bhryun Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 I Hate it! I used to love the way your network had that vintage look and feel to it. Everytime a short interview would come on you would play a clip of a movie projector flickering on the TCM logo in an old movie palace, now you show a black screen with a TCM logo, that says original production while some guy is plucking strings on a bass. When you showed the list of upcoming films, you played classic jazz with a poster montage in the backgroung, now we get some crappy North by Northwest rip off with cheesy computer effects and some synthetic sounds in the background. Even your comecials and advertisements looked like something out of an old film noir, and fit the channel perfectly. Now the look of your channel seems extremely out of place, when compared to 70% of the films you show on the station. Why did you feel the need to update your channel? Was it to make it hip and fresh for younger viewers? if so I, myself am a younger viewer my self and would much rather have the vintage look back. that's what attracted me to the channel in the first place. Im not bashing the channel, because I LOVE it! You have the greatest library of films on tv, and it's good to know where there's a channel that plays great classics, rare hard to find gems, and vintage goodies uncut and commercial-free! Thanks TCM! But please go back to your channel's classic look and feel. Even though it's the films themselves that should be taken into consideration (I still love 'em, and will keep on watching just because of them) The network's look still feels out of place and is a bit distracting. Does anyone else feel this way at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhryun Posted February 12, 2005 Author Share Posted February 12, 2005 I didn't realize it until I read your post, but I miss the old look too. Because TCM is truly unique for the vintage movies it shows, I don't understand why does it feel the need to "modernize" its appearance. With the hundreds of channels now available to me as a viewer, I find that overall, I'm watching TV less and less. I despise all the reality shows. Both network and cable television are becoming more and more unattractive, not just with the programming content, but with its overall appearance, as well. Everything has gotten louder, more graphic, and the pace has become frenetic. I find that I'm even taping the few dramatic shows I still like to watch because the dialog is so fast, that most of the time, I don't understand what is being said. With taping, I can at least rerun the scenes I didn't understand the first time through. For these reasons, TCM has become my refuge when I want to take a break and relax. For a little while I can go back to a sweeter, kinder, simpler time. So, I agree with you. TCM should be true to its nature. While everything else out there tries to be cutting edge, it should stay with the vintage look and feel that makes it so unique. I've only had TCM for the past 4 years, which is when my cable company COMCAST, added the station to its lineup. It is the only reason I keep cable at all. However, after what happened with AMC, I've decided not to take anything for granted again. If TCM ever changed or went away, I would be devasted. But at least I'll have all my recordings (several thousand to date) to keep me company should that rainy day ever come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhryun Posted February 13, 2005 Author Share Posted February 13, 2005 THE New Look? What is with the new Programming? Like the other 2 posts I too found refuge at TCM until recently. What has happened to the vintage movies? Are the l970 films now showing considered vintage? I so miss the movies of the 30's and particulary the 40's. Has TCM hired a new programming staff? If the new "Look" and the new progamming continues TCM will go the way of most movie channels... simply mediorce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhryun Posted February 14, 2005 Author Share Posted February 14, 2005 Stop complaining - there are tons of great 20s,30s and 40s films coming up in the next few months. It's Oscar month so TCM is showing the films in their library that were either nominated or won. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayresorchids Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 I sure agree with you about television, Panellacjunocom. I recall that even about three years ago I used to enjoy surfing at times, just checking out what was on the many channels. Now we have a satellite and there are even more channels, but except for the movie fare and "Who's Line Is It, Anyway?", which I adore, I just don't get captured by anything. I can't even watch baseball on TV as I once did, because of all the weird noisy graphics shooting at me out of the screen. It's sort of nerve-jangling. A few years back a friend of mine organized some viewings at The Museum of Television and Radio in NYC, and a group of us watched about four hours of programming (variety shows and dramatic shows) ranging from the late 1950s to the early 1960s, including the commercials that ran during the programs. I was astounded at how quiet and calm the pace of everything was... it was so refreshing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeanddaisy666 Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 ayresorchids and Panellacjunocom, I agree with you both. Many's the time I end up turning off the television after surfing through twice and still not finding anything. I am certainly not the demographic the advertisers want, since I have no idea what they're selling these days. quiet is a good description of what television and the movies today have lost. I assume that Hollyweird feels they have to SHOUT in order to get their point across. And of course, they have to explain every last thing....subtlety in dramas and comedy has gone the way of the dinosaur. Oh well. Like you Panellacjunocom, I have been taping away. The stellar Cablevision has only had TCM since Jan. 2004, and again like you, I will NOT be caught short as I was with AMC, the dirty rotten...soundrels. So I hope to enjoy TCM for a loooong time to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moviejoe79 Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 I have to agree with the original post in this thread that TCM's "new look" is not enjoyable. I love TCM and watch both the old AND new films that they play, but I don't like the new modern look at all. I too am a younger viewer, the kind they seem to be going after with this new look, and yet I don't find it convincing. It's as if they're trying too hard. I wish they would go back to their old presentation of the upcoming films, and the introductions of the original productions. I also liked the "This Week in Hollywood History" segment the way it was before. TCM is a classic movie station, that is what they are known as, so that is what they should present themselves as. I find it odd seeing these avant garde promos between two films made in the 1940's. It just doesn't work in my opinion. And let me just state for the record that I am not trying to bash TCM in any way. I don't feel the need to patronize tcmprogrammer by reassuring him of how much I love the station. He knows that everyone here including myself are major fans since we take the time to come here and share our opinions. I'm just giving my two cents for what it's worth. I still love TCM and would never stop watching it, and naturally I appreciate the excellent films that they present to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leobertucelli Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 I agree with all of you but unfortunately, it is not only confined to TV --the films (most of 'em) are all resembling one huge, loud, video game. Let's see, just who can we blame for all this? Ah, yes, the modern music of today, with sounds that mostly sound like noise with loud decibel readings emanating like from the car next to you when stopped for a light. Yeah, let's blame the music which has degraded. Oh where is Perry Como? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leobertucelli Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 Forgot to mention: why blame TCM--they are following this silly trend of appealing to & for the youth market. Trendy, I personally never been and am now not. However, with regard to tcm, this just may be what is to come. And that will make them no better than all the rest. Shame, shame! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenwal34 Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 This is a personal observation.Strange as it may seem, I find TCMs new look refreshing!!As to programming ,I find it satisfactory.I'm certainly not young[71 in April],and I've found an easy solution for movies that I dislike: I simply watch something else.As to music,I agree. Much of it is too loud for my taste,laced with profanity,etc.There again,there is good music out there. I find it,enjoy it and avoid what offends me.TCM offers me movies I cant see anywhere else in their original ratios,and interesting info before and after the films with NO COMMERCIALS! Thats enough to keep me coming back. Thanks for the soapbox.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickdimeo Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 This is the first time that I find myself agreeing with Leo. As far as Oscar month goes TCM does try to appeal to the youth market. If you look at their Oscar month commercial that they run on TBS or CNN the whole commercial is loaded with newer faces like Tom Cruise, Renee Zellwegger, Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, etc... I didn't see Al Jolson, Corinne Griffith, George Arliss, or other old-time stars that have movies being played this month on TCM in that commercial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhryun Posted February 15, 2005 Author Share Posted February 15, 2005 Just for the record, my original comments had to do with the NEW LOOK of TCM. I have no problem, whatsoever, with the programming during February/Oscar month, or any other time of the year. I also have no problem with the "occasional" modern film either, as long as the main focus remains on the classic films that all TCM fans treasure. So, there is no TCM bashing going on here. I just put in my two cents regarding the cosmetic changes that the station has made. The only really IMPORTANT thing to me is that TCM keeps providing us with the vintage films that we can't see anywhere else, along with the historical commentary, features AND NO COMMERCIALS. This is all I need to make me a devoted fan for life. Happy Valentine's Day, TCM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhryun Posted February 16, 2005 Author Share Posted February 16, 2005 This maybe the wrong place to bring this up, but the 'new look' that bothers me is the web site! The fake blog joke is as sad as watching a beloved pet get euthanized or watching the love of your life run off with the town drunk. As for TCM on screen, I haven't noticed anything new that's problematic, I check the schedule and still find things I want to see. (Ok, admittedly, I'm not clear on how Foul Play fits into the whole Oscar thing, but if it does that's fine. But somehow my mind can't shoehorn Chevy Chase and 'Classic' into the same concept no matter how hard I try.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhryun Posted February 21, 2005 Author Share Posted February 21, 2005 Thanks for all the posts! I really hope the guys at TCM really change their minds and go back to the old look, I liked it a LOT better. As far as programming goes, I really don't have a problem with a few modern films poping up every once in a while, like for 31 days of Oscar, I just don't wan't TCM to make a habit of showing them over their classic vintage films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leobertucelli Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 What I especially appreciate is that on Sundays there are no silets. But I'd like to see more films from 40 & 50's like those horror flicks like 'Them' Oh there are so many I wish were on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealfuster Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 I read with interest all the comments regarding newfangled intros at TCM, and found it instructive that a few people even narrowed this current displeasure to the noisiness of some cable stopgaps, and overly busy graphics assailing them nightly. Well if you like quiet shows and no annoying loud sounds and irritating graphics...have I got a show for you. Just recently I was picking up a dvd of the Bette Davis potboiler, "The Letter" which TCM has kindly been showing, and my eyes were arrested by a dvd called "Tales of Tomorrow" at my local dvd retailer. For around $19.99 one could buy this anthology-like dvd of maybe ten episodes of an early American sci-fi tv show, which aired in 1951. At first I was hesitant, but then the corny graphics and stars appearing in various episodes [who were detailed on the cover] won me over and I purchased it. I have never enjoyed anything so much! This show is so devoid of any frills, that one can wallow in its simplicity and straightforward storytelling. No screamingly loud intros, no shots of things zooming toward you in phoney 3-D effects. They even open the show with just an announcer saying the words "Tales of Tomorrow" in a pseudo spooky voice, and then he will start off some episodes doing the commercials for the sponsor, Jacques Kreitzer watch bands or some carpet mill, and it is marvelous. This is before the days when the sponsors and ads had to be separate from the program, so this is a bit of a history lesson too. The episodes star people like Phyllis Kirk and Paul Newman, et cetera and some episodes are even based on stories which later were dramatized on the likes of "Twilight Zone", with stories like the great "What You Need". The show starts off each episode with a hairy clawlike paw, extending itself towards a circuit board with a breaker handle, and sparks flying off....and is jolly good fun. Well, I'm sure those who enjoy seeing vintage effects and the real way things were broadcast in the past, would enjoy this set of dvd's. There are two dvd's in this set and they are a joy to watch, trust me and give a real feel for what early tv was like on the small screen. Thank goodness that someone did not decide to create a whole new opening for these shows, and delete the internal commercials which are part of the enjoyment. They did make a beginning menu, in color based on the real beginning graphics...but did not mess with the shows in any other way. Thank goodness for purists! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhryun Posted March 5, 2005 Author Share Posted March 5, 2005 Too bad TCM didn't go back to it's old look yet. Maybe next month? Anyway, so far Im pleased with their programming and that's what's really important... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extrvpretty8 Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 Hey, precondefan32; you are so right, they should only show classic films not modern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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