Trio close to being cancelled.

January 3, 2005 7:55 PM

Trio close to being cancelled. They are one of the few good cable nets. They showed Pink Lady and Jeff fer goodness sakes. Link to how to complain here. As the poster sez: "Isn't the point of paying for hundreds of different channels to not have them be all the same?" Caveat: I killed my tv in March and have never been happier.
posted by alfredogarcia (39 comments total)

they did a series in October about Texas that was brilliant. Lots of different docs all related to the lone star state.

made me understand why our president is the way he is.

not saying i like him any better, just saying i understand his funny-thinking better.

for the longest time i thought Trio was canadian cuz it was just so much smarter than anything on my Directv - including PBS.

when i saw the other day that they had been pulled off Directv with no warning i thought, karl rove was not impressed.
posted by tsarfan at 8:04 PM on January 3, 2005

Wow, this really sucks. If Trio goes, can Ovation be far behind? Fuck DirectTV. What are they going to replace it with, anyway? Home shopping? I'm calling Time Warner tomorrow to make sure they don't make the same mistake.

"Isn't the point of paying for hundreds of different channels to not have them be all the same?"

A-fucking-men. Satellite and digital cable are supposed to make it *easier* to keep niche channels alive. Hell, with IFC running completely stupid and unsatisfying crap like "Ultimate Film Fanatic" and "Henry's Film Corner," Trio was one of the few bright spots on the upper end of the dial.
posted by mediareport at 8:15 PM on January 3, 2005

I hadn't noticed Trio was gone. I never quite figured it out; sometimes there was brilliant programming, at other times it was WTF?. In the end, I didn't see enough brilliant programming to make it one of my frequently watched channels. I'm sorry you guys will miss it, but it won't be a big loss for me.
posted by Doohickie at 8:37 PM on January 3, 2005

I heard about this a few months ago from an ad exec at Universal TV. It's been on the chopping block ever since the merger with NBC. It never got the numbers they were hoping for, and is considered expendable.

Sucks, but that's business.
posted by me3dia at 8:38 PM on January 3, 2005

With a viewing audience fragmented among 200+ channels, what the heck counts as enough viewers to save a niche channel?
posted by mediareport at 8:41 PM on January 3, 2005

When Big Media Corporations merge, some entities of quality inevitably are lost. Such it was with the NBC - Universal merger and Trio. Personally, I suspect the bigwigs thought the Universal-owned Trio was too similar in demographic appeal to the NBC-owned and larger-audienced Bravo. The only possible silver lining might be if Bravo picks up some of Trio's better shows/themes. But don't hold your breath.
posted by wendell at 8:49 PM on January 3, 2005

Back when we had regular TV, then cable, I was still able to pull in ALL our local channels, which included CBET (Channel 9), our local CBC outlet from Windsor, Ontario (I live near Detroit). Channel 9 had a lot of what Trio showed, as well as other interesting Canadian- and British-based programming. When we got DirecTV, there was no more Channel 9, but Trio was an interesting substitute. Besides the "Pink Lady" shows (which, sadly, I remembered from their original broadcast), I was also enjoying the early days of "Late Night with David Letterman." While browsing down the DTV menu early Jan 1, I saw the message that Trio was no longer available. Any chance for an 11th-hour reprieve?
posted by Oriole Adams at 9:08 PM on January 3, 2005

Man, I miss Windsor 9. Hockey Night in Canada ruled my face.
Back to Trio: any channel that aired dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y is great by me. I will surely miss Trio.
posted by NoMich at 9:18 PM on January 3, 2005

It gets worse, wendell. Expect NewsCorp (DirecTV's owner) to replace it with another channel--a new one owned by NewsCorp too. A new sports channel, finance channel, or an entertainment channel. Plus Fox Fuel, FoxSportsKids, FoxObsceneReality or whatever...
posted by kenneth at 9:20 PM on January 3, 2005

My roommate loves trio. Maybe though they can finally have room for The Puppy Channel
posted by drezdn at 9:22 PM on January 3, 2005

This may not be a big loss for some people, but this sure isn't a good sign for other niche channels. Trio would run all kinds of TV shows, documentaries, and movies, good and bad, mainstream and cult, that you would not see anywhere else. Brilliant but Cancelled, weeks where they let people like Quentin Tarantino and Joel Stein program the network, a week with Amy Sidaris hosting movies, those were just some of the examples of Trio's interesting ideas of programming.

I wouldn't be surprised to see another shopping or religious channel plugged in the DirecTv lineup. God forbid there aren't enough of those already...

Your favorite channel might be next on the chopping block. I, for one, will miss Trio.
posted by bawanaal at 9:35 PM on January 3, 2005

Shows on Trio:

Pink Lady and Jeff
My mother the Car
Johnny Staccatto
CopRock
Shazam
Spaced
Johnny Cash In San Quentin
Egg the Arts Show
Parking Lot (from the guy who brought us Heavy Metal Parking Lot)

only wish I could afford DirectTv
posted by destro at 9:35 PM on January 3, 2005

Yeah, well, our local cable company keeps compressing the king hell out of the programming to fit on more crap shopping channels I don't use, and any kind of DSS is useless, since I live in an older neighborhood with real trees, and, frankly, I barely watch TV any more as I work third shifts and working around all the crap, I end up missing bits of the few shows I think are worth watching, and...
posted by Samizdata at 9:47 PM on January 3, 2005

You know, this just sucks. I really hate TV now. It's too bad, seeing as I work in it and all.
posted by fungible at 9:49 PM on January 3, 2005

I don't understand this. Why would somebody who doesn't watch tv care about a niche cable network getting taken off a pay-tv provider? Should we threaten to not watch another tv station on another provider that we don't subscribe to?
posted by swell at 10:37 PM on January 3, 2005

Grrr..... I remember a few months back they did a marathon of pilots that were never optioned for a full season. It was fantastic, all sorts of brilliant, quirky, smart programs that never got a chance.

this sucks.
posted by nathan_teske at 11:04 PM on January 3, 2005

This blows. Trio rocks.
Unfortunately Trio also has a bit of a disadvantage with comcast where they require you to get an entire 'digital extra pack' which for some some reason is the pack that has fox college sports and NBA TV. While I'm sure theres some supposedly good business reason for requiring these 'packs', I can hardly wait until ala carte is the model that truly lets me have 'tv my way'.

Trio is one of the channels that shows what happens when you don't pander to the audience and actually assume that people are at least receptive to new and challenging programming.
posted by xxiii at 12:26 AM on January 4, 2005

Why does everyone who doesn't watch TV feel the need to tell everyone else about it? how obnoxious.

I absolutely *loved* pilot season on trio, and it had some really quirky documentaries (being gay in texas, for example). I didn't watch a *lot* of Trio, but the Trio I watched I enjoyed. Thankfully, I have time warner cable, so I've still got it. (for as long as it exists).
posted by absalom at 6:17 AM on January 4, 2005

they did a series in October about Texas that was brilliant. Lots of different docs all related to the lone star state.

This was my first thought when I saw the post headline. That week was brilliant programing and superior to anything else showing on other channels: Karl Rove's brain, Teen Virginity Pledges, Oversized Texans, Christianity and the State...I learned so much about Texas. In fact, I was wishing they could do the same thing for each state.

What can I say. My approbation has always been the Kiss of Death for commercial programming.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:22 AM on January 4, 2005

Trio is one of the channels that shows what happens when you don't pander to the audience and actually assume that people are at least receptive to new and challenging programming.

You get cancelled?

I'll miss it. Someone up thread suggested Bravo taking over some shows, and I have to say not bloody likely: Bravo is a pale shadow of what it once was. Queer Eye, Celebrity Poker, and even Inside the Actor's Studio are a far cry from The South Bank Show and A Bit of Fry and Laurie.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 6:28 AM on January 4, 2005

I enjoyed the documentary about the movie "Heaven's Gate", as well as their failed Pilot week. And "Pink Lady and Jeff" has to be one of the worst shows I have ever seen, making it all the more hilarious.
posted by Agrippina at 6:39 AM on January 4, 2005

Why would somebody who doesn't watch tv care about a niche cable network getting taken off a pay-tv provider?

So they can tell everyone that they don't have a tv?
posted by DieHipsterDie at 7:12 AM on January 4, 2005

"Why does everyone who doesn't watch TV feel the need to tell everyone else about it? how obnoxious."

cause it's liberating. i did nothing but watch tv for so many years. i work in tv. killing it is liberating. sorry to offend.
posted by alfredogarcia at 7:12 AM on January 4, 2005

Still, why do you care about a channel you can't and won't watch anyway?

I'll miss Trio. A bit to hipsterish at times but still the only place to see some great forgotten programming.
posted by DieHipsterDie at 7:17 AM on January 4, 2005

i think tv is in its last dying spasms. once it merges with the nets there will be 100 trios and shitty channels wont have a leg to stand on... ok now nobody shatter my fantasy, just let me keep deluding myself for a little bit longer...
but seriously, these new specialty channels are garbage. this was their revolution?
posted by GleepGlop at 7:18 AM on January 4, 2005

The article didn't mention it, but cable companies probably played a more significant role in Trio's demise. 20 million total subscribers nationally is very small and means the major cable providers weren't making it available. I'm stuck with the horrendous Comcast for my cable and they even have a slot for the channel, but they refuse to make it available.

As for the whole "TV is evil crowd," it is very pompous. That's like going to an airport bookstore and swearing off books because you think Clancy and Steele are too pedestrian. (They are, but you're not looking in the right place.) There are good shows that you're missing that are infinitely better than what passes for quality on the web.

Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Office are just three of the shows your self-righteousness has denied you. Sorry for the long-windedness. I just got whipped up into a comedy nerd furvor.
posted by BigFatWhale at 7:27 AM on January 4, 2005

Well, don't be too worried because soon, instead of missing all that brilliant programming on Trio, you can feast your eyes on Discovery Channel's new channel, The Military Channel!! Sweet! So, just in case the move from video of Iraq to tsunami reporting on CNN and the like has left you starved for endless snippets of tracer fire, bombs, snipers, etc etc, your salvation is neigh.
posted by spicynuts at 7:34 AM on January 4, 2005

Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Office are just three of the shows your self-righteousness has denied you.

hello?? dvd. sorry to be hipper than some of ya'll. i guess somebody's gotta do it. i'm probably smarter and better looking too. :D
posted by alfredogarcia at 10:43 AM on January 4, 2005

Still, why do you care about a channel you can't and won't watch anyway?

modern media is a very important part of our culture and lives - i've always been obsessed with it and i make my living with it. i wasn't judging anyone who watches tv. i was just saying i killed mine and am happy for it. i rent fred astaire dvd's at the library for free and watch them on my powerbook. go ahead and watch your tube man, i don't care or judge you at all.
posted by alfredogarcia at 10:53 AM on January 4, 2005

I never really got Trio. I mean, three of what?
posted by kindall at 11:24 AM on January 4, 2005

DirectTV has broken my heart. At least they added GAC recently (Moo?). Sigh.

Another interesting channel is 'Link'. They have some great documentaries. Hope we get to keep that one.
posted by UseyurBrain at 11:29 AM on January 4, 2005

art, culture, entertainment
posted by alfredogarcia at 11:44 AM on January 4, 2005

This is just horrible.. I am depressed as hell.
posted by cowmix at 11:47 AM on January 4, 2005

hello?? dvd. sorry to be hipper than some of ya'll. i guess somebody's gotta do it. i'm probably smarter and better looking too. :D

Yeah of course they're on DVD, and you can even get them as torrents. Either way, watching them while smugly saying you "killed your TV" is kind of lame, since you're still watching TV shows. Killing your TV implies a life of books and theater, possibly while wearing a turtle neck and a sportscoat with leather patches on the elbows. (That's the image in my head anyway.) Watching TV shows whenever you want is called "Watching TV."
posted by BigFatWhale at 12:58 PM on January 4, 2005

BigFatWhale, I have Comcast cable too and we get Trio. Granted, we have the digital package, but it's there.
posted by SisterHavana at 2:25 PM on January 4, 2005

I never really got Trio. I mean, three of what?

pop, culture, tv.
posted by notclosed at 4:39 PM on January 4, 2005

I had NO IDEA that Trio had all that cool stuff on it. The failed pilots series? I would have loved that. And now it's too late. *sigh*
posted by litlnemo at 6:49 PM on January 4, 2005

Failed pilots week?

Fuck.

That would've been awesome.
posted by graventy at 9:03 PM on January 4, 2005

last thing i tivoed from Trio: The Christmas Special Christmas Special
posted by tsarfan at 1:39 AM on January 5, 2005