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LuckyCharms

(18,888 posts) Tue Oct 1, 2024, 06:36 PM Oct 1

Is anyone here old enough to remember walking up to your TV set, pushing a button on the TV... [View all]

...and, you know, the TV would come on, and you would sit back and watch it, and when you wanted to change the channel, say to channel 3, and and you would turn a mechanical knob to channel 3, the TV would immediately change to channel 3, and you would watch that program? And then when you were done watching TV, you would get up and hit the button and the TV would turn off and you would go about your business?

This was well before the present time, when you take a remote device and turn your TV on by hitting 3 buttons on the remote to turn on your fucking cable box and the TV itself, then wait 5 seconds for everything to boot up, and then on the screen, a message appears that says "please call 1-800-Time Waste to have your cable service restored", and you sit there thinking "I haven't once missed a cable payment in, oh, 5 or 6 decades, why is my service cancelled"?

And then you call the Spectrum 800 number to see what's going on, and you get an automated, pleasant female voice asking for the security code on your bill before they talk to you about what your issue is, and you say to this automated voice "I don't know", and she says "I'm sorry, I didn't understand you, please provide the security number on your bill", and you say "Unsure", and the voice says "I'm sorry, I didn't understand you", and you scream into the phone "I don't fucking know", and there is silence for 30 seconds, and then the voice says "I will transfer you to a representative".

Then you get another recording that says "your approximate wait time is 30 minutes". So you put your phone on speaker and sit there trying to eat your lunch before the representative comes on the phone, but they come on earlier than 30 minutes, and you have a mouthful of split pea soup, and you don't want the representative to think you were not there anymore, so you try to talk with the split pea soup in your mouth and you dribble it down the front of your shirt?

Then the representative says since you don't have the security code off your bill, they need to verify your identity another way by asking for your mother's maiden name, your address, your pet's name, and a close up picture of your genitals.

Then, when you get through all of that, you explain the problem, and the representative tells you to unplug the cable box, and you tell him that you have a bad back and you are not moving any fucking furniture to unplug the cable box, so he tells you to use the reset button. so you go to the cable box to use the reset button, but you can't find it because it is recessed and it is black, like everything else on the cable box, so you're going by feel, while the rest of your soup is getting cold. So you yell at your speaker phone "I CAN'T FIND THE BUTTON", and the representative yells back "IT'S UNDER THE SECOND S IN THE WORD SAMSUNG".

So you find the button and hold it for 30 seconds, and the cable box cycles through cryptic codes for 15 minutes and your soup is ice cold by now, while your TV says on the screen "your TV will be with you in a moment".

And the cable box finally resets, but you are getting the same message to call customer service to have your service restored.

So you state that to the representative, and he says that he will have to send a signal to your cable box. And he sends the signal and you wait for another 15 minutes for it to reset, and then finally, the TV comes on, but you forgot why you wanted to watch TV in the first place, so you go back to your cold soup, which now tastes like split pea ice cream.

95 replies

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Highlight:

Is anyone here old enough to remember walking up to your TV set, pushing a button on the TV... [View all] LuckyCharms Oct 1 OP

Oh, yeah... Ocelot II Oct 1 #1

Well dweller Oct 1 #2

At least they're asking for your MOTHER's maiden name and the photo of YOUR genitals! Beartracks Oct 1 #3

You forgot central scrutinizer Oct 1 #4

And waiting for the tubes to warm up before you got a picture. rsdsharp Oct 1 #22

Oh... And TV was not broadcast 24 hours a day... mwooldri Oct 1 #74

My dad was the local TV repairman. WestMichRad Oct 2 #91

I lived between two local markets, so we got two stations for each of the three networks, rsdsharp Oct 2 #92

Yes! What a trip down memory lane! Doodley Oct 1 #24

And depending on the station, at 11 pm, CBS would play the theme, "Syncopated Clock" and the movie would go on. 3Hotdogs Oct 1 #73

No buttons in my childhood Gruenemann Oct 1 #4

Color???? HighFired49 Oct 1 #68

I remember the knob you had to turn to stop the picture from spinning, if you turned it too far, the picture would spin dem4decades Oct 1 #6

You had a button? We only had a knob, and we were damned glad to have that by cracky! Some channels we had brewens Oct 1 #7

How about going to the 7-11 duncang Oct 1 #8

Yes to all the above Dave in VA Oct 1 #9

I have a husband who wanted to watch the exfinity race saturday. Our cable did not carry it. So he missed it. Srkdqltr Oct 1 #10

Remember it well XanaDUer2 Oct 1 #11

I remember turning a knob to turn ours on. mzmolly Oct 1 #12

Yes, but never turned the knob. Sneederbunk Oct 1 #13

Everything you wrote, yes. Diamond_Dog Oct 1 #14

You had push-buttons? Our first black and white tv had like a 10 inch screed and a chassis full of tubes. Silent Type Oct 1 #15

A view from the other side TlalocW Oct 1 #16

Yes, I remember TV in those early days, House of Roberts Oct 1 #17

You can actually get to a human representative? My cable phone answerer gives me a list of problems and the ... Jim__ Oct 1 #18

How about those security questions spooky3 Oct 1 #19

We lost the knob and had to use a fork to turn the channels lynintenn Oct 1 #20

or pliers nt msongs Oct 1 #23

Oh, right! LisaM Oct 1 #49

Vice grips Cirsium Oct 1 #56

Yes. And, I remember that my family was the first in our neighborhood to have a TV. patphil Oct 1 #21

Plunk your magic twanger, Froggie! yorkster Oct 1 #29

I grew up in the UK. We only had one TV, three channels, a 14 inch black and white screen, and no remote. Doodley Oct 1 #25

that's what I remember too Skittles Oct 1 #33

Yep. Still need a TV license. Great value, in particular to have in-depth news coverage that can be mostly trusted. Doodley Oct 1 #39

I watched the original Dr Who as a child in England Skittles Oct 1 #44

We moved to Japan in the mid-50s HighFired49 Oct 1 #71

Hilarious! Thanks for sharing! Doodley Oct 1 #77

Funny thing is, I still only watch about three channels. I think it JenniferJuniper Oct 1 #26

At the test pattern after all networks were off crimycarny Oct 1 #27

Right before the test pattern, one might hear: yonder Oct 1 #35

High Flight Cirsium Oct 1 #59

Yes, thats it. Great word craft there. Thanks. yonder Oct 1 #63

Thank you1 HighFired49 Oct 1 #70

That was our TV also. Arne Oct 1 #69

Ahem...was it this? ArkansasDemocrat1 Oct 2 #79

Wow, it was an F-104. Thanks for digging that up. yonder Oct 2 #80

I remember the old days of Dad standing on the roof twisting the antenna LNM Oct 1 #28

We had a device called a Tenna-Rotor Freddie Oct 1 #31

An early remote control! LNM Oct 1 #75

I read this whole thing to my husband and yorkster Oct 1 #30

I haven't wasted any time with a T.V. in at least 10 years erronis Oct 1 #32

When I was 6-9, we lived up north on the side of a mountain, beautiful country, but we only got ONE channel Rhiannon12866 Oct 1 #34

And a good whack to the side of the TV would sometimes fix the screen n/t tom_kelly Oct 1 #36

I pick up what you're laying down! Puppyjive Oct 1 #37

"It's a movie about Indians, but it's really boring" JoseBalow Oct 1 #38

Funny. efhmc Oct 1 #53

Not just the TV - same thing with internet service TBF Oct 1 #40

We were my dad's remote control !!! aggiesal Oct 1 #41

I was an only child for my first 10 and a half years, so I was the only remote control! deurbano Oct 1 #57

You have described modern life accurately, and I may say, eloquently. We are ruled by robots. NNadir Oct 1 #42

I'm old enough to remember not having a TV. Ptah Oct 1 #43

The vertical hold and horizontal hold The Blue Flower Oct 1 #45

I was watching a football game on Peacock the other day . LisaM Oct 1 #46

When there were problems with a fuzzy picture. . . Collimator Oct 1 #47

All that walking across the room was a real killer. milestogo Oct 1 #48

I remember that after turning off the tv sdfernando Oct 1 #50

Does anyone remember turning off the tv and watching the image slowly shrink... ShazzieB Oct 1 #51

At the time my dad worked for RCA. LakeArenal Oct 1 #52

whacking the side of the set to get the squigglys out samnsara Oct 1 #54

OK, I'm a boomer. My parents didn't get a color TV for a decade. Yes, we had to walk up to the TV to turn it on, Martin68 Oct 1 #55

Oh yeah and I remember how long you had to wait after pushing that button Bev54 Oct 1 #58

Remember it well. I was the human remote. paleotn Oct 1 #60

We got two stations and then PBS. Didn't pay hundreds of dollars to watch shit though. twodogsbarking Oct 1 #61

Little brother was the remote control for all 3 channels and held the tin foil on the rabbit ears. Marcuse Oct 1 #62

Damn! I LOVE this GAJMac Oct 1 #64

Born 1957, I remember when VHF was first available Martin Eden Oct 1 #65

My parents were ahead of the times. COL Mustard Oct 1 #66

We had a b & w with knobs until the mid 70s. Clouds Passing Oct 1 #67

I hear you, BUT bikes and bunnies Oct 1 #72

But you could always find that stuff at a bookstore or library. LisaM Oct 2 #84

Even when the plastic dial used to change channels cracked, the pliers could be used to change channels. dgauss Oct 1 #76

all my tvs had up down buttons or knobs . even for other controls such as brightnes and etce. AllaN01Bear Oct 1 #78

Yes! I remember the black and white TV ! peacebuzzard Oct 2 #81

You must have DirecTV, too...... lastlib Oct 2 #82

I am old enough to remember when, if the TV was not working, we just went outside and did something else. (n/t) OldBaldy1701E Oct 2 #83

I spent hours trying to get the UHF to tune in. Prairie_Seagull Oct 2 #85

I do, debm55 Oct 2 #86

I've never had a cable box. hunter Oct 2 #87

This is what a remote control looked like in the 70s. Angleae Oct 2 #88

I've been trying to think about the 1st TV that I remember Niagara Oct 2 #89

Terrific Post! ProfessorGAC Oct 2 #90

Yes, and I remember why the remote used to be called a clicker. Iggo Oct 2 #93

When remote tvs came out Figarosmom Oct 3 #94

We had 3 1/2 channels. VGNonly Oct 5 #95