In 1993, Trekkers took to public access cable television channel Citytv in Toronto with Ten Forward, a talk show all about Star Trek. In the above collection of clips, the hosts calmly deal with "weenoid" prank callers who apparently plagued the show. Note the fellow's finger expertly poised on the phone's "disconnect" button.
(via r/ObscureMedia) Read the rest
[NSFW] The Spice Channel was a softcore pornography cable TV offering in the 1990s. If you didn't pay for a subscription, you could still see scrambled video, which elevated the original video into psychedelic deep dream abstract art experiments. Here are a few clips.
From the YouTube description:
Signal bleed, or scrambling was a filter used by TV providers to partially block premium channels. This loophole was used as a form of advertisement. In 2000, United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group "required that cable television operators completely scramble or block channels that are "primarily dedicated to sexually-oriented programming" from 10 pm to 6 am."
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Back in the 1970s, cinemas saw cable TV as a threat to their business model. So they attempted to sway public opinion with PSAs like this. (r/ObscureMedia)
