All the free channels started to fall silent as they switched to subscription channels. Occasionally some subscription channels will turn on their sound for a trial and than falls silent once again.
FOX
The Remaining free to air channels after Sci Fi Channel fell silent were on satellite F 1. The primary channel I watched was FOX, TV shows I watched included Power Rangers, and VR Troopers.
Other TV shows I watched with my grandfather included Real Stories of the Highway Patrol, COPS, America's Most Wanted, The Simpsons, and Code 3.
Lady Frankenstein, 1971 Film
In March 1995, I stumbled upon the movie Lady Frankenstein on an adult oriented channel. Since I realized it was a movie I wanted to see, I popped a tape into the VCR and hit record.
Recorded on a VHS in March 1995
Other TV shows I saw on the BUD included NBC's Dateline, Ancient Prophecies (A stomach churner, Thinking the world is going to end),
The Learning Channel.
This was one of my favorite channels to watch occasionally. I saw shows such as Ancient Journeys, Ancient World, Ancient Warriors, Trauma Life in the ER, and The Operation. The Operation was a TV Show about surgical procedures including knees to eyes.
The Latter days of the BUD.
In 1995 - 1996 my grandfather decided to ditch the BUD because the dish's motor broke down. In order to keep the dish in position, I had to wedge a piece of wood into the ground. There were many free feeds that can be viewed on many of the open channels. I could watch promos or see a tv show before it gets released.
One last channel I stumbled upon a classical / opera music channel. This channel played a combination of music videos, opera, and animations. Unfortunatly, I do not recall the name of this music channel. One music video I truly remember on this channel was "Glitter to Be Gay" from Candide.
The BUD brought me so many memories in the world of TV and imagination
G 3 Channel 19 - Nickelodeon
In 1990, I watched Nickelodeon all the time. This was my favorite TV channel on the satellite dish. Nickelodeon was the first kids channel that played cartoons, kids related game shows like Nick Arcade, Get the Picture, Family Double Dare, and GUTS.
Early one morning, I turned on the TV and tuned in and discovered this outer space TV show called Launch Box.
Space Camp
In the fall of 1991, I saw a TV show in Friday morning at 5:30 AM entitled Launch Box. This TV Show was syndicated as a Cable in the classroom show. School teachers were permitted to tape the show and screen it in the classrooms. When I saw it for the first time, I discovered the US Space Camp. When I was a child, I wanted to take a trip to Space Camp.
The picture above was seen in Volume 33 (February, 1992) of Nintendo Power Magazine, the Players Poll Contest grand prize was a trip to the US Space Camp and a shuttle launch. After finding this picture, I was Inspired to creatre a pretend play game entitled Space Camp. My Space Suit was a winter coat, the space shuttle was my bed. the bedroom was the first incarnation of the space station. Enjoy the short inspirational video about going to outer space without leaving your home.
In March of 1992, I went to Universal Studios Orlando and toured Nickelodeon Studios and took a road trip to the Kennedy Space Centre.
BUD stands for Big Ugly Dish. In 1990, My grandfather decided to get a BUD because there is more TV channels to watch between G1 - G5 on the C-Band.
Where did We order the BUD
My grandfather ordered our satellite dish through the Stereo Den in Newmarket, Ontario. The Stereo Den was our satellite dealer that my grandfather bought the receiver, the codes, and the dish.
The Channels
When you get a satellite dish, you will have to subscribe to many channels. There are some channels that are free to watch with audio. Some channels scrambled and not available. Most of the channels that everyone enjoys are known as subscription channels. If you watch a subscription channel, there may not be any audio. In order to activate the audio, you have to punch in a code that is 10 - 20 characters long.
Movies
The BUD Had so many movie channels ranging from Showtime to Cinemax. There were great movies to watch from Comedy to Horror. I saw many movies like Bad Dreams, Total Recall, Little Monsters, and more. I will tell you more movie memories on another page.
A jump scare in an unknown wedding movie, 1989 - 1990
This movie features a wedding ceremony in a church. In the scene, you will see the bride walk down the aisle. The camera will pan and show her face which is gory followed by a scram and a jump cut to a man screaming in bed realizing it was a nightmare. I searched the IMDB and Google and cannot find the title.
Total Recall,1990
I saw this movie for the first time in January / Febuary 1991 on Viewer's Choice Pay Per View (G 3 channel 16). What grabbed my attention when I was flipping channels one afternoon, was a car chase scene through a tunnel.
This is the scariest moment in Total Recall
The Implant Lab scene frightened me when I saw it for the first time because of the lights the flashing lights and the sounds of sparking by Quaid's ears during the Implant procedure. I continued to watch the movie and got frightened again when Benny attempts to grind Quaid with a tunnel mole machine. A moment later, I said I did not like the move and switched the channel. Since than, I was afraid to look at the video cover.
Cartoons
One of my favorite cartoon / kids channel I fell in love was Nickelodeon. I saw cartoons like Heathcliff, Maya The Bee, Loony Tunes, Yogi Bear, and more. Please keep your ears to the tracks for a special posting for Memories of Nick.
Family Channel
The Family Channel was a great channel that featured cartoons during Fun Town. Fun Town was a block that is devoted to cartoons including The Super Mario Brothers Super Show, Heroes on Hot Wheels, Captain N, and more. Other great shows that I saw were Rin Tin Tin, K9 Cop, and Zorro.
Captain N, The Game Master
One of my favorite "Captain N" episodes I looked forward to watching was The Most Dangerous Game Master. I was inspired to coin the term to get sparked up after watching the Frankenstein like scene.
In the August 1992, The sound to the Family Channel was switched off because the subscription ran out.
In September 1992, The Sci Fi Channel was launched and graced my TV Screen for a year and a half. There were many great memories from the Cartoon Quest to Classic Monsters Month. I watched Frankenstein for the first time.
Back in the 1990, my grandfather got a BUD (Big Ugly Satellite Dish). There were great memories from the dream of visiting Nickelodeon Studios in Florida and getting scared while watching Total Recall. I held some great BUD Memories while watching the Sci Fi channel.
On September 24, 1992, The Sci Fi Channel officially launched on G-5 Channel 4. I watched great shows on that channel as such as Amazing Stories, Dr Who, Defenders of the Earth, Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and the Incredible Hulk. Some of these shows I watched inspired me to draw a silly picture at school.
Classic Monsters Month -- Hosted by Christopher Lee
In October, 1993, The Sci Fi Channel held a Classic Monsters Month featuring the four monsters. October 4 - 8, 1993 was The Mummy Week, October 11 - 15 was Dracula Week, October 18 - 22 was Frankenstein Week, and October 26 - 29, 1993 was The Wolf Man Week. On October 30th was The Wonderful World of Zombies, a day devoted to zombie flicks like White Zombie. On Halloween Day, The Sci Fi channel had a Marathon of Scary Movies including the Puppet Master, Phantasm, The Evil Dead, and more. After October 1993, I was inspired to watch some classic horror films including Dracula and Frankenstein.
Doppleganger The Sci Fi Channel screened the movie Doppleganger Sunday, February 20th, 1994 to kick off Boris Karloff Week. I watched this film intermintely during the screening. Towards the end, I got frightened and I turned off the TV. This was a memorable BUD Scary Moment. Boris Karloff Week -- Hosted by Peter Bogdanovich
Between February 21 - 25, 1993 was a special week devoted to 5 Boris Karloff films. The Sci Fi Channel screened on Monday Corridors of Blood, Wedensday, The Invisable Ray, Thursday, Targets, and Friday, Frankenstein to close the week.
Watch this Boris Karloff week video. There
is a short Count Dracula
trailer you will love and remember
Bram Stoker's Count Dracula
On Saturday, February 26, The Sci Fi channel screened Count Dracula. A few days following Boris Karloff Week, the Sci Fi Channel was silenced forever.
Mad Doctors Week
In March of 1994, The Sci Fi Channel had another horror week based on Mad Doctors. I did not get to see this event because the channel was silenced.
Why did the Sci Fi Channel get Silenced?
The Sci Fi Channel has changed its status on the C Band from a Free (Clear, Unscrambled) to a subscription channel. This means you have to contact your satellite dealer and get the code to re activate the sound. Occasionally the sound will be activated for a few days to give viewers a sample of what the channel is like before obtaining the code.
According to Wikipedia, Paramount was sold to The V of Doom (Viacom) = Sci Fi channel silenced. The channel was silenced intermittently in February until the conclusion of Boris Karloff Week.
Why Codes?
The BUD satellite receiver requires you to get a decoder chip installed every year to access all the subscription channels like Nick, Family, Etc. If you cannot afford the chip, you can contact your satellite dealer and they will fax you the codes for the channels you want to subscribe to. After punching in the code, the sound will magically turn on. You can still watch the channel without sound if you can read lips. When you want to enter a subscription code, you must turn to the channel, and enter the 10 - 15 digit code. If you enter the code correctly, you will hear the people talk again for one month.
The Legends of Horror Month -- Hosted by Christopher Lee
In October 1994, The Sci Fi channel had its second annual classic horror movie month. The Legends of horror featured films by key actors like Peter Cushing, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and, Lon Chaney Jr. When the Legends of Horror Month was underway, the Sci Fi Channel was silenced. Unfortunately we did not want to spend the money on subscription codes because there were some clear channels including Fox, NBC, Etc.
Horror VHS Rental Number 1
On November 5, 1994, I rented the original 1931 Bela Lugosi Dracula at Jumbo Video.
This was the first horror film I rented from Jumbo Video,
Keep your ears to the tracks for more great memories of the BUD.
