The Chiller Channel: Worth the Wait?!?
Well, you know where this whole thing got started for most of us, don't you? 1958, I was only 3 years old and it would be a couple more years before I really got a grasp of it, but that was the year of the debut of SHOCK THEATRE. Basically, it was the 
first major release to television of the library of classic monster and horror movies that Universal Studios had sealed up in some vault somewhere. How could they possibly have known what an impact that single decision would have on an entire generation? Forget Woodstock! This was one of the Big Bangs in my life. And since that moment we have yearned for, had glimpses of, and ultimately been disappointed by our search for a similarly satisfying horror television experience. There were, of course, 
teasers along the way that kept us hopeful. In the 60's I have vivid, and joyful, memories of Summertime Thursday nights when "The World Beyond" would air classic Sci Fi movies from the 50's such as "It Came From Outer Space" and "It: The Terror from Beyond Space". (Clearly a forerunner to "Alien" so many years later.) And in that same time period we were treated to "The Addams Family" and "The Munsters", both shows clearly playing
into the nationwide craving for monster related programming. Man, how I loved these shows. I was, what, all of 
about 10 or 11, and smack dab in the middle of the Aurora Monster Model boom, and the peek of Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine, and I felt as if I had died and gone to heaven! Somewhat later I would grow to appreciate the subtle terrors and humor of Rod Serling's classic television series "The Twilight Zone" and it's sci-fi counterpart "The Outer Limits". Yep, it was good to be a kid back in the day,
huh? But now comes what we will refer to as the wilderness years. The 70's, with the rare and delightful exception of local horror host programming, was mostly void of horror fare on the tube. The 80's saw a major resurgence of horror in the theater with the "slasher" film that eventually led to some late 80's TV spin offs like "Freddy's Nightmares", and "Friday the 13th: The Series", "Tales from the Darkside" and "Monsters". All fun, all watchable, but all ultimately forgettable. The 90's? Ditto, with few notable exceptions, such as the mesmerizing and fantastic "X-Files" and it's underrated brother "Millennium", this decade may have been the worst for horror TV. But by now the cable television explosion was in FULL ON mode. There was a channel for everything you could thing of! The Golf Channel? For cryin' out loud, is there really enough people or interest to support the damn Golf Channel?!??! Yet, inexplicably, no horror channel.......until, that is, the debut of "The Science 
Fiction Channel" or as it is better known today, "The SciFi Channel". How excited I was to stumble upon this gem in the early part of the 90's. In particular I remember one October, early in it's inception, when the SciFI channel showed ALL the classic monster icon movies, UNCUT WITHOUT COMMERCIALS, each week leading up to Halloween. My son and I recorded them all, unaware as we were at the time that in the not so distant future all of these films would be readily available in the endless realm of Video and DVD. The internet caught fire in the 90's and really exploded by the end of that decade giving rise to the rumour mill that a 24/7 Horror Channel was a soon to be realized event.
Talk, talk, talk, talk, blah, blah, blah..........so much energy spent ballyhooing this channel, so many petitions to cable and satellite stations signed, and to what end??? Stugatz, that's what. The Channel never got off the ground, even though it's internet site has introduced some fairly decent original programming and is now offering a fairly entertaining "talk/horror host" program entitled The Deadpit. This show, apparently very homemade and therefore immediately likeable, is hosted by the Kreepy Kentuckian and Uncle Bill. (Don't ask me, that's just what they go by!) and they offer a blow by blow commentary of various horror film releases of the past few decades. I've only watched one episode, but it was pretty funny. And the guys seem to know their horror! Over the ensuing years, the SciFi Channel became inundated with commercials, bowed to pressure to edit the content of their programming, and basically became a neutered version of it's former, promising self. They do offer some pretty good original programming, but most of their movies are low budget, dicey CGI infused, cliche films. Hey, but what choice do I have? I'm glad you asked, Sparky.....'cause now along comes the long awaited, fanboy anticipated, much desired, and desperatley 
needed "Chiller Network". Or so we were led to believe, mostly by our own ridiculous yearning for a TRUE horror channel. As it turns out, the Chiller Channel offers many of the aforementioned 80's serial horror shows: Friday the 13th, Freddy's Nightmares, Monsters, etc. It also sprinkles in some short lived series you may have missed like American Gothic, shows the brilliant yet never as good as when you first experienced it classic "Twin Peaks", and gives us our fill of edited, commercial stuffed, full screen, movies. Not only that, but apparently they can't yet attract any main steam adverisers so much, if not all, of the commercials are either Ron Popiel Veg-O-Matic wannabes, or male enhancement products. Just what audience do they think they have?? Hmmmmmm, makes you wonder, don't it? So, we have been given a channel that may, someday, actually be the channel we wish, want, hope that it may be. In the meantime we will suffer, willingly, through our 
disappointement that no premium horror channel is in the cards. Unless of course you are one of the priveledges few who have access to the Dish Network and "Monsters HD", the alledgely high-def, uncut, and commercial free horror channel that originated as part of the Voom Broadcast group.( somehow affiliated with Sears, of all things!) I have never seen it, or heard anyone talk of it, but they have a website that sure makes it look good. Perhaps we should all be petitioning our various TV services for the inclusion of THIS channel in our lineup? Who's with me?
first major release to television of the library of classic monster and horror movies that Universal Studios had sealed up in some vault somewhere. How could they possibly have known what an impact that single decision would have on an entire generation? Forget Woodstock! This was one of the Big Bangs in my life. And since that moment we have yearned for, had glimpses of, and ultimately been disappointed by our search for a similarly satisfying horror television experience. There were, of course, 
teasers along the way that kept us hopeful. In the 60's I have vivid, and joyful, memories of Summertime Thursday nights when "The World Beyond" would air classic Sci Fi movies from the 50's such as "It Came From Outer Space" and "It: The Terror from Beyond Space". (Clearly a forerunner to "Alien" so many years later.) And in that same time period we were treated to "The Addams Family" and "The Munsters", both shows clearly playing
into the nationwide craving for monster related programming. Man, how I loved these shows. I was, what, all of 
about 10 or 11, and smack dab in the middle of the Aurora Monster Model boom, and the peek of Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine, and I felt as if I had died and gone to heaven! Somewhat later I would grow to appreciate the subtle terrors and humor of Rod Serling's classic television series "The Twilight Zone" and it's sci-fi counterpart "The Outer Limits". Yep, it was good to be a kid back in the day,
huh? But now comes what we will refer to as the wilderness years. The 70's, with the rare and delightful exception of local horror host programming, was mostly void of horror fare on the tube. The 80's saw a major resurgence of horror in the theater with the "slasher" film that eventually led to some late 80's TV spin offs like "Freddy's Nightmares", and "Friday the 13th: The Series", "Tales from the Darkside" and "Monsters". All fun, all watchable, but all ultimately forgettable. The 90's? Ditto, with few notable exceptions, such as the mesmerizing and fantastic "X-Files" and it's underrated brother "Millennium", this decade may have been the worst for horror TV. But by now the cable television explosion was in FULL ON mode. There was a channel for everything you could thing of! The Golf Channel? For cryin' out loud, is there really enough people or interest to support the damn Golf Channel?!??! Yet, inexplicably, no horror channel.......until, that is, the debut of "The Science 
Fiction Channel" or as it is better known today, "The SciFi Channel". How excited I was to stumble upon this gem in the early part of the 90's. In particular I remember one October, early in it's inception, when the SciFI channel showed ALL the classic monster icon movies, UNCUT WITHOUT COMMERCIALS, each week leading up to Halloween. My son and I recorded them all, unaware as we were at the time that in the not so distant future all of these films would be readily available in the endless realm of Video and DVD. The internet caught fire in the 90's and really exploded by the end of that decade giving rise to the rumour mill that a 24/7 Horror Channel was a soon to be realized event.
Talk, talk, talk, talk, blah, blah, blah..........so much energy spent ballyhooing this channel, so many petitions to cable and satellite stations signed, and to what end??? Stugatz, that's what. The Channel never got off the ground, even though it's internet site has introduced some fairly decent original programming and is now offering a fairly entertaining "talk/horror host" program entitled The Deadpit. This show, apparently very homemade and therefore immediately likeable, is hosted by the Kreepy Kentuckian and Uncle Bill. (Don't ask me, that's just what they go by!) and they offer a blow by blow commentary of various horror film releases of the past few decades. I've only watched one episode, but it was pretty funny. And the guys seem to know their horror! Over the ensuing years, the SciFi Channel became inundated with commercials, bowed to pressure to edit the content of their programming, and basically became a neutered version of it's former, promising self. They do offer some pretty good original programming, but most of their movies are low budget, dicey CGI infused, cliche films. Hey, but what choice do I have? I'm glad you asked, Sparky.....'cause now along comes the long awaited, fanboy anticipated, much desired, and desperatley 
needed "Chiller Network". Or so we were led to believe, mostly by our own ridiculous yearning for a TRUE horror channel. As it turns out, the Chiller Channel offers many of the aforementioned 80's serial horror shows: Friday the 13th, Freddy's Nightmares, Monsters, etc. It also sprinkles in some short lived series you may have missed like American Gothic, shows the brilliant yet never as good as when you first experienced it classic "Twin Peaks", and gives us our fill of edited, commercial stuffed, full screen, movies. Not only that, but apparently they can't yet attract any main steam adverisers so much, if not all, of the commercials are either Ron Popiel Veg-O-Matic wannabes, or male enhancement products. Just what audience do they think they have?? Hmmmmmm, makes you wonder, don't it? So, we have been given a channel that may, someday, actually be the channel we wish, want, hope that it may be. In the meantime we will suffer, willingly, through our 
disappointement that no premium horror channel is in the cards. Unless of course you are one of the priveledges few who have access to the Dish Network and "Monsters HD", the alledgely high-def, uncut, and commercial free horror channel that originated as part of the Voom Broadcast group.( somehow affiliated with Sears, of all things!) I have never seen it, or heard anyone talk of it, but they have a website that sure makes it look good. Perhaps we should all be petitioning our various TV services for the inclusion of THIS channel in our lineup? Who's with me?
posted by Cal's Models at 2:35 PM
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