Which Came First: the Robot Chicken or the AMV Hell?
Antonio E. Gonzalez
static-transfer format is almost identical to that of Robot Chicken.
Has this idea been tried in general before, or is it possible some
kind of "borrowing" went on? It's a superficial similarity, but it
got to me . . .
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Farix
> I'm surprised I just realized it, but: AMV Hell's quick-cut,
> static-transfer format is almost identical to that of Robot Chicken.
> Has this idea been tried in general before, or is it possible some
> kind of "borrowing" went on? It's a superficial similarity, but it
> got to me . . .
AMV Hell: Released May 28, 2004
Robot Chicken: Premiered February 20, 2005
The quick-outtakes have been around for quite a while, but I don't think
they were used as extensively as AMV Hell or Robot Chicken.
Farix
Travers Naran
>
> AMV Hell: Released May 28, 2004
> Robot Chicken: Premiered February 20, 2005
>
> The quick-outtakes have been around for quite a while, but I don't think
> they were used as extensively as AMV Hell or Robot Chicken.
Both shows were simply mimicking changing channels. And that's been
done for decades. I think it was even in Amazon Women on the Moon.
I remember when I had to get out of my chair to turn an actual dial to
change channels so I remember well the static jump-cut.
--
-----
Travers Naran, tnaran at google's mail.com
"Welcome to RAAM. Hope you can take a beating..." -- E.L.L.
Chris Sobieniak
> Farix wrote:
>
> >
>
> > AMV Hell: Released May 28, 2004
> > Robot Chicken: Premiered February 20, 2005
>
> > The quick-outtakes have been around for quite a while, but I don't think
> > they were used as extensively as AMV Hell or Robot Chicken.
>
> Both shows were simply mimicking changing channels. And that's been
> done for decades. I think it was even in Amazon Women on the Moon.
>
> I remember when I had to get out of my chair to turn an actual dial to
> change channels so I remember well the static jump-cut.
I guess people nowadays can't really get a sense of what it was like
for those of us of the older set who have went through those days of
the rotary dials to remember them well. I remember stuff in the 80's
that mimicked what Robot Chicken ended up using as it's premise. I
think an episode of The Real Ghostbusters did that for the entire show
where someone was flipping back and forth between the guys and what
else was on TV periodically. Later on I saw a similar premise used in
several episodes of Tiny Toons that mocked television of the day.
Antonio E. Gonzalez
I vaguely remember some of those episodes, and I *had* one of
those TVs! Always being the tinkering nerd I am, I used to turn the
tuning wheel on the know so Channel 7 would become "Channel 6," etc.
We also had an old Sony Trinitron, and its individual turning dials
per fixed channel; I could *really* mess the line-up there!
--
- ReFlex 76
Antonio E. Gonzalez
wrote:
. . . and, of course, Robot Chicken is basically an animated
version of Twisted Toyfare Theatre . . .
Chris Sobieniak
> On Tue, 21 Oct 2008 10:48:53 -0700 (PDT), Chris Sobieniak
>
>
>
> <Sobien...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >On Oct 20, 11:25 am, Travers Naran <tna...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> Farix wrote:
>
> >> >
>
> >> > AMV Hell: Released May 28, 2004
> >> > Robot Chicken: Premiered February 20, 2005
>
> >> > The quick-outtakes have been around for quite a while, but I don't think
> >> > they were used as extensively as AMV Hell or Robot Chicken.
>
> >> Both shows were simply mimicking changing channels. And that's been
> >> done for decades. I think it was even in Amazon Women on the Moon.
>
> >> I remember when I had to get out of my chair to turn an actual dial to
> >> change channels so I remember well the static jump-cut.
>
> >I guess people nowadays can't really get a sense of what it was like
> >for those of us of the older set who have went through those days of
> >the rotary dials to remember them well. I remember stuff in the 80's
> >that mimicked what Robot Chicken ended up using as it's premise. I
> >think an episode of The Real Ghostbusters did that for the entire show
> >where someone was flipping back and forth between the guys and what
> >else was on TV periodically. Later on I saw a similar premise used in
> >several episodes of Tiny Toons that mocked television of the day.
>
> I vaguely remember some of those episodes, and I *had* one of
> those TVs! Always being the tinkering nerd I am, I used to turn the
> tuning wheel on the know so Channel 7 would become "Channel 6," etc.
For me, I had cable TV as early as I can remember, so it was more a
workout to remember where everything was on when you had 20-30
channels to work from. Kids these days will never understand the
pleasure I had in turning dials or adjusting the vertical holds in
those days.
> We also had an old Sony Trinitron, and its individual turning dials
> per fixed channel; I could *really* mess the line-up there!
In my house, we had a Zenith System 3 that did that for the UHF
portion of the dial as they only gave you about 5 channels to pre-tune
them in with. I don't remember fiddling around with that as much
though.
Travers Naran
> For me, I had cable TV as early as I can remember, so it was more a
> workout to remember where everything was on when you had 20-30
> channels to work from. Kids these days will never understand the
> pleasure I had in turning dials or adjusting the vertical holds in
> those days.
I have fond memories of fiddling with the old B&W TV when the cable
would go out and I'd bring out the bunny ears to tune in KVOS or
CHEK. I got quite adept at reaching behind the TV and fiddling with
the dials to get the perfect tuning. Although I wonder if having my
head pushed right up against the TV set while fiddling with the tuning
controls at the back had any lasting effects?
(forehead vein pulses as coffee cup floats into my hand)
> In my house, we had a Zenith System 3 that did that for the UHF
> portion of the dial as they only gave you about 5 channels to pre-tune
> them in with. I don't remember fiddling around with that as much
> though.
I remember having a color TV set that had a similar set-up. I was so
glad when I got an auto-tuning TV with built-in remote control.
ender
> For me, I had cable TV as early as I can remember, so it was more a
> workout to remember where everything was on when you had 20-30
> channels to work from. Kids these days will never understand the
> pleasure I had in turning dials or adjusting the vertical holds in
> those days.
The only time I saw a TV with dial was in the attic of my elementary
school.
The oldest TV we had at home had 8 settable channels, with sensor buttons
(you just had to touch the button to change the channel - unfortunately, if
a fly walked over, it would also sometimes change the channel). We moved
that TV to our weekend house in 1987, and I had lots of fun trying to find
the channels I wanted there (our weekend is near Italian border, and for as
long as I remember, there's been a ton of channels aired there - sometimes
you'd switch the channel just positioning the antenae differently; that's
also where I first watched anime). To tune the channels on this TV, you had
to push the plate under the channel sensors, then you'd take out a plastic
stick positioned there, and use it to rotate the dials that were revealed.
--
< ender ><><><><><><><>◊<><><><><><><>◊<><><><><><><>< e at ena dot si >
Because 10 billion years' time is so fragile, so ephemeral...
it arouses such a bittersweet, almost heartbreaking fondness.
Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)
> On Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:40:27 -0700 (PDT), Chris Sobieniak wrote:
>
>> For me, I had cable TV as early as I can remember, so it was more a
>> workout to remember where everything was on when you had 20-30
>> channels to work from. Kids these days will never understand the
>> pleasure I had in turning dials or adjusting the vertical holds in
>> those days.
>
> The only time I saw a TV with dial was in the attic of my elementary
> school.
>
The first five or six TVs I remember our family having were all dial.
The first three were purely black and white.
All were of course just antenna-based TVs, none of this newfangled
Cable stuff.
--
Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
Live Journal: http://seawasp.livejournal.com
Invid Fan
<sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
Our first VCR had 12 channel buttons you could adjust via dials to tune
in whatever channels you received. The "remote" was just a pause switch
attached via a cable. Yes, we were at the low end of middle class and
Dad preferred to spend the money on vacations to Europe :)
--
Chris Mack *quote under construction*
'Invid Fan'
Chris Sobieniak
> On Oct 22, 10:40 am, Chris Sobieniak <Sobien...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > For me, I had cable TV as early as I can remember, so it was more a
> > workout to remember where everything was on when you had 20-30
> > channels to work from. Kids these days will never understand the
> > pleasure I had in turning dials or adjusting the vertical holds in
> > those days.
>
> I have fond memories of fiddling with the old B&W TV when the cable
> would go out and I'd bring out the bunny ears to tune in KVOS or
> CHEK. I got quite adept at reaching behind the TV and fiddling with
> the dials to get the perfect tuning. Although I wonder if having my
> head pushed right up against the TV set while fiddling with the tuning
> controls at the back had any lasting effects?
>
> (forehead vein pulses as coffee cup floats into my hand)
Heh, because I lived close to Detroit, I often wanted to watch one of
their UHF channels when something wasn't on locally or on cable, still
have the Radio Shack bow-tie antenna nailed to the wall! Not sure
though I'll be able to pick any of that DX goodness up next year
though besides the ones in town.
Chris Sobieniak
> On Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:40:27 -0700 (PDT), Chris Sobieniak wrote:
> > For me, I had cable TV as early as I can remember, so it was more a
> > workout to remember where everything was on when you had 20-30
> > channels to work from. Kids these days will never understand the
> > pleasure I had in turning dials or adjusting the vertical holds in
> > those days.
>
> The only time I saw a TV with dial was in the attic of my elementary
> school.
I feel old! :-) I once used to watch a rather giant B&W set in my
bedroom over 20 years ago. Best things I ever saw in elementary
schools were 16mm film projectors and bulky U-Matic decks (VHS players
didn't seem to come into practice until the late 80's/early 90's in my
parts).
> The oldest TV we had at home had 8 settable channels, with sensor buttons
> (you just had to touch the button to change the channel - unfortunately, if
> a fly walked over, it would also sometimes change the channel).
Touch-sensor sets must have been a pain.
We moved
> that TV to our weekend house in 1987, and I had lots of fun trying to find
> the channels I wanted there (our weekend is near Italian border, and for as
> long as I remember, there's been a ton of channels aired there - sometimes
> you'd switch the channel just positioning the antenae differently; that's
> also where I first watched anime).
Lucky! I wish I had grew up in Italy at times with the amount of
classics they had on their stations.
To tune the channels on this TV, you had
> to push the plate under the channel sensors, then you'd take out a plastic
> stick positioned there, and use it to rotate the dials that were revealed.
Reminds me of how our early TV was like where you had these chanenls
labeled "U1", "U2" and so-on, and had to turn in whatever station you
want to put there like ch. 24, 36, 50, etc. Thankfully the whole
'cable-ready' came into the TV scene by the 90's and put an end to
this sort of manual adjustments though it's a shame I can't really
'fine tune' stuff in much nowadays.
Chris Sobieniak
<seaw...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
> ender wrote:
> > On Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:40:27 -0700 (PDT), Chris Sobieniak wrote:
>
> >> For me, I had cable TV as early as I can remember, so it was more a
> >> workout to remember where everything was on when you had 20-30
> >> channels to work from. Kids these days will never understand the
> >> pleasure I had in turning dials or adjusting the vertical holds in
> >> those days.
>
> > The only time I saw a TV with dial was in the attic of my elementary
> > school.
>
> The first five or six TVs I remember our family having were all dial.
> The first three were purely black and white.
Heh, being reminded of one spending the night at my late grandma's
house in the room that once sported a vintage RCA-Victor model from
the 50's that only had VHF on it, so I was stuck watching only two
channels on it! She had a 60's Zenith model out in a breezeway that
had UHF anyway, but it was also one of those you had to wait a minute
before it warmed up to watch something. :-)
Too bad I don't have those sets right now. (get jealous seeing them
on YouTube) :-(
> All were of course just antenna-based TVs, none of this newfangled
> Cable stuff.
The days of 300 ohm inputs you had to screw wires into such as early
video game switchboxes!
Chris Sobieniak
> In article <gdo8vs$5j...@registered.motzarella.org>, Ryk E. Spoor
>
>
>
> <seaw...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
> > ender wrote:
> > > On Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:40:27 -0700 (PDT), Chris Sobieniak wrote:
>
> > >> For me, I had cable TV as early as I can remember, so it was more a
> > >> workout to remember where everything was on when you had 20-30
> > >> channels to work from. Kids these days will never understand the
> > >> pleasure I had in turning dials or adjusting the vertical holds in
> > >> those days.
>
> > > The only time I saw a TV with dial was in the attic of my elementary
> > > school.
>
> > The first five or six TVs I remember our family having were all dial.
> > The first three were purely black and white.
>
> > All were of course just antenna-based TVs, none of this newfangled
> > Cable stuff.
>
> Our first VCR had 12 channel buttons you could adjust via dials to tune
> in whatever channels you received. The "remote" was just a pause switch
> attached via a cable. Yes, we were at the low end of middle class and
> Dad preferred to spend the money on vacations to Europe :)
Nothing like my family where my mom had to get a VCR in '82, a JCPenny
portable model where the recorder and tuner could be separated if you
wanted to videotape an event out of the house running off a battery
backup (and a dad who hasn't been overseas since his time in
Vietnam). The tuner on that was about the same, giving you about
12-15 channels to tune in the necessary channels on, but since we had
cable we always had it set on ch. 3 through it. Remotes in those days
didn't quite exist in the same fashion as most were just pause buttons
wired into the machine, sadly my mom made good use on it or recordings
that could've been great timepieces to stick on YouTube today!
ender
> On Oct 22, 2:42 pm, ender <e...@arnes.si> wrote:
>> The only time I saw a TV with dial was in the attic of my elementary
>> school.
> I feel old! :-) I once used to watch a rather giant B&W set in my
> bedroom over 20 years ago. Best things I ever saw in elementary
> schools were 16mm film projectors and bulky U-Matic decks (VHS players
> didn't seem to come into practice until the late 80's/early 90's in my
> parts).
That TV wasn't in use by the time we found it - it was just collecting dust
in the hallway.
>> The oldest TV we had at home had 8 settable channels, with sensor buttons
>> (you just had to touch the button to change the channel - unfortunately, if
>> a fly walked over, it would also sometimes change the channel).
> Touch-sensor sets must have been a pain.
Not really, at least not unless there were wasps around (which are more
common than flies at our weekend).
> Reminds me of how our early TV was like where you had these chanenls
> labeled "U1", "U2" and so-on, and had to turn in whatever station you
> want to put there like ch. 24, 36, 50, etc. Thankfully the whole
> 'cable-ready' came into the TV scene by the 90's and put an end to
> this sort of manual adjustments though it's a shame I can't really
> 'fine tune' stuff in much nowadays.
Our first TV with remote was still set up similarly to the TV I mentioned
up there - change to the channel you wish to set, open front panel, move
the set dial from center position to either VHF or UHF, then use 4 buttons
to search for stations (2 for fast search, 2 for fine tuning). The new TVs
which instead use channels also still let you fine-tune the channels. Of
course, with digital TV, all of this is going away.
Chris Sobieniak
> On Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:07:09 -0700 (PDT), Chris Sobieniak wrote:
> > On Oct 22, 2:42 pm, ender <e...@arnes.si> wrote:
> >> The only time I saw a TV with dial was in the attic of my elementary
> >> school.
> > I feel old! :-) I once used to watch a rather giant B&W set in my
> > bedroom over 20 years ago. Best things I ever saw in elementary
> > schools were 16mm film projectors and bulky U-Matic decks (VHS players
> > didn't seem to come into practice until the late 80's/early 90's in my
> > parts).
>
> That TV wasn't in use by the time we found it - it was just collecting dust
> in the hallway.
Oh well.
> >> The oldest TV we had at home had 8 settable channels, with sensor buttons
> >> (you just had to touch the button to change the channel - unfortunately, if
> >> a fly walked over, it would also sometimes change the channel).
> > Touch-sensor sets must have been a pain.
>
> Not really, at least not unless there were wasps around (which are more
> common than flies at our weekend).
I guess. I wasn't thinking of wasps personally as I hardly see much
of 'em where I am besides gnats.
The new TVs
> which instead use channels also still let you fine-tune the channels. Of
> course, with digital TV, all of this is going away.
Pretty much we don't have to think of anything.
S.t.A.n.L.e.E
> On Oct 22, 6:28 pm, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
> <seaw...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
> > ender wrote:
> > > On Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:40:27 -0700 (PDT), Chris Sobieniak wrote:
> >
> > >> For me, I had cable TV as early as I can remember, so it was more a
> > >> workout to remember where everything was on when you had 20-30
> > >> channels to work from. Kids these days will never understand the
> > >> pleasure I had in turning dials or adjusting the vertical holds in
> > >> those days.
> >
> > > The only time I saw a TV with dial was in the attic of my elementary
> > > school.
> >
> > The first five or six TVs I remember our family having were all dial.
> > The first three were purely black and white.
>
> Heh, being reminded of one spending the night at my late grandma's
> house in the room that once sported a vintage RCA-Victor model from
> the 50's that only had VHF on it, so I was stuck watching only two
> channels on it! She had a 60's Zenith model out in a breezeway that
> had UHF anyway, but it was also one of those you had to wait a minute
> before it warmed up to watch something. :-)
>
> Too bad I don't have those sets right now. (get jealous seeing them
> on YouTube) :-(
>
Growing up in a 3rd world country, I saw B&W TVs with vacuum tubes.
I became adept at the V-hold too.
At times, during the switchover to better TVs, when the picture flickers,
I came looking for the V-hold dial... but it ain't there no more! ^_^
And then came the Betamax development... oy vey....
>
> > All were of course just antenna-based TVs, none of this newfangled
> > Cable stuff.
>
> The days of 300 ohm inputs you had to screw wires into such as early
> video game switchboxes!
>
I still have my old NES one! ^_^
Laters. =)
Stan
--
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Chris Sobieniak
wrote:
> Wed, 22 Oct 2008 8:12pm-0700, Chris Sobieniak <Sobien...@gmail.com>:
> > Heh, being reminded of one spending the night at my late grandma's
> > house in the room that once sported a vintage RCA-Victor model from
> > the 50's that only had VHF on it, so I was stuck watching only two
> > channels on it! She had a 60's Zenith model out in a breezeway that
> > had UHF anyway, but it was also one of those you had to wait a minute
> > before it warmed up to watch something. :-)
>
> > Too bad I don't have those sets right now. (get jealous seeing them
> > on YouTube) :-(
>
> Growing up in a 3rd world country, I saw B&W TVs with vacuum tubes.
> I became adept at the V-hold too.
Cool!
> At times, during the switchover to better TVs, when the picture flickers,
> I came looking for the V-hold dial... but it ain't there no more! ^_^
> And then came the Betamax development... oy vey....
Things just happen!
> > The days of 300 ohm inputs you had to screw wires into such as early
> > video game switchboxes!
>
> I still have my old NES one! ^_^
>
> Laters. =)
>
> Stan
When I first got the NES, it was hooked up to my TV that way too, just
like the Colecovision, Intellivision, Odyssey2 and the Atari 2600
before!