Once good cable TV channels that now suck

[pokerfan]

http://www.builtonfacts.com/2008/06/29/tv-decay

The author ha some good examples:

MTV and VH1 used to broadcast music, now it's mostly reality programs and game shows.

TLC now airs shows about babies, fashion and wedding dresses.

AMC, is broadcasting "classics" such as Missing in Action 2 and Deathwish 3.

History airs reality crap like Ice Road Truckers

Other examples?

[Kutjara]

1. Doesn't "A&E" stand for "Arts & Entertainment?"

I seem to remember it used to show classical concerts and biographies of artists. Now it's the "all serial killer, all the time" channel.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. And crappy reality shows.

I think the straw broke when they aired "Growing Up Gotti."

How exactly that related to either the arts or entertainment, I have no clue.

[pokerfan]

9. From wiki

Between 2003 and 2007, the channel gradually retired several long-running series, moving Murder, She Wrote and Agatha Christie's Poirot to The Biography Channel and cancelling Breakfast with the Arts, in favor of reality programming such as Dog The Bounty Hunter, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, Growing Up Gotti, Family Plots, Airline, Inked, King of Cars, and Criss Angel Mindfreak. In addition, A&E has garnered favorable notice for "true-crime" documentary series such as Cold Case Files, American Justice, City Confidential, Investigative Reports, and The First 48. The station has also cut back on its broadcasts of Biography from originally twice daily to weekend mornings only.<3> Notably, the station also retired its long-held slogan "Time Well Spent." The changes are apparently an attempt to lure higher ratings, as reality programs have done for other stations. However, the changes have been criticized as causing A&E to become an aberration of its original focus on fine arts programming.

[fudge stripe cookays]

13. I love City Confidential,

but I haven't seen it since last year. The rest of it sucks. :cry:

[thatsrightimirish]

115. i liked that show too

I heard its on the biography channel but i don't get that

[Tommy_Carcetti]

14. Don't get me started on Gene Simmons.

That no talent ass clown is one celebrity I'd love to see thrown into exile on a desert island forever. He looks like Mr. Potato Head sans the charm.

[newmajority]

110. Actually "Family Jewels " is far more entertaining than any Kiss album since....

..whatever the one BEFORE "Dynasty" was.

[CreekDog]

54. I think they suck because they stopped airing "Newsradio"

but that's just me. it was a damned funny and smart show. and one of the few sitcoms they ever showed.

[LanternWaste]

138. From 'Breakfast with the Arts' to 'Dog: The bounty Hunter...

From 'Breakfast with the Arts' to 'Dog: The bounty Hunter'.

Evidence that popular taste is not the equivalent of good taste... <sigh>

[Lydia Leftcoast]

153. Or that no one is interested in presenting the masses with good taste options

:grr:

[Rambis]

139. Well said!

I used to watch Mystery and other BBC/ public television shows on there all the time. It is now a cesspit of "reality"- I don't know what real is I guess.

[Danger Mouse]

7. well, A&E always used to be 50% crap...i guess they decided to up it to 100%

[yellowdogintexas]

26. my mom was an A & E junkie when she first got her satellite dish

well, she's been gone 4 years she would so totally hate hate hate it.

[kentauros]

91. They would also air two of my favorite mystery-type shows:

Lovejoy

and

Sherlock Holmes (as played by Jeremy Brett, the best Sherlock Holmes ever!!!) :D

[Lydia Leftcoast]

105. You can get three seasons of Lovejoy on DVD, and it's even Region 1

:-)

[Danger Mouse]

3. yeah, WTF happened to those channels? it's like they're not even trying anymore.

[recoveringdittohed]

4. CNN Headline News

Used to broadcast headline news 24/7. Now shows junk like Glenn Beck & Nancy Grace.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

11. I remember back when Headline News was good

:00/:30--News
:15/:45--Business
:20/:50--Sports
:25/:55--Entertainment

That was what was on all the time. That was always what was on all the time. Not Glenn Beck thinking he is funny but actually being quite lame. Not "Breaking Developments" on Nancy Grace about either some celebrity scandal or some obscure, weird murder case that as sad as it was, has no bearing on anyone lives other than those directly involved.

It was straight news. And it was good. It was good if there was nothing on, you could always just watch Headline News and know what was going on in the world.

I think once Ted Turner sold CNN, they bastardized everything so bad that it is virtually unrecognizable anymore, especially Headline News.

[kentauros]

88. Seems like I've read that Turner has regretted selling it, and for those same reasons.

So, here's some clips from CNN to reminisce by :P

Fully Comply

[pokerfan]

12. I have a hugh beef with Headline News

It used to be one place where you could get the current news any time. When I heard that Carlin had died, it was airing some commentary rerun (Glen Beck I think was eulogizing Tim Russert) along with all of the other "news" channels.

[flvegan]

5. Cinemax is like, 75% less nudity.

[KitchenWitch]

8. And there is a problem with that?

:P

[ghostsofgiants]

44. He said less, not more.

[KitchenWitch]

48. d'oh!

:dunce:

[Skittles]

62. it's no longer "Skinemax" ?

:D

[Danger Mouse]

6. i would add that Charles Bronson was in exactly ONE good movie, and only ONE.

and it is this one:

[pokerfan]

15. You only say that

Because you haven't seen Death Wish V: The Face of Death!

[Danger Mouse]

19. And who could forget Death Wish IV?

[TheMightyFavog]

34. Hello?

The Magnificent Seven? The Dirty Dozen?

[Danger Mouse]

40. Those were okay. But nothing beats "Once Upon a Time.' Nothing.

[Frank Cannon]

67. The hell you say

The Great Escape and The Dirty Dozen are two of my favorite movies of all time.

[Frank Cannon]

68. The hell you say

The Great Escape and The Dirty Dozen are two of my favorite movies of all time.

[EstimatedProphet]

72. The Dirty Dozen was a good movie

[kentauros]

89. What about "The Great Escape" ?

:D

[CBGLuthier]

98. You are correct, that is a truly great film

However don't forget The Great Escape.

Also he starred in a comedy called From Noon till Three that is pretty good.

[Lethe]

113. he was in the House of Wax with Vincent Price

not a masterpiece, but it was ok

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

141. That is a good one.

You know, according to legend, Leone wanted to cast Eastwood, Wallach, and Van Cleef as those three gunmen, but couldn't arrange it.

[GOPisEvil]

10. AMC, since they started with the commercials.

Turner Classic Movies doesn't interrupt its movies with commercials. AMC used to be that way. AMC got me through 9/11 by showing movies. I remember watching The Searchers that day.

[LostInAnomie]

16. MTV2

In the very beginning is was a great place to watch the videos of up and comers before they made it big. The VJ's were really knowledgeable about music, and had a lot of insight into influences. Best of all, it was music 24/7. It didn't even have commercials.

Now, it is nothing but shit. Dumb ass reality shows, idiotic comedy programs, and a ton of other unwatchable vomit. Even their "music programs" are so watered down with ridiculously long commercial breaks, and gratuitous self promotion, that you might get 6 videos in an hour (if you're lucky).

[CatholicEdHead]

17. The Weather Channel, SciFI Channel

Outside of BSG, the SciFi Channel is dead to me.

The Weather Channel is less and less about weather and need to get back to their roots, all weather all the time. Their loyal base are weather nuts.

[Danger Mouse]

23. I used to be a weather nut. Back in the day, they were great for it.

What do they show now?

[OmahaBlueDog]

25. I have this strange notion about the Weather Channel

I think it sould broadcast current US weather.

OK -- sure -- first day of hurricane season, maybe a special on Katrina, Andrew, et. al. is in order. The other night, I wanted weather for my AM flight; they were running a story on the weather at the evacuation at Dunkirk. 69 year old weather isn't helping me.

[Skittles]

64. I watched that Dunkirk stuff

I'm always looking to see if I see my grandfather in there - that story is pretty good - basically, the weather cooperating was a huge factor in the success of the evacuation.....I call google the weather for my flights :D

[CreekDog]

55. internet is where the weather buffs have been for over a decade now

:shrug:

[PVnRT]

146. The Sci-Fi channel is a fucking joke now

It needs to go away.

[XemaSab]

18. I am SOOO burned out on HGTV

The Discovery Channel, History, and TLC used to be almost all good stuff, and now it's almost all crap. x(

[asthmaticeog]

27. HG really only has the one show.

You know, the one where the hip-seeming but actually quite vapid people remodel someone's dwelling.

[XemaSab]

30. That's the only tolerable show on the whole network

The others: crap. x(

[Blue Gardener]

118. Gardening by the Yard

With Paul James the Gardener Guy is a great show for gardeners. I hate all the home design crap though.

[kwassa]

46. You just don't appreciate good house porn.

[Liberalynn]

128. It ticks me off that HGTV shows

"Designed to Sell," every night. I don't even like that show.

I do confess I am still a "House Hunters" fan though, and I am addicted to "Carter Can," and "Over Your Head," because they provide me with some nice eye candy. ;)

Carter "can" with me any day and so can Eric Stromer! :evilgrin: O8) :rofl:

[XemaSab]

136. That's the hilarious thing about that channel: it's an endless parade of hunky guys

There are like, two guys on the whole channel who aren't totally, ridiculously hunky. :P

[Liberalynn]

142. This is true.

:rofl: Maybe that is my problem with "Designed to Sell." I don't find "Clive" particularly "hunky!" ;)

They are just missing Andrew Dann Jumbo too. :rofl:

[XemaSab]

143. My mom has the BIGGEST crush on the dude from Color Splash

It's must-see TV in our house. :P

[Liberalynn]

158. David,

the winner of "Design Star," the first year. Yeah, I like him too.

I also do like Vern Yip's show, "Deserving Design!"

[KamaAina]

20. TV Land

called out in the article for broadcasting reality shows (shameless ripoffs of other reality shows, I might add), it fills up most of the rest of its airtime by showing black-and-white stuff like the Beverly Hillbillies that John McCain watched before he reached middle age. :boring:

[meegbear]

70. Big Time!

I used to love that channel, now I despise it.

[CBGLuthier]

97. agree and disagree

Hillbillies is gold compared to the reality shit they have started doing. That and airing badly edited movies.

[Liberalynn]

127. I agree I miss some of the old comedies and wish there was still

a place to watch favorite episodes without having to buy entire DVD sets.

[devilgrrl]

21. Fuckin' CNN. Back in the 80's they used to broadcast news.

:mad:

[stuntcat]

86. CNN = Joke

If I saw some of their newspeople in person I'd want to slap them or vomit on them :puke:

[KamaAina]

22. Bravo

peaked when the Queer Eye gang BBQ'd that poor guy's rug. :rofl: Hasn't been the same since.

[Lady Effingbroke]

24. All of them.

Every single one.

[Ahpook]

28. They have all turned to shit if you ask me:)

If the chatter box is on, it's at TCM.

The news is gone, unless Britney sucks off someone. All the reality BS is annoying. Sci-Fi only plays flicks about giant monsters killing women with bigger tits. History Channel rewrites it as they go.

It's getting harder and harder to justify paying those dollars for one channel that is worth watching.

I may just turn in the cable. I have a nice collection of movies, so fuck em:)

[stuntcat]

87. yeah TCM!

There are a couple of channels that show movies, I watch something on TCM every week. This morning they showed Wuthering Heights but I forgot and missed it, now I might order a used dvd of it.

[CBGLuthier]

134. Best channel ever

They too have made some changes as their viewers age but so far no problem. I see they are bringing Elvis Mitchell aboard to do some interviews and I like the shlocky movies they run late on Friday night. I even recorded Wicked, Wicked a few weeks ago and I never thought I would see that "gem" again.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

154. TCM is the only cable channel that has stuck with its original format

and doesn't treat it viewers like idiots or as if it wants to drive away anyone who isn't an idiot or a wannabe idiot.

:thumbsup:

[OmahaBlueDog]

29. The biggest problem with cable: poker

(sorry pokerfan)

Poker helped ruin ESPN2 and the Travel Channel.


Second biggest problem: Reality shows where the winner gets a show (allegedly).These helped ruin HGTV and, to a lesser extent, FoodTV. First, you get a crappy reality show; then you get the crappy show from the no-talent winner.


Third biggest problems: Nancy Grace, Glenn Beck, BillO, and Lou Dobbs -- these should all be self explanatory


I confess, I love "Ice Road Truckers." However, what the Hell it has to do with History, I cannot explain.

[pokerfan]

33. I disagree

Poker belongs on the Travel Channel because they play poker in all kinds of exotic locations such as Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Monaco.

[OmahaBlueDog]

41. I bet they play Monopoly in all these locations as well..

and I love Monopoly... but I don't watch the Travel Channel for that. Oddly enough, I watch to see amusement parks, cruise ships, and find out whether it's better to stay in the Sheraton Towers in Tirane, Albania or whether I'm better off at the Tirane International Hotel.

[Frank Cannon]

69. How exciting

I can't wait for the Hi-Ho Cherry-O Championship in Rio de Janeiro.

[Kutjara]

38. Poker currently holds top spot in my list...

...of "sports" that shouldn't be on TV but are. This has nothing to do with whether a particular sport or game is intrinsically interesting to play, but rather whether it is interesting to watch other people play.

Previous winners include pub darts (they show this all the time in the UK), pool/snooker, bridge, cricket, bowling/bowls, backgammon, curling, and golf. Each of these activities can be fun to play (although the jury's still out on curling), but they are on a level with plate tectonics to watch. Calling them dull actually makes the word "dull" sound duller.

The only thing minorly amusing about televised poker is watching the insecure players turn up in huge dark glasses and big hats, desperately trying to hide their eyes so they don't send out any "tells" to the the other players. Why don't they go the whole nine yards and just wear burkhas?

[pokerfan]

50. If I ever play in the WSOP

I plan to wear a welding helmet. They're easy to flip down, too. Just takes a nod of the head.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

150. I mostly agree with that

except cricket of course. One of the world's most popular sports. :)

[LeftyMom]

31. The Hitler Channel is now the UFO Channel. I never thought I'd miss Hitler.

x(

[LostinVA]

74. Haruka and I love to watch Hitler shows

[LeftyMom]

75. You would.

:rofl:

I'm waiting for "UFOs of the Third Reich." I've never heard of such a thing, but I have faith the history channel people can dig up a couple of accounts of German cabbage farmers seeing something strange, get a few crazy "experts" and then let us all in on the news that Hitler was an alien.

[JoDog]

81. Last night they had "History of Dung"

I'm not making this up. Excrement through the ages.

Their sister channel History International is pretty good. "The Naked Archeologist" is informative and entertaining.

[LeftyMom]

83. I saw that. Two hours of poo, in HD no less.

:eyes:

I do like History International. They tend not to do the week-long Jesus marathons on Easter and Christmas, like History does.

[newmajority]

111. What a shitty idea for a TV show

Who thought up that pile of crap??

[LostinVA]

99. I think I've seen that one

[Iggo]

129. How about we send this in?

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

Maybe then I can start watching the Hitler Channel on weekend mornings again.

:rofl:

[asthmaticeog]

32. Fuckin' Food Network.

Almost all the real chefs are gone, replaced by lifestylists like Rachael Ray and that awful Guy Fieri douchenozzle, foodied-up travel shows, vapid trivia like "Secret Life" & "Unwrapped" and self-congratulatory circle jerks like "Chefography," ICA and "The Next (whatever)."

If it weren't for Alton Brown and various reruns they'd have bupkiss.

[TheMightyFavog]

36. Dont forget those bastards stopped airing the original Iron Chef.

I miss Chairman kaga, kenichi, Michiba, Sakai, and the rest!

[dropkickpa]

144. I caught it on FLN last night!!

Damn near creamed my shorts!

[lizerdbits]

37. Agreed

My favorite food show now is America's Test Kitchen. Screw Food Network except for AB. Paula Deen used to be pretty good but I think she's gone a little wacky.

Not food related but yes, History Channel, TLC, and Discovery now suck. I used to have something to watch on the occasional sick day but a few months ago it was a choice of haunted houses, UFOs, and fashion. Blech!

[Fox Mulder]

63. What's wrong with haunted houses and UFOs?

:shrug:

I find those shows quite interesting.

[lizerdbits]

66. I'm not a believer in 'supernatural' stuff

or aliens due to lack of evidence.

[newmajority]

112. The moment Food Network jumped the shark

Yamaha Rocker Sammy Hagar Featured on Emeril Live!
— Hagars Cabo Wabo Tequila Used in Chef Emeril Lagasses Culinary Creations —
NASHVILLE, TN (Aug. 31, 2005) — Yamaha artist, Republican Tequila salesman and Cheddar Rocker Sammy Hagar made a special appearance this weekend on world-renowned chef Emeril Lagasse's Food Network show "Live with Emeril." Hagar is the owner of the popular Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and Cabo Wabo Tequila.

Lagasse calls tequila a party in a bottle, and who better to party with than Hagar. On the "Tequila Five Ways" episode, Lagasse showed that tequila is not only for drinking but for cooking too. Using Hagar's Cabo Wabo Tequila, Lagasse created Red Passion Cocktail, Tequila-Oyster Shooters, Tequila and Lime Baby Back Ribs, Mellow Melon, and Lime Sorbet Pound Cake with Tequila Flambéed Berries. All of the recipes are available on www.foodnetwork.com.

[RadiationTherapy]

132. Why is douchenozzle an insult!!??

I'm kidding!

Say no to hijackers...

[CBHagman]

35. AMC, Bravo, and A&E.

Every last one of them was supposed to provide quality viewing, and I can't say I have had a reason to watch any of them in more than a year.

And TBS is working awfully hard to become the crap Family Guy/My Boys network. It's bad enough that they edit TV shows and movies down the nubbin and have those irritating mid-show pop-up promotions, but now there's even less to watch.

Really, C-SPAN and TCM are the only two cable stations I can think of that even approach the potential for cable was supposed to have. For the most part, cable isn't even within shouting distance of even the minimal standard.

On edit: Obviously I don't get the highest priced channels -- no HBO, no Showtime, no BBC America.

[no name no slogan]

39. At least TruTV is still kicking ass

COPS, Beach Patrol (YAY BEWBS!), and all those other lame-ass cop/reality shows.

[NJCher]

80. count me in on that vote

CourtTV, now TRU, is the bottom of the barrel.

I hate it. I am going to write Comcast to see if they will get something different.



Cher

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

42. Boomefuckingrang.

Before: classic toons. THE channel for 40-something nostalgics like me.

Now: Dumb teen shows.

[Lethe]

114. They were the only channel that played the old Dungeons & Dragons cartoon

at like 3 am in the morning....but when you are drunk and stoned and you turn on the TV and the old D&D cartoon comes on, it rocks!

plus, that is actually a pretty good cartoon, with good morals for kids. I dunno if they still show it though.

[ghostsofgiants]

43. MuchMusic up here in Canada, TechTV.

Much went to hell after CTVglobemedia bought out CHUM.

TechTV after it merged with G4.

[Lethe]

116. i used to watch TechTV all the time cause i'm a nerd

before i got rid of my TV, i used to watch G4 a lot though, mainly because I'd be flipping through channels and I'd see Olivia Munn and then I kind of get paralyzed with a dumb expression on my face.

[GRLMGC]

45. Bravo has gotten pretty awful

I mean, I still watch a lot of the shitty reality shows but I remember when they showed interesting movies. Sad. Now they constantly show reruns of the same shows. I've seen about every episode of Project Runway/Top Chef/Shear Genius/Top Hooker maybe 10 times each.

AMC is bad too. They used to have lots of classics and now the quality of movie has REALLY declined.

[jakefrep]

47. Headline News

I liked it so much better when it just showed news, and it had the constant sports ticker at the bottom.

[ghostsofgiants]

49. Glen Beck has a show on Headline News.

That right there tells you how bad it is.

[madinmaryland]

79. Don't forget Nancy Grace is on Headline "snooze" also.

[jakefrep]

104. My point exactly...

We don't need more empty talkshows.

[Reverend_Smitty]

51. Game Show Network

I remember a time when they showed a variety of classic game shows (the key word here is variety) and Sunday nights had a 3 hour block of black and white game shows from the 50's and early 60's. Now every time I turn it on it is crappy "original" programming and the same episodes of Match Game and Family Feud that I've seen 30 million times

I'd say on the whole, just about all cable tv stations have gone waaaaaaaay downhill over the last 10 years or so. Either create a network for a niche market or don't. Just don't start out that way and dilute the content slowly so your core viewers are left pissed off with a shell of their former network

[TrogL]

52. GayTV/Pride Network

They stopped running hardcore porn

[The Straight Story]

53. sci-fi channel - oh wait, they were never really that good

:)

They do have some decent shows here and there, but the movies they make just for that channel suck so bad I wouldn't let em anywhere near my penis :rofl:

[last_texas_dem]

56. I know I'm probably alone here, but

I enjoyed Cartoon Network a lot more when practically all they showed was Hanna-Barbera stuff 24/7...

[Orrex]

58. Preach it!

I hate every single "original" cartoon shown on Cartoon Network, and that includes whatever is currently running on Adult Swim. Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast was funny, but that was, what, fifteen years ago?

The worst part IMO is that they run vintage Tom and Jerry cartoons in the afternoon, which are so freaking outstanding that everything else aired on Cartoon Network is revealed as the shit that it is.


If I produced one of those crappy cartoons all by myself on my own time, I would be embarrassed to show it to my good friends. But for Cartoon Network, that level of "quality" makes up about 90% of the programming day.


Horrible!

[CreekDog]

57. new to AMC's scheduled features:

[Orrex]

59. The Learning Channel has, in my opinion, fallen farther than any other channel

With the possible exception of Bravo.

What is now "TLC" was once an outlet for really top-quality educational programming, presented in an engaging and dynamic format.

Now it's "Secret Life of a Soccer Mom" and "Trading Spaces" 24/7.

:puke:

[Skittles]

61. I remember the old TLC

when I first got cable it was one of my favorite channels - I agree with you now, it is overwhelming garbage :puke:

[dendrobium]

71. They ruined TLC

I agree that TLC is now unwatchable. I do not care about Jon and Kate. I don't want them telling me what not to wear. What happened to those great documentaries?

I must recommend "Mad Men" on AMC ( the new season starts this month). That is one of the best things I have ever seen on television.

[lizerdbits]

82. Anyone else remember Connections with James Burke?

I loved that show, I need to see if it's on Netflix or something. Sigh.

[bicentennial_baby]

90. Best. Series. EVER.

Man, I could watch those for HOURS.

[Orrex]

94. I concur!

I wasn't so fond of Connections2 or 3, but the original is fantastic and should be run nightly on every channel.

[kentauros]

93. I originally watched Connections on PBS

and was fascinated by it. They had great reinactments, too :)

Now for an original on TLC, what about the surgery show? I don't remember its name, but it was always one particular kind of surgery taken from beginning to end and with doctors that always worked well on camera. That is, they were experts at telling you exactly what they were doing and were going to do and made it all truly educational, whether you were in the health fields or not. I never was, but watching the bunion surgery was probably one of the most fascinating surgeries I've ever seen. They made it look so simple and easy, just peeling back the skin and muscles, with hardly any blood :)

I guess today that would be considered "obscene" especially as there isn't much blood and no one ends up with self-animated flesh-eating organs chasing them :P

[Orrex]

95. The Day the Universe Changed was also excellent

In college I had a "Science, Technology, and Society" course in which we watched the whole 10-episode run. One of my favorite classes, in part because I was so fond of and familiar with the source material!

[pokerfan]

100. Connections was awesome

[sarge43]

123. It is. Just finished with all three seasons. Still good.

Netflix has a lot of the classics - Ascent of Man, Civilisation, Attenbourgh's nature series.

Those were the days when there were diamonds in the garbage. Now it's all garbage.

[Digit]

60. One of the reasons I quit cable/satellite

Same crap all the time, too many commercials and then endless infomercials.

[Fox Mulder]

65. I like some of the channels posted above.

I like the paranormal shows on A&E and the History channel (I'm sure most people don't). I really enjoy "Cities of the Underworld" on the History Channel as well (at least it's history-related).

The only two good things about the SciFi channel is that they'll play a good movie once every blue moon, and they still have The X-Files twice every weekday. Otherwise the rest of the shows on that channel suck.

I love the Travel Channel, but they play a lot of poker. I hate poker. It's about as fun to watch as golf. And what's with all those people fondling their chips? It's so fucking annoying! I also hate the tours of fast food places they play over and over again on that channel.

I used to love TLC back in the day, when I actually learned something. The only thing I've learned from that channel in the last five or so years is how much they suck.

The Food Network used to be good. Now it mostly consists of fast foods and diners on that channel. I don't care about those. Show me how to cook at home, for christssakes.

I remember when the Discovery Channel used to have interesting programming. Now it's mostly "reality" programming.

Sigh. Why do I pay so much for cable every month? I should just quit my cable service and read.

[LeftinOH]

73. I have never had cable.. and use rabbit ears to get the 7 channels

I have. When I see cable-TV at other peoples' homes, I am reminded why I still don't have cable: Several networks devoted to driving race cars around in a circle; that pro-wrestling crap; people who are redecorating their house; a story about somebody who murdered someone else back in 1996 (usually in Texas or Florida); childrens' networks with Japanese anime cartoon shows that don't make any sense... etc, etc, etc, etc. If the only thing on TV is going to be complete crap, then I don't want to pay for it. Thank goodness for an extensive DVD collection at the local public library, and for Netflix.

[LynneSin]

76. VH1 Classics use to do nothing but videos 24x7

and now they're just a repeat of VH1 regular channel

[Sheets of Easter]

77. Most basic cable channels these days are no longer niched.

There used to be a time when Discovery Channel was science and nature, TLC was educational, VH1 was music, A & E was the arts, and so forth. Now it's all reality crap.

[madinmaryland]

78. Yeah! What teh deal with TLC???

The Learning Channel is nothing more than the Style Channel. At least style has applicable programming.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

108. I noticed that they were the first to go rotten

They went from educational programming to true medical dramas to DIY shows.

[noonwitch]

84. MTV

I miss music videos and hate reality shows.

[stuntcat]

85. I can't pick :(

I can't even watch much tv now and when I do I'm disappointed. I used to get mad when I'd turn to National Geographic or Discovery and they'd be showing hours of Extreme Fishing or Rock Climbing or some other sport.
I'm watching more PBS now so I guess I'm officially old but at least they don't go EXtReEEm! so often.

[MrScorpio]

92. Bravo

It used to be commercial free and it broadcast a lot of quality cultural programming. Great movies and music.

Then the commercials came and it went Ameri-pop.

It's pretty suckified now

[CBGLuthier]

96. AMC is coming back though

wothless as a movie channel they are starting to produce good original programmin. Breaking Bad was very good tv and word is they will doing a remake of The Prisoner with Gandalf and Jesus (McKellan and Cavziel)

VH1 is useless for sure.

Don't forget Bravo. They really stink now.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

106. And I'm loving Mad Men, downloaded from iTunes

:-)

[Eurobabe]

121. MadMen and Breaking Bad are good shows

I'm glad MadMen is coming back the end of this month. Pretty much everything else sucks on TV.

[Parche]

101. History Channel

when they aired the f-in 9/11 conspiracy theory crap, and said their experts were from
'popular mechanics' :puke: :puke: they made it sound like they 'knew' what they were talking about.

History channel, ax-men, and ice road fukers? :puke: :puke:
their Battle 360 has been awesome, but that is few and far between, nothing good on it lately


TV-Land-- I want to see 'addams family',bewitched,gilligans island...Not High school reunion, fashion crap, etc.....:puke:

:hi:

[MotorCityMan]

102. You already listed AMC

Used to be no commercials and nothing but old movies.

Bravo is another one that went to advertising, so no more uncut movies.

[Mendocino]

103. Back in the day

Disney was actually good. You could see all the old classic cartoons, full length features like Treasure Island, and the wonderful nature documentaries. It used to be Old Yeller and Donald Duck, now it's tweener junk like Mealy Cyclops.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

107. Also BBC America

They got a new programmer, and he's turning it into The Worst of British Programming and None of the Good Stuff.

Reality shows and Benny Hill, even reruns of the U.S. version of Dancing with the Stars, for heaven's sake.

They show about one good show at a time.

They used to have at least two top-quality mystery programs every week, at least one other drama, a newish comedy,lots of one-time edgy movies, like The Second Coming, and some oldies but goodies, like The Avengers.

People on their discussion boards are disgusted. I check in every once in a while, and the listings have given me no reason whatsoever to regret canceling digital cable.

[mwooldri]

117. More reason for me to consider thetelly.net...

Service that houses your Slingbox for you in a UK datacenter hooked up to a digital terrestrial TV box, so you can watch UK domestic TV over the Internet.

Then I'd get the crap without the commercials ehe :)

Mark.

[Eurobabe]

119. Those bastages removed MI-5

replaced it with Britain's Worst Teeth. Screw that, I rented the MI-5 discs from NetFlix. :eyes:

[CBGLuthier]

124. Yeah the new programmer is an idiot

Even said they didn't want those moldy old shows. I noitice they are featuring moldy old Monty Python again, horribly mutilated by commercials.

Just saw Second Coming and thought it was very, very good. If they made that film for american TV there would be riots.

I remember when we first got the channel and they would run the same 14 or so episodes of DR. WHo over and over again. They said that was all they could negotiate for? WTF. Are they the bastard step-child of the BBC?

I do have to admit to having an odd fascination with "You are What you Eat." Disturbing little show. Especially when they bring out the poo.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

151. It's because of the legal situation

BBC America is a subsidiary of BBC Worldwide a commercial for-profit company. The BBC in the UK is a non-commercial company. Due to pressure from commercial rivals, the publicly-funded BBC cannot subsidise its commercial arms with its array of programming. BBC America is treated like a separate entity and must pay full market price for BBC programming and compete for rights with other non-UK broadcasters for BBC programming.

This why BBC America puts a lot of fluff in its schedules, so it can save money to buy the rights to the occasionally worthy BBC show.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

152. The occasionally worthy BBC show has become more and more occasional

on that channel.

It used to be a minimum of one a day.

Now it's one a week MAYBE.

The new programmer is Garth Ancier, formerly head of programming for WB, a network not known for its programming quality. He declared when he was hired that he wanted BBCA to be "young and fresh," by which he obviously meant "stupid." Benny Hill reruns are not "young and fresh."

I would buy your explanation, Anarcho-Socialist, if BBCA weren't following the same route taken by Bravo, A&E, TLC, and every other cable channel:

Bravo: foreign films->celebrity poker and a mishmash of other stuff
A&E: British and Australian dramas and arts programming-> true crime
TLC: educational programming->DIY shows
Discover: documentaries on science and world cultures->Shark Week and reality programming about truckers and deep sea fishing
History: all kinds of history-> World War II, the occult, ice road truckers, and military topics
Travel: travelogues from around the world->Las Vegas and occasionally other highly mainstream tourist areas
National Geographic: documentaries on science and world cultures->back-to-back showings of The Dog Whisperer

If the broadcast and cable networks are wondering why they're losing viewers, they need look no further than the way one channel after another has dumbed down.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

156. Yes it's part of the same trend

Commercial networks want programming that is cheap to make/buy per viewer. As a result there are lots of crap shows. For example, the decision of BBCA to drop MI5 ("Spooks") was because the cost of buying the US rights was more expensive per viewer due to lower ratings than they hoped.

My explanation in the above post is merely showing why BBC America cannot show the better BBC output. It's because they don't have the money to buy the rights, the BBC parent can't give the rights away to its commercial arms due to laws that prevent anti-competitive practices.

My post above wasn't meant to explain the overall deterioration of programming across all networks.

A trend here in the UK is that money from television advertising is at an all-time low, hurting the major commercial networks. As a result the commercial channels are offering up more fluff because that's where the money is to be made/saved.

The poor programming on contemporary commercial television is a disservice to us all.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

157. The programs of the 1950s were very low-budget, and

yet they showed original dramas.

I bet a lot of newbie actors and writers would work for union minimum in order to get their names and work before the public.

I think that one of the differences between then and now is that the TV executives of the 1950s had grown up on books, live theater, and radio drama. The TV executives of today have grown up on TV.

I'm currently watching DVDs of Route 66, a show that started in 1960. The dialogue is surprisingly literate for a prime time network show.

[Liberalynn]

125. Don't Get Me Wrong

Peter Sellers was great but exactly how many times can they show his old movies and Calendar Girls on the "Brit Movies?" Its like USA constantly rerunning Brendan Frasier's "MUMMY" movies and "National Treasure?" I mean okay they were good movies, but how many times do they need to air them in a row?

I love BBC's "Wire in the Blood," and "My Family" and would like to see more of their mysteries and comedies, not repeats of "Dancing With the Stars" and the same films over and over. I can watch American TV for that, if I wanted too. The same with Gordon Ramsey. He's all ready on Fox isn't he?

I am not totally anti-British reality though, I do actually miss newer episodes of "Cash in the Attic," and I confess I was a "House Invaders" and "Changing Rooms" addict before they cancelled them.

Now I only watch BBC when "Wire in the Blood" is on and repeats of "Cash" and "Bargain Hunt."

[Lydia Leftcoast]

133. I love British TV and movies, but BBCA has shown nothing but

contempt for its viewers.

They lost me when they began starting great shows and then just dropping them in the middle of a season.

I now rely on Netflix and DVDs ordered from the UK to be played on my region-free player.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

109. The Travel Channel

The last time I had cable, it had become the Las Vegas Hotel Channel with a Couple of Nods Towards Hawaii.

[Eurobabe]

120. HBO is a bottom feeder now

Aside from the ocassional movie special, I wonder why I keep them around? They haven't had a decent series since Six Feet Under. Big Love is delayed, although that is getting a little moldy around the edges now.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

130. Don't forget The Wire....

...although that ended a couple of months ago.

John Adams was great.

The Recount movie was well done, although depressing in the end.

The Generation Kill miniseries was done by David Simon, who did Homicide and The Wire, so chances are it will be well worth watching.

And I still get laughs out of Curb Your Enthusism.

[Eurobabe]

160. Yeah, Recount was pretty good,

But the shows they have had lately have been floaters: John in Cincy, In Treatment, Tell Me You Love Me, etc.

I never could get into 'The Wire' :shrug:

[A-Schwarzenegger]

122. DISCOVERY: All catching lobsters & that guy shovelling shit all day.

It used to discover things.

[Brigid]

140. But they have "Cash Cab!"

I love that show. :)

Many years ago, Discovery Channel had a five-part series about the migration of blacks from Mississippi to Chicago. It was fascinating. Too bad I'll probably never be able to find it again.

[TCJ70]

145. Cash Cab...Survivor Man...Man v. Wild...Mythbusters...

...Dirty Jobs is pretty good, too.

I like Discovery. Too bad I don't get any channels...heh

[Blue_Tires]

126. wow...all these posts and no one mentioned ESPN?

[Symarip]

131. In the early 90s

Discovery Channel had some of the best documentaries I had ever seen broadcast. Now it's a step above The Real World with that British asshole who pretends to be stranded (with a complete camera crew no less) and has to 'survive'. I hate him.

And a shit ton of shows based around jobs: cutting logs, fishing for crabs, white trash dicking around with Harleys, dirty this, blah blah blah.

ZZZZZZZzzzzz

Thank god for PBS and CSPAN.

[1gobluedem]

135. I hated it when A&E stopped airing Biography

Even the Biography Channel doesn't show Biography very often anymore. And the History Channel used to have great documentaries and ongoing series and now they basically have nothing.

Other gripes: Nick at Nite abandoned their great sitcom reruns at night for virtually non-stop Fresh Prince of BelAir and George Lopez; they briefly had Mad About You, Wings, Murphy Brown, and Designing Women and used to have Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, etc. and now it's this drivel over and over and over again.

Edited to add The Food Network; weekend nights are just endless Iron Chef America and Next Food Network Star episodes. Can't stand either of them.

[LanternWaste]

137. Tech TV...

Tech TV used to be the channel I had on when nothing else suited me. There was a particular talk/call-in show on that channel with about six different hosts that was a consistent must-see for me. It dealt with trouble-shooting your own systems, or upgrading them, or replacing them, etc.

And to be honest, most of my early PC knowledge was founded on that show (yeah-- I know, if that's the case, I obviously don;t know much, and I'm the first to admit that)

Well, that and I had a serious crush on one of the hosts...




Yet the last time I tuned in (maybe two or three years ago), it was nothing but game hints and game reviews and game prices and game... well, you get the idea.

[elvisbear]

159. Try DL.TV for computer and tech related tv shows to watch.

They have both down-loadable and streaming shows that you can watch. Even has some of the same hosts that used to be on TechTV. Definitely nerd TV. :bounce:

[jakefrep]

147. SPEED Channel...

...They used to show all sorts of great car racing - now it's mostly just NASCAR dreck.

[LiberalEsto]

148. Court TV

I used to love Forensic Files and the other true crime shows, but now they've got all these stupid wild car accidents and inside jail stuff. Uggg.

[ceile]

149. A&E and Court TV

I miss the great movies they used to put out. Now it's Dog and that Family Jewels show. But I am addicted to "The First 48"-great show.
Now Court TV is Tru TV and all they show are car chases and beach patrol crap.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

155. Remember back in the 1980s and early 1990s when conversatives

were trying to defund PBS and telling people that it was no longer necessary because cable had such high-quality programming?

At that time, cable actually DID have a lot of high-quality programming, but we can see what happened there, can't we?