Category: Technology

We’ll yesterday marked the end of an era for great geek TV. I am speaking of the death of The Screensavers and TechTV. No it isn’t quite dead yet but you can hear the long melodic drumbeat beating ever slower now days. Last night’s revelation at the end of the show is what put the final nail in the coffin for the show and the network. That revelation was that last night was Patrick Norton’s last night as a host of the show and he would not be moving to LA where the show will now be produced. The begining of the end came about a couple of months ago with the purchase of the network and the dismissal of Leo Leoporte the creator and main staple of the shows Call For Help and The Screensavers. The only two shows which kept the network alive. One can only imagine a couple of eldery drunks maning the helm of the G4 network not in the know of technology . Why take over a network when youre going to kill the two shows that make TechTV what it is. I have been watching the show since its inception, a matter of fact that was my main motivation to toss cable and buy a satelite dish. In the begining it was Leo & Kate as the hosts of the show and they had the best chemistry. When Kate left the show I didnt see Patrick filling her shoes however in some strange way it worked Kate seemed a little more knowledgable than Patrick but he did just fine. Leo was never the most knowledgable but it was his character, charisma and ability to pass the ball on when he knew it was over his head that kept you coming back. I had the privledge on several occasions to be on the show via Netcam, I think those days will be my fondest memories. On occasion a new member of the Screensavers staff was thrown into temporary hosting while either Patrick or Leo were unable to be on the show, his name is Kevin. Now kevin a young and very knowledgable individual however a host he is not. And his age shows it, especially in his sometimes irresponisble reporting. His nickname is the ‘Dark Tipper’ for his reports on hacking and so forth which sometimes flirts with being illegal or at least immoral at times. I remember the one show that infurated me the most and forced me to send emails to various senior members of the show and the network. That segment was on building a portable server. Its sole purpose was to trade illegal files wether it be MP3, Videos or a number of other files using someone elses unsecured wireless connection. Now the way he tried to justify it was by saying “you should’nt do this” to the viewers watching the show. My opinion to this is, if they should’nt do it why teach them. I am sure there are probaly a couple of individuals that have had a summons issued to them for illegal downloads by the RIAA caused by some want to be hacker after watching that show. Now the show is in the hands of Kevin alone until they find someone to co-host with him. The show lost most of their viewers with the loss of Leo as is evident in the thousands of post on Leo’s site http://www.leoville.com. Now with Patrick’s departure the mass exodus will be in full swing, leaving G4/Comcast with an viewerless network.