Hello! If you are reading this, then congratulations and thank you! I’m Cory and I want to talk about television. I love television. Watching TV shows growing up was a big reason I ended up going to film school and entered into a career in the entertainment industry going on nearly 20 years at this point.
Growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, I was fortunate enough to experience all of the change and growth of the television industry during that time as a consumer. My earliest memories of cable TV included my dad recording Return of the Jedi off HBO so I could watch the Ewoks to my little heart’s content. Local cable where I grew up in the 1980s numbered around 20-25 channels, and by the time I left home for college they numbered in the hundreds and something called HD television was just starting.
After earning my film degree, I’ve worked in all aspects of this industry, from production on set, huddled in a darkened room during post production, reading scripts and writing coverage, industry non-profit, video games, but most of my experience has been in linear and streaming television. I’ve seen a lot of changes during these past two decades I’ve been in the post-college workforce, but one thing that has not changed is my passion and love for television. Specifically, genre television.
My definition of ‘genre’ television fluctuates sometimes, but generally it encompasses any television program that has a fantastical element to it. Science fiction, fantasy, and horror all easily fit, but I also throw in animation, sitcoms with a genre flavoring (I see you, Gordon Shumway!), even non-fantastical but specific ‘genres’ like the crime procedural.
Thinking about it, this definition kinda applies to most of television. Hmm.
ANYWAYS…
Back in 2019 I started a podcast about this very topic with my good friend Chris Coulter where each episode we would talk about a specific genre show from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. It was a lot of fun. Although our last episode launched back in December 2020 (thanks, pandemic), I’ve decided to keep the Set Your VCR spirit alive with an ongoing blog and newsletter.
So what am I going to be talking about? Subscribers can expect posts and emails twice weekly (on Monday and Friday mornings) with a mix of the following:
Industry news that I find interesting, with my thoughts. Likely just what I think is the one big story that week.
A show, event, or topic pertaining to television history. This is the meat of each post, providing my readers with a deep dive into something I think is cool or noteworthy, bonus points for shows, events and topics I don’t think the public is familiar with (but should be!).
Lessons learned during my time in the industry, complete with anecdotes and stories. They’ll run the gamut from humorous to serious to bizarre, but above all I hope they will be illuminating to anyone interested in what it is actually like to be in the entertainment business.
My recommendations on what shows and films to watch that week, both current and library, and info on where to find it.
I’m sure Set Your VCR will evolve as I go along, but I’m really looking forward to getting my thoughts out of my head and onto digital paper, and to share them with all of you. And of course, if you have any topic suggestions or thoughts, please let me know! There’s no shortage of things to talk about when discussing television history.
Thanks for reading this far, and don’t forget to Set Your VCR!