Remember When You Got Cable For The First Time? HBO Movies And MTV!

Anyone else remember the absolute thrill of these five words: THE CABLE GUY COMES TODAY.

I do certainly do; when we first got cable hooked up to our television back in the early 80s, it was a huge deal. I had experienced the wonders of HBO at my grandparents’ and friends’ houses and finally . . . finally this luxury was coming to my family. It meant that I would finally have all the re-runs of ‘The Munsters’, could watch ‘The Brady Bunch’ in syndication, I could OD on all the movies that HBO had to offer, and most of all – the granddaddy of all cable stations in the 80s – MTV would finally be within my grasp.

I could experience the thrill of a World Premiere Music Video and stay up to date with my favorite VJs. The cable box back in the day (which you had to get up and go manipulate when you wanted to change channels) was big and clunky, but it sat on top of our TV set like a prize trophy. Wood grain, big buttons, and wires coming out of every corner—it wasn’t pretty, but it was totally awesome:

Speaking of HBO, who doesn’t remember the intro that came before every movie?