Is this good or bad? TechTV and G4 to merge

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Maybe we'd finally all get to see G4, but...hmmmmmm. I dunno.

Here's the article. (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/variety/20031229/va_ne_al/techtv_gets_reboot_1)

Scuttlebutt is that TechTV has been in financial trouble for a long time, hence the acquisition of barely-related programming (i.e. anime, Max Headroom, Thunderbirds, etc.), which, while only tangentially relevant to the "tech" mandate of the network, are already produced and therefore cheaper than original programming.

Any strong feelings one way or the other?

[soupforare]

I never really got TechTV.

The original shows are mostly crap, and the cheap syndicated stuff gets old pretty quick.

Not to mention they replay everything 3 times a day -_-

Good riddance. I haven't seen G4 but maybe this'll be a shot in the arm for nerd entertainment.

Nerds on film *dances* Nerds on film

[Rogmeister]

I'm not crazy about the idea. If my favorite G4 shows continue (mainly Judgment Day and G4tv.com) then I won't have a real problem with it. But Judgment Day does game reviews so I don't know if they would keep both it and XPlay going.

[christianscott27]

cant say about tech tv, i think thats part of some super deluxe package i dont subscribe to but i do watch G4 pretty often. bottom line is G4 needs more programming badly, if you watch the channel for 6 hours a week you've pretty much seen everything they have to offer. my gut has always told me that they suffer not from a lack of ideas but a lack of production funds. hopefully the merger will not dilute G4's gamer centric mandate or its cutesy bumpers.

a few notes on G4, fellow viewers share your thoughts-

portal is the biggest waste of time, as if everquest players would ever take a break to watch it anyways

diane on filter needs to go, i dont care if she's a super hot japanese american, its painfully obvious she doesnt game. i get the feeling everytime i watch that she doesnt want to be there. maybe they could find some cute nerd chick if they feel the need for a comely female host.

G4TV.com another show that needs a little more content, even if its just making tina play DDR. has anyone else noticed that scott turned into a really annoying creepy guy ever since he let his hair grow out? he needs to go but sadly he is the producer so...

pulse- good show mostly but enough already with the madden challenge! this show should be at least twice a week, not just once. also whoever does ronnies wardrobe and hair needs to be fired.

tommy and victor are the gods of this channel, they come across as real gamers and give excellent reviews. once you've seen videogame reviewing done on TV, as it should be, magazine reviews just dont seem good enough. more of these guys.

players- ehhh, its so low budget VH1 its sad, who cares what some 2cnd tier faux punks play on their tour van? how about focusing the show on real people talking about games, like that goofy high score story thing they sometimes do between shows.

rant over, end transmission.

[Sotenga]

Erm... I'd give my opinion, but I don't know a single thing about TechTV. I do know much about G4, and I think it's a pretty good channel myself, despite the fact that I don't pay so much attention to the modern stuff... in fact, really, the only program I seriously care about on there is Starcade. As long as Starcade isn't left without a home, that's all that matters. :)

[Lady Jaye]

Well, if this means that G4 will finally be available in Canada (via satellite and digital TV), then maybe I'll consider leaving behind the good ole analog cable (Tech TV was available as I saw it once at my parents' home).

[le geek]

I tentatively went with good idea. I get G4 but not Tech TV with my cable. I like to watch G4 when I kill time and I hope it stays a mostly videogame channel. I wouldn't mind if it carried Max Headroom too though...

I like Judgement Day. Blaster, Icons, Pulse. Filter isn't bad.

Portal, Game On, and G4TV, Arena could go away...

Cheers,
Ben

[Raedon]

Every show I've seen on G4 has some of the WORST host's on the air.. that being said I think it's a smart move.

[RCM]

I haven't watched tech tv much but i do know one guy who works there made an awesome console hybrid system that is housed by a custom pc tower. The best part about the G4 channel is the fact that they show high quality video of new games. THis is a little off topic but hear I go:

* I actually think Portal is funny as hell. I didn't dig it for a long time. It is essential to have a sick sense of humor to be into that stuff.

*Pulse is a funny show b/c it seems the hosts have no pulse. I get the feeling that the industry doesn't give this show respect b/c they report a lot of news that is posted on fansites.

*Filter, the Diane Mizota show is horrible. It is apparent that SHe doesn't game or really care. She hosts another show too, I think it's on NBC on saturday mornings.

*Game On is horrible too. One of the hosts is a crappy comedian and the other host also hosts animal planets funniest home videos. The show isn't funny and has almost nothing to do w/ games. Fucking tools. Pardon my English

*Blister is another throwaway show. Bill Sindalar is kinda funny though.

*Pringles cheat guide is just offensive. THe host is another tool and is just plain boring. Real gamers don't cheat!

*G4tv.com is shite. Sometimes I almost like it just for the fact that they have 2 hot female hosts. A lot of times they slip and show they aren't hardcore which is fine, you have to be who you are, but I don't have to like it.

*Icons is interesting but the information is sometimes flawed.

*THe specials are ok sometimes but the Gphoria awards were a joke. IN G4's defense, at least the G4 awards show wasn't distracted by a full wrestling match like the horrible award show put on by Spike TV last month.

*Judgement day is a joke as well. I think Victor Lucas sucks it. I barely see this guy give a game a bad review. Even the bad reviews he gives aren't rated too bad. Victor Lucas says "cool" and "awesome" while describing a game more then the average person breathes. I don't enjoy Tommy Tallericos reviews either but I give him much respect. The guy has created some great work. That is his saving grace as far as i'm concerned.

*THe very best show on G4 has to be cinematech. 23 minutes of game footage. No talking, no fake hosts telling me what's good or bad. Just pure footage.

I know I missed some shows but these are the programs that I watch the most and have big problems with unless otherwise noted. I think G4 needs a show that is dedicated to hardcore gamers. I doubt that will ever happen but it would be nice

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[Sanriostar]

Must.. grease Sessler...

Sessler on X-Play brings out my inner Tourrett's victim. Maybe this can change something. But if this brings Icons to TechTV, I say go for it. the only way I've seen this show is from usenet binary posts.

[ubersaurus]

I dunno, Sessler is pretty damn funny, when he has a foil. Extended Play sucked ass when he was doing the show by himself, but its pretty decent when he's got a cohost.

Either way, I'd rather see X-Play over Judgment Day..those guys hated Panzer Dragoon Orta, and anyone who hates that game clearly shouldn't be running a review show @_@

[RCM]

I don't recall them hating Panzer Dragoon Orta but they (along with almost everyone else) didn't give PDO the kind of recognition it deserved. I agree that they shouldn't be doing any sort of videogame show let alone 2 of them!

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[ManekiNeko]

I wonder what this will mean for Starcade...?

This could potentially be good news. I think TechTV's strongest asset is its video game coverage... nearly everything else on the network is boring, even its anime.

JR

P.S. I find Adam Sessler more annoying than funny. He's like Andy Richter on crack. His sidekick Morgan Webb-b-b-b isn't much better.

EDIT: One thing Tech TV/G4 could do to improve itself is to revamp its late night line-up so it can compete directly with Adult Swim for younger viewers. Currently, there's only a half hour of video game coverage at 11:00PM... that needs to be boosted to double or even triple that amount. After that, they need to replace their currently lackluster anime with truly exciting Japanese cartoons, the good stuff like Ranma 1/2 and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. If you've ever played the JoJo's video game, all you need to know is that the animated mini-series is even more original and intense.

[Neil Koch]

I used to like Tech TV but they've dumbed down the shows so much, it's not even really interesting anymore.

As for X-Play, Sessler is annoying and Webb provides a nice set of cans but little else, plus most of the games they show are outdated, and they waste too much time with little side-stories that try to be funny but aren't.

[scooterb23]

As long as I can still get Call for Help and the Screen Savers...and they don't get rid of Jessica Corbin...I'll be happy :)

[kainemaxwell]

I usually only watch The Screen Savers on TechTV myself.

[Half Japanese]

I haven't seen G4, but I'm very interested....hell, it might get me to watch tv again.

That said here's my thoughts on "stay-go" at TechTV

Call For Help: stay definitely, Leo is a great host and that show is probably the one of the lifelines of the channel

Screensavers: stay, although I don't watch it much, it's well interesting and has a good crew

Thunderbirds: what the fuck? cut this shit first.

Robot Wars: boo, they show this too much, cut it.

Invent This!: Keep it, but rename it for god's sake

Conspiracies: keep it

Performance: nerds don't do sports generally. Cut this filler bullshit

Anime Unleashed: I like anime, but not this stuff, cutting it would be fine by me.

X-Play: ANYTHING G4 has must be better than this. I will say that I respect Adam for only one reason: his constant plugging of Sly Cooper. Fire all the writers for this show, their jokes would make any second rate comedian's opening act cringe.

Wired for Sex: cut it, it's just there so you might watch it thinking you're going to see titties.

Unscrewed: keep it, it's TechTV's attempt to fill the void left by the Tom Green Show.

TechLive: keep it, but cut Chris Leary, he's an annoying psuedo-nerd and annoying.



Like I say I don't watch much TV, I only know the lineup from a long summer of unemployment.

[Sylentwulf]

Justin NAILED it. I can't add much more to his post.

Morgan looked better as a blonde. A LOT better, and X-play SUCKS, it's by FAR the worst videogame show on TV right now (besides Portal on G4)

This could be either the BEST thing to ever happen, or the WORST. There will be NO in between. It's either gonna rock, or kill both channels with one stone.

Leo and Patrick along with Judgment Day on the same channel is just friggin heaven. Then you have the "check out these polygons" girls and Jessica/Morgan/Megan on the same channel is another big bonus ;)

mmmmm Jessica.... Guess I'm a sucker for redheads....

[GamecubeFreek]

First off, X-Play is a much better show than some of you are giving credit. The writing is much better than some of you think. Even when they are reviewing a game that I dont care about, it is still amusing to watch thanks to the writing. I can, however, see how Adam can be viewed as annoying. I personally find him entertaining, but he has a rather love him or hate him personality, I suppose.
As for the merge, it would be nice to see G4, as long as Direct TV keeps the channel. Hopefully it will not mess up who works where because I will hopefully be working on X-Play through some of my "connections." :evil:

[Sanriostar]

mmmmm Jessica.... Guess I'm a sucker for redheads....

I'd like to see a 30 min. special of just Jessica jumping up and down.

"And now, girls jumping on trampolines!"

Should start a Man Show thread.

[scooterb23]

Hey HEY!!! Back off Jessica...I'm stalking her!! not...ooops :embarrassed:

http://graphics.techtv.com/graphics/thescreensavers/3433706.jpg

:lovin: :dance: :snuggle:

Now...if they could just get Kate Botello back....