watch shows from the 90s and the early 2000s is because the networks have run those shows into the ground. I mean look at Seinfeld, Friends, The King of Queens, Everybody Loves Raymond etc. They seem to be on every day, all day. I mean the fact that there on hrs. at a time everyday, to me thinks they have them on way too much.

Advertising Age Reported today that Direct TV joined the ranks of Pay-TV Companies that have seen a reduction in the number subscribers, losing 52,000 of them. They said that number was offset by the money raised through higher fees.

We all know that can't last forever. :lol:

Advertising Age Reported today that Direct TV joined the ranks of Pay-TV Companies that have seen a reduction in the number subscribers, losing 52,000 of them. They said that number was offset by the money raised through higher fees.

We all know that can't last forever. :lol:


I;m sure the thunderstorms knocking out service played a role in the subscribers leaving also:lol:

I also think the reason why people dont even watch shows from the 90s and the early 2000s is because the networks have run those shows into the ground. I mean look at Seinfeld, Friends, The King of Queens, Everybody Loves Raymond etc. They seem to be on every day, all day. I mean the fact that there on hrs. at a time everyday, to me thinks they have them on way too much.
This is a very good point. I remember when every time I turned over to TVLand Roseanne was on... again. Flip back 2 hours later and guess what was on? I now own the complete series (bought all used) of all those you listed on DVD and watch them one episode at a time. I may wait a week or more to watch the next episode. It keeps the shows fresh with less cuts and no commercials. It is kind of a pain to watch a 22 minute sitcom then switch out to another DVD, but it like having your own network that you program. I got a bunch of shows and started each one with season 1 , episode 1 and keep the DVD sets I am currently watching in a separate stack on the shelf. It takes a little work but it is so worth it.

This is a very good point. I remember when every time I turned over to TVLand Roseanne was on... again. Flip back 2 hours later and guess what was on? I now own the complete series (bought all used) of all those you listed on DVD and watch them one episode at a time. I may wait a week or more to watch the next episode. It keeps the shows fresh with less cuts and no commercials. It is kind of a pain to watch a 22 minute sitcom then switch out to another DVD, but it like having your own network that you program. I got a bunch of shows and started each one with season 1 , episode 1 and keep the DVD sets I am currently watching in a separate stack on the shelf. It takes a little work but it is so worth it.

You hit the nail on the head! Many of the series that are on have been run past the point where they are BEYOND STALE, yet they continue to run them (and on Multiple Channels).:angryfire I don't mind the disk swapping at all (I have my Video Players (VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray) all within an arms reach from my chair, with a wire running along the room behind furniture to the TV Set). I call my Collection the Little ("Stinker") Network - "TV the way it used to be, ONLY BETTER!". :D

Each evening I'll take out a Set of disks to watch, tonight I plan to watch:

1. Annie Oakley (Homemade DVD)

2. Movie: Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney)

3. Star Trek: Enterprise

4. Waterfront (Homemade DVD)

5. Science Fiction Theater (Homemade DVD)

There still seems to be no change. Networks run marathons of the same shows over and over again. Perfect example, is this time of year. Where's the imagination, the scheduling of the holiday movies and shows? All I've seen are a bunch of tv movies and whatever Christmas Movies are not tv movies are ones that are on all the time. Home Alone and Elf come to mind.

There still seems to be no change. Networks run marathons of the same shows over and over again. Perfect example, is this time of year. Where's the imagination, the scheduling of the holiday movies and shows? All I've seen are a bunch of tv movies and whatever Christmas Movies are not tv movies are ones that are on all the time. Home Alone and Elf come to mind.

I have most of the Christmas Movies on DVD, and prefer to watch them that way. I also have my Holiday-Themed TV Episodes lined up to watch. All of them uncut and commercial-free. :D

There still seems to be no change. Networks run marathons of the same shows over and over again.
Since the only thing most channels are interested in nowadays is showing as many commercials as possible,these so called 'TV channels'(otherwise now known as Advertising Billboards) do that because it costs very little to just run a few of the same shows over and over again.Not to mention it takes very little effort. I don't think most channels even care if they are viewed or not anymore,as long as they can keep selling that advertising time.

Cable TV back then provided a variety of programing from classic to obscure TV shows to a variety of movies which was cool especially the late night scene which was far better than it is today.

Yes and it was ANALOG also and looked beautiful!!

All this flat digital trash doesnt do anything for me and I dont wanna see good shows IN DIGITAL format when I could see them better before cause they dont look as good...... They are flat and lifeless (No matter what you view them on)

I would rather not see them than see them like that!!

And analog didn't freeze up or break up audio wise.

For me was cable had a little of everything.

TBS had a good Weekday Morning line up of Little House & Jeannie & Bewitched & Eight is Enough.

USA was the place to be Weekday afternoons with Just The 10 Of Us Reruns. While Weekend Mornnings had Cartoon Express. Weekday afternoons had game shows.At times watched those strange USA UP All night movies.

Back to TBS late afternoons for The Flintstones & The Brady Bunch & reruns of The Monkee’s & Laverne & Shirley.

Nickelodeon had shows I enjoyed You Can’t do that On Television Double Dare finders keepers & Lassie etc.

NICK at NITE had all those great shows from the 1950’s & 1960’s & 1970’s with fantastic jingles and promos. Comfortable TV.

Back in the day cable had commercials that were funny and sometimes off beat. and some commercials came into pop culture.

Now everything is very serious.Every cable channel is the same shows running in Marathon form and edited so heavily. With long time & consistent serious commercials. Shows that do air in syndication are a lot of Dramas & Movies & reality based. I’m into classic family comedies and laughs & unexpected commercials that you can laugh and make fun of in pop culture world.

I'll echo everyone else's points: there was variety. Even as recently as the late-90s, each network offered something for a different genre or demographic. TBS was comedy, TNT drama, USA and TV Land a little of both, and you got obscure stuff as well as popular favorites, as well as shows from the 50s up to the 90s. I have plenty of memories staying up late to watch movies on Friday nights on TBS, TNT, or USA. That all changed around 1998 or '99.

Now, it's just marathons of heavily-edited shows from the last 15 years, with no breathing room in between commercials and the end credits, the latter of which rarely gets shown anyway. Not to say there haven't been good shows since 2000, I'd just like more variety from different eras. Yes, TV has always been a business, but over the years, it's catered more and more to the corporate side instead of the viewers.

Lots of great posts in this thread.

Here's the thing I liked about the way Television was back around 30 years ago. There was more of a variety of programs. You didn't have all of these marathons of the same TV shows over and over again. I have to admit that I am not a fan of TV marathons. I like a variety of different TV shows.

I'll echo everyone else's points: there was variety. Even as recently as the late-90s, each network offered something for a different genre or demographic. TBS was comedy, TNT drama, USA and TV Land a little of both, and you got obscure stuff as well as popular favorites, as well as shows from the 50s up to the 90s. I have plenty of memories staying up late to watch movies on Friday nights on TBS, TNT, or USA. That all changed around 1998 or '99.

Now, it's just marathons of heavily-edited shows from the last 15 years, with no breathing room in between commercials and the end credits, the latter of which rarely gets shown anyway. Not to say there haven't been good shows since 2000, I'd just like more variety from different eras. Yes, TV has always been a business, but over the years, it's catered more and more to the corporate side instead of the viewers.

Wow! I just now noticed your post. You just said pretty much what I had to say about marathons.

Most of the Cable TV channels were great throughout the 1980s & the 1990s on the full time basis because of the variety purpose format. It was also good during the 2000-2003 period.

I must say...variety and quality!

I got cable in 1991 and even then, it was a luxury. But as I see the stations, this is how they were...

2-MTV: Rarely watched, but showed music videos.
3-WKYC: Cleveland's NBC Affiliate.
4-Prevue Channel (Later WOIO): Showed what was on next.
5-WEWS: Cleveland's ABC Affiliate.
6-ESPN: A Sports Station.
7-CNN: A News Station.
8-WJW: Cleveland's CBS (Later FOX) Affiliate.
9-WGN: A Station in Chicago that showed a variety of shows.
10-BET: Rarely watched, but was for African-American audience.
11-USA: Cartoons, Game Shows, and Sitcoms...this station was the ****!
12-CNN/HN: Another News Station.
13-Family Channel: It was like USA, but more for families.
14-Showtime: Premium Movie Station...rarely watched!
15-HBO: Premium Movie Station...rarely watched!
16-Lifetime: A TV Station for Women.
17-TBS: Turner's Station that showed cartoons, movies, and sitcoms!
18-VH1: More adult version of MTV...but I watched this station more.
19-WOIO (Later Prevue Channel): Cleveland's FOX (Later CBS) Affiliate. I liked this station when it was a FOX Affiliate!
20-The Movie Channel: Premium Movie Station...rarely watched.
21-TNN: Once a Country Station, now it's a Station for Men.
22-Cinemax: Premium Movie Station...rarely watched!
23-WAKC: Now Defunct Akron ABC Affiliate.
24-The Discovery Channel: Self-Explanatory.
25-WVIZ: Cleveland's PBS Affiliate.
26-A&E: Mostly watched because of Biography.
27-Bravo/The Travel Channel: I think both station separated after the years....
28-CNBC: Another News Station.
29-AMC: Station that played classic movies before and during The Hays Code.
30-The Weather Channel: A Weather Station...and I liked it!
31-Nickelodeon: This WAS my station...lots of creativity back then!
32-The Disney Channel: A Premium Channel that showed Disney shows and other cartoons, films, and concerts!
33-Comedy Central: A Premium Channel that showed comedy shows!
34-Sports Channel: A Sports Channel...rarely watched!
35-A Cleveland Station...I wish I knew the name.
36-C Span:Government News Station!
37-C Span 2: Same as C Span!
38-Telemundo: Spanish-Speaking Station.
39-CMT: Country Music Station.
40-Promotion Station: Showed promotions and played WMJI, Cleveland's Oldies Station.
41-PPV: Didn't buy anything from this!
42-PPV: Same!
43-WUAB: Cleveland Independent (Later UPN/WB Affiliate, Now CW Affiliate)...another station I used to enjoy.
44-TNT: Station that played classic films and cartoons.
45-Another Cleveland Station...I wish I knew the name!
46-SCOLA: Foreign Station.
47-A PBS Station...I wish I knew that name as well!
48-TLC: A Station that used to teach you things!
49-WEAO: Akron's PBS Affiliate.
50-Some Station!
51-Some Station!
52-Some Station!
53-Some Station!
54-Some Station!
55-WBNX: Cleveland Independent Station, a station that's a TRUE UHF Story!
56-TBN: Evangelical Station!
57-EWTN: Catholic Station!
58-I think this station became The Travel Channel.
59-I think this station became CMT one FOX News became a Station!
60-Sci-Fi: A station that came later.
61-HSN: Shop at Home!
62-QVC: Shop at Home!
63-Became a station.
64-E!: Entertainment!
65-Univision: Another Spanish Station.
66-Much Music: Canada's MTV.
67-History Channel: Never watched it.
68-75: There may have been some stations there.
76-Cartoon Network: I wish I had that station in the 90's.

There was also Starz, GSN, TV Land, and Encore at that time...but almost all the stations in the 90's kept their identity and didn't care about money that much...but once these stations became corporate they said "**** the people, let's follow the money"!

channels i remember used to be awsome were:
nick at night
nickelodeon
tv land
the disney channel
cartoon network is just crap now!!
wgn
usa channel they used to show liked super mario brothers cartoon & liked the real ghost busters carton & they even showed muppet babies!!
tbs i remmeber they used to show saved by the bell & california dreams i remember they used to show classic cartoons liked captian Planet!
tnt i remember they used to show kung fu & kung fu legend counties!!
tnn
up tv
pax tv
abc family they used to show step by step & family matters!!

If I could...I'd like to have the Superstations WGN and TBS be one of the many Superstation Stations and have the brand.

And if I had the $ and Ernest Angely passes-away (he's 97 as we speak), I'd like to make WBNX a Superstation Channel. So stations that are Independent would be part of the Superstation concept.

I have a feeling that the Superstation will come-back...but this time will have first-run shows and the city's home teams.

I'm gonna make a schedule for WBNX Superstation...it's like WGN and TBS...but in Cleveland.

And analog didn't freeze up or break up audio wise.Nope.... Analog is beautiful in every way :)

Amen to that