minor muppetz
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I thought about starting a thread about Nick at Nite and TV Land. Maybe I will start one some day...![Crazy :crazy: :crazy:](/forum/styles/muppetcentral/smilies/crazy.gif)
Okay, I'll start now. The two channels used to be really great (and to be fair Nick at Nite still has good programming, though I don't watch the channel as much as I used to). When Nick at Nite began, it consisted primarily of classic TV shows from the 1950s and 1960s (and I think shows from the 1970s were in the original line-up). The early years of the station actually included a number of original programming, including National Geographic Explorers which would later move to TBS, Turkey TV, and Hi Honey I'm Home (which initially aired on ABC, with Nick at Nite reruning each episode a few nights after the premieres... And then ABC canceled the show before every episode could be broadcast, leaving Nick to broadcast the rest). I've also heard of a show I can't remember the title of, a Siskel and Ebert-style parody series which only lasted a short time but got great reviews, but can't ever be rebroadcast because the company didn't give the cast the required residuals. It can be rebroadcast as soon as residuals are paid, but the amount needed is too high for them to consider. Of course, throughout the 1990s the channel would be known only for airing older TV shows, but then in the past decade the channel actually has had some regular original programming (I was starting to watch Nick at Nite and TV Land a lot less during this era).
Sometimes I watch old Nick at Nite promos on YouTube, and once when watching a video of several late-1980s promos, I saw an ad for a special called "The Nick at Nite Do-It-Yourself Sitcom Special", where fans could record their own sitcoms and send them to the channel. The commercial was for a rebroadcast, noting that "real people liked it" and "real critics hated it". To think that Nick at Nite sort of invented reality programming and YouTube (how ironic considering the Viacom lawsuit). I think this was even before Jim Henson's "Handmade Videos" pilot. It would be interesting to see that special, but I haven't found it on YouTube (another special I'd like to see is "Those Nick at Nite Promos!", a special that aired during the week of Nick at Nite's 10th anniversary marathon. I only saw the ending of that special).
In 1995 or 1996, Nick at Nite put out a book, "The Nicka t Nite Classic TV Companion", featuring episode guides to every show on the channel at the time. I wish they'd released follow-ups or updated versions every few years (and wish that TV Land did sucha book). That was a great book, and in 2001 TV Land put out a book, "TV Land On the Go", which includes many TV-related lists, including some related to Nick at Nite and TV Land (such as "Publicity Stunts That Might Have Gone Too Far" and a section on the stations"Premiums"), and best of all, a big section on the top 100 greatest sitcom episodes. Aside from the TV Land name in the title it is a little hard to call that a "TV Land book", because it includes entries on many shows that had (at the time) never been broadcast on either channel, though the majortiy of shows represented had been (interestingly, the top 100 sitcom episodes list only included sitcoms, with narratives, no sketch comedy shows, not even ones with special linking plots... Makes me wonder if any Muppet Show episodes would have been included otherwise). One thing that's funny is that the books list of the top ten books about television includes this very book at number 1, in addition to including the Nick at Nite Classic TV Companion.
I don't think Nick at Nite does it anymore, but over the years its shows would have special information right before the start, showing episode numbers, titles, and facts about what was coming up. The "Classic TV Companion" seems to imply that the channel did this from the start, though I don't remember this when I first saw Nick at Nite (I first saw Nick at Nite, as well as Nickelodeon, in 1990 or 1991, and first got cable in 1992). In fact, even when these pre-show facts appeared, they didn't appear before every show. I recall them being shown before I Love Lucy, Taxi, Bewitched, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Wonder Years, and others, but I'm pretty sure they didn't appear before Newhart, Happy Days, or Laverne & Shirley.
![Crazy :crazy: :crazy:](/forum/styles/muppetcentral/smilies/crazy.gif)
Okay, I'll start now. The two channels used to be really great (and to be fair Nick at Nite still has good programming, though I don't watch the channel as much as I used to). When Nick at Nite began, it consisted primarily of classic TV shows from the 1950s and 1960s (and I think shows from the 1970s were in the original line-up). The early years of the station actually included a number of original programming, including National Geographic Explorers which would later move to TBS, Turkey TV, and Hi Honey I'm Home (which initially aired on ABC, with Nick at Nite reruning each episode a few nights after the premieres... And then ABC canceled the show before every episode could be broadcast, leaving Nick to broadcast the rest). I've also heard of a show I can't remember the title of, a Siskel and Ebert-style parody series which only lasted a short time but got great reviews, but can't ever be rebroadcast because the company didn't give the cast the required residuals. It can be rebroadcast as soon as residuals are paid, but the amount needed is too high for them to consider. Of course, throughout the 1990s the channel would be known only for airing older TV shows, but then in the past decade the channel actually has had some regular original programming (I was starting to watch Nick at Nite and TV Land a lot less during this era).
Sometimes I watch old Nick at Nite promos on YouTube, and once when watching a video of several late-1980s promos, I saw an ad for a special called "The Nick at Nite Do-It-Yourself Sitcom Special", where fans could record their own sitcoms and send them to the channel. The commercial was for a rebroadcast, noting that "real people liked it" and "real critics hated it". To think that Nick at Nite sort of invented reality programming and YouTube (how ironic considering the Viacom lawsuit). I think this was even before Jim Henson's "Handmade Videos" pilot. It would be interesting to see that special, but I haven't found it on YouTube (another special I'd like to see is "Those Nick at Nite Promos!", a special that aired during the week of Nick at Nite's 10th anniversary marathon. I only saw the ending of that special).
In 1995 or 1996, Nick at Nite put out a book, "The Nicka t Nite Classic TV Companion", featuring episode guides to every show on the channel at the time. I wish they'd released follow-ups or updated versions every few years (and wish that TV Land did sucha book). That was a great book, and in 2001 TV Land put out a book, "TV Land On the Go", which includes many TV-related lists, including some related to Nick at Nite and TV Land (such as "Publicity Stunts That Might Have Gone Too Far" and a section on the stations"Premiums"), and best of all, a big section on the top 100 greatest sitcom episodes. Aside from the TV Land name in the title it is a little hard to call that a "TV Land book", because it includes entries on many shows that had (at the time) never been broadcast on either channel, though the majortiy of shows represented had been (interestingly, the top 100 sitcom episodes list only included sitcoms, with narratives, no sketch comedy shows, not even ones with special linking plots... Makes me wonder if any Muppet Show episodes would have been included otherwise). One thing that's funny is that the books list of the top ten books about television includes this very book at number 1, in addition to including the Nick at Nite Classic TV Companion.
I don't think Nick at Nite does it anymore, but over the years its shows would have special information right before the start, showing episode numbers, titles, and facts about what was coming up. The "Classic TV Companion" seems to imply that the channel did this from the start, though I don't remember this when I first saw Nick at Nite (I first saw Nick at Nite, as well as Nickelodeon, in 1990 or 1991, and first got cable in 1992). In fact, even when these pre-show facts appeared, they didn't appear before every show. I recall them being shown before I Love Lucy, Taxi, Bewitched, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Wonder Years, and others, but I'm pretty sure they didn't appear before Newhart, Happy Days, or Laverne & Shirley.