G4: From Euphoria to Shame

[Narcolepsy]

During a recent stay in the Colorodo Rocky Mountains, on the way to Denver, we were forced to stay at a nearly deserted ski lodge. The room was obviously optimized for winter use; the carpet was extremely thick, there was no air conditioner but a formidable heater, and bathroom lights so bright and hot that they nearly burned through my retinas.

But upon turning on the TV, I noticed something strange. Tech TV was listed in the channel guide, but I was under the impression that it no longer existed. So I flipped to it, and to my amazement, a news anchor guy was blabbing on about a Half-Life 2 interview with Doug Lombardi, who had confirmed that Counter-Strike Source will be included with Half-Life 2 (this is probably old news, but that's not the point of this thread). I was in euphoria on the prospect of a channel dedicated to games - I had heard of G4, but it was always like a mythical kingdom far, far away that didn't really exist, and wasn't going to until it became part of Basic Cable.

But as I watched more, my euphoria degraded into a form of shame. These games enthusiasts putting on shows were terrible failures as actors and entertainers, making me cringe at one nerdy joke after another. X-Play was a travesty - a flood of bad jokes, reviews scored out of 5, and a perfect score for the PS2 karaoke game. The award show was chock full of supposedly interesting antecdotes that made me want to change the channel in embarassment.

I came to the slow realization that society simply isn't ready for mainstream acceptance of games. The anchors and commentators lived in their own little world, and had none of the talent that is prerequisite in channels dedicated to other subjects. The channel only served to emphasize the nerdy and geeky nature of gaming, rather than casting it away.

So did I just see a bad side of this channel, or should it be taken off of the air immediately? Any comments?

 

[Shuzer]

Tech TV was a good station.
G4 TV was an absolute joke. It was enjoyable because it was so bad.

G4TTV, I don't get that. My cable company cut my access to G4 since it bought TechTV. TechTV was a premium channel, G4 wasn't as premium (although digital). My cable company is odd.

Er, anyway. To sum it up, G4TV is and was crap. I can't say the same for TechTV, as I've never been able to watch it.

 

[FoB_Ed]

I enjoy watching it because it's funny. It's not supposed to be funny but it's enjoyable to laugh at the nerdy people

 

[Narcolepsy]

My shame might have had something to do with the fact that my parents were in the room too, and were probably doubting my sanity at my being so exicited about such a joke of a channel

It shouldn't be taken off the air, it should be subsidized by a company that can afford to send out intelligent anchors and is distributed nationally in basic cable so we can all enjoy intelligent commentary and people new to, or with bad impresssions of games, can learn to enjoy our hobby.

* Pendragon knows hell will freeze over first, but a guy can dream, right?

Those are dangerous thoughts, Pendragon. Hell has already frozen over a bunch of times, after all.

 

[qckbeam]

I enjoyed some of the programming on TechTv when it was just TechTv. G4TechTv is trash save one show, The Screen Savers, which has managed to dodge the axe. This G-phoria thing they are always blabbering on about makes me feel ashamed to watch the channel at all. It's an awards show for gamers featuring all your favorite music celebrities and sports games...woohoo..oh and don't forget GTA! X-play IS just horrible (although it always was), and when a one hour program came on devoted to the Sonic vs. Mario debate, which has not only been over for years, but is just sad to see taken so seriously by people in real life, I turned it off. The channel masquerades as a gaming channel, but it sticks to the very, very mainstream titles for the most part. For once I'd like to see something that talks about the technology behind games (in-depth), or the design process. Wouldn't it be cool if they had a show that followed the progression of games from concept to finished product (like the gamasutra Postmortem articles), shows devoted to specific genres, and shows for the casual AND hardcore gamers? I'd like to see people take this seriously, get rid of the pretty faces who posses no journalistic talent, and shift it into high gear.

 

[moz4rt]

I agree with qckbeam. The only decent show on G4TTV is The Screen Savers. Since TechTV went off the air all I watch is cable news and Monk on USA.

 

[Narcolepsy]

For once I'd like to see something that talks about the technology behind games (in-depth), or the design process. Wouldn't it be cool if they had a show that followed the progression of games from concept to finished product (like the gamasutra Postmortem articles), shows devoted to specific genres, and shows for the casual AND hardcore gamers? I'd like to see people take this seriously, get rid of the pretty faces who posses no journalistic talent, and shift it into high gear.

That would be very cool. I was kind of assuming they had shows like that - I only got to watch the channel for about 2 hours, after all. It's a major disappointment to realize that it gets no better than the stuff I saw.

Listening, G4?

 

[FoxDie]

I actually enjoy watching X-Play...But that is probably because I have TiVo (a digital recorder) and I can fast forward through any boring games and lame jokes, and just get to watching new games in action

But I agree. I was excited about the merge at first, because I had never seen G4... It has pretty much ruined TechTV :x

 

[disruptioN_]

I watched a few shows on G4 one day and it was terrible. Never watched it again.

 

[Direwolf]

I avoid all the G4 stuff like the plague, but I still watch most of the TechTV shows that are still there. They're still as interesting as always.