While the network itself is not going away, at the end of the year it will be undergoing a complete re-branding. Yes the network built on video games and comics will be stepping away from nerd culture all together and heading in a more GQ fashionable male direction. This move is solidified in the cancelling of the two anchor shows for G4 X-Play and Attack of the Show! which will end their runs at the end of this year. This may come as little shock to the more devout viewers of the network as over the past year or so we have seen the exit of the two main personalities of those shows and the network itself, Adam Sessler(X-Play) and Kevin Pereira(AOTS).
X-Play debuted in 2003 on Tech TV and came to G4 when those two networks merged in 2005. Hosted by Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb, and Blair Herter since the departure of Sessler, X-Play was a highly respected video game review show and was the place to turn for first look game trailers and exclusive industry interviews. Attack of the Show!, or AOTS, debuted in 2005 as a daily news show that revolved around nerd culture. It encompassed everything from from movies, to comics, to the latest internet trends. Originally hosted by Kevin Pereiera, Kevin Rose, and Sarah Lane AOTS was an off shoot of the Tech TV show The Screen Savers which the three had previously hosted before the G4/Tech TV merger. Within a year both Lane and Rose had left the show and in 2006 new host, Olivia Munn, was brought in to co-host. Munn departed in 2010 and Candace Bailey was given the current co-host spot. Since Pereira left in August Bailey has been given a string of special guests to co-host with and that trend will continue until the shows end. Some upcoming guest hosts will include John Barrowman, Michael Ian Black, Josh Myers, Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel, & Horatio Sanz. Both shows have logged over 1000 episodes each and will be running retrospectives and re-living some of their classic moments until their series finales.
This marks and end of an era in geek culture. These two shows were not only popular amongst their fans but important news sources as well. With the current rise in popularity of geek/nerd culture these two shows had a finger on the pulse of an ever growing community and with their on-the-floor coverage of major conventions like E3 and San Diego Comic-Con were often the first place to hear breaking news in gaming, comics, and movies. It seems weird to me that with the current trend in movies and TV that G4 is going away from the whole nerd culture movement. I'm sad to see these shows go as they are both unique and offered a fresh blend of comedy and news. I will forever be in the debt of AOTS for introducing me to Chris Hardwick a.k.a. The Nerdist, because without him I would not be doing what I'm doing. So I say a fond and tear stained farewell to G4 and can only hope that all those wonderful people who work on X-Play & AOTS go on to bigger and brighter things.
Let me know what you think of the whole G4 re-branding by commenting below. And as always Like the official The Final Level page on Facebook and follow us @TFLChicago on Twitter.
Candace Bailey, Morgan Webb, Matt Mira, Blair Butler, Blair Herter, Sara Jean Underwood, & all the rest, May You Live Long and Prosper
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