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Today was very eventful and distracting (thus the crazy late comic), but there are some very good things on the horizon. I will make a proper announcement about one of them on Monday.
Not much to say about this comic. I saw that Mtv had a whole Sunday night line up based on dudes jumping into active volcanos with razor wire tied to their balls. I thought it was worth mentioning if for no other reason than to draw contrast to the Mtv that I grew up with. I used to watch Mtv to… hold on… wait for it… see music videos. Weird I know. I’m not saying they should go back to the way things were. I understand that music videos make more sense for YouTube than THETube nowadays. It’s just startling to see the transformation they’ve undergone in such a short time. I really used to rely on people like Kennedy, Kurt Loder and Matt Pinfield to show me what was going on in the world of music. The internet really made that entire chanel obsolete. I agree they had to evolve or die, but 45 scripted reality shows about sunken-eyed debutards does not entertainment make.
Some day I’ll tell you the story of how VH1 wasn’t always about disease ridden skanks vying for the jock of a washed up 80’s rock star/rapper. It’s true. I swear.
Tags: mtv, reality shows, tv
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February 21st, 2009 at 4:24 am
Love "wrestling a swarm of bees on a unicycle."
And the bear trap is very nice. As is the shark.
Does anyone actually _watch_ MTV anymore? Besides Eli, that is?
February 21st, 2009 at 4:30 am
Oh, and "greasy hair flying around in slow motion" is full of win.
February 21st, 2009 at 4:41 am
I will always love you 120 Minutes. Rest in peace my beloved.
February 21st, 2009 at 5:19 am
Dude! VH1 plays reruns from the 90's in the wee hours. Its very weird watching it now. Unfortunately the cut out all the hosts and interviews which was my favorite part.
February 21st, 2009 at 5:45 am
I still remember when everyone at school was all abuzz over the video for "Justify My Love"….which made me feel an odd mix of "oh god I'm old" and nostalgia.
February 21st, 2009 at 6:35 am
What's sad is when your reality shows reshoot scenes and send your empty-headed stars lines via text message.
February 21st, 2009 at 6:49 am
You're showing your age, man. Next you'll be talking about Friday Night Videos. Or are you too young to remember that?
February 21st, 2009 at 6:53 am
A friend of mine recorded 2 VHS tapes of music from VH-1 in the 80's. *mine*! He just pushed record, and let 'em go. I got V-Jay's and all kinds of music! Good Times.
February 21st, 2009 at 7:44 am
You know, I never looked at MTV's current status from the way that you outline it. Now it makes perfect sense.
Except for Carson Daly's meteoric rise in popularity. That shit would have even Einsten scratching his head.
I also remember how lame it was to say you actually saw VH-1 back in the day. I just liked it cuz they showed videos more frequently. That and I caught on to Pop-Up Video from the beginning.
February 21st, 2009 at 9:14 am
Wait, the bees are on the unicycle? This flaw in logic has ruined the comic and by extension, all comics. Thanks, Joel. You jerk.
February 21st, 2009 at 12:20 pm
i don't waste all my time watching television *i waste it on the internets* so i am not privy to what mtv is today or what you're talking about, but it sounds like they should hire jerry springer as program director. i do see mtv sometimes at the gym and it is just video clips. you know why? bc it's mtv europe. so…if this truly bothers you (bc for some reason you're one of the few americans who doesn't worship at the altar of jerry springer – and don't lie, you are) then see if you can tune into mtv europe via satellite. back to the good old days.
February 21st, 2009 at 7:22 am
Any chance of the 3rd panel on a t shirt?
February 21st, 2009 at 2:52 pm
XXXTREME! Im guessing there was a lot of bee suggestions from the twitters
February 21st, 2009 at 4:09 pm
I know what you mean, MTV was my favorite channel 10 years ago. They should rename it EXTREME! pseudo-reality television. But thats pretty much every channel these days.
February 21st, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Friday Night Videos.:) Remember Night Flight on the USA network?
February 21st, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Classic 120 Minutes eh? I will have to catch it, but now Sister's of Mercy's "This Corrosion" is stuck in my head.
February 21st, 2009 at 5:26 pm
I miss the MTV that gave us Heavy Metal and Beavis and Butthead Do America. At least those had quality music to play during it, WITHOUT any Reality TV!
(Granted, both movies, but they're the pinnacle of what MTV managed pre-RTV.)
February 21st, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Ah yes. Or (back to MTV), good ol' Liquid Television.
February 21st, 2009 at 6:41 pm
The Maxx
February 21st, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Here's some more news about live-action anime adaptations: Steven Spielberg and DrreamWorks acquired the production rights to a live-action of the cyberpunk, dystopian hit "Ghost in the Shell". Knowing Spielberg is involved, and that GitS is one of my favorites from anime and it's among the best manga/anime hits EVAR, should I be elated or worried?
February 21st, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Beavis & Butt-Head & Celebrity DeathMatch! The only shows REALLY worth watching on MTV are the Movie Awards (for the movies we ENJOY watching) and … well. not the VMA's because most of the "music" they give awards to sucks.
February 21st, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Joel, this strip made a lot of valid points about what's wrong w/ MTV this decade. In the '80's it really was ALL music, ALL THE TIME. In the '90's, it still had music and expanded to more of a "lifestyle-genre" channel, with weird-ass (that's what they really called 'em!) cartoons and game shows that defined a generation. It even started giving relevant news and politics (remember Rock-the-Vote?). Now it's just… shite. Now I feel old! Thanx a lot , MTV!!!
February 22nd, 2009 at 12:26 am
The problem isn't even the lack of music, really. There was a time when, in addition to the empty-headed realitards, you would get trippy stuff like The Maxx or Aeon Flux, or great comedy like The Idiot Box or *sigh* The State. I haven't seen anything worth watching on there since Daria ended. Just gimme some variety, you know?
February 22nd, 2009 at 3:00 am
Well thats more of a symptom of the problem of reality tv shows taking hold on all networks and scripted fictional programming slowly going the way of the Dodo. I mean how many absolute shit reality shows are on tv and get good ratings anyway thank god for DVR and being able to cherry pick the best shows from dozens of networks and never have to sit through American Idol or the amazing race or some other vile puke the networks are spewing these days. 95% of the best programming isn't even on broadcast anymore.
Although one reality show I would be in favor of would be….
"See network executives battle to the death in a cage match and the winner gets thrown in with unfed lions on meth! " "Tune in next week to see Fox's executive of programming crusified upside down while having his nuts smashed by Galager!"
A man can dream can't he?
February 22nd, 2009 at 3:03 am
On a side note I think a Maxx movie could be cool as shit!
February 22nd, 2009 at 3:08 am
My favorite show still on VH1 is the I Love the 70s 80s and 90s. Its some sort of weird nestalgic addiction I know. :-/
February 22nd, 2009 at 3:09 am
I believe I saw that episode of Jackass.
February 22nd, 2009 at 3:10 am
and then they dared Stevo to fart in the sharks face….
February 22nd, 2009 at 3:11 am
oh the stitches…
February 22nd, 2009 at 4:08 am
Celebrity DeathMatch FTW!
February 22nd, 2009 at 4:57 am
Arg! The trap claped on his genitals made my eyes water.
February 22nd, 2009 at 5:51 am
Way way back in the 1980s, secret government employees dug up famous guys and ladies, and made amusing genetic copies…Just give us more of this and we'll love u again, MTV.
February 22nd, 2009 at 9:19 am
just wait a decade & they'll do I Love the 00's to take a walk down short-term-memory lane
February 22nd, 2009 at 3:40 pm
The way my memory is I'll be glad when they do. Perhaps they'll create the senior network and put on shows like "I love last year" and "I love last week."
February 22nd, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Oh oh oh! Joel you totally need to do an homage to pop up videos in one of the comics!
February 22nd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Water from laughter or from sympathy pains?
February 22nd, 2009 at 6:21 pm
They already did. It was terrible. Nostalgia from 2 years ago isnt funny.
February 22nd, 2009 at 6:22 pm
"I Love Last Week" is "The Soup" and it's fantastic.
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:30 am
Hah, I was just about to say– the only good thing I ever saw come from MTV was the cartoons. Clone High, Daria, Downtown, Undergrads… Huh, I didn't remember Rocko's Modern Life being an MTV show, but that was pretty good as well.
Question for anyone else who remembers these: which MTV cartoon was your favourite?
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:33 am
Also: as a linguistics nerd & grad student, I love the pun of the comic title; thanks Joel.
February 23rd, 2009 at 2:17 pm
I saw this: http://tinyurl.com/buo8or on google video a year or two back. Watch it all the way through. It made me miss the real MTV even more.
February 23rd, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Meant "watched". Didn't want it to seem like I was ordering you all around… yet.
February 23rd, 2009 at 3:41 pm
I have a name for this, Being G4'd.
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Beavis & Butt-Head, Celebrity DeathMatch (as I stated above), Oddities, Daria (occasionally), Undergrads, + Clone High! What happened to all the weird-yet-amazing animation, MTV? Too expensive? Are "unscripted" 'tards mutilating themselves cheaper?! Wait, I think I hit the nail on the head (into some Real World alumni's skull).
February 24th, 2009 at 3:01 am
remembers when VH1 was for "old people"
*sigh*
February 24th, 2009 at 3:02 am
The Maxx was The Awesome.
wish it'd come out on DVD. along with The State.
February 24th, 2009 at 5:48 am
Psssst…. it still is. we're just old now.
February 24th, 2009 at 7:20 am
NOOOOOOOOOOO!
but that doesn't explain Rock of Love and the parade of skanks Flava Flav assaults our eyes with daily.
February 26th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
With Spielberg? Both.