Strange programming choices.

[Guest Vitamin X]

On AMC right now:

 

Piñata: Survival Island (2002)

Starring: Nicholas Brendon, Jaime Pressley. College kids vacations on a tropical isle unwittingly unleash evil spirits when they discover an ancient piñata. (Horror, 85 mins.)

 

What the hell is that doing on American Movie Classics?!

 

EDIT: And yes, for the record I started watching it, but only because of Jaime Pressley. There's nothing else on and the concept was too weird not to embrace.

[MDH257]

Didn't they stop calling themselves that awhile ago? A few years ago I thought I saw them try to claim that the letters now stood for "America's Movie Channel".

[Youth N Asia]

I figured when they were showing Halloween 4 the name American Movie Classics didn't mean anything

[Craig Th]

The worst was seeing Cruel Intentions on ABC Family.

[the max]

Seeing "It" on ABCFamily was worse, IMO.

[kkktookmybabyaway]

"Goodfellas" on Lifetime.

[cabbageboy]

I vividly recall when AMC went to hell. It was Halloween 2000. I taped a movie called Supernatural with Carole Lombard and was watching it and halfway through some commercials popped up (just one break). I was just...outraged.

[DrVenkman PhD]

Courtesy wiki:

 

AMC is a cable television network that primarily airs movies. The letters originally stood for American Movie Classics. However, since 2003, the full name has been deemphasized (as is the case for TLC, and formerly TNN) as a result of a major shift in programming. AMC is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation, and signed on October 1, 1984.

 

AMC was originally a premium cable channel that aired classic movies during the afternoons and early evenings, largely pre-1950s, in a commercial-free, generally unedited format. It was not uncommon for the channel to host a Marx Brothers marathon, or show such classics as the original Phantom of the Opera. In the early 1990's, the channel shifted to a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week format.

 

The network has since dramatically changed its programming, shifting from premium to basic cable, emphasizing more recent movies, adding a new logo, with a lowercase a (seen above at right) and using a new slogan: "TV For Movie People." With competitors such as Turner Classic Movies and Fox Movie Channel, AMC changed its format from a classic movie network to a broader movie network, airing movies from the 1970's onwards.

 

The commercial-free format has also been abandoned. AMC airs fewer classic movies than they did years ago.

[Darthtiki]

Courtesy wiki:

 

AMC is a cable television network that primarily airs movies. The letters originally stood for American Movie Classics. However, since 2003, the full name has been deemphasized (as is the case for TLC, and formerly TNN) as a result of a major shift in programming. AMC is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation, and signed on October 1, 1984.

 

AMC was originally a premium cable channel that aired classic movies during the afternoons and early evenings, largely pre-1950s, in a commercial-free, generally unedited format. It was not uncommon for the channel to host a Marx Brothers marathon, or show such classics as the original Phantom of the Opera. In the early 1990's, the channel shifted to a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week format.

 

The network has since dramatically changed its programming, shifting from premium to basic cable, emphasizing more recent movies, adding a new logo, with a lowercase a (seen above at right) and using a new slogan: "TV For Movie People." With competitors such as Turner Classic Movies and Fox Movie Channel, AMC changed its format from a classic movie network to a broader movie network, airing movies from the 1970's onwards.

 

The commercial-free format has also been abandoned. AMC airs fewer classic movies than they did years ago.

 

Once again fuck the Dolans, they fuck up anything these days: AMC, Fuse, the Knicks

[Guest The Spike]

"Goodfellas" on Lifetime.

 

Another weird Lifetime one is "Gremlins 2".

[Guest Vitamin X]

See, that's funny because I hadn't known that about AMC until now, because most of the programming you can still catch on there is usually classic movies and the like. I just recorded The Towering Inferno from there the other day, and have watched several other classics as well.

 

Honestly though, Piñata Island?! That's like direct-to-DVD, or late night but not yet Skinnemax Cinemax or Showtime. I'm sure that'll keep viewers from watching FOX Movies or TCM (which is actually a good alternative).

[cabbageboy]

Yeah but here's the thing. Okay so Turner has all of the various MGM/Warners stuff but AMC never showed that stuff even at the peak of old school AMC. Fox Movies I guess shows that stuff, but would they not be willing to loan stuff out to AMC?

 

AMC could have still focused on a lot of old Universal, Paramount, RKO. Hell, when I think back to it now the stuff I watched in the early 90s on AMC was all stuff like Universal horror movies, various comedies like the Road movies, Marx Bros., W.C. Fields (all Paramount), and Wheeler & Woolsey (RKO). I recall about 10 years ago they showed quite a bit of old Capra stuff from Columbia, and not just the typical Mr. Smith and Mr. Deeds stuff. I also taped the fully restored All Quiet on the Western Front off AMC during their 1998 Preservation Festival, something I don't think has ever even been released on DVD.

 

AMC sold out in late 2000 and I am still very, very bitter about it. Bottom line: They suck.