Cable Channels...They AIN'T What They USED To Be!

I noticed a disturbing trend recently on our cable channels....ASIDE from the ever-growing PRICES we pay...

Some stations aren't really showing what their channel "says" they should be showing. And I'm not talking about pre-empted shows...that's a forgone conclusion, especially with SPORTS all over the place.

Take Cartoon Network...(please)... They "used" to show REAL cartoons. Now they show CRAP. They "used" to have an Anime Saturday...not anymore. They even show Pee Wee's Playhouse at night. Now, that was a LIVE-ACTION show, wasn't it?

Or how about HGTV? They USED to have 2 GREAT shows on: Help Around The House (with Henry Harrison, who I wished to hell lived ACROSS MY STREET), and Fix It Up. Both shows were damn good at showing the average Jane or Joe HOW TO FIX almost anything (and save some $$$ in the process). Well, "HATH" has gone bye-bye, and "FIU" is showing reruns that are 3-4 years old. HGTV is concentrating on "flipping houses", curb appeal (for the rich), and MAJOR home improvements (to that palacial estate you happened across with the family fortune). Where the hell is the COMMON MAN fit into all this. The answer is NOWHERE.....change the channel!

The SCI-FI channel...shows science fiction, right? Sometimes. Every weekend, they have a slew of (actually) HORROR flicks..the old "creature blood & gore fest" with the obligatory dumb-ass teens trying to stay alive for 90 minutes. Sci-Fi even has the balls to not continue showing STARGATE SG-1, but they ARE showing Stargate Atlantis. WTF is up with THAT logic? Cripes, they don't EVEN show ANY Star Trek on there...it's all on SPIKE.

And speaking of SPIKE, (which is a "man's channel"...how chauvenistic), that channel has a lot of the crap ALSO found on SPEED and TLC, such as Pimp My Ride, and assorted other dipshit shows about taking a NICE car and turning it into a GHETTO-SLED. Yeah...that's MANLY all right. It's right UP there with the WWF, or the WWE, or whatever the hell else they call THAT garbage. Cripes, Sci-Fi even has the ECW wrestling...how lame is THAT?

TV Land....You'd "think" there'd be PLENTY of variety to choose from on THAT channel...think AGAIN! That station gets on a "marathon", and it's all day, all night...the JEFFERSONS, or THREE'S COMPANY. Ever hear of ROTATING different SHOWS?

And then there's "cable access"....The real reason to think about getting a SATELLITE dish..or just ripping the TV plug from the damn wall.

Nothing says "responsible TV" like having a bunch of local thugs "rappin" with the *F* word every OTHER word on a Thursday night (Square One Radio TV-around 10PM)...does it? The ARTS channel is good when they ONLY show classical music, and such. The PET PARADE (as I call it) is the MOST entertaining channel on local access...The City & County council meetings...good for a laugh now and then. Once in a while they DO entertain.

Thank the maker for the HISTORY channel...at least THEY show anything and everything about HISTORY in some fashion.

But one thing ALL stations have got to start doing...LOSE THOSE DAMN BANNERS THAT SCROLL ALL OVER THE DAMN SCREEN!

I KNOW what channel I'm watching for Christ's sake...

I can frigging READ...that's WHY I'm on THAT channel in the first place...

I don't NEED a banner telling me WHAT CHANNEL I'm watching....ARRGHH!

THIS is why I have a DVD player AND 2 VCRS (Beta as well as VHS)...

Anyone for dominoes...or Canasta?
(nothing's on TV tonight...again...LOL!)