Examine individual changes

'{{multiple issues|original research=December 2010|refimprove=December 2010}} {{Infobox Television | show_name = ECW Hardcore TV | image = [[File:ECW Hardcore TV.jpg]] | caption = | format = [[Hardcore wrestling]] | camera = [[Multicamera setup]] | picture_format = | runtime = 58 minutes (with commercials) | creator = [[Tod Gordon]] <br> [[Eddie Gilbert (wrestler)|Eddie Gilbert]] | developer = | executive_producer = [[Paul Heyman]] (September 1993 - 2000) | starring = See [[Extreme Championship Wrestling alumni]] | narrated = [[Joey Styles]] | opentheme = "[[Closer (Nine Inch Nails song)|Closer]]"/"[[Thunderkiss '65]]" mix by [[Nine Inch Nails]] & [[White Zombie]] (1994-1997)<br>"This Is Extreme!" by [[Harry Slash & The Slashtones]]<ref>[http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/ecw/ecwmusc.htm ECW Music]</ref> (1997-2001)<br> "[[Dragula (song)|Dragula]]" (1998-2001) <br> "[[Living Dead Girl]]" (1998-2001) | endtheme = "[[Living Dead Girl]]" (1999-2001) | country = USA <br> Specials from Japan | location = [[The Arena (Philadelphia)|ECW Arena]]<ref>[http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/ecw/ecwarena.htm ECW Arena Results]</ref>, [[South Philadelphia]] | network = [[Broadcast syndication|Syndication]]<ref>[http://www.angelfire.com/ma/zombie5/ecwtv.html ECW TV LISTINGS]</ref> | first_aired = April 5, 1993<ref>[http://www.tv.com/ecw-hardcore-tv/ecw-tv---4-5-1993/episode/298046/summary.html?tag=ep_list;title;0 ECW TV - 4/5/1993]</ref> | last_aired = December 31, 2000<ref>[http://www.tv.com/ecw-hardcore-tv/ecw-hardcore-tv---12-31-2000/episode/272342/summary.html?tag=ep_list;title;47 ECW Hardcore TV - 12/31/2000]</ref> | num_episodes = 395<ref>[http://www.rfvideo.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=110&Page=2 RF Video - Hardcore TV listings] [[RF Video]] - official ECW videographer</ref> | followed_by = ''[[ECW on TNN]]'' | website = }} '''''ECW Hardcore TV''''' is a [[professional wrestling]] [[television program]] of [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]-based [[Professional wrestling promotion|promotion]] [[Extreme Championship Wrestling]] (ECW) composed of footage from live shows and recorded interviews. It ran in syndication from 1993 until 2000. Even after ECW gained [[ECW on TNN|a nationally-available television program]] on [[The Nashville Network|The Nashville Network (TNN)]], ''Hardcore TV'' was considered ECW's flagship program.{{citation needed|date=January 2011}} The rights to the show now belong to [[World Wrestling Entertainment|World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)]]. The show was voted as [[List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Best Weekly Television Show|Best Weekly Television Show]] in the 1994, 1995 and 1996 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards. ==Format== ''Hardcore TV'' was edited from footage of ECW's live events from the [[The Arena (Philadelphia)|ECW Arena]] and other [[house shows]]. It also included backstage [[Promo (professional wrestling)|promos]] & [[vignette (professional wrestling)|vignettes]], which were not shown to the live crowd or included on [[home video]] releases of the events. A segment called ''Hype Central'' advertised upcoming events and ECW merchandise in a [[tongue in cheek]] manner. [[Music videos]] from major musical acts were sometimes shown, interspersed with footage detailing the history of current [[Feud (professional wrestling)|feuds]], as well as spectacular [[Spot (professional wrestling)|spots]]. Frequently, the ending of the show would feature a montage of several different promos, with [[Dick Dale|Dick Dale's]] [[cover version]] of "[[Misirlou]]" as background music. These became known as "''[[Pulp Fiction (film)|Pulp Fiction]]'' promos". The purpose of these promos was to maximise the show's limited airtime in order to keep the fans up with all the current wrestling storylines. In keeping with ECW's unconventional approach, episodes were not structured with a build toward a [[main event]] as with typical professional wrestling programming. Any given week's program could feature any number or type of matches. Owner/producer [[Paul Heyman|Paul Heyman's]] intent was to keep things fresh by providing variety for the viewers. ===Censorship and content=== ''Hardcore TV'' showed [[graphic violence]] (including [[blood]]), sexual frankness, and [[Profanity|harsh language]], all of which were key elements of the ECW product itself. Due to the late night time slots, expletives and violence were not edited from early broadcasts, and this helped to get ECW noticed. After the ''[[ECW on TNN]]'' program became available, this was a major difference between the syndicated ''Hardcore TV'' and the more mainstream program on TNN.<ref>[http://members.tripod.com/~ecwbyshaggs/interview.html Question: Paul do you see ECW getting a network deal so it can be seen nationwide? (RRitter72) Paul Heyman: I hope so, and would like to encourage any viewer or even potential viewer to write, fax, call, and e-mail any national network, be it E!, be it Fox sportsnet, be it FX, I don't care if it's The Family Channel, one look at Beulah or Francine, might make a man want to start a family after all, and ask those networks to carry, or at least consider carrying ECW. This type of campaign helped us get on PPV, it definitely scored us Cablevision. It kept us on America One, It got us back on Sunshine and with no corporate sponsorships, and no big name advertisers, we quite frankly need your support. And we're not so big and we're not so arrogant that we feel its beneath us to ask for your support. When you work with the group of guys that I am privileged to work with, you understand the value of humility. So I have no problem admitting that we rely on the support, indeed the aggressive support, of our audience.]</ref> TNN censored a great deal of the ECW content, despite the violence and raunchiness being key features that made ECW unique. TNN did not want the ECW [[theme song]], "This is Extreme!" by [[Harry Slash & The Slashtones]], because, according to Heyman, it sounded "too demonic." TNN also did not want any references to "hate", preferring the milder "intense dislike", and wanted no [[music videos]] on the ECW program. TNN's restrictions angered Heyman to the point that he actively tried to get ECW thrown off that network, and maintained the broadcast of ''Hardcore TV''. ==Broadcast history== ===Philadelphia market=== ''Hardcore TV'' aired in permanent time slots in ECW's home territories of Philadelphia and [[New York City]], and was also [[Broadcast syndication|syndicated]].<ref>[http://www.wrestleview.com/info/faq/ecw.shtml ECW ran shows mostly in Philadelphia and was syndicated on television by various stations before it was brought to TNN in 1999.]</ref> Shows were broadcast on a Philadelphia local [[Cable television|cable]] sports station, [[SportsChannel America|SportsChannel America's]]'s<ref>[http://www.angelfire.com/wrestling3/keysplace/nwa.html Of all the remaining NWA members Eastern Championship Wrestling was the most recognizable due to their TV programming on the regional SportsChannel America cable network, and on August 27, 1994 the NWA held a tournament to crown a new NWA Champion at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia.]</ref> local affiliate, [[SportsChannel Philadelphia]], on Tuesday evenings. After SportsChannel Philadelphia went off the air in 1997, the show moved to [[WPPX|WPPX-TV 61]]. It later moved to a former independent broadcast station, [[WGTW-TV|WGTW 48]] in Philadelphia, on late Friday or Saturday night broadcasts. ===Chicago/Northwest Indiana market=== In the [[Chicago]] and [[Northwest Indiana]] market, the show traded back and forth among [[WCIU-TV|WCIU 26]] on Saturdays, and [[UPN]] station [[WPWR-TV|WPWR 50]], broadcast in both Chicago and [[Gary, Indiana|Gary]], on Friday nights, a week behind. Meanwhile, [[KBS Chicago]] (a Korean station that also carried [[Big Japan]] shows at midnight) broadcast ''Hardcore TV'' on Friday nights. ===Orlando market=== [[WRBW]] in [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]] aired ''Hardcore TV'' in a very late night timeslot on Saturdays. Also, [[WNFM-TV|WNFM]] (then known as WSWF), a cable only WB affiliate in Fort Myers, aired Hardcore TV in a primetime slot on Saturday Nights. The rest of [[Florida]] got ''Hardcore TV'' on regional sports network the [[Sun Sports|Sunshine Network]]<ref>[http://www.wwe.com/shows/ecw/news/tdyedfan According to The Tye Dye Guy, his initial exposure to the extreme brand occurred when the original ECW’s programming became syndicated outside of Philadelphia on the Sunshine Network.]</ref> very late on Friday nights. WRBW invoked [[syndex]], meaning ECW was [[Blackout (broadcasting)|blacked out]] in the Orlando market on Sunshine. ===New York State=== Shows were aired on the [[MSG Network]] in [[New York City]] very late on Friday nights. Empire Sports (western NY) and WBGT-LP (Rochester) also carried the show. ===Other markets in the United States=== Shows were aired on [[KJLA]] in [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] on Saturday nights, [[WUNI]] in [[Worcester, Massachusetts|Worcester]]-[[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] very late on Friday nights, [[WBVC-TV|WBVC TV-61]] in [[Traverse City, Michigan]] late Friday Nights, WUCT TV-52 in [[Dayton, Ohio]] on Saturday afternoons and late night, and [[WPMY|WPTT TV 22]] in [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]] late on Saturday nights. It also very late on Friday nights on KTSF TV-26 in [[California]], and on [[SportsSouth]] in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Alabama]], [[Mississippi]], [[Tennessee]], [[Kentucky]], [[North Carolina]], and [[South Carolina]]. ===Additional networks=== *[[America One Network]]<ref name="oratory"/><ref>[http://www.1wrestling.com/news/newsline.asp?news=24086 The America One Network aired wrestling on Saturday nights from ... aired on the America One Network in the past included ECW Hardcore TV and TNA Xplosion. ...]</ref><ref>[http://www.pwbts.com/columns/b031001.html "Team ECW" was a group of hardworking people ... ECW's reputation spread. ... it was televised nationwide on the America One Network, as well as on other ...]</ref> *[[Bravo (UK TV channel)]]<ref>[http://www.tpww.net/news/archives/010102.html News and Rumors for Tuesday, January 2] The People's Wrestling Website</ref> *[[Empire Sports Network]] ===Episodes available online for download=== Episodes were also available [[download]] from the [[internet]] at various times, from the websites of some affiliate stations.<ref name="oratory">[http://oratory.rajah.com/index.php?archive=2365 The Wrestling Oratory] "As a footnote, I never attended a live ECW show. Even further, I never participated in a Strictly ECW e-mail campaign. I never got to see a live version of Hardcore TV on MSG, the Sunshine Network, America One (though, there was that one time I almost crashed my 28.8 modem trying to download the show off of the America One website) or even WUNI-27, Worcester-Boston at 1 AM on Saturday mornings when I was in college. However, I still, in some way feel a profound love and attachment to the company."</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.retrojunk.com/details_tvshows/1059-ecw-hardcore-tv/ Retro Junk] * {{imdb title|0258348}} * {{tv.com|4824}} {{Extreme Championship Wrestling}} {{SportsChannel America}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Ecw Hardcore Tv}} [[Category:First-run syndicated television programs in the United States]] [[Category:1990s American television series]] [[Category:2000s American television series]] [[Category:Extreme Championship Wrestling shows]] [[Category:1993 American television series debuts]] [[Category:2000 American television series endings]] [[Category:SportsChannel America]] [[pt:ECW Hardcore TV]] [[ko:하드코어 TV]]'