TBT - BOOGIE CHECK, BOOGIE CHECK. OOH, AHH. Great memory! Gene Autry was, at one time, a superstar. The singing cowboy created a Christmas classic with Santa Claus is Coming to Town and he was at one point as big a star, if not bigger, than John Wayne. At the dawn of the 1980s, Autrys days as a singing cowboy were history and he had created an impressive studio operation in California and had aspirations to challenge HBO. His idea? Vue. Remember, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, cable television seemed to take forever to reach most neighborhoods. Even with cable, the channel selection consisted of 16 channels. This wide array of entertainment consisted of local channels, WTBS, ESPN, USA, and pay channels HBO and Showtime. CNN was not around yet - nor was MTV. Autrys idea was to launch a hybrid channel - a local UHF station that during the day would air his old movies and an afternoon filled with news, sports and weather. At night, the channel would scramble and convert to Vue, a movie channel one could subscribe to for $22.50 a month. KAUT went on the air in October, 1980. The extended local television news coverage, the most ever attempted in the history of Oklahoma City, and not tried since, didnt last long. I recall watching it from time to time - for some odd reason a feature on a new Factory Outlet Mall of America opening at Northwest Expressway and Council Road caught my attention and remains my one memory of watching the newscast. But Autry wasnt quite ready to abandon local programming quite yet. Les Boogie Michaels was a popular FM radio DJ who was chosen to launch a live TMC 43 (Top Music Channel 43) from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. When Michaels show launched in January, 1982, MTV was a four-month-old start-up that only aired on Multimedia Cablevision, a system that served portions of Oklahoma Citys suburbs but not the city itself, which was served by COX CABLE . The format wasnt too different from dance shows that had dominated afternoon television some 30 years earlier (think American Bandstand). Michaels would discuss the latest music, interview teenage guests, and let the young dancers show off their moves. But Michaels also had something new - music videos - and this was my very first introduction to the likes of Abracadbra by the Steve Miller Band. The song was great and the video was, for its time, stunning. On the first day, only 12 dancers showed up - far too few to make for a good dance show. But by the end of the week, the count was up to 117. The following Friday, more than 300 kids were dancing in two large rooms. Suddenly producers found themselves with too many dancers. They started issuing tickets - 30 a day that would require recipients to bring a date for their afternoon on TMC 43. Viewers were treated to multiple angles thanks to one camera that was mounted on a dolly that wheeled around with smooth motion. It could be elevated to a height of eight feet or lowered to eye level. A second camera was carried by a photographer on his shoulder. He could climb a 13-foot ladder for an overhead shot or lie on the floor for shots of worn out shoes shuffling to the beat. Music played from three large speakers positioned 12 feet off the floor. Fortunes for this hybrid were already looking down by May, 1982, as Cox Communications began to speed up its connections to the citys neighborhoods. The system had 44,000 subscribers, while 18,000 were paying for Vue. The pay channel had yet to hit break-even.With kids returning to school in late August, 1982, KAUT announced TMC 43 was to cease production. Ironically, several mothers showed up and picketed the stations offices at 11901 N Eastern Avenue. Carolyn Pierce, a spokeswoman for the picketing women, complained cancellation of the show would leave many teens on a limited income with nothing to do. She noted an estimated 12,000 teens had danced on the show during its eight-month run. If the show goes off the air, there would be nothing for our teen-agers to do and the rating system it stinks. We cant see one family setting the viewing trends for the approximately 240,000 families who watch KAUT, Pierce told reporters. Richard Alvis, Channel 43s talent coordinator, also questioned the firms reasons for canceling the show. He noted the show played everything from Adam and Ants to Gary U.S. Bonds, from new wave to disco. Thats just ridiculous, Alvis said. The show gets over 200 letters every day. One 50-year-old lady wrote and said she watches the show and that her parents even watch the show. Those people over on the West Coast dont sit here all day and answer the phones. They have no idea about the number of people who are concerned about the show. Besides, summer is not a good rating period anyway. Golden West Broadcasting then made a promise to the mothers - they would bring the show back the next summer. It was a promise they never kept. The next month the plug was pulled on Vue, and KAUT morphed into just another UHF channel.About 250 teens, mostly ages 12 to 16, joined the final show. Girls, tears in their eyes, hugged each other and cried. A few teens wore black arm bands. Others wore expensive tuxedos with shinny black bow-ties. Michaels read letters from viewers who couldnt make the final show.One girl wrote she felt a heavy sigh and a soft boo-hoo. As the last few minutes were ticked away for TMC-43, a few people began running around with balloons. Final thoughts were shared, and Michaels then took the microphone. He told the teens he loved all of them - he reminded them its a wonderful world - and then concluded Thank you, Oklahoma City.https://youtube/watch?v=7nip5_15Yw4
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 05:01:50 +0000
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