CNN is showing some documentary tonight dedicated to their founder and champion, Ted Turner: He did this, he did that, isn’t he awesome? Well, whether you like him or not, he did something amazing everyone should appreciate: Turner Classic Movies.
In case you’re wondering, I’m guessing it ain’t cheap to run a network that shows commercial-free old movies 24-hours-a-day. But thanks to Ted’s investment savvy to buy this stuff, and how this channel has grown on everybody to the point that they can make stuff happen, it’s practically a miracle to lovers of old movies, film restorers, foreign film fans, etc. Lost films have seen the light of day again due to the efforts of this channel, and other restoration houses have found not only an audience, but a raison d’etre due to this channel and its obsessive fan base. In fact, if Ted Turner had never done anything else in his whole life, this ought to win him the Medal of Freedom all by itself. (And if he doesn’t get it soon for keeping classic films alive, I demand a recount!)
It used to be that AMC (American Movie Classics) showed all the Golden Age of Hollywood movies with no ads on basic cable, but I think what happened is that Ted Turner noticed that all these movies came from his movie library, and he said: “Hey, I should do this!” And TCM has since become leaps and bounds more than AMC ever was when they showed classic movies.
So thanks, Ted, for Turner Classic Movies: still the best channel on television! (And we’ll all forgive you for colorized movies someday, don’t worry!)
