The Golden Age of Television

[Benign Despot]

Everyone's getting all nostalgic I'd like to remind you all of one little downside.

2,4,5,7,38,44,56

remember. That was IT. 8 fricken channels (OK I lived on the south shore and could pick up 6,10 & 12 also) 25 didn't even hatch until the mid 70s.

[mikiemo83]

yeah and with older brothers I was the clicker


or the antenna holding fool with Foil

[AllWorldTE]

Even though there were only eight channels, I remember there being much more to watch then than there is now with my hundreds of cable channels to choose from.

[ron1625]

Originally Posted by Benign Despot

Everyone's getting all nostalgic I'd like to remind you all of one little downside.

2,4,5,7,38,44,56

remember. That was IT. 8 fricken channels (OK I lived on the south shore and could pick up 6,10 & 12 also) 25 didn't even hatch until the mid 70s.

8 Channels, we were stuck with 3

[JD10367]

Originally Posted by Benign Despot

Everyone's getting all nostalgic I'd like to remind you all of one little downside.

2,4,5,7,38,44,56

remember. That was IT. 8 fricken channels (OK I lived on the south shore and could pick up 6,10 & 12 also) 25 didn't even hatch until the mid 70s.

A couple of points.

1.) A lot of it, IMO, is simply a hearkening back (I hope that's the correct phrase, but my Internet is very slow right now so I can't check) to when we were younger and times were simpler. No cellphones, no instantaneous communication around the world, no digital revolution, no computers or Internet. Cassette decks and rotary phones, back when entertainment was simpler. And we didn't have bills or rent to pay, LOL, but were only concerned with getting in the pants of the girl next door or, if you were younger, which cartoons to watch after school and how late would you get to stay up that night.

2.) There is some truth to the "less is more" comment. While I wouldn't go so far as to say there was more on, or that it was a higher quality, I do think that humanity gets spoiled quickly. Because there wasn't much available, what we had seemed more dear to us. As The Boss sang, "fifty-seven channels and nothin' on". I would wait all week for that Saturday afternoon Creature Feature, or to get home after school for those cartoons, or to stay up late for that cheesy movie rerun after the 11:00 news. Sure, nowadays you can have a movie mailed to your house or get it on your TV with a click of a cable company's "on demand" button... but how many of us actually do that? Technology increases our options and makes things quicker, but not necessarily better. (We can communicate instantly with e-mail... but how many of us still don't communicate with friends or family who, in the old days, we would actually take the time out of our day to call or, even more old-school, send a letter or card?)

Don't get me wrong. Most of what I watch is cable. History Channel, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, Learning Channel, Science Channel, Travel Channel... I could probably give up the major networks, with their sitcoms and procedural dramas, but I'd hate to give up my educational channels, especially now with my HDTV. But, sometimes, I miss staying up late and watching the channels go off the air, and turning to "Matty In The Morning" on "Five All Night" back when ABC was the only channel on overnight. I miss NOT having 5000 movies to choose from, but having instead to force myself to stay up--not videotape, mind you, since we didn't have that either--to watch that 11:30pm showing of "Airport", LOL.

[Costanza]

Old bastards.

[JD10367]

Originally Posted by Jh

Old bastards.

Young bitch.

[mikiemo83]

Originally Posted by Jh

Old bastards.

you say it like it is a bad thing

[Costanza]

Originally Posted by JD10367

Young bitch.

:p

Originally Posted by mikiemo83

you say it like it is a bad thing

Hey. I'm sure with age comes experience. ;) That's why I always went after older dudes.

[Brady's Bunch]

tv is way better now. On demand? You can watch an entire season of a sitcom in one day if you wanted. HD? 500 channels? I'll take that over 8 channels on a small black and white television

[Costanza]

Originally Posted by Bradys Bunch

tv is way better now. On demand? You can watch an entire season of a sitcom in one day if you wanted. HD? 500 channels? I'll take that over 8 channels on a small black and white television

I do love me some DVR. Fvck a commercial. I don't want Shamwow being yelled at me when I'm trying to watch porn Lost.

[AllWorldTE]

Originally Posted by Bradys Bunch

tv is way better now. On demand? You can watch an entire season of a sitcom in one day if you wanted. HD? 500 channels? I'll take that over 8 channels on a small black and white television

Yea, but I could set my watch by Hogan's Heroes back in the day.

[TipRoast]

Now that I has the intertubes, I don't even watch the other tube ('cept for sports).

[Costanza]

Originally Posted by TipRoast

Now that I has the intertubes, I don't even watch the other tube ('cept for sports).

You're typing with one hand, aren't you.

[Flagg the Wanderer]

I remember my brother and 2 of my sisters were watching TV, and they start screaming across the house for me. I come in, and:

"Change the channel."

I thought up the remote control right there on the spot.