G4TechTV Sucks!

[The_lurkeR]

Sad, but I'm not surprised.
I used to love TechTV way back in the Kate & Leo days of ScreenSavers.

I stopped watching when they were bought out by G4 and Leo left. Occasionally I'd catch it flipping channels, but it was just so crappy.

I have no idea who they think their shows appeal to? They must have like 20 shows about just watching other people game, hosted by idiotic MTV VJ rejects.

 

[Villano]

You nailed squarely on the head... if they were upfront with everyone and said, "Look we have a different direction from TechTV. We have two months to finish up the show." Then they could find work somewhere else in SF.

I think the only reason they kept the shows they did was in an effort not to scare away TechTV viewers. I guess that they figured that people watching Screen Savers, X-Play, etc. would stick around for the G4 shows and not mind so much when all the TechTV series were cancelled. The problem is that the Call For Help, Fresh Gear, and Screen Saver audience isn't likely to even care about Judgement Day or Filter. That's just really stupid. It's like the commercial I saw for a NASCAR race sponsored by the new Sponge Bob Squarepants movie. Think they're going to lure any NASCAR fans into the theaters? :\

Everyone who made the move got lulled into a false sense of job security. The show G4TV.com had guest hosts from TechTV shows, like Morgan Webb, Adam Sessler, Martin Sargent, and Kevin Rose. Not to mention that they were filming commercials for the network (look at how many TechTV people were hyping GTA day and Halo 2 day).

Hell, they were giving away tickets to Sreen Savers and Unscrewed as late as a day or two before the cancellation went down for episodes that they never were going to shoot.

I'll also add that it ticks me off that the TechTV people had to play up the good side of G4 so that the audience wouldn't get angry. Take Patrick Norton's last episode. He stressed over and over that he wasn't fired by G4, it was his decision to stay in San Francisco, and fans shouldn't write angry letters to G4. If he knew then what he knows now...

X-Play and Unscrewed also played up the move in a positive way and had to go on and on about what a great place G4 is and how thrilled they are with the new sets, etc..

I read Alex's blog and Joey the Intern's news plus other people's blurbs.

G4 does suck. Here are a few extra details. Call for Help apparently does still air, but only in Canada. I don't know who's doing it or if that has now been cancelled.

I'm fairly sure G4 never purchased the Canadian TechTV network when they scooped up the American one. If they did, it's funny they didn't cancel Call For Help there, too.

Everybody in front of the camera for TSS except Sarah and Kevin is gone, but maybe some of the people behind the camera are still there, but that doesn't really matter. I didn't like Kevin or Alex as hosts.

I'm pretty sure they fired all the crew. From what I understand, they are going to merge the series with Pulse. They already have a crew for that show, so why keep the extra people?

We may never see the last episode of Unscrewed. Martin filled the last show, (apparently he knew it was coming or given a last air date), with bitter anti-G4 jokes. I'd love to see the final show but it probably wont ever air. I was never a huge fan of Unscrewed, but sometime it wasn't.

I barely watch and it is more out of curiosity when I do. Now I've got no reason to pause on the channel, except maybe X-Play or to oogle Diane Mizota. Her show sucks but I like her.

I heard about the Unscrewed taping. I believe they were fired earlier that day. I wouldn't be surprised if they had to have their desks cleaned out before they even taped the episode. IIRC, the audience got a "TechTV" chant going (and Martin encourganed them tot steal a printer on the way out the door). Hopefully, Martin, Laura, and the rest can get the show picked up on something like Spike TV.

As for the G4 shows, I actually like Filter...and not just for Diane Mizota. Well, it depends on the topic. The "10 Worst Games of All Time" is interesting, but the "Top 10 Basketball Games" holds no interest for me. I also kind of like G4TV.com. It's only a so-so show, but it can be entertaining.

The rest they can keep. I've only watched 3 episodes of Icons (about SNK, Atari, and the guy who created DOA). Players and Sweat are uninteresting. Pulse and Electric Playground are pretty much the exact same show. Hell, Judgement Day and Electric Playground are pretty much the exact same show.

And I have a special hate for Judgement Day. When you have two hosts arguing about a game and one thinks the graphics are great and the other thinks they suck, one thinks the gameplay sucks and the other thinks it's great, and, in the end, one gives the game a 4.5 and the other an 8.5, what the hell does that tell you about the game? Is it a good game or a bad one? How the hell can you tell?

Plus, Tommy Tallarico. If you've seen the show, I really don't have to go into any more detail than that. God, he's obnoxious. Yes, we can see you have a game controller stuffed in your pants. Oh look, he's running around screaming, "Tron!" :\

I can see why G4 thinks that the Call For Help fans will watch this.

 

[RangerWickett]

What does G4 stand for?

I watched mostly X-Play, because it's funny. And, well, you know. *grin*

But I occasionally would watch Screen Savers, or the weird 'mysteries of science' shows they had, even though the mysteries have been the same for the past fifteen years, ever since Robert Stack first told us they were 'Unsolved.' And heck, the guy who played Lister on Red Dwarf was funny enough to watch from time to time, even if the robots were a little silly.

Tech TV's shows always were better. The G4 ones just never seemed that well-conceived, except for Icons. I always liked History Channel-esque stuff.

Does anyone know why G4 decided to do what they did? Do they have any happy fans?

 

[jasamcarl]

G4 blows. Its self conscience nerd pandering fluff. TechTV was actually useful to the computer enthusiast while the onscreen people actually looked like they sincerely were into what they were doing. The G4 people are all obnoxious 20 somethings or overgrown children. They are also obviously tools for the gaming lobby.

And did anyone notice that X-play provided more useful info about gaming in its 30 minutes than the 'channel for gamers' does throughout its godawful 24 infomercial craptacular, with more intelligent, funnier injokes to boot? Though I'm still puzzling over the mystery of whether or not Morgan plays games.

 

[ssampier]

I think the only reason they kept the shows they did was in an effort not to scare away TechTV viewers.

I can understand that. But when you attempt to appeal to a market demographic, then changed your mind at the last minute, your attempt reeks of pandering. It is highly unlikely the average TechTV viewer would find someone to like in G4 (at least I certainly haven't). Your average 30-something gamer player may love Siphon Filter or Unreal Tournament, but I can almost guarantee they do not want to watch a half-brained show about it.

I'll also add that it ticks me off that the TechTV people had to play up the good side of G4 so that the audience wouldn't get angry. Take Patrick Norton's last episode. He stressed over and over that he wasn't fired by G4, it was his decision to stay in San Francisco, and fans shouldn't write angry letters to G4. If he knew then what he knows now...

Leo and Patrick were the smart ones, in this case. :\

X-Play and Unscrewed also played up the move in a positive way and had to go on and on about what a great place G4 is and how thrilled they are with the new sets, etc..

I did enjoy X-Play. The show was about games, but weren't annoying or freaky about it. G4, to me, has this, "Freaky gamer that lives in the basement playing games all day" vibe to it. I'm not sure where I get that feeling from. Furthermore, as I already stated, I could not stand those garish LA sets.

As for the G4 shows, I actually like Filter...and not just for Diane Mizota. Well, it depends on the topic. The "10 Worst Games of All Time" is interesting, but the "Top 10 Basketball Games" holds no interest for me. I also kind of like G4TV.com. It's only a so-so show, but it can be entertaining.

I think Tina Wood is attractive, but I could never finish an episode of G4TV.com (aforementioned reason). She's still no Sarah Lane, however.

 

[Kesh]

Does anyone know why G4 decided to do what they did? Do they have any happy fans?

I have no evidence, but this is what I've always suspected:

G4 was founded by a rich executive (or more likely, a rich executive's kid) as a place to put all his favorite crap on TV. When no one else wanted to watch his crap, he did the stereotypical rich brat thing: he bought out the place where kids wanted to be (TechTV) and changed it all to what he wanted, on the assumption that they would have nowhere else to go.

Oh sure, he kept a few of the old toys, after changing them to suit his tastes a bit better. But, once he got bored with them, they went in the garbage too. Now, everyone has to like what he likes!

This whole 'Formula D' thing just cements that vision in my mind. Someone with too much money is trying to force their favorite crap on the audience, because they killed off what the audience wanted to see.

I just hope G4 implodes spectacularly. Though I doubt he'll learn anything from it...

 

[jasamcarl]

ssampier, you're not the only one who got that 'loser' vibe from G4. It's because they emphasized gaming as a lifestyle as oppossed to a simple hobby. Unlike all the pandering G4 crap, X-play was smart enough to be self-deprecating.

 

[Nightfall]

I will only gripe about the fact I can't get G4/TechTV any more...and I STILL miss Anime Unleashed!!!

(Especially since I doubt I'll see some of the goodness like Read or Die TV show, and uhm...well not Excel Saga since it's on Anime Network..)
Anyway that's my thought.

But yeah G4 sucks.

 

[Filby]

Eh. I used to like G4. It's arguable that it started off on the far side of the shark, but I liked it. It's how I used to keep in touch with the video game industry. I actually got a kick out of Filter, Arena, Icons, and all those other silly shows. Even (and I'm probably going to be laughed into oblivion for this) Portal. But then the merger happened (I never watched TechTV; I'm just not the technical type), Portal got bumped to 4:30 AM, Scot Rubin left G4TV.com (I like Laura and Tina, but without Scot to play the straight-man...), all the other shows ran out of interesting stuff to talk about, etc. Now I don't watch the channel anymore. The remaining G4 shows are boring for me, and the TechTV shows didn't interest me to begin with. Blah.

 

[driver8]

Actually its funny..I liked Portal too

Anyways, my rant:

I havent watched much of the channel since the merger. I used to watch Screen Savers everyday since youd get some bit of info, but no more. TSS wasnt perfect,(it sometimes resembled a cable access show) but it was a nice computer geek destination.

I do like the emphasis on gaming but it seems like overkill. G4TV.com is a talk show about games, they have 2 review shows.. I mean then channel is killing off shows and they barely have enough content for 12 hours of the day. But it seems like G4 is firing all the older employees and men, while retaining the gamer babes-Tina, Morgan Webb, etc..The channel needs to get an identity and run with it.

The only thing I watch now is X Play, and even that seems to have a different vibe. I always like Xplay because the emphasis of that show was the games, not the hosts. The little skits were kept to a minimum and both hosts are gamers who like games, a great difference from almost any other game review show that has ever been. But now the humor seems forced on the show, and I fear it going to change in a bad way.

By the by, I hate Judgment Day or whatever the show is called. The two hosts seem more intrested in having face time and speak of the shows in thumbnails. They do too many developers intrviews instead of showing us the games and..well I hate it. And isnt it in some way a conflict of interst for Tommy Tellarico to review games? His freakin company does so much work for the industry, so why is he reveiwing?

I hate G4.