Zen Peckinpah

Got this idea from the video-rental thread recently revived.

Who here has fond memories of old pay-cable channels of the past? The ones still around but were cooler and more nostalgic.

I remember the old HBO Feature Presentation intro very well, and though I found it quite jarring and a bit scary (early CGI) when I was younger it really is very awesome. Also, some of the tapes (from Showtime) had the old school logo pop up at some points in the movies...Star Trek IV was taped during a free preview IIRC.

DaveNinja

John Byner's Bizarre is what i remember from showtime (viewed through a home made box) when i was a kid

coli

We had PRISM in the late 70's/early 80's as it was a Philadelphia Regional Cable Station for all the local sports teams, but it would also get the same movies as HBO. Does anyone remember back in the day before they had 24 hour programming and everyday at like 5AM they would just have the color bars with that annoying sound until the first movie would usually start at 8AM?

PRISM/HBO were so great in those days, as you would anticipate the big movie releases years later after their theatrical run, cause nobody had a VCR yet. I remember the premiere of Superman I, Rocky II, Alien, Airplane, and of course Star Wars, which was an event.

Ahhhh, the good ol days.......

My Other Self

When I was a kid I remember watching all the old premium channels. Cinemax used to show older films too - I had some old Three Stooges movies on tape from that era. The Movie Channel logo always scared me as a kid - that guy with the eyes!!

Groucho

We discussed that in another thread not too long ago. Turns out that there's no CGI...they shot that entire thing using models.

Mondo Kane

Didn't have cable in my household growing up, but my grandma had The Movie Channel at her place. The entire family gathered around to watch A Clockwork Orange at prime time. The channel was changed in by the 6th minute.

At other times, I remember going there to watch some strange stuff in the daytime:

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Roadie
The Creature Wasn't Nice (Though I knew it best as Spaceship)
Heartbeeps
The Incredible Shrinking Woman

My Other Self

Just came back to me.. I remember when Pee-Wee was on HBO (before his CBS days -this was with Phil Hartman as Capt. Carl) and Super Dave Osborne was on Showtime. Brilliant stuff.

T-bone22

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/i1NKoMNy5bY&hl=en&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/i1NKoMNy5bY&hl=en&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q9Sa-fj7jxw&hl=en&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q9Sa-fj7jxw&hl=en&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/k9x53m8gzGI&hl=en&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/k9x53m8gzGI&hl=en&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Hulkabrgr

I remember that Showtime (circa 1984) always seemed to have a Gallagher special on

An4h0ny

super dave osborne FTW

Giles

I remember the Showtime special that had the deleted scenes from 'The Shawshank Redemption'

aJOHNymous

Thank you Skinemax for introducing me to Shannon Tweed in the early to mid-nineties at 2:30 AM on a Saturday night.

bunkaroo

I remember we had something called ON-TV in the late 70's/early 80's. It was just a box on top of our TV set which you turned on or off. I remember having to send $6 or so in for a one night showing of Star Wars - a very big deal at the time.

Here's a blurb from Wikipedia:

"In 1982, ON-TV's executives convinced George Lucas to sell them the rights for the very first TV broadcast of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope as a means to "help a pioneering PayTV technology fight the likes of HBO and Showtime cable networks from taking over." HBO and Showtime were not able to acquire Star Wars rights until several years after ON-TV's showing in September 1982. (Lucas would do the same favor for LA's Z Channel by granting them the rights to air Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back in January 1985.)"

ON-TV also exposed me to my first female nudity. I was 6 or 7, and I turned it on to find some Playboy program on - it was just a topless chick blow drying her hair in slow motion. And then there was the Spirit Of Seventy-Sex on during the July 4th weekend once. Good times.

OldBoy

that HBO one is the one i fondly remembered. thanks T-bone!

RoboDad

That HBO intro was the coolest thing ever back in '83. It became so famous that they made a documentary about how it was made.

Anyway, another great memory was Not Necessarily the News. Especially Rich Hall's Sniglets.

Geofferson

I grew up with HBO and TMC.
HBO:
The Beastmaster (Hey Beastmaster's On)
Super Fuzz
Watching the very first Real Sex
1st and 10

TMC:
Job Bob Brigg's Saturday nights

GoldenJCJ

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/i1NKoMNy5bY&hl=en&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/i1NKoMNy5bY&hl=en&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Man, that HBO one brings back great memories. It seems so loved by so many people, I wonder if HBO will ever "update" it and bring it back.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q9Sa-fj7jxw&hl=en&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q9Sa-fj7jxw&hl=en&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Just seeing this again puts me in the mood to watch good old late 80's/early 90's softcore porn...

DonTHX1378

My grandparents got a satellite around 85 and I remember it was a very big deal because they would record stuff for everyone with the VCR. Somehow when they upgraded their box in 87, they were able to get free pay per view for almost 2 years. No one knows how they were getting it, but oh well. I loved spending the night at there place cause after they went to bed they didn't care what I watch, so I'd watch USA's Up All Night, just about everything in Skinamax etc.

T-bone22

Just watched this for the first time.. very cool! It's really cool how they achieved the starburst and HBO logo space effects.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3Et_LsxlX8Y&hl=en&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3Et_LsxlX8Y&hl=en&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

TGM

without a doubt. The Fortress, with Rachel Ward

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EDAJ8ckXnzc&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EDAJ8ckXnzc&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

TomOpus

My fondest memory was trying to watch The Playboy Channel all scrambled. You'd just be able to make out a boob and get all excited.

DieselsDen

Where I lived (San Jose, California) we didn't get Playboy yet, but rather a scrambled channel called Rendezvous which had crummy European softcore flicks (LADY CHATTERLY and EMMANUELLE). Still, watching distorted females bathed in green and grey colors was quite a thrill for any budding pre-teen.

There was also a service called Star TV which was broadcast on a UHF channel and scrambled over the airwaves. Lord knows how long they lasted, but the effect was the same.

Rypro 525

this is the HBO open that i remeber as a kid
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qUW2AIx8taU&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qUW2AIx8taU&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

the real big memory for me was staying up late after doing homework in the late 90's and putting on cinemax at around 2:30 am. You can prob guess what was on.

RoboDad

Whippersnapper.

RoboDad

OK, you want to know what my really earliest memories are of pay TV? Check this out:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZueKF-BX8Zs&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZueKF-BX8Zs&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>