I came home from work the other day and got a major shock.
My brother was visiting for the day whilst on vacation from his job, and informed me that our cable provider now had Me-TV on their roster. The NBC affiliate, losing ratings from their digital subchannel, which was a localized weather station, more than anything, ditched that format, and replaced it with Me-TV.
Now, fellow blogger Ivan Shreve has been singing Me-TV's praises since it began airing in his area. Some see it as an alternative to Retro, but in truth, it's a complement, in this writer's opinion.
Take for example Me-TV's Saturday lineup. It includes The Wild, Wild West (a personal favorite) and Marshal Dillon (half-hour syndicated reruns from the early years of Gunsmoke), both of which have previously aired on Retro. And, then, there's this nugget of joy:
Branded holds the distinction of being one of the few non-game show entries from Mark Goodson & Bill Todman, and hasn't been seen in this market since it ran on WOR in NYC back in the day, back when we had the NYC channels on our system. Many thanks to spudtv for providing the clip.
The roster also includes other shows that this market hasn't seen in years, including Honey West (last seen on FX, back in their early years) and Quinn Martin's lone collaboration with 20th Century Fox, 12 O'Clock High. Others, like M*A*S*H and I Love Lucy, have been readily available on other cable channels for a while now. Such is the way cable works these days in that there is no exclusitivity to a lot of the classics. As I told my mom, we now have more options at night after the Mets game ends.
The best part is that Me-TV is all oldies, 24/7. No infomercials! How cool is that? Now, I just have to learn how to use the DVR to record Stagecoach West one of these days........
Depending on the market, some Me-TV affiliates do show informercials to pay the bills...WSB-DT 2.2. in Atlanta interrupts the programming from 6-11am on Sunday mornings for a heaping bowlful of ads, but since Me-TV has a program called Green Screen Adventures on at that time you really don't miss too much.
ReplyDeleteWSB also replaces the weeknight Cheers rerun at 9:30pm with another episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show...I don't know the reason why (maybe it's because Cheers is also on another local affiliate) but then again, I don't fret too much. Other than that the schedule pretty much meshes with the main Me-TV lineup. Welcome to the fraternity, hob!
I think you may have hit the answer in re.: Cheers/Dick Van Dyke. Atlanta is a major market, unlike Albany, so there are probably rules in place. Here, Cheers also airs on Hallmark Channel, and RNN's Kingston affiliate. The latter channel also runs Inside Edition twice a day, which makes zero sense, since the two screenings come a few hours apart. Green Screen Adventures, which, if at all possible, will be reviewed in my other blog, has aired elsewhere, and Me-TV blocks 3 hours worth Saturday & Sunday instead of diversifying their kids' programming.
ReplyDeleteYou know what would rock my world? Me-TV getting some British shows like The Avengers & Man in a Suitcase, or even the Lone Ranger, the latter to bolster the western blocks.
How about the old Chiller or Kung Fu theaters? I miss the six-fingered hand coming out of the ground with the spooky voice intoning "CHILLER", before sinking back down into it's earthy crypt.
ReplyDeleteWPIX's Chiller ain't coming back this way, but Me-TV does have Svengooli, Saturdays at 10 pm.
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