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Television Media Technology

Leo Laporte Returns to G4TV 206

Posted by Zonk from the welcome-back-kotter dept.
TimeForGuinness writes "Leo Laporte returns to G4TV along with the show Call For Help. It premieres Monday the 29th of August at 11am ET/8am PT. As a long time ZDTV and TechTV fan, I am happy to see him return." Agreed. Good to see him back on a cable show. The first few episode topics include: "Waterproof Your Gadgets, Find a Wi-Fi Hotspot, Tweak Your TV Tones, Network Enabled DVD Players"
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Leo Laporte Returns to G4TV More

Leo Laporte Returns to G4TV

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  • That channel went to hell (Score:5, Insightful)

    by illegal_op ( 764056 ) on Friday August 26, 2005 @10:57PM (#13413169) Homepage
    after g4 took over

    • Re:That channel went to hell (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Seumas ( 6865 ) * on Friday August 26, 2005 @11:14PM (#13413258)
      Cheats! is an awful show. Aside from it being just a dumb idea, the host is awful. Some gimpy looking ostrich-like chick who clearly knows dick about gaming telling a bunch of people how to beat a crappy console game with her oh-so-witty scripted remarks?

      Filter is just as retarded. Another weird looking chick (they're trying to push the hot-chick thing for the male viewers, but aside from the punky blonde, morgan webb and sarah lane, they're all kind of below-average). And she basically presents what's nothing more than a weekly slashdot-poll/meme.

      Then the stupid Arena show. A bunch of total dorksj playing games with commentary on TV. And it's so boring. *yawn*. And the host is some blockhead douchebag who probably hasn't played a game in his life and who doesn't get most of the jokes Kevin Perera throws out.

      Then there's X-Play, which is okay - Adam is a smart guy even if they make him act like a spaz on the show. And Morgan... smart chick and I'd watch her read the phone book for all it matters.

      Kevin Pererra is pretty funny. Kevin Rose was a good balance to him, though. I miss Rose because he added some authenticity and credibility to the show. And a little edge. He was the linux, OSS, screw the RIAA guy. Probably the best thing G4/TechTV has ever had.

      Laporte and Patrick are both cool guys. Laporte explains thing so well. I actually like listening to his radio show, because while he talks about mundane windows-oriented stuff that my dog could figure out, I still learn a little bit about how to deal with explaining tech to people and after all these years, that still benefits me in my career. He has a knack for that.

      Their race car/naked-whore shows are boring and retarded. If I cared about drifting or car racing, I'd fucking watch ESPN.

      Mostly, I just hate all the god damned reruns. I swear to god they play X-Play 12 times per day.. and half the episodes are about games that have been out for two or three years!

      Sarah Lane is pretty cool, too. I guess I just think that because I've been watching for a long time and she kind of grows on you. Plus, she's kind of hot in a petite little... nevermind, Kevin Rose might be reading this....

      Brendan Moran is... well... Clealry not too tech oriented. But he's a lush. Drunks are cool.

      I miss Jessika. The hot little redhead. I miss Patrick. I hoe Leo brings him back on. And Martin Sargeant and (Lauren? - his cohost) were decent. Sometimes his show sucked, but I'd rather watch that than yet another god damned rerun.

      And this Cinematech thing... a half hour stretch of fucking videogame vidcaps? LAME!

      Their historical stuff is really cool though. Like when they do a whole half hour or hour about the guy who invented the gameboy or Nolan Bushnell or something. Aside from Attack of the Show, that's probably the best thing they do.

      You know what I wish? I wish Sean Baby was going to be the new host of Attack of the Show. I swear to god I've always hated that fucking asshole douchebag, but after watching him on the show for about two weeks, I completely changed my opinion of him. He's funny, smart and kind of charming. I don't wanna give the guy a rimjob or anything, but he was just obnoxious enough and smart enough to be fun to watch.

      I guess he has his own animated show or something coming on G4 soon, though.
      • i agree...i may be an avid videogame player, but that doesnt mean i can stand to see the same exact episode of cheat!, Filter, and Judgement Day over and over again...xplay however, is TV gold, which stemmed from TechTV pre-G4. Glad that tech is returning to the channel
        • Oh man. I totally forgot Judgement Day. It's basically x-play without the wit or any hot chick.

          That tommy guy is apparently a videogame music composer or something, though. He seems like a fairly tight guy, but I don't know why they need yet another game review show. There's some "G4.com" or whatever in the mornings with that hot blonde punky chick and some guy and a girl and they review games on there, too. It's nuts. Enough game reviews!

          I wish they had more stuff that didn't have to do with games. Attack
      • IF you want to hear these guys (Leo, Patrick, Kevin Rose), then check out http://www.thisweekintech.com/ [thisweekintech.com]
      • While I agree with just about everything you say, G4 is doing this for a reason.

        G4 knows that a TV show like Arena costs NOTHING to produce. The players probably are compensated with little more than plane tickets, hotel accomodations, and free pizza. G4 relies heavily on interns. Their costs are far lower I bet than TechTV's was, and so they are more profitable.

        They can survive alienating the TechTV's "core" of, well, techies, by pandering to 9 year olds who watch just for the reject chicks from the Hot To
    • G4 made a a 'business decision' to go after the easy adolescent male gamester dollars rather than build thier customer base of dedicated hackers and noobs.
      I drifted away like 90% of the other posters here.
      Maybe, belatedly, they are finally realizing it was a bad decision.
      Too little, too late, too bad -- for all of us.
      Good tekkie shows are hard to find.

  • You missed one (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    "Waterproof Your Gadgets, Find a Wi-Fi Hotspot, Tweak Your TV Tones, Network Enabled DVD Players"

    Spend your friday night on slashdot. Just kidding!

  • You had me at Hello Leo (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 26, 2005 @10:59PM (#13413182)
    .. *glances at the TV* .. *kicks the dirt*..

    *unblocks G4 from his receiver*

    ok, you got me this time, but I'm not enjoying it!
  • Laporte's already on G4!

  • What the heck... (Score:4, Informative)

    by Ambush Commander ( 871525 ) on Friday August 26, 2005 @11:03PM (#13413205)

    For those of you who don't watch TV anymore :cough:, here's a primer: Call for Help [wikipedia.org] and Leo Laporte [wikipedia.org].

  • G4 Realizes They Blow? (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Maybe G4 realizes that they're killing their network by driving away all the good talent and now they're trying to resuscitate it. I mean, really, G4 is the horny teen poser network now.

  • Laporte Returns (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Pablopelos ( 9891 ) on Friday August 26, 2005 @11:06PM (#13413221) Journal
    I always thought that he was fairly intelligent, but where Leo really shines is his ability to talk to non-techies about technical things. I wish they would put Kate back on also. ;)

    • Re:Laporte Returns (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I wish they would put Kate back on also. ;)

      Kat's probably still hiding away after that little topless photo accident. You see, sometimes when you digitally remove parts of an image, they are still in the thumbnails or preview images. She learned that the hard way...

      Of course she was smoking in those pictures (as in cigarettes, not as in hot) so they were really quite disappointing. So sad.

  • It should be noted... (Score:4, Informative)

    by Hamster Lover ( 558288 ) * on Friday August 26, 2005 @11:07PM (#13413226) Journal
    that Call for Help never really went away, at least in Canada. Leo moved to Toronto and Call for Help continued on the Canadian version of G4. G4 in the U.S. is now rebroadcasting the Canadian episodes.

    Don't worry though, you're not missing much from the Canadian version of G4 as Call for Help and Xplay are the only good shows on our version as well. The worst show has to be Arena. Why would I want to watch a nerd herd playing games I already own?

    Anyway, glad to hear the Leo is back on U.S. television.

  • It's about time (Score:4, Insightful)

    by dynamo52 ( 890601 ) on Friday August 26, 2005 @11:12PM (#13413251)

    This is great

    Ever since G4 took over, that channel has become increasingly childish and mindless. There is an overabundance of programming devoted to video games and other distractions while the "tech" element has been brushed completely aside. Even if the show is a bit basic, at least it has substance.

  • In a desolte wasteland. I haven't watched much Techtv (G4) since Leo left and though I am still bitter about the take over, YAY! LEO's back! I remember first time watching TechTV and being blown away because nearly every program on it was excellent. After the G4 take over the only thing that is watchable is X-play, and only for the comments on bad games. (after I've taken some valume)
  • Basic Time Warner sucks monkey butt.

    Oh yeah , you get all the AD channels like QVC and Home Shopping. BAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhh !

    Hurry up with the damn FIOS,FTTH .

    I am sure we are all ready to DITCH the 'ABORTION' known as cable tv.
    • It has nothing to do with the type of wire that it comes in on. Time Warner and other cable companies have to pay for the content - ESPN, CNN, USA and so each charge a fat fee. For ESPN, it might be a few bucks per month per household. For Discovery, maybe a buck and change. Many of them - like ESPN, require that in order to carry the network at all, you must include it in your basic service package.

      On the other side, they get paid to carry QVC and religion/telemarketing channels, and in some cases, get a c
      • You missed the point.

        It's competition. I don't care for the channels on now and with an alacarte type system with FIOS then I can choose what I would like instead of a QVC paying their way onto my cable line.
        • You can want an a la carte system all you like, the fact is that having one isn't going to make it any cheaper, and that has nothing to do with the plumbing that brings it in your door - satellite, fiber, telephone line, coax, they all have to offer the same content.

          Yes it's competition. The content is the product, the wire it's coming in on is just a much smaller part of the picture than you think.
  • Can G4 put the genie back in the bottle? Is this an admission of failure? Can I have my old job back?

  • Miss Kate, where have you gone? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Y-Crate ( 540566 ) on Friday August 26, 2005 @11:32PM (#13413332)
    Meanwhile, nerds everywhere futilely pine away for Kate Botello to appear on TV somewhere....anywhere
  • Is there any device which will play DVD's ripped to hard drive back over the TV? I don't want to use a computer connected to the TV: dedicated hardware is usually better.
    • The Momitsu V880N [momitsu.com] is one.

      V880N Features * DVI (Digital Visual Interface) video output * High-Definition Progressive Scan video output, Supports 480p, 720p, 1080i . An ideal video source for HDTV, plasma, LCD and projectors. * Playback DVD, VCD, CD, MP3, MP4, and JPEG Picture CD Media formats * 10/100M Network & Wireless 802.11a/b/g network ready. Allows you play audio/video anywhere via wireless or LAN. More detail.. * Listen to Web Radio and synchronize V880N with your Apple iTunes. More detail..

  • A real reason to watch CFH (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ajservo ( 708572 ) on Friday August 26, 2005 @11:39PM (#13413358)
    If you're like me, you have friends and loved ones who are not computer literate.

    You are... maybe too computer literate, and you have a hard time with layman's terms.

    Call for Help is a great way to learn to speak non-tech speak to the tech disabled.

    It's helped me immensly in the past on how to deal with my parents, convince my grandparents to switch to mac to avoid viruses, and advise friends on purchasing PC parts on their own to build their own PC's.

    You want relief? Make your friends build their own PC's and then tell them since they built it, THEY can support it!

  • He is O.K. in my book (Score:3, Interesting)

    by custompccases ( 904255 ) on Friday August 26, 2005 @11:42PM (#13413363)
    Although he occasionally got tech stuff wrong he really did have a gift for talking to noobs. He really helped the geek culture, even if that meant raising the average geek IQ.

    Too bad G4 Sucks Ass though.
  • That will mean exactly one show on G4 that is not utter mindless garbage. AotS may someday ascend to the competence level of public access channel shows, but I won't hold my breath.

  • About Time! (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Techiegeeks ( 643964 )
    It's about time G4 bought a fucking clue! How many stupid ass game shows can you watch. The only other show worthwhile is XPlay. Morgan Webb is soo Hot and Adam Sessler cracks me up.

    The other garbage (like Attack Of the Show) just sucks ass.

  • She was really delicious as I remember her, even released some revealing photos of herself sometime into that gig.. A good investment IMHO. Funny thing in her blog a few months ago, she got scammed by some paypal bozo.. lost herself a few grand on a alienware laptop.. here's the link, read from February 19th, 2005 (halfway down the page) and go up...

    February 19th, 2005 [catschwartz.com]
  • This is probably the only good thing G4 has EVER done. I still can't figure out why they bought TechTV, since They killed nearly every show, and fired everyone from Screen Savers and changed the name. (Why not just make a new show and leave screen savers alone?) Oh, wait. I forgot Morgan Webb. Is her whiny, sacrastic ass really worth $300 million? Xplay is redundant, since G4 already had a game review show, and everyone hates Adam Sessler because, although he is just as whiny and sarcastic as Webb, he lacks the cleavage to hold the viewers attention and make them forget about how whiny and sarcastic they are. So basically all comcast wanted was her ablility to pull in the geek demographic while at the same time they "urbanize" the network with more hip-hop, "bling" and "whip" style. Hey, comcast! Wake the freak up and see how badly this channel is.

    THIS is what happens when you let the marketing people run the programming.
    • Xplay is redundant, since G4 already had a game review show, and everyone hates Adam Sessler because, although he is just as whiny and sarcastic as Webb, he lacks the cleavage to hold the viewers attention and make them forget about how whiny and sarcastic they are.

      So are you an angry Dragonball Z fan or a disgruntled Fullmetal Alchemist fan?

    • You still can't figure out why they bought TechTV???

      There was only ever one reason: TechTV was on DirecTV and Dish Network. They had channel space.

      Comcast was never able to get channel space for G4. Nobody wanted to carry it. Buying TechTV gave them the channel space they so badly wanted.

      They were probably hoping to gain TechTVs viewers too but they mostly has not happened. The gamers are too busy playing games to watch TV shows about games, and the people seeking tech content got nothing.

      Comcast has rece
      • DirectTV and dish nework, eh. I guess that is a lot of potential viewers for their half-billion or whatever. I had suspected that it had to do with channel space, since there are differing lineups even by comcast cable depending on where you live. I didn't get TechTV before, but my boss did, only 20 minutes away in the same county, but he didn't get G4. So they took the quick, expensive way. No wonder my cable bill is so freakin high. I help subsidize their crap.

        Wonder how that "accountability" think will w
    • Adam is actually a pretty sharp guy, before xplay was "dumbed down" (even while still on techtv), he actually had some really good commentary on the games.

    • G4 didn't/doesn't give a flying Wallenda about TechTV; they were after cable TV systems TechTV was on.
  • G4 was so in it for commercialism, it literally pisses me off that people think this is a good channel. Sell sell sell, push the repetetive game platforms on tv. It's rediculous!
  • Well, law of averages tells us that after so many bad decisions, they'd have to eventually come up with a good one. Too bad it took them over a year as a network to come up with it...
  • In addition to Call for Help, he also hosts the This Week in Tech [thisweekintech.com] podcast. And he does a radio show on KFI about computers, which you can also download as a podcast [leoville.tv] one week after it airs. And he just started doing a security podcast with Steve Gibson (of www.grc.com fame). Wow. I just realized that I know a little too much about Leo!
  • He's awsome... Glad he's back.. although I hardly ever watch g4tv anymore....
  • ...could G4 licensing This Week in Tech be far behind? Since TWiT will be taped live before an audience starting really soon, it's not too far-fetched to see it being videotaped as well as audiotaped.

    I hope that if G4 decides to do it, that Leo and company will be savvy enough NOT TO SELL IT TO FSCKN COMCAST, DAMM!T!!! Screw me once, etc. etc.

    I might have to get cable back. God, I hate giving Adelphia anything but my boot up their @$$ but Leo Laporte returning to US TV is pretty damn compelling. Yes, I'm a

  • So G4 TV... (Score:2, Funny)

    by EvilSS ( 557649 )
    ...Called for Help?

    Sorry, it had to be said...again I'm sure.

  • Other missed TechTV shows... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by wasted time ( 891410 ) on Saturday August 27, 2005 @01:06AM (#13413649)
    Leo's show is definitely good for the beginners and the average user, as others have mentioned. Plus, he's far from a MS fan boy. But what I really miss are some of the other short-lived shows like Big Thinkers, Silicon Spin, Beyond Tomorrow, Cyber Crime, and the ZDTV News. These shows were something I could sit down and tune in to. Despite a few obnoxious hosts, it was nice to see more than sound bites and press releases on tech topics. There just aren't any other shows on TV that do more than casually mention the topics these shows used to dig into. I'm willing to bet their coverage of the recent worm would have been at least intelligible.

    That and I still think Erica Hill is one of the brightest talking heads on TV. Too bad she was abducted by CNN at such an early age.
  • So far most of what I hear is that people that went away from G4, because of the terrible job they have done, is that they will return to watching the show if only to see that show. A brilliant marketing move, eclipsed only by the joy of being able to watch Leo once again in America del sur. Like most of you I agree that his show is not very high on the technical side, but more than being a translator, I believe that Leo's highest quality is that of being an entertainer. Not only to those who are not as tec
  • ...when are they going to ditch the *G4* name and go back to being TechTV? The news post doesn't mention how it was a former TechTV executive who was just placed back on the management team for G4 (at the behest of Comcast) is responsible for bringing this show back to G4(TechTV) in America...

    Bring back TechTV!

    And Unscrewed with Martin Sargent!

    www.sargeworld.com - Martin's official blog


  • If there are any unofficial Unscrewed Army members here at Slashdot that are unaware of this, Martin Sargent has an official blog up now (and not some faker fan pretending to be Martin, as was the case 6 months ago). Check him out here:

    www.sargeworld.com

  • i HATE LEO LEPORT!!

    He always came across as so arrogant

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