First is Discovery Channel. At first, it was mostly based on shows about science of some sort. Perhaps the best example of this is Mythbusters, one of the best shows on the channel. There are, in fact, other shows that belong on Discovery, namely Dirty Jobs and Man vs. Wild (and other similar shows. Discovery sure likes that concept. Not that I mind. It's the upcoming examples that grind my gears). In truth, Discovery is not so much a horrible example of Network Decay as a personally distressing one. There is a reason that the spin-off channel called the Science Channel was made, and it's because Discovery is now mostly shows like Deadliest Catch and Gold Rush. These shows are what I have come to call 'docu-soaps,' a combination of documentary and soap-show drama. Actually, these examples are relatively good shows. If I were to give an example I absolutely despise, it would be American Chopper. God, I hate that show. Even as a docu-soap, it sucks, as it amounts to a dysfunctional relationship of a motorcyclist father to his motorcyclist son.
Next is History Channel, which suffers pretty much the same problem. A channel based on historical documentaries, especially World War II documentaries (earning it the nickname "The Hitler Channel), History has also experienced a docu-soap based Network Decay. Here, examples include Ice Road Truckers and Ax Men. I can see Deadliest Catch belonging on Discovery, but I fail to see why Ice Road Truckers belongs on History, even after considering the "History made every day" slogan they recently adopted. That slogan is why I can see Pawn Stars and American Pickers, again decent shows, as fitting, but IRT belongs more on Discovery than History. Then again, I hate IRT almost as much as American Chopper.
Okay, so these two examples weren't as bad as I thought. However, G4TV, I assure you, is maybe worse than MTV. If you haven't heard of G4, it's probably because it's usually on a cable channel higher than 100, meaning you need a better cable package. Or you're using DirecTV, which actually dropped G4 recently. Why? Well, G4 used to be about video games. As a gamer myself, this was perfect for me. Then came a merge with a channel called TechTV, which was sort of a computer-geek channel. No big deal, the channel then became known as G4-TechTV and had two themes. Then, for some stupid reason, G4 (it no longer is known as G4-TechTV) started airing COPS and Star Trek reruns along with other crap. The ONLY remaining shows that actually belong on G4 are X-Play (video game reviews) and Attack of the Show (tech-gadget reviews [think iPad] with a bit of Daily Show mixed in). God, I miss shows like Judgment Day (X-Play but IMO better) and Cheat! (video game cheat codes. IIRC it was sponsored by Pringles at one point). And in this case, I can only think of ONE other show worth watching: Ninja Warrior, which is like a Japanese Game Show.
But what about Turner Classic Movies, or TCM? By this point, you're either wondering how this is a case of Network Decay, or raging at me for including it in the visual. There's actually a reason I put the logo separate from the others, which are rather clustered: TCM is a glorious aversion to Network Decay. To this day it still remains dedicated to airing, well, classic movies, almost all of which are before 1980. And they do a great job at that, too, since not only do they have few commercials, but they also appeal to traditionalists in their 'modifications' for television airings. Anyone remember" monkey-fighting snakes on this Monday-Friday plane"? Which, to be fair, was necessary, since you can't say "fuck" on American television. Actually, if TCM were to air Snakes on a Plane in the distant future, they'd probably still keep in the original line without ANY censoring. They're that cool.
-Erich
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