TV show airing this week features amusement parks

Wasn't this discussed in a General Buzz thread, and determined that pretty much nobody (myself included) gets this channel?

I've had it for years, if I recall. Had it with Fios and now with DirecTV. That is not to say that my TV is ever tuned to that channel, or ever will be, even to watch this show, however.

Here in ct it is only offere on dish tv and direct tv.Too bad i only have comcast.

ShaneDenmark said:

Wasn't this discussed in a General Buzz thread, and determined that pretty much nobody (myself included) gets this channel?

http://coasterbuzz.com/Forums/Topic/all-american-amusement-park

We get this channel - in HD even. (I'm the guy who still finds value in paying for the big, all-inclusive cable package. It's good to be the lord. :) )

I have no interest in watching this. In fact, you're all invited to come over and not watch it with me...in HD!

I watch maybe four hours of TV a week, pay about $60 a month for the privilege, and still have to watch commercials. Something doesn't sound quite right about that.

I don't get this channel, so I can't watch it. Maybe it will be on torrent sites or the GAC website later.

I don't get coaster shows the main audience is roller coaster enthusiasts but what they talk about we already know.

That's actually a sort of valid point.

Who is this mysterious "inbetween" with enough interest in theme parks and rides to watch a show like this, but still far enough out of the loop to make it informative or interesting?

I suspect it's more the travel/entertainment angle that lures viewers. Couple that with the fact that these shows air on cable channels like GAC and I doubt the audience needed to be worth it is very large.

I guess in the end, it's low-cost programming that attracts enough viewers to be profitable.

Another component may be the repeat-ability of such programs.

Shows like this can be repeated endlessly, and the production costs, relatively speaking, are low. And each time the program airs, there's commercial time to be sold.

There's a reason Food Network airs approximately 3 gazbillion episodes of Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives each week.... :-)

Years ago, I'd watch these type of shows mainly for the POV shots. While they were incomplete, and I had to suffer through "Here we go into the COBRA ROLL!!!" it was, at the time, the only way to get a sense of what it was actually like to ride.

Today, however, any time I get the urge to watch a coaster POV, which is quite a lot, all I have to do is go to youtube or google, type in "coastername POV," and in 30 seconds, I'm riding along.

Now, that being said, I still have to suffer through "AND WE'RE TWISTING!!!! AND WE'RE TWISTING!!!!" but even that can be cured with one button press.

So no, I'm not saddened at all that we don't get the GAC channel.

Lord Gonchar said:

Who is this mysterious "inbetween" with enough interest in theme parks and rides to watch a show like this, but still far enough out of the loop to make it informative or interesting?

Oh, Gonch, surely you know who those people are. They're the friends who come up to us, because we're "experts" and say "Hey, have you heard of that world's tallest water slide I seen on TV last night? It looks wicked". Or they're the people that we overhear in line say "they have a ride just like this in New Jersey somewhere but it goes twice as fast and is twice as tall." Or they're just the millions of park goers who make once a year excursions to their regional theme parks then retreat to their family rooms to spend the rest of the summer in front of the tube. They're the dangerous ones with just enought interest to watch shows like this and in turn believe everything they think they hear.

Producers love those people and know they're out there. They may grab them while they're channel surfing, but somehow they get enough of them. They just CAN'T be talking to us, because if they were they'd know we don't like edited POV footage, attractive teenagers acting as expert hosts, or suspenseful stories involving the dangers of building such extreme rides.

Tommytheduck said:

Now, that being said, I still have to suffer through "AND WE'RE TWISTING!!!! AND WE'RE TWISTING!!!!" but even that can be cured with one button press.

HAHAHAAHAHA! There are a few more I could add, but I'll save the rest of you from hearing that voice in your head.

Great post. I've been seeing a lot of obscure POVs lately because IMDB likes to post them on Facebook.

I think I might be the only enthusiast in the world that doesn't 'get' POV video. It's the single most boring park/coaster related thing I can think of.

Sometimes I lean with the turns and sit higher when I think there should be airtime when I am watching a POV. lol I'm probably not going to get to ride thousands of coasters like some of the more traveled enthusiasts, so I'll take whatever experiences I can get, even if they are not authentic.

Boring if the entire lift hill is included...
Or irritating if the ride has LOOP de LOOOOOOOPS!....

Another thing that drives me nuts is when the person holding the camera decides its time to turn the camera around and show his friends. Who always make the rock on sign or something. Quit showing your friends, please, and aim your camera back toward the track where it belongs.
And those would be the amature shoots. There are plenty of guys out there, besides the aforementioned, who do "professional", straight ahead point of view videos, usually associated with a website. Of course, the parks take good ones too, with the camera mounted to the train, and that's always nice.

And I say that while reminding everyone to please be mindful and follow each park's safety policy regarding cameras on rides.

But im so grateful that just about every coaster at every park has been captured by someone. Like Travis says, there are some rides we know we won't get to any time soon.
The other day when the topic of the gruesome mishap at Lightwater Valley came up, I went straight to YouTube and looked it up again as a refresher. I was reminded what an odd, homemade looking ride that Ultimate is, and I could see where wildlife has every opportunity to visit the ride too.

Lord Gonchar said:

I think I might be the only enthusiast in the world that doesn't 'get' POV video. It's the single most boring park/coaster related thing I can think of.

Nope, I'm there with you. It seemed novel at first during that time around 2000 when there were a billion coaster shows on cable, but they all blend together after you've seen a few. They're not very interesting at all.

I like POV videos because it allows my family to, at least partially, experience the ride visually with me. I don't come from a family of coaster riders, so it at least gives them a little glimpse into the experiences.

POVs give me a better idea of the layout but I definitely don't watch a to of them.

I watch a few POV's. For me they are informational, not entertainment by any means.