to accompany Woops thread because I started this whole post and then read his subject line. 

I didn't want my rant to go to waste.


TVLAND....

When it started it was a network for the tv lover showing rarely seen classics like Donna Reed, My Three Sons, Dennis the Menace, Patty Duke and Leave it to Beaver (fortunately they still air beaver).  Now they air shows you can find on TBS,  WGN, OXYGN, BET and TV ONE like Roseanne (tho I love Roseanne, Home Improvement, Fresh Prince, Cosby, Full House and Family Matters... only two of these series I find entertaining and I've already named one.

Most recently tho- the most vile practice of all... they stopped round the clock programming. Now TV Land. The home for lovers of TV shows.... airs infomercials for a couple of hours in the wee early hours of the morning... why?  WHY?!??!?!  I'm a near insomniac....meaning I don't sleep much and my sleep is thoroughly dependent upon what's on TV... I cannot sleep to crap.

Comedy Central...but CC was a disappointment from the start.

Great programs:

The Daily Show
The Colbert Report
South Park
Reno 911

Everything else is rubbish.  There's 80 years of comedy to choose from and what do they choose?  Katt Williams, Lisa Lamponelli, and Larry the Cable Guy. 

Where are Groucho Marx, Milton Berle, and George Carlin?  What about Lenny Bruce?  You could learn a lot from Lenny!
::)

Three letters: MTV  :P

to accompany Woops thread because I started this whole post and then read his subject line. 

I didn't want my rant to go to waste.


TVLAND....

When it started it was a network for the tv lover showing rarely seen classics like Donna Reed, My Three Sons, Dennis the Menace, Patty Duke and Leave it to Beaver (fortunately they still air beaver).  Now they air shows you can find on TBS,  WGN, OXYGN, BET and TV ONE like Roseanne (tho I love Roseanne, Home Improvement, Fresh Prince, Cosby, Full House and Family Matters... only two of these series I find entertaining and I've already named one.

Most recently tho- the most vile practice of all... they stopped round the clock programming. Now TV Land. The home for lovers of TV shows.... airs infomercials for a couple of hours in the wee early hours of the morning... why?  WHY?!??!?!   I'm a near insomniac....meaning I don't sleep much and my sleep is thoroughly dependent upon what's on TV... I cannot sleep to crap.



I agree with your assessment.  I thought the whole point of the network was to give us shows we couldn't get anymore....

Guess I was wrong...again  ::)

Three letters: MTV  :P


And it's sister network, VH1.

And over the air, it has to be PBS.

I was a huge PBS fan many years ago.  Every Tuesday night, I would be watching Nova.  And after school, it was Zoom and Electric Company.  And I almost never missed a Mark Russell special.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of5sLO9rVLs

Now it is little more then endless fund drives, and people whining about everything (or a show they have run once a month for the last 20 years).  

Teletoon Retro .. Canada's version of Cartoon Network that airs only classic cartoons, but they show way too much Warner Brothers cartoons, and do so because they can.  How? Very simple ...

The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show
Merrie Melodies
The Road Runner Show
The Porky Pig Show

all 4 show the same cartoons, but because they have different titles, they are 4 separate shows

Looney Tunes don't air in the US...  :P

Though on a Cartoon Network New Years marathon and an upcoming Chuck Jones retrospect on TCM

And it's sister network, VH1.

And over the air, it has to be PBS.

I was a huge PBS fan many years ago.  Every Tuesday night, I would be watching Nova.  And after school, it was Zoom and Electric Company.  And I almost never missed a Mark Russell special.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of5sLO9rVLs

Now it is little more then endless fund drives, and people whining about everything (or a show they have run once a month for the last 20 years).  


I will not listen to fudging fund drives.  If there's one thing I hate in broadcasting it's fund drives.  I have nothing against donating to PBS or NPR (provided the station isn't complete crap, like the one down the road from me), but the whole ra-ra nag-nag presentation makes me wanna stick knitting needles in my eardrums!  There is one dreadful week of the year in which I must get on the air and pitch for donations to my program in our station's fund drive.  Avant garde classical/experimental music is never draws the big bucks like jazz or polka.  If I was doing the same program in NYC, instead of up here in the sticks, I could prolly bring in ten grand, but oh well...
::)

I will not listen to fudging fund drives.  If there's one thing I hate in broadcasting it's fund drives.  I have nothing against donating to PBS or NPR (provided the station isn't complete crap, like the one down the road from me), but the whole ra-ra nag-nag presentation makes me wanna stick knitting needles in my eardrums!  There is one dreadful week of the year in which I must get on the air and pitch for donations to my program in our station's fund drive.  Avant garde classical/experimental music is never draws the big bucks like jazz or polka.  If I was doing the same program in NYC, instead of up here in the sticks, I could prolly bring in ten grand, but oh well...
::)


I think what bothers me the most is the huge amount of money some of those programs generate.

If "Non-Profit Corporations", like the "Children's Television Workshop" would wrap the huge amount of money they make from things like Sesame Street merchandising to keeping PBS free, they could probably replace all the fund drives.  SS is a HUGE money maker.  But still I have to listen to them whine that they need my money "to keep this fine program on the air".

And not just SS, Barney (another huge moneymaker), Clifford The Big Red Dog, Curious George, Arthur, Bob The Builder, and the list goes on and on.  Companies making huge profits from "Merchandising", but trying to put a guilt trip on me to pay these people even more money.

PBS nowadays is a shadow of it's former self.  I have not watched Nova in years, prefering to watch a show on History or Discovery.

Hey, maybe that approach will work for me.

OK, the Mushroom Internet Bill is due again.  So please,everybody send in money to keep this fine Internet Persona on the net.  After all, where else will you find such fine messages?  And for every donation of $5 or more, you will get a Mushroom ballpoint pen.  For every donation of $15 or more, you will get a picture of Mushroom riding The Bomb.

But the biggest gift is for those that want to be lifetime or corporate sponsors of Mushroom.  If you donate $1,000, you will get a Video Tape or DVD copy of "Maxwell Smart Vs. Mushroom".  This is a special limited edition show, featuring the finest debates of Maxwell and Mushroom.  These were re-enacted in a special show last year, featuring GWBush2004 voicing Maxwell's comments, while Don Carlos gives voice to Mushroom's comments.

And every person that donates will get a signed copy of "Hit Me With Your Pet Shark".

If NPR is making money pimping Barney, well, that's just a goddammed disgrace and cryin' shame!  I don't know how those clowns can look at themselves in the mirror in the morning.

I could do a lot to improve my local affiliate's classical music programming--but of course they don't want it improved.  The two smarmy yuppies in charge of that department are content to keep classical music "classical--easy listening."  I offered to do an internship for them, but specified I would not be fetching bagels and coffee for the fund drive.  Never heard from the f**kers again!
8-P

The History Channel- I vented on this a little bit before but I really wonder why they even bother to call themselves that anymore.  This network was alright in the late 90s when it had um...you know... actual historical shows about American and world leaders, past cultures, and events.  Not that these were all too in-depth but they entertained me. Hell, I even tolerated Hitler doc after Hitler doc for weeks on end, but How the Earth Was Made, Modern Marvels, and that “Lumberjack showâ€� give me a break :-*.

TV Land- When this started as Nick at Night you got Get Smart, The Avengers (the 60s U.K. version of Get Smart), Hillbillies+ GA, All in the Fam, and Andy G (but I never liked that too much).  The biggest change occurred when it became an all day network and instead of the shows mentioned above it ran Bonanza and Gun Smoke all day long.  When they started playing 80s shows at night I wasn’t too upset because I love Cheers ;D, but when I saw Home Improvement and Full House…I threw in the towel. 

Comdey Central-I’ve been a loyal true blue South Park honk ever since it first aired when I was in 7th grade.  However, I find myself residing in the Maxwellsmart camp, the “I don’t want to watch Mad TV and lousy stand up comedy specials all damn dayâ€� camp! I wish they would drag out those N.R.F.PT.Ps SNL years(not for me b/c I’ve been collecting the DVDs but I just feel that this generation of stay at home slobs should at least have well written comedy to blob out in front of)  but I might as well be asking for the moon :-\\.

HBO- I don’t think I can ever forgive them for ending Deadwood…that is all :\'(. 

Three letters: MTV  :P


Three more letters.....YUP! :P

VH1 Classics, though I still watch it and recently got it a few months ago...

1. Music videos pushed into the night/morning hours and most now include ring tone ad pop-ups. Not to mention same videos being overplayed and very selected (ie certain amount from artists).


2. Too much specials ("Classic Albums" overplay)  and mostly junk from regular VH1. Hardly anything from the MTV/VH1 vaults, which would've been much better. I read they once aired "Club MTV", so why not take full advantage of the older programming..




3. '90's alternative videos are shown and a few hard rock videos , but not much of anything else. Not talking about Color Me Bad, but many past artists continued to release hits in the decade. Also up to the mid 1990's. If later, have to be relevant.

4. Sell  old reality shows and repeats to the Reality Show Network


MTV2... 'nuff said

I'm guessing I'm the only one who ever watches it here, but CMT.  (Country Music Television)
It's now gone the way of MTV and almost never plays music videos anymore!  It's always stupid movies or shows like that wife trading show or something.  I like all kinds of music, but sometimes it's nice to see a video of a song you like on the radio and they never do it anymore!!

Also, I agree with AMC.  I remember watching Nick Clooney (George's Dad) when he would introduce the movies, real classics.  Now they're showing movies that will never be classics!

Another channel is AMC, which is trying to be a poorman's Showtime.


Yeah, I remember when AMC used to play good movies like "My Bodyguard" and "Jaws."  Now, no more good movies.  What happened?

Yeah, I remember when AMC used to play good movies like "My Bodyguard" and "Jaws."   Now, no more good movies.  What happened?


AMC used to show "My Bodyguard"?

I'd like to see that one again.  Christopher Makepeace rocks!

Yeah, I remember when AMC used to play good movies like "My Bodyguard" and "Jaws."   Now, no more good movies.  What happened?


Wow, My Bodyguard.

I remember seeing that at a double feature, along with Turk 182.

Maybe what we need is an "Obscure Movie Network".

THE WEATHER CHANNEL.

In the '90s, all they would show is the weather, with various methods such as radars, travel outlooks, 5-day forecasts, and seasonal features, plus occassional segments such as The Weather Classroom. It's still an OK network, especially on weekdays, but they add more and more original series that began with Storm Stories. Also, the Local Forecast Music isn't as good as it was in the '80s/'90s (with its rich Quiet Storm/Jazz fusion).

NBC

The Today Show is 4 hours long (Remember when it was 2 in the '90s!) That really cut back on daytime programming. Also, with ER ending, this will leave this network sour without any good classics except for some lingering Law & Order shows. The sitcoms on Thursday aren't that good and has been in 4th place among major networks for many years now. NBC during Weekend Afternoons is absolutely HORRIBLE. Much of the early afternoon is just infomercials, and they also show LOUSY, Second-rate sports (is this ESPN2?) that only a select few are interested in (though Golf is OK), with only Hockey the only major sport they show during the winter, NO BASEBALL, NO BASKETBALL, though the Sunday Night Football game is OK. They have pretty much abandoned kid-friendly Saturday Morning programming as well. And there is only one Soap Opera remaining, Days Of Our Lives, whose future is in doubt.

American Movie Classics- They used to be like Turner Classic Movies....Real classics,uncut...
Now............What is their definition of classic ?..............It sure isn't mine..................
Nick at Nite.....Used to have classic TV shows now....George Lopez, Family Matters,Home Improvement....I never watched these when they first aired.....................

Everyone's gonna say MTV, that's nothing new (people have said that for 10 years now), but I agree.

Lifetime - since they dumped Unsolved Mysteries reruns (the good Robert Stack episodes, especially the late '80s/early 90s classic segments). I think that was in 2006.

VH1 - since they stopped a focus on music related programming (i.e. Behind the Music) and became a lifestyle and reality show channel (how many times do we need to see I Love Money or Bret Michaels trying to find a girlfriend). ;D Like around 2003.

A&E - I miss when they did biographies on a regular basis.


I basically think alot of these "classic" shows alot of us like (from the 80s and 90s and sometimes earlier) are sadly getting old enough now, where they're being pushed off their flagship network and onto specialty channels. So that means basic cable sucks more and more.

TVTropolis (one of Canada's versions of TV Land) has gone quite sour in the last little while.  It used to be known as Prime, and they aired older shows from the 70s/80s like Who's the Boss, M*A*S*H, All in the Family, Taxi, Newhart, and Barney Miller.  When it became TVTropolis, they still aired alot of classic shows

Now a majority of what they show is Seinfeld, Family Guy and alot of stupid lists shows chronicling top 10 stupid things no one cares about (ie:  Top 10 bad girls in a drama series who never slept with their brother, Top 10 geeks in comedy shows who weren't geeky in real life), or "whatever happened to that child star who became a pot smoking crack whore?"

I also agree with AMC and would like to add Nickolodeon. I remember when I could watch old sitcoms on that network which were favorites of mine on their "Nick At Nite" line-up. Shows like 'The Donna Reed Show' and more obscure shows like 'I Married Joan' and 'The Joey Bishop Show'. During the earlier part of the day the network aired more "recent" shows like 'Phyllis' and 'Laverne and Shirley'. Now the network has very little variety and rerun shows that are no older than 10 to 15 years old. The majority of their programming is geared toward children now.