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Television History

Articles and publications tagged Television History across the Atmosphere.

30articles3publications
taco 'bout it
taco 'bout itNov 4, 2026
venus handled the connection; dorothy took television
November 3: Mariner 10 launches toward two planets, The Wizard of Oz reaches television, and Venus takes longer to spin than to finish its year.
a few things worth knowinginteresting facts
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetJan 19, 2025
This Is Definitely A Test
The history of color bars, the most common television test pattern out there, and what they actually do. (Also, Netflix has some weird test programming.)
color barstelevision
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetJan 17, 2025
Good Look Taken
A believed-to-be-forgotten “lost” episode of an old Ernie Kovacs show is about to resurface on YouTube after 65 years. Here’s how it happened.
ernie kovacsclassic television
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetSep 22, 2024
Party In The Rear
Considering the legacy of rear-projection TVs, the most efficient route to a big-screen TV in the pre-LCD era.
televisiontelevision history
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetNov 3, 2023
California Nearly Killed HBO
The surprisingly true story of how the state that has arguably benefited the most from the pay-TV industry … once voted to ban it. Blame an effective slogan.
californiahbo
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetOct 6, 2023
Tune-In
Laugh-In creator George Schlatter finally gives his long-lost show Turn-On the official release it deserves. He loves that the internet noticed his white whale.
laugh-inturn-on
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetSep 16, 2022
The Coronation Will Be Televised
How the British public overturned a live television ban on the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II—a monarch who showed a surprising embrace of technology during her long reign.
queen elizabethtelevision
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetJul 20, 2022
From Cable to Local
It’s not common for cable networks to pivot to traditional antenna-driven broadcast networks, but it’s been known to happen—especially if said network can be directly monetized.
mtvthe box
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetMar 25, 2022
Painting With Light
How a little box and stylus revolutionized television graphics. You may not know but the Quantel Paintbox is, but you’ve seen its impact.
quanteldigital art
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetNov 19, 2021
Pushing Photos Through Wires
The technology used to distribute photos through news wire services inspired a whole bunch of innovations with use cases beyond newspapers. Like television.
newspapersphotography
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetAug 6, 2021
Package Deal
Why did the television industry put so much energy into combining TV sets with VCRs, anyway? It seems like they were everywhere for a while.
tvtelevision
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetJul 16, 2021
Changing The Channel
Analyzing the complicated state of affairs, and the long goodbyes, that come when one TV network or cable channel replaces another. Here are 10 examples.
cable televisioncable television history
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetApr 14, 2021
Too Terrible For Television
For decades, TV networks have spent millions of dollars on unsold pilots that will never become series. Here's how they've tried to recoup their investment.
televisiontelevision history
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetMar 5, 2021
37’s Signals
Explaining why analog television sets never had a channel 37, despite TVs generally able to tune it. Turns out some scientists simply needed that channel more.
televisiontelevision history
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetFeb 19, 2021
Distorting The Electron Gun
Discussing the process of degaussing a CRT screen, which is a surprisingly awesome way to spend a Saturday afternoon with a magnet.
electronsmagnets
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetJul 3, 2020
Fourth Failures
The many people who tried and failed to launch a fourth television network in the United States. Regulations and high costs made it harder than it looked.
tvtelevision
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetApr 14, 2020
Sunday Night Live
While Saturday Night Live might have had the laughs, its short-lived offshoot Sunday Night (aka Night Music) may have been the greatest music TV show ever made.
musicmusic history
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetMar 17, 2020
Looking For Reasons To Laugh
Why “canned laughter,” a controversial element of most television comedy, feels so unnerving in its absence—and why it’s so fascinating in the first place.
laugh trackslaugh track
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetMar 5, 2020
Double Vision
The history of picture-in-picture technology, an idea that seems a lot less impressive now than it did in the 1980s, and an era of forgotten set-top devices.
television industrytelevision
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetAug 27, 2019
Marketing in Ernest
For two decades, Ernest P. Worrell was basically the perfect regionally franchised TV advertising mascot—and showed Jim Varney’s sheer brilliance. Knowhutimean?
ernesternest p worrell
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetJul 25, 2019
Channel None
For nearly 30 years, many schools aired a daily news show in exchange for free AV equipment. Channel One was a hit—but the ads drove seemingly everyone crazy.
journalismtelevision
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetApr 11, 2019
Our Annoying National Upgrade
The benefits of digital television conversion were clear, but convincing everyone to upgrade their sets? For the U.S. government, that was the hard part.
digital tvtelevision
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetApr 4, 2019
It’s 10 O’Clock Somewhere
Pondering the power of the public service announcement, including one PSA in particular that has maintained an unusual cult following.
televisiontelevision history
Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet
Tedium: The Dull Side of the InternetApr 24, 2018
It’s Not HBO, It’s UHF
The quickly forgotten phenomenon of scrambled television stations that ran over the air on UHF signals. Not everyone had cable TV at first.
tvtelevision history