09/08/2026
25 years ago tonight.
Midnight. Channel 53. Chattanooga.
Two guys bought late-night airtime, then spent every week trying to fill it while still figuring out what they were doing.
Fuel TV launched late Saturday night, September 8, 2001 and ran through September 2003. Jon Phillips and I produced it under TRFX / DVM. Live bands, extreme sports, Southeast travel pieces, interviews, and whatever else we could shoot or rerun that week. Part magazine, part documentary, part “we only have a few hours to finish this and get it on the air.”
We covered a lot of touring acts that hit the region: Days of the New, Disturbed, The Misfits, Stereomud, Revis, Saliva, Nickelback, Prong, Drowning Pool, Jonatha Brooke, The Product G&B, Theory of a Deadman, Chevelle, Adema, Gwar, Seven Mary Three, Everclear, Mother’s Finest, just to name a few, and then tried to mix in as many local acts as we had footage of. If a band we thought was cool was playing within driving distance, we tried to get there and interview then. Same with whatever was happening outdoors: hang gliding, whitewater rafting, motocross, rally racing, rodeos, etc.
JP, Alisa, Shane, Travis, Heather, Nina, Oz, Scottie, Karina, and plenty more took turns on camera, but Zoë was our most consistent and engaged host. Local voices from Power 94, Rock 105, Talk Radio, and US-101 sat in now and then, along with touring guests like Johnny Knoxville, Chris Jericho, Steve Wilkos, Miss Howard Stern, and the occasional Playmate whenever they appeared at a local club.
We aired nearly 100 episodes across four “seasons.” Most of them were admitedly pretty rough: clumsy writing, sloppy edits, thin content, bad mixes, experiments that didn’t land, and a lot of repeated bits, which I chalk up to an unforgiving weekly grind plus limited original footage. Every so often, though, there was a real gem.
Zoë was all-in, especially on the interviews, many of which she suggested, and we covered a lot of music she loved. Jon was the most fearless videographer I’ve worked with, and this is where we both cut our teeth on production and non-linear editing. We truly learned it on the fly, but got a little faster and smoother with each episode. The shooting, editing, and graphics improved as the seasons went on, even as some of our original ambition faded every season. And I think we probably broke more copyright and trespassing laws than we’d ever admit.
When News Corp bought the name, trademark, and concept from us, they turned it into the national Fuel TV network (later Fox Sports 2). By that time, Jon and I were more than ready to move on. The weekly grind had done its job. We still had sponsor commitments, so we finished those with a 13-week run of Rock Theatre on FOX, then paid off our bills, bought a couple of Benzes, and I went into local news to learn how broadcast television actually works before launching Faith Rocks TV and, ultimately, Braly Image Group. There wouldn't be a BIG Studios without this little show and so I will always be grateful for the experience.
If you're from the tri-state area and stayed up until midnight any Saturday between 2001 and 2003, here are about 25 warts-and-all episodes, plus clips, promos, local band videos, and even a Best Of:
https://www.youtube.com/
Fair warning: this was before prosumer HD cameras. It’s all shot on 480i MiniDV tape, and will look far better on your phone than on your 60-inch 4K set.
Thanks to everyone who ever stayed up, ever appeared on it, or ever helped us get Fuel TV on the air. I still can’t believe they let us do it that long.
Chris
From 2001 until 2003, the one hour program 'Fuel TV' aired in the southeast only to eventually have the concept and trademark be bought up by FOX and turned into a satellite sports network called 'FuelTV' . This channel hosts some of the footage, episodes, and clips from the show's humble beginnings...
