I started watching TSS when it was ZDTV. Each time they changed the co-hosts it became harder and harder to watch. Pat and Leo were the best. Now it takes me about 15 minutes to watch the entire hour show. I Tivo it and FF through all the crap. As you can tell, 45 minutes of it is total crap. I am sure it will be down to 5 minutes after the revamp.

I honestly did this with SS for a while, until I realized that I was FFing through everything. Then I stopped bothering to tape it.

The only halfway redeeming thing on this network now is X-play. But, even still the best way to voice your opinion is to never turn on the network again. New SS or not.

This is true, but I believe G4 wants to kill all the old Tech TV programs. The purchased Tech TV just so they had the viewers. Others stated G4 was for kids or was it a 4-year old. This is totally true. Most of them act like they were just led out of the house after being grounded or it was the last day of school. What a bunch of freaks.

See this is what I just don't understand. They want the viewers right? So why get rid of the shows the "viewers" watch? OK, so I liked Tech Live & Fresh Gear, but I can see why they got rid of those shows. But TSS and Call For Help were flagship shows for the channel. It just makes no sense. It's like NBC buying ABC and then getting rid of Desperate Housewives and Lost. In the end I don't think they wanted the Tech TV viewers at all, but instead wanted the potential viewers who had access to Tech TV but didn't really watch the channel. Thats the only way the moves they are making make any sense.

God, I miss the ZDTV days.

Yep, I really liked the show in the Kate & Leo days, when they dumped her off it was just not the same. They had a good chemistry. I watched the 'updated' version a few months ago and all I can say is it sucked bad. Call for help and Fresh Gear were favorites of mine as well. Too bad the new owners try to force their vision into a mold which was perfectly okay. I don't even go to G4TV anymore, it used to be on my Favorites list !

I don't think G4 wanted Tech TVs viewers as much as they wanted their market penetration. It's a shame because TechTV had some reallly cool shows.

And I'm really surprised they fired Martin. He's exactly the useless waste of flesh that G4 appeals to.

update from alexalbrecht.typepad.com

Hey everyone... after long consideration I have decided to keep this website going... I was thinking of closing my doors after being let go from G4 but after reading your comments and talking to my friends and family I realize it would be dumb for me to stop. So I first want to say "Thank You!" You all have been so kind in your comments and e-mails. I was truly amazed at how many people were affected by my exit. But this is definitely not the end...

So now it's time to move forward and what better way to do that then a video of a drunk getting pulled over by a police officer... am I right or what... here you go...

Again Thanks for all your comments I've really been touched by your words...

- Alex

I feel really bad for Alex at first I did not like him because I missed Leo & Patrick, but after awhile I really enjoyed seeing Alex. I wish him luck in whatever he is going to do.

I was actually happy w/ the show in its current state.. I learned to like alex after a few weeks - some of his things were hysterical (little grand moff tarkin comes to mind). Yoshi always seemed like he was a little uncomfortable in the spotlight, but cool in his own way.

I so do not miss Leo.. He annoyed the cr...p out of me - but to each his own - I know he has a loyal fanbase.

End of the day we are (maybe) robbed of a good show with some decent tech news and interesting segments regardless of who presented them.

edit : will not miss unscrewed at all. it was utterly unbearable - not that it matters much since I wont be watching G4 anymore i guess...

At least if you have a nielsen box ;)

http://img102.exs.cx/img102/1595/T40411122002181.jpg
Alex and Kevin down with G4!

Sad news. Just saw Yoshi at SEMA in Las Vegas. He even did an interview segment with me that was supposed to be aired this week. Crap.

Sorry Yoshi, I hope you find better things.

Sad it ends like this. But when G4 took over, we all knew it would be this way.

Now they can go back to shows with hosts picked for what they think appeals to 14 year olds, and lacking any knowledge. And of course, 100 shows full of athletes describing how they love playing sports games on their PS2s.

They cancelled his show, so why keep him around? I do remember him hosting TSS once, and there was an episode of X-Play where Morgan was at Comic-con or something and he was there. Other than putting him on TSS full-time, I don't know what place there would be for him. Also, his behavior on the final Unscrewed apparently pissed off the executives, and that episode probably won't be aired. If they hadn't decided to fire him by then, that could have made them do it.

BTW, has anybody from G4 (before G4 swallowed TechTV) been fired since the "merger?"

I've never seen a station go downhill quite as quickly as this. ZDTV was awesome. The original Gamspot show with Adam Sessler and Lauren Fielder, Fresh Gear with Jim and Sumi, and TSS with Leo and Kate...not to mention Call for Help with Leo...were all awesome shows. How soon before G4 is dropped from cable providers for lack of viewers? Seems like a prime oppurtunity for a competitor to start another channel and bring back all the stars.

So does anyone even watch this channel, now? I'd never even heard of G4 before it took over TechTV. I knew lots of people who used to watch ZDTV and then TechTV once they merged. (Programming was still just as good) But now it all SUCKS. Are they running it into the ground on purpose or what?

Never. I used to watch it quite frequently when they had Leo and Pat on the TSS. When they merged I watched like 15 minutes of one show and that was enough for me.

I record/watch all the X-Plays. Thats about it. However, thats all I watched back when it was TechTV too. They've pretty much left this particular show alone aside from changing female hosts now and then.

I only watch TSS. ZDTV rocked. The channel has been going down hill slowly since they changed to TechTV. Now that G4 has them, they are headed for the toliet. I don't get it either. Are they trying to piss off their entire audience?

I'm a bit late since I missed the forum for a few days due to me Everquest 2 addiction. Anyways, what the fuck are they thinking to alter a show like TSS when they leave shows like Filter, Cheat and Electric Playground on the air when those shows are too frigging stupid to tolerate for more than 30 seconds.

I haven't watched TSS for too long, but the Alex/Kevin combination was starting to appeal to me, it brought a lot of laugh with their ridiculous form of humor while Yoshi is basically a genius in what he does- at least he'll get another job real soon.

Unscrewed I won't miss, Martin Sargeant was too much of an ass to stay on TV.

As for Pulse, its the only other show besides TSS and Xplay I tolerate on that channel and I don't see how they will merge it with TSS to make it work?? I hope they keep the new girl who cohosts though, she is majorly attractive and seems to have a clue.

Someone bring this thread back to life whenever The Screen Savers comes back. For now, I've deleted my Season Pass.

Perhaps you should clarify your post: When The Screen Savers we actually care to watch returns? Or just when repeats end? ;)

TSS and TechTV are dead to me.

I would agree, but Leo keeps me coming back for Call For Help here in Canada.

I've watched a few episodes of the Canadian Call For Help and Leo continues to be a good host. However, I find his co-hosts to be extremely dull - and because of that, the whole show feels so lifeless.

They are a bit boring, but I think that it is likely due to their confined setting, and what I am assuming is a limited budget. At least they aren't trying to add zingers to every comment like Alex, so I'll give them a :up:

Just noticed Cat has a recurring 'tech' column in Stuff magazine. :up:

On SarahCam she said she would be back in the nook on the 29th so I guess we will find out what changes are made then. Wonder if it will be a :thumbsup: change or a :thmbsdwn: change but as of right now im thinking it will be a piece of :crap:

Why doesn't TLC or Discovery channel go get all the people that made Screen Savers great and start a new show? I mean if you can have 14 home improvement shows, why not one tech one? Put it on at 6pm or something in place of a frikkin' While You Were Out rerun.

This is a really good point. But I tuned into Myth Busters the other day, for the first time since January when I first saw it while visiting the US. They changed it a lot, and now it's more like one of those shows where they focus on "the build" which I found very odd.

So I don't think there's really a channel that would put on this kind of show in the form that we enjoyed it.

Doesn't surprise me G4 is doing this. TSS was really good when it was Pat & Leo hosting and with a big cast. Martin, Morgan, Megan, Yoshi & Jessica. Ever since the merge it's been a steady decline into a clusterfuck. It sucks that Alex got the boot, but damn he was annoying. Unscrewed was ok, definitely entertaining every now and then. Overall it's a show that should have been kept. G4 really needs to get a clue. The only decent show they have is Icons. Ten episodes a day of Cheat, Electric Playground, Judgement Day, Players, Sweat & Filter is pathetic. Drop half of those show, only show them once a day and get some new, and most importantly, interesting shows and then the network might not be ridiculed. Put TSS back to what it was before the merger, bring back Fresh Gear & Tech Live and hopefully things will change.

So the current count of good shows (to me anyway) is two. X-Play & Icons. One hour of programming that doesn't completely suck ass out of 12 or so. I could do a better job running the station.

Leo mentioned a couple of things over the last few weeks of CFH. He said that they were in talks about having CFH picked up in the US by a TV channel that primarily deals with how to things.

He also said that they are seriously looking at offering it via the web for monthly subscription.

I was a big fan of the original CFH and TSS, especially when Cat was on. I drifted off after Leo left, and dumped most of the programming after they merged with G4. Unscrewed had its moments, and of course I always tuned in when they aired "UGO's Coleman Confidential," which was the TV version of Gary's UGO column.

Everyone who was let go is pretty talented, so I'm sure they'll land on their feet soon enough. Still, it's a crying shame how this merger turned out.

I haven't really noticed them focusing more on building the stunts now than they have before, actually. The only reason that they may be doing that (or seem like it), is because a lot of their latest tests have been pretty darn intricate (raising the boat with ping-pong balls, using that big crane thing as a catapult).

The one thing I'm not a huge fan of that they've started doing recently has been the focus on the other people in the lab. While I'm well aware that Adam and Jamie can't do all that stuff completely by themselves, I'm pretty indifferent to having the other people get camera time.

Hey they can show Kari the red-head any time. I've been watching the show more now that they have her on. ;)

What the fuck is up with G4 today? They have a stupid Nintendo DS with the show's being shown on a small window in the DS????It's like watching a 13 inch TV with a big DS wrapped around it. I HATE THIS FUCKING CHANNEL!!!!!!!!!!

Holy shit that's annoying...

It's how they're doing a "DS Day", like the recent Halo and GTA-themed days. Howevever, this is really more irritating than anything else, since, like you said, the actual programming ends up in a tiny little window.

The ony thing that it even remotely works for has been the DS-themed episode of Cinematech, that showed the game footage on the dual "Screens".

But hey, it's G4, what do you expect?

wow, this might be the most retarded thing i've ever seen a network do. doesn't surprise me one bit that the geniuses at G4 approved it though.

Easily the most retarded thing I've ever seen a network do. I flipped the channel expecting to see the shows filling up half the screen or something. You can't even see a single thing going on in any of the shows. These idiots might as well take the final step and just show a test pattern.