Trueblood on HBO

When television was young programming had its own genre. Many of the live-action sitcom shows that dominated the airways were geared towards families or adults. Since those early days of television, programming has evolved to fit an array of genres aimed at a wide variety of audiences according to age, class, and other demographics. It is easy to become overwhelmed with all of the choices available these days on tv. For those, however, who miss the simplicity of the old days of television there is a solution. Satellite tv offers a variety of shows and networks with the goal of bringing back old time tv series.

The first of these networks that developed a throwback block of shows from the 60s and 70s was Nick at Nite. This was originally a block of programming in the evening geared at older Americans. Nick at Nite featured shows like I Love Lucy, Happy Days, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, Diff'rent Strokes, Mork and Mindy, The Munsters, and The Addams Family. Each of these shows served to bring adults back to the shows they grew up with on tv, and it gave them something to enjoy that reminded them of an earlier and easier time in life.

From Nick at Nite, TV Land was born. This was a niche network totally dedicated to this kind of television programming. TV Land took the 1950s image and applied it to their logo as well as their commercial programming. Tuning in is like taking a time machine back to the good old 50s and 60s. Recently, TV Land has expanded its programming to include more recent shows and sitcoms like Roseanne, Everybody Loves Raymond, Home Improvement, and Three's Company. It also features old Country Western films with the likes of John Wayne. So whether you love Westerns, or you loved tv programming anywhere from the 60s to the late 90s there's something for everyone on TV Land.

Going along with the themes of oldies and Westerns, on satellite tv you can also find new Westerns with a modern spin now in HD. There are two newer shows that fit the bill. One is Deadwood, an HBO Original Series that depicts the development of the town Deadwood, in South Dakota from a western settlement. The show twines together fiction and non-fiction history from the Western days. It features real life characters painted with some poetic license to make the show more compelling. Among those famed Westerners depicted in the show are Calamity Jane and Wild Bill. The show ran for 3 seasons on HBO and you can catch them all now on satellite tv.

The other Western show diverges more from the traditional path by mixing it with science-fiction. This futuristic Western was created by Joss Whedon who also created Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The show takes place in the year 2517 and follows the characters as they encounter and wrangle a whole new frontier- a new star system. While the show has a completely different setting, the feel of a real country Western is still there. These are the cowboys of the future trying to settle an unruly and wild new land. You can also catch this original series on satellite tv and get the full effect with HD.