The television is a wonderful marvel of technology. It's the window to the world for most people. Whether you're a news junkie, a sports fan or a drama queen, there is plenty of entertainment that awaits you with a simple push of a button.
But back when I was a kid, things weren't quite as robust. For instance, the wireless remote control was not an option. If you were lucky enough to have a remote, it was usually in the form of a small corded device that allowed you to turn a rotary dial to switch between channels. The cord was only about six feet long so it was basically worthless. So, if I was sitting across the room and wanted to change channel, I had to march my husky ass over to the TV set and physically turn the channel selector. I guess you could view it as a form of exercise for a coach potato.
And tuning to a new channel could sometimes be a challenge. I grew up in Baltimore City where cable TV didn't become available until the mid-80's. So, you often had to turn the main knob to the desired channel and then use fine tuning knob to filter the "snow" out of the picture. There was a true art to it. The three main network affiliates out of Baltimore (WJZ, WBAL and WMAR), as well as WBFF, came in very clear. But it took a little effort to get the two Washington DC channels in tune (channels 5 & 20). Eventually, my Dad bought one of those large rotating antennas for the roof and my fine tuning skills were no longer needed. I simply turned a dial on an electronic box which spun the antennae on the roof until the picture was nice and clear.
We didn't have on-screen channel guides either. So, if you wanted to know the programming schedule, you had to flip through a paper TV guide. You could get a basic one in the Sunday morning newspaper. Or you could opt for the gold standard and buy the official "TV Guide" at your local convenience store.
Another issue with the TV's back in my day was that the screen was quite small by today's standards. The standard "big screen TV" had a 25-inch screen. This was usually the main TV that could almost always be found in the family room. When I was about 11 or 12 years old, my Dad scored a cheap black and white TV with a 13-inch screen. I talked him into letting me have it for my bedroom. Although some of today's Smartphone's have a bigger screen, I couldn't have been any happier. To be able to watch the latest episode of "Starksy & Hutch" on my own TV was very satisfying.
Years later, I began to make friends with kids who lived in the suburbs. This was my first experience with cable TV. This was around the time when MTV (Music Television) first hit the scene. As a huge music fan, I was so jealous of my Anne Arundel County friends who had 24-hour music videos at their disposal (I often joke about it now by saying. "I'm so old that I can remember when MTV actually played music videos").
Along the same line, I was a huge baseball fan and I was especially fond of the Baltimore Orioles. I used to watch every game that I could. The problem for city folks like me was that the local TV stations would only broadcast the away games. So, when the O's were playing at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, I would either have to attend the game personally or catch it on my transistor radio. Although I have great memories of listening to Chuck Thompson and Jon Miller deliver the game to me through that small radio, it wasn't quite the same as seeing the action with your own eyes. Cable TV provided a solution to this through a new channel called "Home Team Sports"...
My good friend and former bandmate, Jimmy, used to invite me to his house in Brooklyn Park, which happened to be just over the city/county line. As a fellow O's fan, Jim's Dad would already have the television tuned to "Home Team Sports" by the time I got there. I always had a great time watching the game with Jim and his Dad (By the way, Jim's mom would sometimes join us when we would switch over to MTV. I remember that she was especially fond of Journey's lead singer, Steve Perry. When she heard the beginning of "Separate Ways", she would instantly appear in the living room proclaiming, "There he is! There's my guy!").
Eventually, Baltimore City got their own version of cable TV. In the early 80's, we were introduced to "Super TV". It really wasn't that super, but it was better than nothing. If I remember correctly, the cost was around $25 a month. In return, you got one "premium" commercial-free channel that started at 7 o'clock sharp each night and ran until sometime around midnight. It usually amounted to two or three movies a night. Compare that to Netflix today....
Super TV also offered "adult programming" that came on late at night after the regular movies ran their course. Of course, there was an extra fee for this option. I tried to convince my Dad that these spicy movies might help me through my biology class but he wasn't buying it. The Super TV people were pretty slick though. They gave you just enough to peak your curiosity. Although the late-night movies were not clear and the colors were all distorted, you could still make out the shapes and body motions. So, there was little doubt as to what was going on. It was like watching an X-rated episode of "The Smurfs". Of course, this is only what I've been told....😜
The television platform has evolved in so many ways since my childhood. I used to have four our five stations to choose from. Today, I have so many options that my thumb has developed arthritis from all of the channel switching. We also have DVR's, video-on-demand and ultra high-definition screens. Such a long journey from that 13-inch black and white television.....
kw
No comments:
Post a Comment