Oddity Archive: Episode 39 - QUBE Interactive TV

TOUCH NOW! NO, WAIT, NOT THAT!!!
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[@sirstewartwallace7874]

Interestingly enough, the legacy of QUBE still lives on. Two channels that began on QUBE, Star Channel and Pinwheel, formed the basis for The Movie Channel and Nickelodeon. A third channel, Sight on Sound, would give birth to MTV. And did anyone else catch the Chickenman music in Lulu?

[@syxepop]

So that means that this system originated 3 CBS-owned cable / satellite channels, amazing... (as I type Viacom is in the verge of reuniting with the rest of the former company under CBS administration)

[@joweemutia9400]

now ViacomCBS - that reunited two Warner-amex Companies

[@maxwelsh6121]

"Pinwheel, pinwheel , turning around..." wow thank you for reminding me that that was a thing, I only saw it one time when I was very young on a vacation to my aunt's

[@MysteryMii]

@@joweemutia9400 And now that company is just called Paramount.

[@JSSMVCJR2.1]

Hate to be the Ackchually guy here, but the name of what eventually became Nickelodeon was just "C-3". It ended up being called Pinwheel since the show of the same name was shown in C-3 all the time. Sorry.

[@publicaffairspup]

"The final episode of Lulu is, a masterpiece of we don't give a sh** TV" 18:15

[@elklandry]

13:30 It's the lovechild of Tiny Tim and Emo Philips.

[@romanbukins6527]

Ryan Jones He is auite good with the guitar thou... Consider it Johnny Cash on helium

[@kensims4086]

jack whites brother..

[@SuzPratt11]

nah.....it's wee Craig Ferguson & Daniel, Monty wants to make a deal with a Scott.

[@Tigercat919]

My mom and dad had a Qube set when they were living in Columbus in the early 1980s. They actually recorded Strange Brew onto VHS through a Qube recording; there's a small discoloration at the left side of the screen. Also, they said that there were instances where people could vote on which NHL game they wanted to watch on Friday nights - just about every game involved Detroit, Chicago or either of the NY teams though. They don't have the controller anymore unfortunately.

[@seanwilkinson3975]

"SCTV" parodied QUBE in one episode. In it, viewers kept choosing "Leave it to Beaver" over "The Happy Hooker Goes to Hollywood" for their viewing pleasure. I recall I was amazed by the concept as a child and wished that we'd had something similar.

[@ryankelly369]

QUBE was also parodied in "You Can't Do that on Television," which I found rather humorous considering Nickelodeon's roots as a QUBE service.

[@alleykat6273]

imaging some guy on qube in 82-83 trying to click the other option against its will

[@DrewberTravels]

The guy on the box was really doing his best Tiny Tim impression.

[@lcmiracle]

Yeah when I was looking for that song he was singing, I came across Tiny TIm's "Livin' in the Sunlight". I always assume the song that was sung was a Tiny Tim song, but I couldn't find it. Can you give me some help here?

[@DrewberTravels]

The song seems to be a throwback to vaudeville. I still believe the performance is a homage to Tiny Tim's style but I doubt he performed this song.

[@DrewberTravels]

www.imdb.com/name/nm0524249/bio Oh wow... and apparently Tiny Tim was a homage to this guy, Nick Lucas.

[@daftoptimist]

I actually really like the cover of “Make Your Own Sunshine” at the beginning.

[@Jennifer_Lewis_Beach_Living]

I do too. That lady could belt out a tune, and she had so much energy that it made the tune catchier.

[@JohnJohnson-fr5cx]

I prefer the o g version, personally.

[@knieves92]

dan kessler reminds me of tiny tim

[@Piefav2]

QUBE, the semi-birthplace of Nickelodeon...

[@teh_supar_hackr]

Piefav2 it looks like you have no mouth and must screm

[@teh_supar_hackr]

is it due to my pony icon pic? if yes then the user I responded to is a brony too..............oh! I found a hater! do you hate fnaf fans?

[@Piefav2]

I actually hate FNAF fans, but I know you're not asking me.

[@itzspencerr1403]

+Parker Hetzel GLADOS rip-off?

[@itzspencerr1403]

And spongebob will be show that'll kill the company! (COUGH, COUGH SEASON 6-9... COUGH COUGH)

[@daveb5041]

How did the guy with the guitar and long hair not become a huge hit? I would buy that record.

[@cygil1]

There was only room for one Weird Al Yancovic and one Tiny Tim.

[@jimc5634]

Begin touching...

[@ChuckD79]

In addition to Flippo's Magic Circus and that live auction, Flippo the Clown also hosted a movie trivia game for QUBE called Flippo's Screen Test, and as himself (Bob Marvin), also hosted kids' stunt show Across the Board.

[@randypanthegoatboy7114]

13:27: Crispin Glover in The Tiny Tim Story.

[@Gypsy-Tongue]

My reaction to see the guy with the guitar: OH MY GODDESS ITS TINY TIM

[@billybassman21]

Here in Houston when we first got cable in 1981, they were called Qube cable even though we never had the interactive system. Back then there were several cable companies throughout Houston. Qube in my area became Warner then Warner Amex and then Time Warner. Today Comcast has the market.

[@crabbyoldgamer3028]

+billybassman21 Warner started QUBE. Then Warner took investment from Amex, and that company later merged with Time.

[@chrisjamesr77]

3:22 Yeah, let's have white lettering on the screen...and in front of a shot of clouds...that shouldn't be hard to read....lol

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

+chrisjamesr77 I'm sure though the title was written while not knowing the cameraman outdoors was going to be shooting at the sky.

[@rexsexson5349]

I was born 1977 in Columbus Ohio. I remember QUBE very well. Don't forget Flippo the clown and Pinwheel.

[@CrowTRobot-ni7zu]

That lovely tune we’re hearing ending at 4:05 is the 101 Strings Orchestra’s rendition of “Goodbye to Love.”

[@CrowTRobot-ni7zu]

@@xmelodystarx Siri identified it for me.

[@scottrowe5383]

I push number on the keyboard and the video would jump to different points. Although I could not vote it was interactive.

[@hatednyc]

Did I see that correctly.. These motherfuckers offered comparative shopping as far back as 1978?! That is Awesome! Nowadays there are websites that compare prices amongst several different websites/stores and they act,as if it were a new idea! I knew it existed back in the 90's, albeit in print, but I had no Idea it went back to the 70's!

[@trekchu7103]

I wonder if Qube ever got into trouble with MGM/United Artists for using music from the Bond films in Lulu.

[@Fygee]

I find this really fascinating. Back in the late 70's and early 80's, this would have been really ahead of its time. I'm surprised it didn't take off.

[@DiscoMatty79]

That's probably why it didn't take off. people a lot of times aren't ready for things till years later.

[@Clay3613]

Columbus was chosen because the area has been a testing ground for new products for decades.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

+Clay3613 That is true. Toledo has also been used by the restaurant industry to test out new fast food concepts as well.

[@RetroCheater81]

The whole idea seemed like a good idea on paper

[@derekroberts6654]

Whwn i was 15 living in Dallas, Texas, in 1985, we (meaning my dad and i) had the cable company Qube. it also had a pay per view channels called "Viewer's Choice" for some odd reason i got a kick out of watching the latest trailers, dont know why. to this day i remember the exact words of the announcer after every trailer: "Now through Tuesday starting every two hours on Viewer's Choice". and useless trivia at 0:34 that song was written and originaly performed by Neil Sedaka.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

+Derek Roberts When PPV came to my town finally (cir. 1989), my cable company ran such a preview channel that played the same previews over and over for the films they ran and I use to watch that channel endless.

[@willdav713]

Qube ended in 1987 in Houston TX. VC II which was channel 36 was qube only as of October 1986.

[@Andregrindle]

Ben your videos about different interactive television services are my favorites of the sort on the internet.Being a New Englander myself,I was always curious why there was never (to my knowledge) an interactive television service in either New Hamphsire or Maine. Certainly the 1980's and some of the 90's had a culture there ripe for it. Generally though,of course the culture ended up defined by a UHF based public access TV subculture that included it's own David Letterman type late night show,the assortment of scratchy Christian oriented stop motion animated cartoons and as with many of these services so it seems,it's own talent show. Because no one has ever researched this,I had a perception I was the only person in my home state who spent Saturday afternoons watching these local oddity's. If only I'd had a VCR handy because some of what I saw was ripe for inclusion in one of your Oddity Archive television based videos.

[@supermarioandluigi9]

hello there, fellow new Englander.

[@crabbyoldgamer3028]

Bill was a terrific game show host. BTW, "How Do You Like Your Eggs" was not a Family Feud clone. Family Feud was based on the Match Game concept, which itself was copied from earlier shows. These types of shows were based on matching audience or polled group answers. I would have voted for Geraldine. One big problem is politicians lie during elections. They don't reveal their true selves until after they win. But with Geraldine, what you see is what you get.

[@ArchiveofAwesomeness1886]

yeah, that's the way Nickelodeon started, as Pinwheel

[@rockvilleraven]

QUBE once had a football game between two Semi Pro teams where the fans called the plays between the teams on both sides of the ball. It lasted 6 hours.

[@danrusso6962]

If that really happened that's hilarious

[@rockvilleraven]

Dan Russo Here is the newspaper clipping so there's documentation it really happened. news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19800715&id=IyEqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rysEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4388,2159721&hl=en

[@danrusso6962]

+rockvilleraven oh my god

[@TimelordR]

God help us if said interactivity were to affect something on a lager scale, say the US Presidential Election?

[@rockvilleraven]

Dan Russo Perhaps they should have brought it back for the XFL, then again maybe not!

[@HotHeels]

Well that little jam at the beginning sure made me happy ! You got to make your own sunshine !

[@allanjcarpenter]

You have to admit, though, the “Make Your Own Sunshine” lady can really belt out a song. 🌞

[@jaycee330]

I don't know who she is, but she sure made an already catchy Sedaka song even catchier.

[@Jennifer_Lewis_Beach_Living]

Totally agree. She could sing, and she had a lot of energy.

[@meowplow]

In the last two weeks I think I've watched every episode.

[@asmythe2977]

Man, if that were around today I can only imagine the brigading and trolling that would ensue....

[@archivearranger8792]

So....you imagine C-Span?

[@DEMENTO01]

19:03 literally QUBE ran so that Netflix could run (with black mirror Bandersnatch).

[@paulburrell7058]

I lived this in Columbus. We had Qube 77-83

[@RadioFreeCedarCity]

Talent Search was the precursor to GSN's Extreme Gong.

[@FantomLightning]

I think Web/MSNTV would fit well with this.

[@louiseogden1296]

My mum was visited by her local radio station in hospital with me like that. Thank god I didn't end up named Bernadette!

[@NijiMarii]

SnuffaluffagUs PantaGes!! 3!!! 1!!!!

[@Hillers62]

I loved this episode!!!!!!!!!!

[@willdav713]

Warner cable Houston was also the first to get viewers choice ppv.

[@ArcherSlamBAM]

Can't help but laugh - in 2011, I came across this channel named Qubo. Then I (through this video) find out about Qube's existence.

[@EddieHawkinsII]

13:29 - Uh, no thanks, don’t swing that way.

[@Patrick_AUBRY]

One word, Videotron's Videoway in 98 before it's time witch was Internet just before it's time time too (obvious ton many but Videotron who was f. Late at this game.

[@aidanhickey5270]

The guy at 13:55 kind of looks like Crispin Glover

[@VideoAssaultSaturday]

9:22 that laugh is amazing 🤣🤣

[@YukariYakumo0]

"TOUCH NOW! NO, WAIT, NOT THAT!!!" ROFLMAO

[@jimc5634]

As I'm from Columbus, I know all too well about Warner QUBE...

[@jimc5634]

Flippo!

[@monsterx3055]

i just found out about this flippo, he seems like a real creep and lulu had the most depressing ending in tv history

[@monsterx3055]

***** nope

[@jaycee330]

@@monsterx3055 Not at all, Marvin was a sweet guy all around and well loved. Lulu, though, I agree.

[@HJLloyd9000]

Well if it weren't for QUBE we would not have Nickelodeon. Look it up it is true

[@AOLEnby]

+Hunter “Super Vegeta” Lloyd that was pinwheel

[@HJLloyd9000]

+retro Kaiba I know I just figured I mention it since pinwheel did become the Nickelodeon we all know today

[@Lethaltail]

1 person pressed 4 and is STILL holding onto it.

[@MannyMoto1]

Sounded like a cool idea.

[@HappySnoutHour]

That talent show had the same set as "How do you like your eggs?" (No, I am not making that name up). Interesting story about that game show as they actually got Bill Cullen to host it and may be the only show during the lifespan of QUBE that had any real life celebrity in it. It was essentially a Family Feud clone and the game itself was slow. FUN FACT: They did four pilots for it and everyone of those had it's rules tweaked in some way to either make the game faster or easier. kzbin.info/www/bejne/noK3qKSng9qqnaM

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

+HappySnoutHour Well it was production values on par with what local TV stations were doing. I'm sure they had only one or two studio spaces to use in that building.

[@crabbyoldgamer3028]

+HappySnoutHour Did the games have regular rules, or only it is rules?

[@ChuckD79]

HappySnoutHour - The second pilot was a complete disaster... neither couple was able to reach the winning score, so Bill finally had to end the show 37 minutes in!

[@stephenholloway6893]

Plus all five of Nickelodeon's original shows had connections to QUBE. Pinwheel and Columbus (later America) Goes Bananas. Plus cast of crew of few of Pinwheel plus Flippo himself worked on the other three shows. Nickel Flicks featuring Flippo's actor, By The Way which used some of Pinwheel's crew, Jim Jinkins with the art and George James with the music that Lulu's actress hosted, and Hocus Focus Which Jim Jinkins and Brad Williams starred with George James again did the music for that show. As for Video Comics I'm pretty sure QUBE aired it at one point before Nickelodeon picked it up to air.

[@artistwithouttalent]

Jim Jinkins, the guy who created Doug?

[@stephenholloway6893]

@@artistwithouttalent Yes the same one.

[@claypf4795]

The Tiny Tim guy looked like Crispin Glover.

[@ilikedoom2707]

12:50 Ray Manzarek could play better organ in 2015

[@SneakiestChameleon]

13:28 Was that a bootleg Tiny Tim?

[@itzspencerr1403]

AGH MY EARS! THAT DAMN NOISE!!

[@GotchiManic]

i enjoy your content.

[@pgj1997]

16:40 PHEONIX WRIGHT ACE ATTORNEY! called it!

[@Fuzy2K]

9:40 -- Boom mic in sh-- Oh. Oh, that's what that is...

[@givemebackmypurse.6894]

Tiny Tim's better looking brother.

[@selfSplintered]

Can anyone find information on the child that was named by group voting (and if they did in fact use the winning name Elizabeth?) If anyone can I'd love to read it!

[@crabbyoldgamer3028]

+commenterofneopia Yes. Ann is now a mother of four in Cleveland.

[@gkpirate]

Four hundred dollars for two lousy books? I thought that PBS was bad when it came to their fundraising. Geesh.

[@syxepop]

Sounds more like POLITICAL FUNDRAISING, which would explain the price...

[@harrygardner7257]

Wow cube was ahead of it’s time

[@luisreyes1963]

Too bad the programs were crap. 💩

[@harrygardner7257]

@@luisreyes1963 yeah too bad

[@harrygardner7257]

@@luisreyes1963 we’re these programs woke in the 70’s

[@francishudgick9392]

I have A question what group sings the beginning song in this video?

[@brianhebert6152]

And to think Nickelodeon had its birth on this service. Before SpongeBob, there was Pinwheel.

[@Maverick401]

At least QUBE gave us one good thing, Nickelodeon

[@nathanielminck1131]

1-ceefax

[@CreepIsAwesome]

BEGIN TOUCHING

[@armron94]

6:42 where's that baby now?

[@laservideoentertainment339]

I am still pressing the button on my keyboard for the first question...did i get the answer right?

[@iamnomad101]

Haven't I seen Flippo before? I believe it was in the "Local TV Special" episode.

[@iamnomad101]

***** No, I remember seeing a brief clip of him in the "They Murdered the Clown" montage at the beginning of the first segment.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

+iamnomad101 Flippo was a local TV show host who had a show on a regular station before moving his show to Warner's QUBE service.

[@rtv190]

what was the song from the beginning archive tv sketch

[@dodo1opps]

Trying to do an imitation of "Wilson" of "Home Improvement"

[@OddityArchive]

You would know better than I would.

13:21 Red Jamison on the left (with the bad 70s prom tux). Already a former Detroit sports reporter for channel 2 (WJBK), he would commit suicide by the end of the decade.

[@Mistymoon22153]

This is interesting

[@monwoo10]

What's the name of that woman singing the celebration song? Can I find that song anywhere because I like it

[@fszabika123]

Lulu's Twin Sister

[@fszabika123]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/naPNomt9fNOWmrs

[@Mattfromthepast]

Why is Gummo even an option? He left the act in WW1 and thus didn't appear in any movies and there is only one picture of him that I know off, what was the point of bringing him up? I have to say that if this had been around when I was a kid in the late 80s I would have thought this was cool for all of its jankiness.

[@joweemutia9400]

2 - 4 hours!

[@NathanSimpsonnathanisbeast]

It's 1!

[@tessamakes6159]

6:59....Ben Stiller Doppleganger! amiright?

[@IndygoEEI]

Yeah! He looks just like Ben Stiller looks like right now at his current age. That is when he's off camera and not shooting movies.

[@michaeldickens1101]

Ahh, back when Warner Cable (now Time Warner Cable) in Columbus was actually good, too bad it was before I was born, now TWC sucks balls, shoddy DVRs, unreliable Internet and VoIP, installers who don't even know how any of it works let alone be able to set it up properly Now the only good choices in Columbus (other than satellite or OTA) are WOW! And U-verse (me personally choosing the latter) TWC has also released other oddities on their network (like the SEGA Channel), which also went south If TWC released an updated version of QUBE, or at least better interactivity than they do now, I might think about switching back to TWC

[@mrgiosb123]

Now Charter Cable Is About To Merge With Time Warner.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

+mrgiosb123 Sad really.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

+Michael Dickens I wish TV had it's message board channel set to "beautiful music" as well.

[@will89687]

I read about QUBE in Video Magazine way back when. It looked pretty awesome at the time...

[@Fuzy2K]

7:31 -- 4. Pat Buchanan

[@rbcp]

Did QUBE need phone lines or was it 100% through coaxial cable?

[@WOSArchives]

I think it's 100% Coax. But, i'm not so sure.

[@jimc5634]

Windows OS It was coaxial cable.

[@jimc5634]

Jim C Indeed, we had a fairly large cable tv system...Coaxial Communications, Warner Cable, about 4 different companies at the time.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

+Jim C My town has had one since the mid 60's.

[@jhrvta]

It was. But the "upstream" did not scale well to the larger markets after the Columbus test. (This was the late 70s.)

[@k.j.hallingswest5231]

Ben looks like he had a court date or something... Not use to seeing him in a dress shirt.

[@thaddeusjameson500]

Where's Terry bruge hiplo and Carol krabit

[@joweemutia9400]

1 - Ceefax!

[@medicinaemdia4895]

Very married with children

[@badcatalex]

Question 2. I choose 1.

[@robfriedrich2822]

12:49 It's the organ player who will ruin the performance

[@flamingdog9207]

Lulu ended up being a perfect example of why you don't give normies creative control

[@TimelordR]

This was the first attempt at Interactive Television long before the Internet (and long after WebTV). QUBE never caught on due to the antediluvian technology & prohibitive cost of said technology. And the shows sucked eggs.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

+TimelordR No different from now.

[@nathanielminck1131]

2- 4 hours

[@harenzaren]

dat description doe

[@paulburrell7058]

Beginning of MTV here

[@ebru5716]

SnuffaluffagUs PantaGes 2

[@thepsychosoundscientist8140]

Hey homie. You should do a episode on T.V horror movie host's like Rich Koz (Son Of Svengoolie) and others of that sort.

[@elklandry]

Ben already talked about horror movie hosts in the "Local TV Special" episode of the Archive.

[@Chad_Thundercock]

6:30 4chan has entered the chat... 78% voted for 'Boaty McBoatface did nothing wrong'