Fred wanted CABLE TV in 1973????

[TVFactFan]

I never knew cAble tv was around in 1973. In the episode-Lamont gone African, Fred askes Lamont to get him cable tv. I thought cable did not come out until the late 1970's. How many cable channels could there have been in 1973?-LOL

[Mr. Television]

Originally posted by Sitcom Analyzer
I never knew cAble tv was around in 1973. In the episode-Lamont gone African, Fred askes Lamont to get him cable tv. I thought cable did not come out until the late 1970's. How many cable channels could there have been in 1973?-LOL

We had cable tv in the mid 1970's but it was mostly the local channels. They came in clearer with cable than the antennas. I think the first national cable network we got was WTBS but it wasn't called that then.

[TVFactFan]

Originally posted by mr roper
We had cable tv in the mid 1970's but it was mostly the local channels. They came in clearer with cable than the antennas. I think the first national cable network we got was WTBS but it wasn't called that then.

TBS wasn't around until the 80's

[marvin g]

Cable wasn't much in my area. It was a movie channel with some special features. At late nite they used to show porn but it was scrambled with no sound BUT who cared!!!!

[mooseface]

Originally posted by marvin g
Cable wasn't much in my area. It was a movie channel with some special features. At late nite they used to show porn but it was scrambled with no sound BUT who cared!!!!

As a fellow Chicagoan, I know exactly what you're talking about.
It was called "ONTV" - which took over Channel 44 late at night in the late 70s & early 80s.

No one I knew actually "subscribed" to it per se, but a lot of our parents had pirate decoder boxes that worked quite well!

[Mr. Television]

Originally posted by Sitcom Analyzer
TBS wasn't around until the 80's

TBS went national in 1976 and in NC we had TBS and HBO by 1978. We still only had about 12 channels. The majority of the rest of the cable channels we got came in the early 80's.

[TVFactFan]

Originally posted by mr roper
TBS went national in 1976 and in NC we had TBS and HBO by 1978. We still only had about 12 channels. The majority of the rest of the cable channels we got came in the early 80's.

But Fred was saying he wanted cable like he had the selection of cable channels we have now-LOL It couldn;t have been that many cable channels in 1973

[Mr. Television]

Originally posted by Sitcom Analyzer
But Fred was saying he wanted cable like he had the selection of cable channels we have now-LOL It couldn;t have been that many cable channels in 1973

More than likely he would have gotten clearer local channels. A lot of the channels with antennas were snowy.

[Tyler77]

Cable TV has evolved a long way since it was first introduced in the early 70's.. We lived in a mountainous area that could not get any reception from conventional antennas because of the geographical interfernce. "Cable" was received through crude transmittors, or relays, through satellites and was limited to local stations that had a strong reception otherwise. We had the local channels like WCBS, WABC, and HBO (back then it played the same two movies, one after another, in one week intervals), along with PRISM (sports), Pinwheel (eventually Nickelodeon), Playboy, and some Spanish stations that were notorious for playing roller derby games most of the time! So, yes, Fred could conceivably have cable, but remember it was very crude back then (a rainstorm could disrupt power for days on end).

[TVFactFan]

Originally posted by Tyler77
Cable TV has evolved a long way since it was first introduced in the early 70's.. We lived in a mountainous area that could not get any reception from conventional antennas because of the geographical interfernce. "Cable" was received through crude transmittors, or relays, through satellites and was limited to local stations that had a strong reception otherwise. We had the local channels like WCBS, WABC, and HBO (back then it played the same two movies, one after another, in one week intervals), along with PRISM (sports), Pinwheel (eventually Nickelodeon), Playboy, and some Spanish stations that were notorious for playing roller derby games most of the time! So, yes, Fred could conceivably have cable, but remember it was very crude back then (a rainstorm could disrupt power for days on end).

Prism was really around in the early 70"s????

[Mr. Television]

Originally posted by mr roper
More than likely he would have gotten clearer local channels. A lot of the channels with antennas were snowy.

We also got local channels that were further away like in Raleigh and Durham that we couldn't have got without cable.

[marvin g]

mooseface: Do you remember the other cable station Spectrum? It was similiar to OnTV.

[Flash72]

I can remember getting 2-13 on cable around 1976 or so; the two channels I recall watching most were TBS and WGN. TBS sticks out the most, watching such shows as "I Love Lucy," "Perry Mason," "Space Giants," and the "Flintstones."

[TVFactFan]

Originally posted by Flash72
I can remember getting 2-13 on cable around 1976 or so; the two channels I recall watching most were TBS and WGN. TBS sticks out the most, watching such shows as "I Love Lucy," "Perry Mason," "Space Giants," and the "Flintstones."

Had no idea TBS was around over 27 years.

[glenny]

Fred also wanted cable tv in the episode "The TV Addict." He asked Lamont to get cable so he could watch the roller derby "on that spanish station." Fred msut have wanted it to get better reception.