g4techtv

G4TechTV Late Nights

Appealing to all your base instincts

Originally published in the September 2004 edition of Take ONE, as written by Hank Brockett

    And while G4TechTV�s efforts have freed the topics from the two-minute segment on the Today show, the Comcast-owned network has adapted its message into warped forms of our familiar television genres.    Two shows, �X Play� and �Unscrewed With Martin Sargent,� create enough new energy on the late-night dial to both enthuse those looking for a new voice in the media and provide ammunition for those who believe the world will end shortly.
      �X Play� scores points on the strength of its co-hosts, Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb. A video-game review show at its core, the energetic duo connect glimpses at the gameplay with a constant barrage of tongue-in-cheek perspectives, keeping their sarcastic six-shooters warm in the process. With the co-hosts standing in what looks like Jack Palance�s dank lair in �Tango and Cash,� this places increased emphasis on the sharp writing. Both hosts place featured reviews in both comparative and historical contexts.
      In what�s no surprise to anyone who reads the thousands of Internet posts debating Webb�s �hotness,� adolescent males who make Sony and Microsoft rich also want a little skin � or polygons looking like skin. �X Play� obliges. One recent show featured a review of a Japanese porn game, a segment requested by fans on the Web site.
     This theme is picked up by �Unscrewed,� a late-night variety show that one night featured two off-job strippers in the audience and a �Girl Gone Wired� pictorial -- a regular feature highlighting one of the Internet�s plethora of Web models. As absurdist ringleader for this cyber-circus, Sargent balances interviews with crackpot alien abduction authors and the sighs of co-host (and supplementary eye candy) Laura Swisher.
     G4TechTV may be unwieldy, but the name is shorter than �Pale Fifteen-year-old Message Board Flamers And Halo Lovers Who Like Breasts TV.� Not that there�s anything wrong with that. Which title will fit best when the network reaches for mainstream acceptance, though, remains to be seen.

X-Play (above) and Unscrewed both serve the "young, techie and horny" demographic.
X-Play (10 p.m. CST) - A-minus
Unscrewed (10:30 p.m. CST) - B

    Let�s get the name jokes out of the way first.
     * G4TechTV? I think I chatted with him last night on MSN Instant Messenger! LOL!
     * G4TechTV? That fits as well as a Firewire cable in a USB port! (This kills in Silicon Valley.)
     A merger of two rival networks created this monolithic mouthful earlier this year, bringing with it a programming docket dominated by computers, video games and gadgets.