You've heard mention of how, in the days before cable, there were only five or six channels, but technically, that wasn't 100% the case. See, television sets had two dials on them - one for VHF (Very High Frequency) channels, and one for UHF (Ultra High Frequency) channels.

All the network channels, and the independents (who eventually became Fox/UPN/WB/CW affiliates) were located on the bottom dial.

That top dial? If you had a decent antenna, and were adept at configuring tin foil and wire hangers, you could find some crazy shit on that top dial.

On channel 68, around 1980, I found Uncle Floyd. THE UNCLE FLOYD SHOW was unlike anything I'd ever seen; its closest relatives would have been Zacherley or maybe Joe Franklin on Channel 9.

Uncle Floyd (Floyd Vivino) held court over the variety show, ostensibly for kids, but with a rough-looking ensemble cast that redefined "not ready for prime time," chaotically performing skits & songs that didn't really seem to be be aimed at kids, despite all the puppets.

If this was a kids' show, it was the most punk rock kids' show ever made. And it had really odd guests for a children's program.

From 1974 to 1998, Vivino used the kids' show format (and the relative freedom of broadcasting on the tiniest of independent stations) to zap real outsider art - a stew of outdated song and dance, vaudeville and cutting edge performance pieces - to the living rooms of the masses.

Kid-friendly pop culture spoofs (Bruce Stringbean, John Cougar Melonhead) would appear alongside actual recording artists like David Johansen, trying to figure his shit out between The New York Dolls and Buster Poindexter.

Parody songs were popular.

Shades of Soupy Sales and Ernie Kovacs, but Floyd belonged to Gen Xers in NY & NJ. We tuned in not for polish or professionalism (obviously), but because it was unpredictable, and it was raw, and mostly because it was ours. It aired locally. No one else in the world had it.

There was a hip cachet to Uncle Floyd's underground status, and emerging East Coast acts like Cyndi Lauper, Dramarama and a young Bon Jovi were frequent guests. The show was a favorite of then-NYC resident John Lennon, who turned his friend David Bowie onto the program.

You probably know or have come across poseurs wearing Ramones T-shirts, but The Ramones wore Uncle Floyd T-Shirts.

In 1982 The Uncle Floyd Show went into syndication, hitting 17 markets around the country. Many stations put him on after SCTV at 1AM, where stoned teens delighted in the show's rough & tumble, anything goes vibe. Uncle Floyd was Adult Swim before there was Adult Swim.

His syndication run didn't last long, and Floyd returned to the world of public TV and cable (and live versions of his show at venues like Club Bene in Sayreville) before going off the air in 1998.

Then he disappeared - from my radar, at least - and it was very odd indeed to hear mention of Uncle Floyd in a David Bowie song in 2002.

It's always saddened me that more people never got to know about Uncle Floyd. He was a legitimate television pioneer and though he was always hard to find, he shouldn't disappear.

Though his health has taken some turns, it seems that Uncle Floyd is still out there, performing live, occasionally running for governor of NJ, and as of a couple weeks ago, uploading bits of his vintage show to YouTube.