EMN - The Original
It's hard to pin down exactly what sparked the idea for the original EMN, at least for what we wanted it to be aesthetically. After seeing Probnot's Tech's Simpsons channel, at some point we realized that we weren't just limited to a single USB drive, and with more space we could make the lineup of our dreams.
But what dreams would those be? We ran through a lot of ideas. Anyone can make a Toonami-alike, as Toonami Aftermath fills that niche nicely. Of course, there was always going to be some overlap there as we both had fond memories of Toonami, but we had fond memories of a lot of things. And this wasn't meant to just be a nostalgia-grab, this was meant to be something we could simply turn on and always have something to watch, or at least listen to. A small slice of peace in an increasingly-chaotic world.
At Ohayocon 2020, we stayed in our hotel room and on TV watched the movie Holes. It was sped up for ads, neither of us had seen it in a long time, and it was still a thoroughly enjoyable experience. That was part of what we wanted to capture with EMN, the idea of sitting in your hotel room and watching something you never would have chosen to see but are so glad you did. What EMN became was much like everything else we create together - a mess of our favorite things, of things we find interesting, of unusual finds, a symphony of nonsense tied together by something intangible yet deeply meaningful. EMN is not just something you watch. It is not just the content we choose and curate for it. It is an emotion, an atmosphere, an art proect. How you watch something, the context in which you experience it, is often just as important as the content itself, which is also why EMN is designed with a 4:3 CRT in mind.
In the end, what we came up with is television you want to turn on during quiet times. Early mornings on a Sunday, late at night on a Saturday, or coming home after a long day. It has programming that will shock you, surprise you, intrigue you, and delight you. The uncompromisingly random nature of it has given us so many great memories together. I still think it's hilarious that the very first thing that played on it was the American Dad WR Speedrun video. We have so many stories of EMN already being there when we needed it most. One time, after we had something of a fight, we huddled together in the dark and turned on EMN in time for an episode of Monster that was beautiful, philosophical, and comforting, and we held each other and cried.
One of the nicest compliments I've gotten about EMN was when my brother saw it for the first time and stared, open-mouthed as his eyes lit up. He understood it immediately, and during a particular ad break turned to me and said he was having a flashback. That's all part of the EMN experience - it is nostalgic, but new. It is strange, unique, meaningful, and an experience I hope you enjoy when you get the chance to see it for yourself. I know I enjoy it every day.