120 Minutes

120 Minutes is a television show in the United States dedicated to the alternative music genre, originally airing on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then on MTV's sister channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003.

After its cancellation, MTV2 premiered a replacement show called Subterranean. A similar but separate VH1 Classic program, VH1 Classic 120 Minutes, plays many classic alternative videos that were regularly seen on 120 Minutes in its heyday.

120 Minutes returned as a monthly series on MTV2 on July 30, 2011, with Matt Pinfield as host.

History

The early years

120 Minutes began on March 10, 1986. For the first ten years of 120 Minutes, viewers could see artists as varied as The Jesus and Mary Chain, Bronski Beat, New Order, The Replacements, The Verve, James, Slowdive, Weezer, Robyn Hitchcock, The Stone Roses, Oasis, 10,000 Maniacs, Obojeni Program, Blur, Butthole Surfers, Radiohead, KMFDM, Kate Bush, Ramones, XTC, Morrissey, The Smashing Pumpkins, Kitchens of Distinction, Sarah McLachlan, They Might Be Giants, Dinosaur Jr., Rage Against The Machine, Hüsker Dü, The Offspring, The Original Sins and Bad Religion. Nirvana's music video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" received a world premiere on 120 Minutes, but soon proved so popular that the channel began to air it during its regular daytime rotation. For a time in the mid-1990s, a companion program called Alternative Nation aired every weeknight on MTV.

120 Minutes (UK TV series)

120 Minutes is a show on MTV Two that was broadcast nightly at 1am. In the tradition of the US show of the same name, it showcased music videos from "the newest, most innovative acts in rock, left field and electronic music".

In the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe, 120 Minutes was originally featured on MTV Europe from 1990, hosted during its first years by VJ Paul King and, from 1994 on, by ex-Wonder Stuff frontman Miles Hunt. It disappeared in late June 1995, but was replaced by a similar show, Alternative Nation, which was shown on MTV Europe on Tuesday nights at midnight CET (the same timeslot it has had since July 1995) until July 2010. 120 Minutes returned in 2003 to MTV2 Europe (now MTV Two), replacing a similar show, 2eclectic, which had sporadically occupied various late-night slots.

Format

The format of the show on MTV Two was different from the original U.S. series and the show's previous incarnation on MTV Europe in that there were no VJs, commercial breaks, or MTV promotions. The only interruptions came in the form of an ident that played after every four videos. The two-hour strand concentrated on playing 'the real alternative', including new and classic left field indie, rock, electronica, hip-hop and avantgarde videos that may not have been played on other channels or during the daytime, although some videos were also played on the channel's Spanking New Music slots during the day.