TOS On MeTV?

Discussion in 'Star Trek - The Original & Animated Series' started by Jetfire, Feb 19, 2012.

  1. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Great concept. Terrible execution.

    I remember some of those abrupt, rapid commercial breaks. They got on my nerves pretty badly. I'm happy they showed the entire uncut episode, but with all the commentary and commercial breaks the flow of each episode was sullied. It was hard to enjoy the restored, enhanced footage when 30 seconds later you'd get a Chevrolet or Trix ad popping on the screen.
     
  2. Ssosmcin

    Ssosmcin Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Yes, sir.

    At least they've opened up some of the overnight line up finally. They still shut out some shows with paid programming, but to be honest, I have Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea on DVD, so that's not too awful. I finally get M:I, Kojak, Cannon and The Big Valley. :-)
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2012
  3. Redfern

    Redfern Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    And I fear programs will get ever more severely edited as time continues. And as the material actually plays, more of the screen will get obscured by things like network logos, "banners" for upcoming presentations, and probably in the near future, icons for products "sponsoring" the show. And the broadcasters (cable-casters?) will justify their actions by reasoning, "Well, if they want their shows uncut, uninterrupted and unobscured, they can buy the DVDs, Blu-Ray, what have you."

    But, I swear...if that purchased media starts pulling the same crap (and likely, no reasonable way to override it), well, I'm not sure what I'll do, but it won't be pretty!

    Sincerely,

    Bill
     
  4. Galileo7

    Galileo7 Commodore Commodore

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    Agree.
     
  5. Ssosmcin

    Ssosmcin Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    It's getting so much worse. Shows are down to 41 minutes and there are plenty of on-screen "I show" animated ads, some with sound, being plastered over "in between commercial breaks." It's really impossible to sit back and enjoy a show like we used to unless it's on a premium channel.

    The best format for airing classic Trek for me was back in the 80's when a local PBS station, WVIA Channel 44, played them three in a row on Saturday nights - uncut with no commercials (they also ran uncut Lost in Space on Saturdays). It was great seeing them like that and really gave me another reason to look forward to the weekends. They ran them like that once or twice, then replaced them with the Paramount "pre-cut" versions. Remember those episodes? I'd love it if they ran them that complete now. But it was annoying, because without commercials, there wasn't any reason to cut them. But I guess Paramount insisted and at least I got to record a bunch of the earlier episodes before they were pulled.
     
  6. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Some syndicated stations actually received uncut episodes from Paramount back in the '70s and '80s and stations had to make their own edits in order to add extra commercial space or run the episodes unaltered and air only ten or eleven minutes of ads. Some did the former, others the latter. Author and TREK fan Phil Farrand writes about these "Unsyndicated Episodes" in his 1994 Nitpicker's Guide.
     
  7. Ssosmcin

    Ssosmcin Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Up until the 80's sometime, every syndicated station was left to cut their own. WPIX in NY sliced haphazardly, making some episodes incomprehensible. However, WTNH in Connecticut ran them uncut with next week's previews. WTXX in CT had limited cuts. So they all got them complete, The stations decided how much to keep.

    In the mid-80's, I remember an announcement on WPIX that the series was being withdrawn "and the Enterprise was undergoing a refitting" or something and the series would be back soon. When it returned, the new prints were precut. I read Phil Ferrand's "unsyndicated" thingy and I never ran into them. WPIX and WVIA both had all 79 episodes edited down. I don't know if Paramount/CBS provides pre-cut episodes anymore. They may have put that back in the hands of the syndie stations.
     
  8. Elder Knight

    Elder Knight Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Why buy DVDs when you have the free shows, eh? Well, here's the way they looked locally:

    [​IMG]



    [​IMG]

    It's kinda like Where's Waldo? "Heck, I think there's a spaceship in there somewhere."

    No Photoshop. Images untouched by human hands, honest! (I posted these here a few years ago.)
     
  9. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Oh, we believe you! I've been watching TOS on different local stations for years and the affiliate will always find ways to slip in logos, ads for other programming or weather reports in the corners of the screen and clutter everything up. I came to expect it. When TOS-Remastered aired on my local Fox and CW affiliates from 2006-2008 the show was constantly interrupted by flashing logos and banners. It got to be pretty tiresome, but the stations were determined to do it.
     
  10. sevenstars

    sevenstars Captain Captain

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    Help! I'm in the Bay Area, and my MeTV signal (on Comcast) cut out about 90 minutes ago. Anyone else?

    If I miss Lost In Space, I'm going to be in a very bad mood. If I miss Star Trek... I don't even want to talk about it.
     
  11. Mutai Sho-Rin

    Mutai Sho-Rin Crusty Old Bastard Moderator

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    I just noticed your sig. I love that book and have a well worn paperback copy in my library.
     
  12. sevenstars

    sevenstars Captain Captain

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    :)

    I need to read it again.
     
  13. Dr. Crusher

    Dr. Crusher Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I was actually really excited to see TOS on MeTV. Is that the only network that has carried the show lately?
     
  14. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Sadly, yes.

    Local syndicated stations haven't had the right to show TOS since Remastered ended its initial run in 2008, and SyFy gave up trying to show the series years ago. And I could be wrong because I don't get the channel as part of my package, but I don't think G4 shows it anymore either.
     
  15. Anji

    Anji Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I've been catching TOS on MeTV for years and it's great. They have all the classics from the 60s: "Sea Hunt," "Batman," "The Monkees," "The Partridge Family," and "Lost in Space" (guility pleasure). "Voyage to the Bottom the Sea" is on late night and definately has gotten better with age. If you haven't seen it, catch it, you won't be disappointed!

    I will say my mid-life crisis is going much better since Me hit the airwaves.
     
  16. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    MeTV is one of the best cable channels on the air...period. There's very little on there that I don't at least like a little. TOS and COLUMBO are my two favorites, but there are plenty of other shows I dig as well. Even the uber-cheesy Irwin Allen shows are a load of fun to sit back and watch when you're in the right mood.
     
  17. Elder Knight

    Elder Knight Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    True. A few months ago, I spent a night at my son's place, and he doesn't bother with cable TV. We picked up this channel off the air and watched the 1950s shows most of the night. This gave me a chance to tell him all about the shows and the actors as I remembered them.
     
  18. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Some people think you need a cable or satellite hookup to get MeTV, but all that's required is a digital antenna. Sometimes you have to explain that to some people who mistakenly believe that the channel is part of a digital cable TV package from their local provider or something you need Dish Network to pick up.

    And MeTV isn't the only retro channel on the air. There's also "RTV"(Retro Television) which airs programs such as Roger Moore's THE SAINT and Bill Cosby's very first sitcom from the beginning of the '70s. MeTV is a considerably superior channel, but both have good shows to offer.
     
  19. Ssosmcin

    Ssosmcin Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    It is really awesome to read someone give Voyage some love. For me, it's my very close second, just below Trek, favorite show. Love the cast; I'd be gripped watching Richard Basehart fart the alphabet.
     
  20. Redfern

    Redfern Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Just did a webs search on digital antennae and and almost had to laugh. No, not at you, rather, the hardware. Though I'm sure the electronics are a bit more sophisticated, visually, it looks like we've come full circle. A low cost unit from RCA looks like a "classic" pair of "rabbit ears" and UHF "loop"!

    Sincerely,

    Bill