Ruminations On Cable

I have lately been thinking about the maturation of cable television. It began before my time, but I have recollections of what it was at least as far back as the early 90s. Prior to that (but after the age of three or so), we had no cable and I didn't watch tv. I recall the tv we had, but I didn't think anything of it and cannot recall making an effort to watch it. I was more interested at the time in playing outside and using my imagination.

One day we decided to get cable. I remember vividly how I watched with such interest as the man roamed around the grounds of our house making holes in the house and affixing the cables with nails. I think that cable was provided by some company called Freedom Cable or Communications or something. They were eventually swallowed up by Cox. Anyway, the man proceeded to install the set-top boxes required at the time, and turned the channel to Nickelodeon. That was all I watched for years.

Nickelodeon had several brands depending on the time of day. Dawn saw it calling itself Nick Jr. The bulk of the day it was Nickelodeon, switching at primetime (if I remember right) to Nick At Night. Thanks to them, I developed a partial knowledge of old television shows such as the Dick Van Dyke Show, My Three Sons, Green Acres, and so many more. At the time, it didn't strike me as interesting how the channel had multiple identities, but I was conscious that it wasn't the only one.

On visiting family in Florida, I learned about the Scifi Channel. They spelled it correctly in those days. The Scifi Channel only became that in the evening. During the day, it was the NASA channel, and showed mission launches and perhaps related science programs. The Scifi Channel made an impression on me as the provider of such great films as Evolver, Killdozer, and countless ripped-from-the-headlines films pandering to fear of snakes and the like. While they now have added quality shows, they are often upstaged by the same cheesy types of movies which they surely turned to in the beginning out of necessity. Could they not do without them? I guess there must be an appeal for their audience.

It's funny how many shows it seems like were sort of floating around on the airwaves in a vacuum of attention. There were shows on the USA Network like Silk Stalkings, Duckman and a television adaptation of Weird Science. I loved the latter two, but no one seemed to know about them. It may have been due to the makeup of my peer group. I have always taken an interest in things that left me isolated that way: sometimes by accident, sometimes by design.

Today, much all that remains the case. There are fluctuations in the channels on the dial (or the program guide, I suppose), and channels often change their minds about what they want to be. The Nashville Network became Spike TV after a fashion, and there have been others like that. I am aware, though, of no channels sharing a bed with another channel.