Brooks on Books: It's Not TV...It's HBO by Felix Gillette and John Koblin

This is a great complement to the Tinderbox oral history by James Andrew Miller, a great read that I write about here. I recommend both to anyone interested in the history of HBO. There's a lot of fascinating stuff about the prehistoric HBO days in Miler's book, and its massiveness means more detail in many places.

That said, It's Not TV might be the more enjoyable book. It is a broader view of HBO as a channel and programming source, whereas Tinderbox focuses on HBO as a business. There are other big differences, and maybe the most prominent one is the treatment of Chris Albrecht. The former HBO exec left after strangling a woman in the office, and Miller's book treads quite lightly on that incident and the corporate response (or lack thereof) to it. It's Not TV refers to it frequently, almost relishing in making sure we don't forget it when Albrecht is mentioned, and it also gives significant space and "the last word" of sorts to the victim. I will say that the oral history quotes Albrecht extensively. Just saying.

This one shares one big thing in common with the Miller book: It just isn't as fun after AT&T takes over. The whole HBO story just gets sadder at that point.

One interesting difference in approach is the creation of Nineties original sitcom Dream On. Miller focuses on the creators coming up with the idea but leaves out one of the most fascinating aspects, that Universal forced John Landis to "earn his keep" on the lot by coming up with a way to use that old library footage. This is particularly funny because It's Not TV is more from the ground up in general, while Tinderbox is focused on the suits who ran HBO and everything is usually coming top down.

I think It's Not TV is the more compelling read and the more cohesive one. It makes its points with more precision and with less effort, I feel, but I did enjoy each book. I wish each were more about the earlier days and less about the modern ones, but that's the way it is.

Brooks on Books: "Tinderbox" by James Andrew Miller

When we talked about HBO this season, I had read the section of Tinderbox covering up to about 1990 or so. James Andrew Miller's oral history is a really big book, though! I went back to it and read about The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, and Succession among other shows and events. I even finished the book!

Tinderbox is a juicy read loaded with info about most of the big HBO series, and I give it a strong recommendation. I have to tell you something, though: The real thrust of the text is the executive politics and boardroom intrigue at the company. There is ample stuff about the likes of James Gandolfini, but a whole lot of the history relates to the machinations of various network (and higher-up) people that the average TV viewer does not know at all. Even the stories of hits like Sex and the City and the creative decisions are focused on the executive level as opposed to the production level.

If you are into that sort of thing, you will love the book, but otherwise it might get a bit frustrating at times. Miller's style and format here are familiar to anyone who has read his awesome books about ESPN and Saturday Night Live. He lets the principals tell the story but uses some deft editing and frequent editorial interludes (presented in italics for distinction) to shape narratives. There are a lot of colorful voices in here, and it's fun reading their gossipy comments about colleagues.

I do wish there were more on the Seventies and Eighties as the vast majority is the more modern era of the network. I'd also like to see more about some of the programming other than the original series. We do get a taste of that as Miller highlights some concerts, events like Comic Relief, and some original movies, but I'd like to know more about the programming itself and those choices like why certain theatrical movies played ad nauseam. HBO Boxing gets a lot of space, but other sports like tennis not so much.

I don't want to talk too much about what the book is not because I like what it is. Dick Cavett is barely in it, though, and we noted how he was the de facto face of HBO for a while. Rich Little, someone I remembered as a big deal on the channel in the Eighties, is mentioned in passing. Really, programing in general is not an emphasis until the timeline reaches Larry Sanders.

So for a fan of the early days, it's a little disappointing, but viewers who love 21st-century HBO will be pleased. Eventually I plan to get more of the overall story by diving back into It's Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution, and Future of HBO, another one I started for the podcast and paused once I got out of the Eighties.

YouTube Spotlight: "The Terry Fox Story" was on a lot!

On this week's HBO podcast, I note that while The Terry Fox Story was the first original HBO movie to air on the channel, Right of Way was produced first. That movie stars Jimmy Stewart and Bette Davis, and I don't know if many people remember it today. The full film is available online, but here is part 1 if you want a taste:

I had no memory of this before working on the podcast, but I did remember The Terry Fox Story. I didn't remember the movie itself so much as it being on or at least promoted all the time. This promo from our YT playlist for the episode is from 1985, a full two years after the premiere, and HBO is still running (no pun intended) the thing:

Was it really on ALL the time? No. Was it on a lot? Well, let's take a look! The YT channel and website HBO Database posted a countdown of the 50 most-aired movies on HBO in the Eighties, Here is the full video:

I love that this uses data and gives the number of screenings and the screening dates!

Spoiler alert if you haven't watched the clip yet:

The Terry Fox Story is "only" third, with 54 screenings from 1983-1987, but it ties with #2, so I am counting it as second!

The other number two, The Cannonball Run, surprises me; and number one surprise me--number two because I associate it with network TV, and number one because it's a concert movie (Hint: It stars The Cos).

Right of Way was on 44 times! I guess I just never took notice of it.

There are some other ones that make total sense. The Man from Snowy River was another HBO original, so of course they are gonna play the heck out of it. I associate Superman: The Motion Picture with ABC, but as a Warner Brothers movie, it makes sense it got heavy airplay here.

The Four Seasons? Yep, that was on all the time. I'm actually stunned that The Incredible Shrinking Woman was on only 40-some times. 9 to 5 and Finnegan Begin Again--Yes, absolutely.

Then there are the ones that surprise a bit more, mostly forgotten theatricals from the early part of the decade: Dirty Tricks? Threshold? St. Helens?

Show Notes and Video Playlist: Episode 13-9: HBO

*We hope you enjoy our look at the earlier days of Home Box Office! And by the way, I miss when it was referred to as Home Box Office! Happy 2026 as well!

*Books we reference in this episode: Tinderbox by James Andrew Miller and It's Not TV by Felix Gillette and John Kobin.

*HBO went live in 1972 (November 8; New York Rangers vs. Vancouver Canucks, NHL game) and is still going...for now. Showtime launched July 1, 1976.

*The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton/Hazelton TV market, where HBO launched, was ranked as the 59th biggest in the most recent Nielsen list.

*Foreman-Frazier I is indeed the "Down goes Frazier!" fight. Howard Cosell made that call when George knocked out Joe in the second round.

*Here is the Mental Floss article on HBO. Item 10 mentions Ghostbusters.

*Not Necessarily the News aired 1982-1990, debuting as a special before becoming a regular series.

*Vintage HBO program guides are available on ebay, but they seem quite expensive--at least, the asking prices are high!

*"Heart Attack" by Olivia Newton-John peaked at #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

*Rollover (1981) is an Alan Pakula thriller that opened at number one but was considered a commercial and critical flop.

*Four Friends (1981) is directed by Arthur Penn and earned good reviews but didn't do well at the box office.

*Some Call Them...Freaks (1981) is remembered by many who saw it, but there isn't a lot of information about it. It's director Greg Stanton's sole IMDB credit and writer Frederick Drimmer's sole IMDB credit.

I did find this listing on the great HBO database site: HBO ran a sequel in 1982, P.T. Barnum & His Human Oddities, narrated again by Richard Kiley. Did the same team produce it? I don't know. It doesn't appear on IMDB. Here is the description from the original HBO program guide:

Special. In this sequel to “Some Call Them Freaks,” Richard Kiley hosts an account of the career of showman PT Barnum—and the wide assortment of human oddities he collected. Meet Anna Swan, the 7’5½” tall woman; the minuscule: 25” Tom Thumb; Madame Clofullia, the bearded lady, and Albert Sprague, the thinnest man.

*Click here for the 20th anniversary special that premiered on CBS.

*Please enjoy our video playlist for this episode with promos, clips, and I think just about everything we cover on the podcast! Click below to go right to it, or you can always visit our official YouTube page for all of our past episodes and similar lists for each one of them!

Episode 13-9: HBO

This week, we take a special look at the early days of Home Box Office, better known as HBO. Long before The Sopranos, The Wire, Game of Thrones, and all those other shows, Home Box Office started as a gamble during the fledgling days of the cable TV industry with a smattering of movies, hockey, basketball, comedy specials, concerts, and polka competitions. As it expanded, the movies got better, boxing and Wimbledon became their go-to sports, the comedians and concerts grew bigger, and polka danced away. We follow the timeline to around 1985 and give special attention to HBO originals like Not Necessarily the News, HBO Magazine, and Yesteryear, as well as the documentary Some Call Them...Freaks.

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Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...

 

12 Days of Watching (2024) #8: It's not Christmas...It's HBO! Actually, it's both!

CBS was the network of the holiday season for me back in the Eighties by virtue of showing the best animated specials. HBO may have been a close second, though. It has the advantage of being on all day (or most of it) and being able to show programs over and over again. Case in point: Two of the specials showcased in this clip:

Jug Band Christmas is a true classic, and to me it was one of the rites of December. It seemed to be on all the time, often at convenient times to dip in and out of while doing other stuff. Rich Little's A Christmas Carol is another staple of 1980s HBO. That one seemed to fall out of the rotation at some point and not turn up anywhere else, unlike Emmet Otter, but it sure made an impression when it was there. Ha! See what I did there!

Elsewhere in this segment, you see a promo for A Christmas Story when it was still relatively fresh and not the traditional marathon focus it would become. And how about the look at the "classic" 1st and Ten, a comedy that felt like IT lasted forever somehow. 

Welterweight champ Donald Curry is featured in an upcoming title bout, and there's a glimpse of Buddy Hackett in an On Location special. Throw in some clips of mediocre movies and the ever-thrilling transmission test, and you have something that epitomizes not just Christmas in the Eighties, but HBO in the Eighties!

Inside the Guide: TV Guide 40 years ago this week (April 28-May 4, 1984) Part 5: Tootsie on HBO

I believe the tradition of "world television premieres" of theatrical films on HBO started in the Nineties, but it feels like it has been even longer than that. It amuses me, then, to see the hype for the week's big movie debut in May 1984. It begins with this ad on Sunday:

May was only a couple days away! The actual premiere for the acclaimed flick Tootsie is not on the following Saturday, but on Thursday, May 3, and HBO has a big ad for that day, too.

In her column previewing the week's movies, Judith Crist says "hoorahs are in order" for Tootsie, calling it a delight. "It's not only a delicious comedic perception of bisexual humanism," (Note: I am not sure I know what that means) "but also a knockout farce that made Dustin Hoffman, in the title role, a prime candidate for Best Actor Oscar and Best Actress."

HBO never was just for fans of "Dream On" and "The Hitchhiker"

One of the many silly things about this ongoing HBO/MAX/Discovery/Warner saga is the idea that HBO Max would dump a bunch of animated and family titles, proclaim that the service was getting out of that realm (after burying a lot of that content on its platform), then rebrand mere months later and announce it was investing heavily in animated and family titles.

The reason given was that parents were uncomfortable with the "HBO" name in association with any kind of family programming but NOW it's all better with the new "MAX" name...even though many parents probably still associate that with Cinemax, the pay cable alternative for folks who thought HBO wasn't adult enough. But what's this about HBO being a turnoff for parents? This new concept ignores decades of the premium channel cranking out acclaimed and popular shows like...

And what about movies like...

And what about the seasonal specials like...

And that's just the Eighties!

It's amusing that so much of the messaging from the revamped company seems to want to "blame" the HBO identity, when the vast majority of complaints I hear since the merger are HBO fans dreading the "garbage" Discovery programming colliding with the Warners and HBO catalogue.

Well, I guess we shouldn't be surprised that Discovery executives who are running the joint don't want to mention how many people are repulsed by that "brand." I don't buy the idea that HBO is some kind of bogeyman for parents preventing them from hunting for kid shows on streaming, though, and I think that's a weak explanation.