Holy crap, G4 sucks so much...
 

And they acquired TechTV, now one of my favorite channels is filled with sub-par video game related programming, hosted by the kinds of people that beat up the kids who played video games when they were in school.

How the hell did a mediocre channel like G4 manage to take control of a much more successful TechTV?

It's video game related... discuss.

The media industry is designed to ensure that the crap floats to the top. Some might say it's because they're catering to an audience made up of idiots, my personal view is that it's just easier to make shitty programming. Good networks use up all their time and resources in the short-sighted attempt to provide quality entertainment, whereas shitty networks, after they've slapped together the crap they call TV, have more time to focus on other goals, like getting ridiculous amounts of funding from dumbasses who know fuck all about TV anyway, and using it to kill off or buy up their competition.

That's how it generally seems to go, anyway.

I believe Turner Media or whatever acquired Tech Tv and decided to smoosh the two together...and yeah, it does suck...

Screw G4 and screw TechTV, I want the goddamned Anime Network! I can get all the newbie tech support and sub-par game news I need online. The Anime Network, on the other hand, could save me an absurd amount of money on my DVD purchases by getting a chance to filter out the garbage before unloading $20 per disc.

TechTV had a much higher veiwing audience then G4 however neither one of them was making a profit. TechTV then put its self up for sale and Comcast merged it with it's crappy channel G4. What makes it worse is it's blatantly obvious why G4 sucked in the first place.

1.Almost all of their shows cover the same material over and over again. Almost every show on it right now is praising Cronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. There isn't enough games out there for them to devote an entire channel to just games.
2.They have these crappy "I wanted to be on MTV" host that try to make every episode have this hip hop attitude, and stuff as many pop-culture refrences down our throat as possible. I swear if I hear anyone say "Can you smell what Pikachu is cooking?" in real life I would have to shoot them.
3.Who thought watching OTHER PEOPLE play in a lan party would be fun. It's fun on the SS only because the SS crew doesn't center it around the Lan party but instead just pooks fun about their team sucking every once in a while.
4.All G4 does is suck up to their sponsors oh sure "Powered by NVIDIA" is a little blatant advertising for them, but time for the EB games top 10 countdown, EB games rare jewel, EB Gamess this, EB games fucking that.

First of all Tech TV isn't all newbie Tech Support. They only have two shows even related to helping people with computer problems, and on those there was a lot more than just tech support. They would show off Mods, tell you about new products, hell they built a potato cannon on one episode. Most of the shows on Tech TV are about a feild of technology. They show new military weapons and skills that most people don't realize exist. The newest Gear we'll probably never buy, what technological advancements have been made in sports. Newbie Tech support is about 10% of all Tech TV programming.

Also on that note I wish I had Anime Network too.

Damn, I just about exactly called it. And I was just guessing, too.

Fucking predictable Corporate America fucking bullshit.

...

Screw the goddamn Anime network, I can get all the giant-eyed schoolgirls and angsty girly-looking boys piloting giant robots I need online.

Hey, that was fun!

Fifth: Did I ever mention I LOVE your Get Your War On quote? Seriously.

Anyways.

As for G4, I was so excited when the channel debuted despite the fact that they had to fuck it up somehow. There ARE enough games and enough good ideas to make a videogame-based network, I just don't think we'll ever see a serious attempt anytime soon.

No, no... not until we take over... mwaha...

I used to always watch Unscrewed on TechTV. I loved that channel. One day I saw G4 pop up on channel 22 as a "free preview" and I knew...something has to be done to fix our video game media coverage.

One of my friends recently got to talk with Tycho from Penny Arcade on the phone...yes, the Tycho. He chatted with him for a good half hour about this same subject. I'll try to get some of what was said written down for you. My friend just emailed him asking him a question, then he got a response saying something like, "I'd rather talk to you than write a long response." And he left his home phone number. As you could have guessed, my friend called him, got his answering machine, and decided to wait. He got a call back an hour later. On the end of the line he heard, "You wanted to talk?" He said his voice sounded incredibly cool. I think he freaked out when he figured out who it was because he couldn't quite get any words out for a few seconds.

I still can't believe it but I'll try to get some info.

Yeah, the whole techtv G4 merger thing is getting me down. I don't know what genius thought of this merger, as the programming is lopsided at best. I mean, you can't have a gaming/technology network, because gaming is a part of technology, and you just end up leaning to one side most of the time. Now we have a ton of video game devoted programs, as well as a handful of tech related programs that also cover video games in small segments. This doesn't work.

In my mind, I like to think of myself as a critic, because I have no talent of my own, and I hate just about everything. So, when I watched g4/tech tv for the first time, after being a big fan of Tech Tv for a long time, a got ready to tear the mother apart. Yeah, that does mean my opinion is very biased, but I still haven't found much to dissuade me.

First off is the problem with the G4 show hosts. Its already been mentioned about their crappy pop-culture references, but that wouldn't be so bad if they could just deliver that reference without looking like a monkey reading from a teleprompter. I loved shows like the Screen Savers, Call for Help, and X-Play because those people conveyed a sense of real-ness in their broadcast. You feel like they're really talking about something they're interested in, not just reading blindly from some script written by two-bit hacks in the backroom. Besides that, they have a real kind of chemistry, or at least one that feels real, unlike the badly scripted arguements of some of the G4 "game-jockeys," as I think I'll call them, sense they aren't much more than Mtv vj rejects. Hell, Carson Daily has more emotion and better chemistry with the audience than the people that host "Arena," "Judgement Day," and several other G4 shows I can't remember.

What I felt from Tech tv was tech love, tech appreciation, and general tech celebration. What I feel from G4 is gamer exploitation using pop-culture and new-age hipness to disguise the attempts. I don't mind some of the show ideas. I've come to somewhat enjoy Arena, dispite the horrible hosts. If only they canned the entire staff of G4 and replaced them with the guys from tech tv, it might be a little better off.

In the end, the only real problem with G4 is the hosts. I think the redundant programming can be forgiven, a little bit, but those Mtv rejects just kill it.

Well, thats my rant on the subject. Hey, get that chat with Tycho up here. I want to hear what he said about the subject.

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Oh, and here's a quote from their game review show, judgement day. It was shown as a "pro" in a pros and cons segment of a game review. "Pro-the game is fun."

I'm sorry, that just seems stupid to me. Isn't that the whole point?

Another problem with alot of the G4 shows is their settings. As if they weren't big enough MTV wannabees they'll have Time Square in the background or some other location that is crap. The worst show of all in my opinion that I'm suprised no one (not even me) mentioned is Cheat. Why the hell do I want to watch some lamer say "Press R2 R2 L1 R2 UP DOWN LEFT RIGHT UP DOWN LEFT RIGHT UP now you've unlocked all the weapons and can go on killing cops and pimping hoes special thanks to LamerBoyX GTA3Freak69, and THISSHOWSUCKS7" I mean it's boring. Another God-Awful show is Filter. Remember all opinions on this show are yours not mine so go to our message boards. And the members of the message boards must be the dumbest fucks ever. I've said it before and I'll say it again how the hell are E.T. and Superman 64 in the 10-5 ranks and FUCKING SHENMUE IS #2.

There is one good show on there. Cinametch. No lamer host, no lame message boards crap. Just movies showcasing old, new and current games. I mean I saw a video for the original Castlevania and Starfox 2 (Not yet realeased) on the same episode. Maybe you don't like watching videos about games but it's a helluva better then listening to the MTV rejects.