Well, it has been over 2 years since I last wasted breath on the merger of G4 and TechTV, and what a changed place G4 has become. Two years after Comcast bought TechTV and tried to merge it with G4, I can say that some of my predictions have come to pass, all except where they are out of business (but that does look to be right around the corner.
Has anyone else noticed the programming on G4 lately? Just looking at their website, there are only 4 shows that air regularly that are produced in-house: X-Play, Icons, Cheat, and Attack of the Show (formerly the Screen Savers, formerly cool).
They are running episodes of Star Trek TNG, Arrested Development, Street Fury, and Ed the Sock. While I could go into detail on each of these shows, I will spare you the horror and only give a brief description of each:
Star Trek - seen it, multiple times, to the point where I can recite a lot of the dialog
Arrested Development - canceled 3 years ago, no new episodes being made, and there will soon be reruns of reruns
Street Fury - dated car culture series I had never heard of before - rather light my eyelashes on fire
Ed the Sock - inspiration for Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, except that Triumph is actually funny
What about the shows being produced in-house?
Well, X-Play has been neutered to the point where they average more silly little sketches than actual game reviews. And if that isn't bad enough, the sketches used to be shorter, fewer, and funnier, and now they are just longer and irritating....and neither Sessler or Webb will be winning roles in Oscar contenders anytime soon. More reviews and less acting needed.
What about Attack of the Show? Kevin Rose (remember him, the original host?) found an escape clause in his contract and bailed. Sarah Lane, well, I wasn't paying attention, but she stopped sleeping with Kevin, and was there one minute and gone the next. Alex Albrecht was terrible, and was canned quickly. The Asian girl who's name I am afraid of mangling so I won't try, is gone as well. There must be a revolving door in their casting offices. Kevin Pereira is good, engaging, and better without a script and when he is not trying so hard to be cool. The show itself has sucked every ounce of goodness that was in it from the TechTV/Screen Savers days and is almost a mockery of what good TV is all about.
Cheat.....well, they got rid of the squirrelly little guy who looked like he had tried to unlock everything and they put in eye candy. Did I say eye candy? She isn't as hot as she thinks she is, and I don't believe for a second that she has ever used a controller for anything more than self-satisfaction (they do vibrate, ya know).
And last there is Icons, that shows biographies of the pioneers and innovators of the video game industry, complete with the cheesy narration and the talking head "experts" a la the Discovery Channel. That isn't to say it isn't informative, but I look at it the way I look at the History Channel - only if there is nothing else on.
There is also CinemaTech, but hey, I can hook a VCR to my Xbox too.
Is the end near for G4? No, I don't think so, but if I was to subject myself to watching a whole programming day, I think the nearest comparison would be a local cable access channel with flashier graphics and nationwide distribution. Production quality is still in the toilet, at least for the shows they actually produce. I'm unclear if it is cheaper to buy the license to air an episode of Picard and Crusher's romantic tension than it is to rent studio space and record your own show, or if it was a case that more people would watch a 10 year old rerun than the mindless dribble being produced.
If the latter is the case, then maybe the end is closer than they think.
Showing posts with label television. Show all posts
Showing posts with label television. Show all posts
December 05, 2006
November 21, 2006
The Rebirth of Television
I may be a little premature in saying this, but television may be getting over it's addiction to reality shows and getting back to telling an interesting story. I do mourn for the days when Hill Street Blues, Cheers, MASH, and other story based programming was hot, but all of a sudden, I find myself watching network TV again. And I like what I see.
My view towards reality shows are fairly well spelled out in my previous post "A Powerful Weapon", so I won't go into detail on why I think it is a symptom of the fall of Western civilization.
I guess I saw the rise of reality TV coming. I remember when they canceled my beloved Firefly, and I remember watching the first season of Survivor. I did happen to enjoy The Mole while it was on, but even reality shows can fall under the ax too (was the Mole too cerebral, or was Celebrity Mole too much for anyone to bear?) I have been a rampant fan of Food Network, and was devastated when TechTV was purchased and dismantled by Comcast/G4 (and those are reality TV, too, when you think about it). It was the more violent and nasty reality shows that took over after Cheers, Seinfeld, and Friends left the airwaves. I had stopped watching network TV altogether at that point, retreating to the specialty cable channels like Bravo, Discovery, Food, Comedy Central, and Spike.
It looks like maybe the profit of these reality shows is bottoming out for the networks, or they see for themselves how formulaic the programming must be to be able to spawn shows that were an outright mockery of the format (Average Joe, Drawn Together, The Gottis). Or maybe the major networks collectively grew a conscience. They were responsible for some pretty disgusting things in the past, like making a bigger deal than necessary out of Anna Nicole Smith, Kellie Osbourne, and Paris Hilton. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention The Surreal Life, and the fact that reality show contestants were getting "star" status in the media. Hollywood specifically, and entertainment in general, was a mess.
I am watching 3 shows religiously right now, but I hope the networks see the light and make more of these gritty shows that can hold our attention week to week. I am watching Heroes, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and The Unit. I see there is a new show out now called 3 lbs. Of the shows that I am watching, I am pleased to report that there is only one big name in all the actors (Matthew Perry in Studio 60), taking a page from Hill Street Blues in casting unknown quality actors and letting the story be the star.
The Story as the Star. What a concept. No one knew who Ted Danson was before Cheers. Or Jason Alexander before Seinfeld. Maybe we need a moratorium on how long fame should last. If you haven't been on a weekly show for 3 years, you should sell the house in Malibu and return to dinner theater in Des Moines. Nah, it would never work, but maybe the bankability of stars has to be examined, that just because you fill a cast with Oscar and Emmy winners doesn't mean the show will be any good.
But I don't want to get negative with this post. I wanted to congratulate Hollywood on these 3 programs, and any others I may be missing or haven't aired yet. I can honestly say, with irony rather than sarcasm in my voice, I WILL be watching.
My view towards reality shows are fairly well spelled out in my previous post "A Powerful Weapon", so I won't go into detail on why I think it is a symptom of the fall of Western civilization.
I guess I saw the rise of reality TV coming. I remember when they canceled my beloved Firefly, and I remember watching the first season of Survivor. I did happen to enjoy The Mole while it was on, but even reality shows can fall under the ax too (was the Mole too cerebral, or was Celebrity Mole too much for anyone to bear?) I have been a rampant fan of Food Network, and was devastated when TechTV was purchased and dismantled by Comcast/G4 (and those are reality TV, too, when you think about it). It was the more violent and nasty reality shows that took over after Cheers, Seinfeld, and Friends left the airwaves. I had stopped watching network TV altogether at that point, retreating to the specialty cable channels like Bravo, Discovery, Food, Comedy Central, and Spike.
It looks like maybe the profit of these reality shows is bottoming out for the networks, or they see for themselves how formulaic the programming must be to be able to spawn shows that were an outright mockery of the format (Average Joe, Drawn Together, The Gottis). Or maybe the major networks collectively grew a conscience. They were responsible for some pretty disgusting things in the past, like making a bigger deal than necessary out of Anna Nicole Smith, Kellie Osbourne, and Paris Hilton. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention The Surreal Life, and the fact that reality show contestants were getting "star" status in the media. Hollywood specifically, and entertainment in general, was a mess.
I am watching 3 shows religiously right now, but I hope the networks see the light and make more of these gritty shows that can hold our attention week to week. I am watching Heroes, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and The Unit. I see there is a new show out now called 3 lbs. Of the shows that I am watching, I am pleased to report that there is only one big name in all the actors (Matthew Perry in Studio 60), taking a page from Hill Street Blues in casting unknown quality actors and letting the story be the star.
The Story as the Star. What a concept. No one knew who Ted Danson was before Cheers. Or Jason Alexander before Seinfeld. Maybe we need a moratorium on how long fame should last. If you haven't been on a weekly show for 3 years, you should sell the house in Malibu and return to dinner theater in Des Moines. Nah, it would never work, but maybe the bankability of stars has to be examined, that just because you fill a cast with Oscar and Emmy winners doesn't mean the show will be any good.
But I don't want to get negative with this post. I wanted to congratulate Hollywood on these 3 programs, and any others I may be missing or haven't aired yet. I can honestly say, with irony rather than sarcasm in my voice, I WILL be watching.
August 11, 2004
G4TechTV in Flames
I posted this as a new thread on the G4TechTV message boards a few weeks ago, and I think it is a good enough rant to merit the first post of my blog. I got 8 responses to it, 6 of them in complete agreement, and two from a 15 year old claiming I was calling all G4 viewers "children".
I do love irony.
An Open Letter to G4TechTV Management
When I think about the merger of G4 and TechTV, my blood doesn't boil the way it did, but I can still feel the temperature rise.
When I first heard about the merger, I envisioned a network where the best of both could be combined for a satisfying viewing experience: I imagined Adam & Morgan taking a more prominent role with the new network with strong gaming ties; I imagined Call for Help and the Screen Savers as flagship shows; I saw Tech Live informing a new audience; I thought "finally, an end to Thunderbirds, Anime Unleashed, and Wired for Sex". (Well, 1 out of 3, but you kept the most offensive ones.)
What we got was a demographic hodgepodge that doesn't seem to appeal to anyone. I am thinking that the only winners in this outcome were the G4 viewers (all 100 of them), while the thousands of TechTV viewers were left alienated.
How were we left alienated? Well, for starters, the gutting of a beloved cable channel. The replacement of some truly great shows with very high production values with TV that looked like it was, and I paraphrase, "TV for 7 year olds, by 7 year olds".
I can imagine the arguement made by those hundred G4 viewers saying that their favourite shows were every bit as good, but, children, please, let the adults talk.
G4TV.com - 3 twenty-somethings taking calls in a dark studio, calling each other names, and who at the end of the show ritually beat each other.
Pulse - where did they find that guy? He looks like the happy guy on those Encyte commercials. The constant rah-rah tone of the show really makes it difficult to watch. Prozac needed.
Filter - Pretty girl. Too bad she is hosting the equivalent of a video game popularity contest. Completely shallow and empty.
Sweat - A show named after perspiration. Lovely. And almost as much fun. The idea? Let's try to pick up chicks in or near the arcade.
Playerz - Oooooo - famous people have PlayStations AND XBox's. And they actually play them?....cool.
Judgment Day/Electric Playground - Perhaps the best hope for some integrity from the former solo network, but alas, when held up the harsh light of production values, it too falls short.
I understand that programming a television network is a difficult job, but that doesn't mean lowest common denominator broadcasting. Be responsible to the viewers you purchased from TechTV. You know the demographic: we're the ones with the paychecks that can buy product from your sponsors.
I had hoped the merger would bring an atmosphere of maturity to G4, while increasing the fun factor of TechTV - so far, it has failed on both counts.
I will continue to watch The Screen Savers after they move to L.A., along with X-Play, and Fresh Gear if it is still on, but I can say unequivocally that further slide in production values may have consequences. It is no secret that G4 was failing both in ratings and in revenues - the addition of TechTV programming could have helped, but I fear that not enough of it was kept, and I am prepared for the day when Comcast decides to cancel ALL programming in order to cut it's losses.
In my judgment, that day appears imminent.
Thank you for lowering my expectations, and also for narrowing my viewing options.
I wonder what is on A&E.
I do love irony.
An Open Letter to G4TechTV Management
When I think about the merger of G4 and TechTV, my blood doesn't boil the way it did, but I can still feel the temperature rise.
When I first heard about the merger, I envisioned a network where the best of both could be combined for a satisfying viewing experience: I imagined Adam & Morgan taking a more prominent role with the new network with strong gaming ties; I imagined Call for Help and the Screen Savers as flagship shows; I saw Tech Live informing a new audience; I thought "finally, an end to Thunderbirds, Anime Unleashed, and Wired for Sex". (Well, 1 out of 3, but you kept the most offensive ones.)
What we got was a demographic hodgepodge that doesn't seem to appeal to anyone. I am thinking that the only winners in this outcome were the G4 viewers (all 100 of them), while the thousands of TechTV viewers were left alienated.
How were we left alienated? Well, for starters, the gutting of a beloved cable channel. The replacement of some truly great shows with very high production values with TV that looked like it was, and I paraphrase, "TV for 7 year olds, by 7 year olds".
I can imagine the arguement made by those hundred G4 viewers saying that their favourite shows were every bit as good, but, children, please, let the adults talk.
G4TV.com - 3 twenty-somethings taking calls in a dark studio, calling each other names, and who at the end of the show ritually beat each other.
Pulse - where did they find that guy? He looks like the happy guy on those Encyte commercials. The constant rah-rah tone of the show really makes it difficult to watch. Prozac needed.
Filter - Pretty girl. Too bad she is hosting the equivalent of a video game popularity contest. Completely shallow and empty.
Sweat - A show named after perspiration. Lovely. And almost as much fun. The idea? Let's try to pick up chicks in or near the arcade.
Playerz - Oooooo - famous people have PlayStations AND XBox's. And they actually play them?....cool.
Judgment Day/Electric Playground - Perhaps the best hope for some integrity from the former solo network, but alas, when held up the harsh light of production values, it too falls short.
I understand that programming a television network is a difficult job, but that doesn't mean lowest common denominator broadcasting. Be responsible to the viewers you purchased from TechTV. You know the demographic: we're the ones with the paychecks that can buy product from your sponsors.
I had hoped the merger would bring an atmosphere of maturity to G4, while increasing the fun factor of TechTV - so far, it has failed on both counts.
I will continue to watch The Screen Savers after they move to L.A., along with X-Play, and Fresh Gear if it is still on, but I can say unequivocally that further slide in production values may have consequences. It is no secret that G4 was failing both in ratings and in revenues - the addition of TechTV programming could have helped, but I fear that not enough of it was kept, and I am prepared for the day when Comcast decides to cancel ALL programming in order to cut it's losses.
In my judgment, that day appears imminent.
Thank you for lowering my expectations, and also for narrowing my viewing options.
I wonder what is on A&E.
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