Cable channels and themed programming

I sat here for minutes trying to figure out the perfect title for this but I miss stuff that use to be on cable channels

stuff like TBS having "DINNER AND A MOVIE"

USA "UP ALL NIGHT" or USA "SATURDAY NIGHTMARES"

NICKELODEON and "SNICK"

My local FOX affiliate showing 90s themed dramas every SATURDAY afternoon

Crook and Chase on TNN or Club Dance

Themed horror nights--AMC showing Halloween movies, USA showing Friday the 13th movies on friday the 13th


What happened?

Is it just cheaper to show Law and order 5x a week from 7am to 5 pm or show the same darn movies every weekend?


and yea they weren't showing the greatest movies but it was like a event, maybe get some friends together on a Saturdya night, watch a movie, have some pizza, you always knew it would be their.

Even watching it alone, it was just a fun way to relax and have some laughs

 

I know the type of programming you're referring to: I liked that stuff too, but I don't think we'll ever see that again.

 

Not cable, but Svengoolie on Me-TV is something like this, I think.

 

I haven't watched any of the Svengoolie hosted movies on Me-TV, but from what I've seen on the commercials for the show, I can see where you'd say it has the type of vibe the OP was referring to.

 

It is no longer promoted at all, and The Movie Channel is for most just now an extra channel you may or may not get with a Showtime package, but The Movie Channel still seems to schedule horror movies every Saturday night, I think at 9pm and 11pm. It used to be called "Splatterday"! Somehow, it lives on, not necessarily with that name, I think.

 

Exactly what I'm talking about

 

Then I'm sure you're a MST3K fan...?

There seemed to be like, a 20-year stretch where every Saturday afternoon, there was at least one Spielbergian, or sci-fi or fantasy epic from the '80s, on the same independent TV station in every market, timed to be counter-programming for whomever else had baseball, racing or roller derby on at the same time period. And cable would join-in on the fantasyfest, with either one of the Turner stations, or something like that, also running male-targeted Schartzenegger/space/Paramount-oriented fare, often up until around 5pm. Every weekend, mostly Saturdays.

 

Yeah, that type of programming is certainly a dying breed. Man, I used to love watching USA's Up All Night with Rhonda as a kid. But as has been stated, Svengoolie on MeTV Saturday nights is along those lines, and well worth watching if you like those types of shows. He's been a horror show host since the 70s.

And if you remember TNT Monstervision from the 90s, that host Joe Bob Briggs has a similar show on the streaming network Shudder called The Last Drive-In. It's usually quite insightful if you're a horror or B-movie fan, as he's an encyclopedia of facts about the movies and often has guest stars on who tell anecdotes and such in between segments of the movies. The new season begins later this month.

 

I just cannot believe how many channels I get and how little I have to watch.

 

I wonder if it's just cheaper to show Law and Order 7x a day?