Virtual Channel Surfing
it's 3am and you've jolted awake from a bad dream. knowing there's no chance of falling soundly back to sleep, you flick the television on, only to find this garbage.
Some of my most vivid memories of television from growing up are from sleepless nights and groggy early mornings. We, as a family, always had a cable package, so finding something even at those earliest hours wasn’t difficult, but finding something enjoyable really took some surfing.
While I would love to give you, the reader, a couple hundred choices here, that’s just not possible, nor would a blog entry be the most efficient way to go about that. There’s a Google Chrome extension called VHS. (also available as a web app here) that already does this perfectly, both curating a huge list of era and vibe appropriate videos that it pulls from Youtube, while also giving the user the experience of surfing through channels.
So here’s what I’ve got for you tonight: two “video albums”, a PBS style special on a few parks in Canada, and some really chilling NASCAR crashes. I tried my best to curate what I would typically find playing on the upper channels of our cable package into the early hours of the morning, as most of the lower channels would tend to put on paid programming (infomercials) after 1-2am.
The two video albums especially mimic the last few channels in our cable package growing up. Sometime after midnight, these last few channels would always have some kind of classical music or film scores playing over some slick and beautiful nature shots. This is definitely the kind of garbage I would have gone looking for late at night. The first one, Desert Visions, is notable, as the camera operator uses The Steadicam M-1 as well as helicopter and airplane shots to mimic the movements of birds and other animals.
Other channels would always have some infotainment on to check out, so I had to put in a really informative episode of a bigger series about some of Canada’s most beautiful parks. Many readers will already know that I have an affinity for these types of tapes, so it’s no surprise that this is the kind of stuff I would have sought out while flipping through channels as a kid.
And lastly, something for all you NASCAR fans out there. I can think of one time I’ve ever watched a whole NASCAR race, and it was completely against my will. That being said, this was a very interesting watch. The premise is four old guys who have all had major crashes in races sit around a garage and talk about the experience of losing the race (and nearly losing their lives). It’s even got tons of old footage of all the crashes to go with it.
I hope you enjoy these!
Desert Vision Video Album
1998 | Runtime 50 Minutes
Classical Images: A Concert in Nature
1990 | Runtime 45 Minutes
Beethoven remarked, "Nature is the source and inspiration for all great music." If he was to view this program today, he would applaud the inspiration behind this "Classical Images" video production.
Listen to this cavalcade with your eyes. Watch this scenic symphony with your ears! Absorb the marriage of music and images as you relax in front of your video screen.
Take the time to unwind, to dream and to revitalize yourself for another day. This is your opportunity to enjoy the greats of classical music... Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Debussy, to mention just a few of my favorites. The visual interpretation of their works is reminiscent of a live-action "Fantasia". The compositions, performed by the New Philharmonic Masterpiece Orchestra, brings brilliance to this video synergy.
Soon you will glide though a music landscape of the four seasons in less than one hour. When snowcapped mountains or sandy beaches are far away, pop in this video tape and let your imagination take you to new vistas.
Since this program has been recorded in digitally processed Hi-Fi Stereo, your ears will also take you into the concert hall after the first not plays.
"Classical Images" represents a new dimention in classical music videos. With its majestic visuals and musical dynamics, it should be one of your most played tapes.
--Keith Vezensky, Contributing Editor, Optic Music Magazine
Great Canadian Parks: Ts’ilʔos Provincial Park & Fundy National Park
1996 | Runtime 48 Minutes
Ts’ilʔos Provincial Park
British Colombia's Ts’ilʔos is bordered by the rugged Chilcotin coastal mountains. Stunning and rich in wildlife, the park is also a testament to creative park management. It is cooperatively run with local native people, who cary on hunting, fishing, and other traditional activities. The park's centerpiece is the magnificent, aqua blue Chilko Lake, the largest and highest natural freshwater lake in North America.
Parks of Fundy
New Brunswick's spectacular Bay of Fundy is famous for tides that rise and fall over five stories every twelve hours or so, moving one hundred billion tons of water.it is a rich, sheltered ocean shore environment and a bird watching Mecca, offering almost 350 species. The bay is also a jumping off point for popular whale watching excursions and research of the Right Whale, the rarest of the great whales.
Close Calls: Winston Cup Series
1989 | Runtime 50 Minutes
Benny, Darrell, Cale and Richard talk together and relive the closest calls of their racing carreers! Four of racing's greatest drivers share the most exciting moments of their lives as NASCAR Winston Cup Series drivers.
This video previously broadcast on ESPN.
Well, that’s about it for this week. Thanks so much for reading and watching! Recently there’s been a huge increase in readership and I can’t thank all of you enough! I don’t ever plug the sub button, but if you’re reading this, it’s free to subscribe and paid subscriptions are also available with a few minor perks! I post my photography, archive lost or nearly lost media, and talk about my music here. If you’re interested in any of that, please consider subscribing with the button down below so you don’t miss my next post!
I keep Youtube Playlists of the all the wonderful media I find. You can check out the Video Archive here, and the Audio Archive here. As always, if you have any questions or comments you can get at me here or here or leave a comment below this post
See you soon.
—Forrest
Desert Vision was incredible!