G4 gets LOST, network execs miss obvious joke
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Oct 17th 2007 at 2:31AM }
Sci-Fi also picked up the rights to LOST, but at least that makes sense, because we all know the castaways are actually encapsulated in a glass bubble floating through space. G4 plans to redo LOST like they did Star Trek by creating "LOST 2.0," which will offer interactive elements and display factoids during the broadcast. G4 and Sci-Fi allegedly paid $200,000 per episode for the series -- although Sci-Fi footed most of the bill. Although it's sad to see G4 continue down this path toward becoming the poor man's Spike TV, at least we've got GameTrailers making good video game retrospectives. It could also be worse, G4 could still be doing that whole The Whip Set thing. Don't remember what that was? Check out the trailer after the break.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Amos @ Oct 17th 2007 2:38AM
Poor Man's Spike TV? That's like saying you live in cheapest box under the bridge.
Halorin @ Oct 17th 2007 10:44AM
Quote of the day.
vidGuy @ Oct 17th 2007 3:08AM
If anything could make me watch the G4 channel it's Lost. Best TV in years. I'll own every episode on DVD and BluRay before I'm done.
Zach S @ Oct 17th 2007 7:13PM
The thing is, I absolutely LOVE Lost, I've been watching all the seasons over again since September and I might actually consider tuning in for this EXCEPT...
they're planning to do that 2.0 shit. I'm not tuning in to squint at the show I want to watch, I don't watch a show like Lost with my computer sitting right next to me, and I don't care about some idiots comments on some crappy chat.
Is there anyone who doesn't immediately change the channel upon seeing those ugly ass borders filling the screen?
Alexander @ Oct 17th 2007 3:10AM
I really love Lost. But WTF is it doing on G4? Just a suggustion guys, how about putting programs relevent to VIDEOGAMES on a VIDEOGAME network. Cheaters.....wtf. Just die G4.
Einhanderkiller @ Oct 17th 2007 3:16AM
G4 dropped their "Videogame TV" tagline and replaced with "TV that's plugged in." It's no longer a videogame network.
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 17th 2007 8:20AM
Goddamn you G4.
Mr. P @ Oct 17th 2007 8:33AM
I stopped caring about G4 once they merged with TechTV. Two great channels were ruined that day. Today G4 is to games what MTV is to music.
shamgar @ Oct 17th 2007 4:41PM
"I stopped caring about G4 once they merged with TechTV. Two great channels were ruined that day. Today G4 is to games what MTV is to music."
QFT
also ... QFTD
Trenchalicious @ Oct 17th 2007 3:15AM
People might actually care about Lost and turn into G4 for it.
As for the man show... that was popular for one year before everyone outgrew it except for the hosts.
kip @ Oct 17th 2007 1:25PM
I might watch it to refresh my memory. I've only seen most of the episodes once, and I don't remember a lot of the details from the first season. Plus, I'm too cheap to buy the DVDs.
Henry @ Oct 17th 2007 3:25AM
Fall 2008???
I hope thats just G4's airing date and ABC is still planning to air it on February, because I simply can't wait that long.
Kwipper @ Oct 17th 2007 11:13AM
G4 needs to get lost. Period. I stopped watching the show and I have found something much MUCH better. Want to know what that is?
www (dot) gametrailers (dot) (com)
Micheal82 @ Oct 17th 2007 4:03AM
People still watch G4. That network fell apart after they stop focusing on video games. What does Cops, Star Trek, Cheaters Lost and the Man Show has to do with gaming. AOTS absolutly sucks. X-play is the only decent show on G4. G4 go back to your gaming roots and the veiwers shall return.
Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Oct 17th 2007 4:09AM
Hahaha they show Cheaters too now? Man I love that show. But it doesn't belong on G4. It belongs on uncensored DVD box sets including episodes where Joey Greco gets shot by paintball guns.
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 17th 2007 8:21AM
And the sad thing is that X-play isn't even that good anymore. Ever since they got that new set, it's been pretty sucky.
Cuteunit @ Oct 17th 2007 4:22AM
I like AOTS sometimes... when the hosts get along.. sometimes their playful antics seem malicious.
The same thing happens on Xplay, sometimes I get the feeling adam and morgan despise eachother just like I sometimes think Kevin and Olivia hate eachother..
Maybe it's just what working for G4 is like..
Ratchet the Lombax @ Oct 17th 2007 4:48AM
G4 was recently dropped from my current cable package no big loss. I guess I could get it back if I wanted but I would have to upgrade to a higher package and there isn't anything on G4 worth the extra $10 a month it would cost to get it. I will admit that I did watch AOTS once in a while and even X-Play was not that great. Every episode I saw was so outdated it was just sad plus their rating system sucked almost every game got a 3... out of 5.
Brian @ Oct 17th 2007 6:48AM
G4 was once a channel I enjoyed, now its just something I flip by and hardly ever stop on.. it once was unique, now its like a tbs or something like that.. They just dont "get it" anymore.
Gavin @ Oct 17th 2007 6:51AM
Anyone relying upon G4 for videogame news is obviously way behind the curve.
Joel @ Oct 17th 2007 2:18PM
Ex: My brother
Neon Jebus @ Oct 17th 2007 7:03AM
Other than Attack of the Show and X-Play there really isn't anything they offer that I would watch. Code Monkeys is terrible.
I hope LOST fans enjoy the 2.0 of the show. I love when they cover over 1/3 of the screen with a comments section. What I really love is the fact that they often do it while displaying information you should READ on the actual show (I'm looking at what they do on X-Play). I love not being able to read stuff on the actual show because I see three guys on the X-Play forum chatting with one another.
They have two good shows...I wanted the BIG NEWS to be the ATOS and X-Play were heading off to another channel while the rest of G4 as we knew it was going to be cremated so I (and other TechTV fans) could all pee on the ashes.
Woo Hoo...Heroes, LOST 2.0, AND MLG coverage...ick!
IslandLife @ Oct 17th 2007 8:04AM
I thought I was the only one who thought the idea of an "interactive" show was just plain stupid. I can't believe that someone thought that filling up 1/3 of a television screen with inane comments and multiple choice questions was a good idea. Worst still, someone approved it. That has to be the most annoying thing in television history, or at least a close second to Kevin Perriera.
Sesur @ Oct 17th 2007 8:15AM
sweet baby jesus I miss Tech TV.
B1gC72 @ Oct 17th 2007 8:24AM
amen. i dont watch that satan spawn G4 just for the simple fact that i miss Tech TV (and it has no good programing). The Screensavers was like my favorite show!
if i want to watch Lost, ill download it. G4 can go suck a nut.
fadeoutagain2784 @ Oct 17th 2007 8:21AM
I'm glad so many other people agree that G4 sucks now. I liked TechTV SO much more. Everything on G4 now is like perverted and ridiculous, and wtf is with AOTS having sex advice practically every episode?? Who the hell needs sex advice from AOTS? If I needed to get sex advice from a failing videogame/technology tv show, I'd have no sex life PERIOD. And don't you just love when G4 just shows 6 hours of Star Trek 2.0, Cheaters, or Cops? And now with LOST (which I still love) they're just jumping on another bandwagon a year too late. G4 is such a waste of a channel.
Santino @ Oct 17th 2007 8:27AM
I really miss the techTV days, everytime i turn to G4 its some stupid japanase banzai show or something like that. i want call for help, the screensavers and all those old shows back. they were alot more reputable back then.
PhoenixSS @ Oct 17th 2007 8:35AM
Chiming in here on the Tech TV bandwagon. I miss those days.
The only reason anyone ever watches G4 TV is to get their regularly scheduled dose of Morgan and the rest is... well, crap really.
hoop @ Oct 17th 2007 12:36PM
If you need a "daily dose of Morgan," you're probably better off just going to ArsTechnica and seeing her daily (I think, daily) Webb Alert video piece. I haven't seen it, but I imagine it's infinitely better than wading through G4's dreck (or drek, for that matter) just for a scant few minutes of Ms. Webb.
Hope that helps.
PhoenixSS @ Oct 17th 2007 12:56PM
I was making a lame generalization. I've probably invested less than an hour watching G4 TV in my life. I'm sure someone will heed your advice. Although I have no idea what ArsTechnica is so I'm already behind. :(
Cap'n Jack @ Oct 17th 2007 10:40AM
AOTS has actually become somewhat watchable. It's not great, but it has its moments. Sometimes I can't stand it, but sometimes it's funny.
Ben @ Oct 17th 2007 8:56AM
I never got Tech TV, but when I would see some shows I enjoyed them. I feel sorry for people watching Lost for the first time on G4. Lost is one of those shows that you really need to pay attention to. If you watch closely you'll see things that relate to the story. All that '2.0' crap is going to get in the way. If you really want to watch Lost, get the DVDs.
Sam @ Oct 17th 2007 8:57AM
It's a joke, allright. But it sure ain't ha-ha funny. More like sad funny.
snapa @ Oct 17th 2007 9:12AM
G4 TV is alright. Ninja Warrior might be one of the best shows ever and Code Monkeys is hilarious.
Doug Kaplan @ Oct 17th 2007 9:18AM
G4 is only watchable about 20% of the time. The shows worth watching are AOTS (but really only the first 10 mins with the banter between Olivia and Kevin, some random times when they do Gamebreak segments, and the Loop), XPlay (but I fast forward through the pretentious reviews just to see the review recap), and Ninja Warrior (god help me I love this show). I love reading sites like Joystiq and Kotaku but seeing it in motion on my TV will always be better than seeing it on my computer.
I 100% miss TechTV. Call For Help, The Screensavers, Gear Live, Extended Play (the original XPlay before it got lambasted by G4), etc. It was an amazing channel but the minute it was purchased by G4, it all went to hell. There was a time there where it was TechTV with an edge which kinda worked because they still had programming from TechTV but with a younger staff but eventually that all got thrown out the door.
What I hate is now that G4 is barely showing anything videogames, us fans have no TV channel which focuses on videogames. There is the HD channel Gameplay HD but they show 2 - 3 year old games. They are still showing E3 coverage from 2006 and keep showing the play through of God of War. This channel would be our savior but along with outdated games, they looove showing videogame competitions which to me is as boring as TV can possibly be. At least watching a pro play through an entire game of Rainbow Six Vegas can give me hints but seeing teams play each other for money in a multiplayer setting, ugh, no thanks.
If only these two channels can come together and create one great videogame channel. The part that confuses me is that there is more than enough news/reviews/previews about videogames to fill a channel 24 hours a day, someone just needs to get on it!
Doug Kaplan @ Oct 17th 2007 9:37AM
Doh!
This was supposed to go after my last paragraph:
I love reading sites like Joystiq and Kotaku but seeing it in motion on my TV will always be better than seeing it on my computer.
wallapuctus @ Oct 17th 2007 9:56AM
G4 infuriates me. I can't stand the annoying pop-ups all over the screen whenever I'm watching a show. They're like the Internet circa 1999 when you couldn't go anywhere without 15 fucking things springing out to cover up what you actually want to see.
What a horrible, horrible channel.
Yourself @ Oct 17th 2007 9:27AM
Ninja Warrior always reminds me of a video game IRL. Aside from that and maybe (maybe) Star Trek, the rest of the garbage should go. G4's high point was right after it merged with TechTV and it was just a combination of the prior shows from those two channels. Once Screen Savers became Attack of the Show and Kevin Rose and Sarah Lane left... all hell broke lose.
Matt @ Oct 17th 2007 9:30AM
G4 lost me when they hyped up their E3 "Live" press conference coverage then broke for several minute commercials throughout the entire press conference. It was so ridiculous I think I actually ended up here on Joystiq to watch the live updates.
Vince @ Oct 17th 2007 9:42AM
G4 just doesn't get why people watched TechTV, and at this point i don't think they ever will.
Shmil @ Oct 17th 2007 9:51AM
G4 now only has 2 semi-watchable show: the half decent X-play and ninja warrior (which is always fucking on)
NATO_Duke @ Oct 17th 2007 10:08AM
Agreed. Sometimes AOTS is ok & codemonkeys is funny. Shows like cops, man show, star trek and now lost makes no sense to me. What is the difference with Spike and G4 these days? Does G4 suffer from "single white female" issues?
blooh (CDF - Nipple Ring) @ Oct 17th 2007 9:53AM
thank god i don't get g4, it'd be a waste of a channel
Todd @ Oct 17th 2007 9:56AM
What's wrong with Star Trek?
blooh (CDF - Nipple Ring) @ Oct 17th 2007 10:14AM
nothing. they should just play star trek 24/7
original series kicks ass :)
Todd @ Oct 17th 2007 9:58AM
It is rather difficult to commit a whole 18 hours of television solely to video games. I think G4 did great having 2-3 hours of Star Trek late at night. Then they replaced this programming with Cops. Attack/Show isn't bad. X-Play used to be better.
NATO_Duke @ Oct 17th 2007 10:04AM
Sure would be nice to have a video game network about video games.
blooh (CDF - Nipple Ring) @ Oct 17th 2007 10:07AM
g4 sucked ass even when they did that
waynski1457 @ Oct 17th 2007 10:09AM
while i absolutely love ninja warrior, i refuse to watch it hoping that g4 will die and it will go to another channel (hopefully one i can stand this time...)
its really something when you get nostalgic about how something was only 3 years ago. i know im not the only one who remembers their awesome e3 coverage and halo 2 day....
Sean @ Oct 17th 2007 10:24AM
I love me some Ninja Warrior and Arrested Developement (though I'm not sure how often they play it).