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Author Topic: What's Happened to the History Channel?!
Steve Klare
Film Guy

Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

- posted October 18, 2010 06:38 PM      Profile for Steve Klare     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I don't get it: what happened to the History on the History Channel?!

There used to be stories about societies and governments and wars and technologies and all sorts of other wonderful histotainment.

-not the heavy stuff like at college that took a couple of hour exams and a 20 page term paper, but interesting shows you just might learn something from.

I'll certainly admit they leaned a little bit heavily into WW2, there were days on end when they did little else!

What's on there lately?
-Shows about guys driving trucks across frozen lakes
-Shows about UFOs and alien abductions
-Shows about lumberjacks
-Shows about unexplained beasts they can't ever get video of
-Shows about candy and chocolate

There was a cooking show on there the other day!

I never thought I'd hear myself (or anybody) say this, but I'm starting to miss WW2!

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All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...

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Claus Harding
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1149
From: Washington DC
Registered: Oct 2006

- posted October 18, 2010 06:53 PM      Profile for Claus Harding   Email Claus Harding   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Steve,

I have the impression that most of the channels that had an identity and a "mandate" to shape their appeal have basically chucked all of that in favor of what sells at the moment.

The History Channel had terrific shows that educated and entertained. Gone now. It was a great place to review all the WW2 combat footage.

The Food Network was "chef centered" with a great line-up of Mario Batale, Sarah Moulton and others, and the focus was on teaching cooking. Now instead there are shows about 'extreme foods' and other "reality" nonsense.

American Movie Classics. Could the name be any more to the point?
It started with un-cut, un-interrupted classics from the 30/40/50es, and with a gracious, classy host (where is he now?)
Currently it is a commercial-riddled wasteland running anything from most any decade AND censoring the films. Talk about losing your core audience...Turner still stands tough with TCM, with Robert Osborne always a delight.

The fact that even ol' (Music Television Videos) MTV no longer plays music videos pretty much sums up the game.

It all also explains why the only "TV channel" at my house that gets any action these days is called "Netflix." [Big Grin]

Claus.

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"Why are there shots of deserts in a scene that's supposed to take place in Belgium during the winter?" (Review of 'Battle of the Bulge'.)

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Steve Klare
Film Guy

Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

- posted October 18, 2010 08:36 PM      Profile for Steve Klare     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Oh Well...

I guess history is so...last week these days.

Plenty of History on Super-8.

I have a Blackhawk of Lindbergh's flight to Paris. It's kind of cool since I grew up two miles from where he took off.

What's bothersome is that the idea of cable was to have a great many channels that were specialized to particular areas of interest. When they all start to become generalized like this the temptation is just to go back to the networks.

At that rate all cable is good for is better reception!

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All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...

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Dan Lail
Film God

Posts: 2110
From: Loganville, Georgia, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

- posted October 18, 2010 09:16 PM      Profile for Dan Lail   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
At that rate all cable is good for is better reception!
Steve, not true! Since the analogue to digital converter boxes are required for antennas, the reception is actually better than cable plus each station has 3 or 4 extra stations. i.e. using my antenna channel 11 has 11.1,11.2, 11.3. I can receive about 40 channels total with my 27 element yagi roof antenna. I've considered canceling my Dish Network account because of programs like:

Swap People
Ice Road Truckers
Rehab At The Hard Rock
Dirty Jobs
UFOs
Rough Necks
Monster Quest
Hoarding: Buried Alive
Say Yes to the Dress
DC Cupcakes
Southern Fried Stings
Operation Repo

and much, much more. [Big Grin]

Why should I paid for crap when I can get it for free! Where's the beef! [Confused]

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Steve Klare
Film Guy

Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

- posted October 18, 2010 10:08 PM      Profile for Steve Klare     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Oh, no....

My antenna is probably 50 years old and has about one element left. I asked them to rip it off the chimney when they did the roof, but they forgot it!

Having all those shows about weddings on cable is kind of disturbing...

We've been married 18 years now and I still suffer from Post Traumatic Wedding Disorder:

"PLEASE! Just choose a stupid centerpiece! I don't want to talk about it anymore!"

(Sorry...Flashback!)

The History Channel had a wonderful series about the American Revolution which ran something like eight hours in total. They showed it all at once a few 4th of Julys ago and it was so good I watched it all.

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All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...

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Dan Lail
Film God

Posts: 2110
From: Loganville, Georgia, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

- posted October 18, 2010 10:39 PM      Profile for Dan Lail   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Steve,

I live in a fringe area. That's why I have the big antenna on the chimney. Have you tried the analogue to digital converter yet? Wow! In Long Island you could get a lot of stations.

The Revolutions was very good. I also liked The men Who Killed Kennedy back 2003.

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Steve Klare
Film Guy

Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

- posted October 18, 2010 10:49 PM      Profile for Steve Klare     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I live about 50 miles from Manhattan and even back a few hurricanes ago when the antenna actually worked it was a little snowy.

All these years later the antenna is just sad, battered remains and the wire doesn't even go up there anymore.

I want to go down to Radio Shack and ask the guy for some TV antenna wire.

-Probably get the same look as when I asked for a DIN loudspeaker plug for my 8mm movie projector!

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All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...

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Dan Lail
Film God

Posts: 2110
From: Loganville, Georgia, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

- posted October 19, 2010 12:27 AM      Profile for Dan Lail   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Steve,

I know what you mean about Radio Shack. If you're not looking for a cell phone, they seem to get glarey eyed.

If you could capture a black and white photo of you antenna, you could probably sell it as a work of art. All battered and torn it would be a masterpiece of a by gone era. [Big Grin]

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Michael O'Regan
Film God

Posts: 3085
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Oct 2007

- posted October 19, 2010 03:04 AM      Profile for Michael O'Regan     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Take a look at TCM UK schedules. Very few "classic" movies on there these days.
When I asked why no silent classics were ever shown as they often are on TCM US, I was told "they're just not popular".
Now take a look at the US TCM lists and you'll see proper classic movies - as in Turner CLASSIC MOVIES!!!!! It's in the channel's title, for chrissakes!!!!!!!
[Roll Eyes]
Each and every channel on UK television these days just caters to the least common denominator. Culture and refinement be damned!

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Jean-Marc Toussaint
Film God

Posts: 2392
From: France
Registered: Oct 2004

- posted October 19, 2010 06:41 AM      Profile for Jean-Marc Toussaint   Author's Homepage   Email Jean-Marc Toussaint   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Guys, that's another good reason to watch movies at home, projected on a big screen, whatever the system, be it silver or digital! [Wink]

I kinda like "Dirty Jobs". Our version of Discovery is a mix of things coming from various channels (Discovery, TLC, History, etc.) so I never get bored. And I'm Jamie "Mythbuster" Hyneman's #1 fan.

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The Grindcave Cinema Website

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Winbert Hutahaean
Film God

Posts: 5468
From: Nouméa, New Caledonia
Registered: Jun 2003

- posted October 19, 2010 06:57 AM      Profile for Winbert Hutahaean     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Guys talking cable networks, most of them are now becoming more general. Look at Discover, National Geographic.... they have also kind of reality show, games, etc.

Funny thing in Canada, many people think that the era of TV Antenna has ended with the coming of digital TV. They subscribed to cable TV while they didn't know almost the same channel can be received free if we have Antenna + digital converter box (cost $30).

I didn't bother to subscribe to watch those craps. Just watch the usual TV and news, they are all the same [Big Grin]

BTW, there are also monopoly acts done by apartment managements by choosing one cable TV provider and don't allow tenant to install Antenna in their premises.

cheers,

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Winbert

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Dan Lail
Film God

Posts: 2110
From: Loganville, Georgia, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

- posted October 19, 2010 10:05 AM      Profile for Dan Lail   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
BTW, there are also monopoly acts done by apartment managements by choosing one cable TV provider and don't allow tenant to install Antenna in their premises.
Winbert, when I lived in a condo, I put a roof antenna in the attic. It worked great! I have three digital converter boxes. The picture quality is as good as Dish.

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Kurt Gardner
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 193
From: San Antonio, TX
Registered: Aug 2005

- posted October 19, 2010 08:09 PM      Profile for Kurt Gardner   Author's Homepage   Email Kurt Gardner   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I have AT&T Uverse upstairs but in my workout room (well, the garage) I have rabbit ears and a converter box. In L.A. many of the stations have multiple channels (7.1, 7.2, 7.3, etc.) so there's a wide variety to surf.

And you know if you have an HD set you can get local HD with rabbit ears for free!

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Joe Caruso
Film God

Posts: 4105
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

- posted October 22, 2010 07:59 AM      Profile for Joe Caruso     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I have to run films to have entertainment - History Channel should be just that; replete with origins harkening back to Mesopotamia, Constantinople, the archaeological findings, so much more - AMC had Bob Dorian, then Gene Klavin, who was partnered with a fellow named Finch and were popular on WNEW Radio in 1963 - Shorty

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Steve Klare
Film Guy

Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

- posted October 22, 2010 02:42 PM      Profile for Steve Klare     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I bet you remember Jean Shepherd, Joe!

I flipped on the History Channel last night and they had a show about some Street Gang in Los Angeles.

This is current events! (If I wanted CNN, I would have watched CNN!)

They used to do this thing where they would take some historically based feature film (examples: Breaker Morant, *M*A*S*H*, Tuskeegee Airmen) and show it with a panel of historians discusing it during the breaks. I thought it brought the films a little more to life hearing the back stories.

-now we get shows about how wild pigs will eventually rule the World if we aren't wiped out by meteors first!

I love the one they showed with Orson Welles about how Nostradamus predicted the Apocolypse in like 1996! (OOOPS!)

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All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...

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