Spike TV started out as “The First Network for Men,” but it departs without much of a legacy

Entertainment Weekly

From its birth in 2003 as the successor to TNN/The Nashville Network with the motto “The First Network for Men” to its “Get More Action” phase to its “fiery” departure on Wednesday, Spike TV never really found its identity. There was some standout programming like the Guy’s Choice Awards and The Joe Schmo Show — starring a pre-SNL Kristen Wiig. But Spike never lived up to its original “First Network for Men” mission. “Spike ends on Wednesday and will become the Paramount Network on Thursday,” says Darren Franich. “When you consider its (lack of) legacy, you have to remember that ‘manhood’ – as an identity self-aware enough for capitalism to sell – was in a strange place circa 2003. In the crosscurrents of the National Network becoming TNN and then Spike TV, Comedy Central had The Man Show, Maxim was popular enough to justify an ancillary publication so generic it was literally just Stuff, and a macho celebrity was fending off sexual harassment allegations while running for political office. There was an unsteady quality to all of this, like to be in on the joke you had to take it seriously. This is a cultural divot we’ve never properly repaired. And the original programming lineup for Spike TV shows a hazy mission already drifting. ” ALSO: Check out Spike TV’s mock goodbye Twitter rant.