What made the cable stations so great?

[mets82]

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?

[Jaqui-Michel]

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.

[factsoflife]

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.

[jimpickens]

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.

[TV_on_the_Porch]

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.

[Regulus]

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! ). 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) and WITHOUT COMMERCIALS! 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), WAS GETTING CABLE! 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!!! 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 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. 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 INFURIATED 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!!!

[Mr. Television]

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.

[broadmoor]

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.

[factsoflife]

Originally Posted by broadmoor

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.

[UMFaninMD]

Originally Posted by broadmoor

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.

[mets82]

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?

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by mets82

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.

[Tubehead]

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.

[Regulus]

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". 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".

[gidgetgrape]

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.