Am I ever gonna stop talking about Much/G4/MTV CAN?

... Probably not. They're pretty much the only channels I watch nowadays - along with Slice and the CW. So Teen Wolf, Degrassi & Awkward will be moving to MTV and it looks like Pretty Little Liars will move to M3 (formally MuchMore). Looks like smooth sailing for the MuchMTV Group.

But G4 Canada, the other young adult network I watch, isn't looking so hot. From what I heard, the american version is shutting down in October...unless NBCUniversal can find a way to screw that up again. Soon G4 Canada will be in the same boat as OLN, the canadian version will succeed the american version and become it's own channel. It's nice to see the service return to it's roots, but now's the time to do something to refresh and reinvigorate the channel - and the G4 brand if NBCUniversal will allow Rogers to keep using it in Canada. G4 is now a lifestyle channel for technology but, even after the american version finally bites the dust, no one will know that. When someone brings up G4, someone else will bring up all the stupid decisions the american version has made.

No one knows what Rogers Media has planned for G4; even I had to do some digging around to figure out some clue to what's going on before making this post. Rogers Media hasn't made a press release about the channel since 2011, not even to let people know they were dropping the [as] and OLN shows.
As to what I think they should do, I still wouldn't mind them shifting back to an entertainment format, as long as they still broadcast shows relating to technology. Otherwise, if they're completely rebranding the channel to separate it from the american version, they can do whatever the hell they like...except recycle shows from Rogers' Media's other 3 networks.

Fave Five: Anticipated games

1) Star Wars: Battlefront. (EA/DICE/Disney - 2015)
Star Wars games in general are living proof that not ALL movie-licensed games are crap; if you can't see that, then you must have been playing Force Unleashed II for way too long. Battlefront is a first/third person shooter set within the Star Wars universe that has been compared with the Battlefield series. I would explain more, but I haven't played much of the Battlefront games. The only game I did play was the DS version of Elite Squadron which, while a good game in it's own merit, is not as complete as the PSP version or the other installments.
All I can say is, there will be more gamers anticipating this game then there will be movie lovers anticipating the new Star Wars sequel trilogy. Disney, don't fail us now!

2) Killer Instinct (Microsoft/Double Helix - 2013)
What happens when Mortal Kombat gets into more "kombo" based gameplay? You get Killer Instinct, one of the most beloved fighting games of the past. FYI, this is where the "ULTRAAAAA KOMBOOOOOOOOO" soundbite came from. Yet another game I've seen and heard about but never played, at least not legally. The game revolves around auto-combos, which is exactly what it sounds like. You combo with combos..., sick. After the comeback that was Mortal Kombat 9, it's hard NOT to be exited for this game to come out. It's pretty much the only reason why anyone will get a Xbox One. ...That new announcer sounds scary...

3) Sacred 3 (Deep Silver/Keen Games - 2013?)
It's Diablo with female characters, a hack-and-slash game. ...Yep, haven't played it, but I am currently. Ever since they bought some of THQs IPs, Deep Silver has been on a roll: The success of Metro: Last Light, Saints Row IV being reviewed as (not only better than The Third, but) the best installment of the series since the second game..., and Ride to Hell being reviewed as one of the worst games ever made. But if they can bring back the Sacred series, they will be able to turn that small bit of misfortune around and have a money-making franchise to compete with other western RPG franchises. Not to mention, with Diablo III getting upstaged by a console port, how funny would it be if Sacred 3 on PC got everything right the first time around. Can't wait!

4) Homefront 2 (Crytek - 2014)
Now why would I be exited about this game? Gameplay-wise, the original Homefront was a shameless little turd that THQ shilled out to appeal to those FPS brats, those stupid children, you know who I'm talking about. They spent millions overhyping what was basically a generic, linar, almost-unoriginal game. Almost unoriginal, because there one thing I liked about Homefront: the interesting setting and characters which made the game feel like something out of a cable drama, an award winning cable drama. The only problem with the story was, like a typical generic shooter,  it ended with a horrible boss fight and an unsatisfying cliffhanger.
The game has also received praise for it's multiplayer, something I would have enjoyed if THQ didn't make the annoying decision to implement an online pass! The single-player campaign was garbage, so what makes you think people are willing to spend an extra $10 to try out the multiplayer. The one thing THQ was banking on to make a profit, and they prevent players from doing it. This is the reason why they went bankrupt.
Originally Crytek would be only developing the sequel but, now that THQ's kicked the bucket, Crytek has been given full control! That's why I'm exited about this game. Where Homefront had a creative story, Homefront 2 is guaranteed to have better gameplay. To hell with Battlefield 4 and Call of Duty: Ghosts, this is the blockbuster shooter game I'm waiting for.

5) Destiny (Activision/Bungie - 2014)
The publisher of the best-selling shooter franchise meets the developer of the best shooter period. How can you not be exited. This game sounds like the type of offline/online shooter RPG that would make Fallout 3/NV and Borderlands look like baby toys: character customization, a living world, superpowers!
...I don't need to say anything else. You don't need to compare it to Halo to know it's gonna kick-ass!

MuchMore to rebrand to M3. Thoughts?

Three reasons why MuchMore rebranding to M3 is a great idea:
1) Keep in mind that Much and MTV are decaying for a reason: nobody watches music video channels anymore. MTV found a niche in reality shows and Much has pop culture shows. MuchMore is presumably the equivalent to VH1, but VH1 is a separate alternative channel from MTV. You can drop the "Music" from MuchMoreMusic but people will still associate it with Much. By changing the name to M3, it can truly become it's own channel while at the same time acknowledging it's roots (M3 = Much More Music? Get it?)

2) By swapping out...whatever the hell they were airing before the Bell takeover (reality shows, drama shows, etc) with some of Comedy Network's shows along some other acquired comedy shows and mixing it with their remaining music-related programming (Video on Trial, Today's Top 10, Much Countdown), Much was able to remain relevant, unlike G4 USA which is neither the video game and technology related channel it should be nor the male-oriented channel it wanted to be. Now it's time for MuchMore to do the same.

3) Nobody cares about MuchMore. Between Much and MTV Canada, I'm not sure if anyone is still watching MuchMore. What with reruns of Gilmore Girls, Ed and Supernatural (Which already airs on CHCH and ABC Spark!). Props for picking up where Much left off with music programming (MMTop10.ca, MuchMore Countdown, Juiced) but Aux has them beat. By focusing more on drama shows, shows from CTV, AND music-related programming, M3 will be able to define itself as an separate channel from Much.

4) Along with Aux we already have CMT Canada - which focuses on country music, bpmtv - which covers dance music and Much - which has already proven that pop music will still remain an important part of their brand. Throw in Much's digital music video channels along with Galaxie, and I don't see anything wrong with having one less music channel in Canada. ...We also have too many movie channels...

http://www.marketingmag.ca/news/marketer-news/muchmore-changes-the-channel-rebrands-as-m3-89194

MuchComedy? Fine with me! [MuchMusic]

So far, I'm liking Much's new direction (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP1YAAJa0GE). Sure, it looks like MuchComedy but at least it's better than just back to back reruns of the Fresh Prince. At least it looks like the channel has a direction it wants to go: a pop culture channel; so yeah, it's Bravo with music videos.

Speaking of, you know how all the music programming was stuck in the mornings and late-night periods? Well now, every evening we get Today's Top 10 @ 6pm and back-to-back episodes of Video on Trial @ 7pm (New episodes Friday). That's TWO HOURS of music programming at a time when people will actually get to see it! Although New.Music.Live has been canceled, we still have the MuchMusic Countdown (Sat@7pm) and I believe The Wedge (Sundays, though they keep changing the time!) is still in production. The networks owners did say music will always remain a part of Much and clearly it shows. ...Did I mention, the morning was still all-music related programming?

Moving to the comedy shows, don't worry, only the most popular shows from Comedy Network (Tosh.0, South Park, The Simpsons, Conan) have moved to Much. Everything else is either shows that, to my knowledge, have never been seen in Canada before (Out There, Comedy Bang! Bang!, Black Box) or more filler. In the case of Conan, moving it from Comedy Network's crappy time of midnight to Much's new time of 11pm - in line with the TBS broadcast - was a smart move.

One thing I noticed though, Degrassi and pretty much every drama or scripted MTV show has disappeared from the schedule. Ironic since, when Much wasn't rerunning The Fresh Prince (I say Fresh Prince a LOT when talking about Much, don't I?), they LOVED rerunning Pretty Little Liars and Degrassi. Thing is, apparently Degrassi will move to MTV Canada next season (http://adsales.bellmedia.ca/Network/MTV/Degrassi-on-MTV) along with Awkward (http://www.mtv.ca/shows/awkward). A welcome addition since MTV Canada, in it's current form as of writing, is almost as bad as Much was this past summer. It will be nice to see something other than reruns of Campus PD (G4's Cops knockoff produced in Canada which, ironically, doesn't air on the Canadian version) Keys to the VIP, Comedy Now, and InnerSPACE (Seriously, they had to use Space's flagship show for CanCon?).

 I don't know where Teen Wolf or Pretty Little Liars are. I expect Teen Wolf to also move to MTV for the second half of season 3 and your guess is as good as mine for PLL. I think Bell Media is going for the TBS/TNT, Disney Channel/Disney XD, and FX/FXX approach with Much and MTV; Much airs comedy shows, MTV airs dramas.
It's great to see someone doing SOMETHING with Much other than pretending to be something their not. I'll take MuchComedy - or hopefully MuchEverything - over MuchMedicore anyday. Americans can only hope G4 (the U.S zombie version) will get the same treatment.

G4 (U.S) Lives...?

...*sigh* Yeah, G4 won't be replaced by the Esquire Network, which is actually quite disappointing. Not because Rogers won't have to rebrand the Canadian version to separate it from the US version, but because...well, what's the point? G4 "died" a long time ago, it's just a zombie network now. Save for American Ninja Warrior, there's no original programming left. I look at the schedule and see reruns, reruns and more reruns. It's like the cable network version of MyNetworkTV.

But, as long as it's still alive, let's pretend the network's owners are planning for G4 to make a comeback. Video games and TV aren't exactly the best of friends so, unless we can un-cancel X-Play & Attack of the Show or any of G4's older gaming-relating shows, G4, as a video-gaming channel, is finished. For better or for worse, Machinima.com has replaced G4 when it comes to gaming news and entertainment and even Spike TV (home of the infamous VGAs) has manged to keep a fingertip on gaming events.

That's not to say that G4 can't have programming related to gaming, there's more to gaming television than just news and reviews, you know. What about, dare I say, shows and movies based on video games? Again, video games and TV aren't exactly the best of friends, but at least it's better than Cops, Cheaters, Lost, and Heroes reruns. In fact, G4 could cover internet-culture and technology as a whole - a throwback to the G4TechTV days, when it was all about gaming AND technology. As long as ANW is still on the lineup, why not move WWE Smackdown to G4 from Syfy? Yeah, pro-wrestling on a network for video-games (which also happens to air a Japanese game show adaption); tell me how that's different form pro-wrestling on a network for science-fiction and fantasy shows?

Of course, I'm just playing "what if?" When it comes to US networks, decay is permanent (No, Cartoon Network doesn't count. Apparently, not even they thought live-action shows was a good idea). I'm mostly brainstorming for the Canadian version. It's great that they got rid of all the OLN and Adult Swim shows, but the shows they have left, save for Reviews on the Run and EP Daily, aren't exactly fresh. Maybe if they have applied all of the above (minus ANW and SmackDown, of course) instead of just adding shows for the hell of it, they could have had there cake and eat it too.

As far as I'm concerned, G4 should have been replaced with the Esquire Network; at least that channel will HAVE viewers.

Update: September 2013

Not much to report on. I've decided to wait until I can get a new gamepad for my laptop before I start on Reycralibur, episode 11. I'm hoping to wrap the series up within the next four episodes so I can get started on my next project. Yeah, I'm making a new SSB64 machinima, hopefully one with voice actors. Meanwhile, I will try to finish recording lines for The Abridged Knights of Brawl, episode 9 before the month is over. I have another leftover parody project from the past summer that I'd like to get back to.

So, SpeedyJeux is dead but that doesn't mean I won't stop making gaming-related videos. I still have some "leftovers" that I could dump onto the SpeedyCXLIX channel. ...Why do I suddenly feel the need to LP Pokemon Emerald?

I did say that Ringside would make a comeback (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oghMoXk5FSY), but I didn't say when or how. I will focus on TNA and ROH shows for the time being; when I will get back on the saddle and how often, I don't know - you'll just have to wait and see.

...So I realized what's wrong with television nowadays: too much drama, not enough action!

Fave Five: Canadian channels going through Network Decay

“bravo”

Bravo used to be the Canadian version of a US channel that focused on high-brow, fine-arts crap. Not that there was anything wrong with high-brow, fine arts crap; it’s just that nobody wanted to see it on TV anymore. If they did, A&E wouldn’t have abandoned that concept. So, the US channel became more focused on pop culture.

Bravo in Canada began to add more drama shows to their lineup, which became the network’s main purpose. It wasn’t just crime dramas, like Criminal Minds, it was drama in general. You could say it pretty much became A&E minus the reality shows. It wasn’t until Bell Media began their logo massacre that the channel got a re-branded logo that separated it from the US channel.

This is an example of decay done right; trading in the less popular shoes of the southern service and becoming its own channel.

“G4”

If you had ask me “What’s so special about the Canadian G4?”, my response would be something along the lines of “Sucks to be you.” This past summer, G4 Canada has refreshed their programming lineup, they’ve pretty much become Tech TV in all but name. Funny, because G4 was originally known as Tech TV Canada before the US channel merged with the US version of G4 to become G4TechTV…and then Neal Tiles took over and the rest is history.

Since then the Canadian channel followed in the footsteps in the southern version; when they showed anime, we showed anime. The breaking point was reached when G4 debuted Adult Digital Distraction – a one hour block of [adult swim] shows - and added in outdoor shows from OLN, the Canadian version mind you. Apparently the networks owners were psyched out by the CRTC who said there programming was “not in compliance with its nature of service definition" and that it detail measures "to ensure that the service is in compliance with its nature of service.”

In the end, unlike its southern counterpart, G4 Canada got rid of all the entertainment programming and added in more informal programming with a focus on technology. It’s like an episode Kitchen Nightmares come true, I love it! Ironically, I do wish G4 would add in some more entertainment programming, as long as it has something to do with “computers, technology, and the internet.”

Besides, by the end of the year, G4 will be history. If we’re not gonna change the name of the channel, then why not do something different with the branding to make it more relevant to Canadians? Because all anyone else will think of when they think G4 is a major fall from grace.

“Slice”

Originally known as Life Network, Slice was rebranded in 2008 as a result the network shifting from shows about food, gardening, and home design to “addictive” programming for women. But that’s not the reason why it’s on this list. Are you wondering why a guy Is commenting on a channel for girls? It’s because Slice is not really a channel for women anymore. Not with shows like The Hero, Summer Camp, Big Brother Canada and Lost and Sold - as if we really need another Storage Wars knockoff, especially when we just got Canadian version of the same show. Though, I guess it’s more of a Canadian Baggage Battles knockoff when you think about it.

Even Slice knows it’s not a 100% women’s channel anymore, as their new blue logo will tell you, and I’m fine with that. Not because I’m a man watching a channel for women, but because there’s already too many channels aimed at women, including the Canadian version of Lifetime – formally Showcase Diva - which might be the reason why Slice has gone this route. Nonetheless, Slice is still a “guilty pleasure” channel, for her and for him, and a successful one at that.

“IFC”

Now we get the bad examples. But first, some stuff I learned about IFC. From what I’ve learned, IFC has gone from being an “Independent Film Channel”, to a channel that shows indy movies, indy shows, indy music, cult classics, underrated shows and shows that were too good to last with a focus on comedies and an indy feel. This…sounds like the greatest TV channel I’ve ever watched.

But, sadly, that’s the US version. IFC Canada claims to be the place “Where All the Cool Movies Go.” Yeah, because Termination Point was so cool. No, IFC is pretty much a generic movie channel with a couple of shows added in for variety. Shows like Game of Thrones, Weeds, Strike Back, Californication, basically any show that was on a premium network. Sounds neat, right? Except that IFC doesn’t even promote these shows. You would have to go to their website or look up the Wikipedia article to know what shows they broadcast.

To their credit, there is a theme to the movies they broadcast. “Cool Movies” translate to films people talk about and films people SHOULD be talking about and the movies and shows all air uncut. And IFC is, to my knowledge, the ONLY basic cable channel in Canada to broadcast premium shows after they air on The Movie Network, Movie Central, and HBO Canada. But what ticks me off about IFC is the fact that it’s just sitting there, on the programming guide, collecting dust and taking up channel space. Meanwhile, TVtropolis, which has also decayed horribly in recent years, has just been replaced with Shaw Media’s new lifestyle channel DTour.

To add insult to injury, Corus Entertaiment – owned by the same family who controls Shaw Media – rebranded Drive-In Classics as a Canadian version of Sundance Channel, which pretty much does the same thing as IFC in the US, hence the network decay. So while IFC and Sundance Channel bury the hatchet, Sundance Canada basically does the job IFC Canada is supposed to do. Whoever fixed the sinking ship that was TVtropolis needs to have a look at IFC Canada and figure out what sinks and what floats. Here’s a tip: drop the IFC branding and keep the on-screen graphics on the top of the screen.

“MuchMusic”

I did rag on IFC for a bit, but don’t think of it as a crappy channel. The de facto crappiest channel in Canada has got to be, hands down, MuchMusic aka Much; I’d pefer it if they just called themselves Much. Much was in the same boat as MTV was. Thing is, MTV went from being a music channel, to the teen lifestyle channel they always wanted to be, they had a sense of direction. I look at Much today, two years after Bell Media has changed its logo, and I see a channel comprised of 1/3 music-related programming, 1/3 teen-oriented programming such as Teen Wolf, Pretty Little Liars and Degrassi, and 1/3 programming from the recycling bins of every other channel in Canada.

Much wants to be a youth lifestyle channel, and I’m perfectly down with that, but their adding in shows that are irrelevant even to those people. Unless the youth of today are huge fans of Saved by the Bell, Fresh Prince, California Dreams and Sabrina reruns; isn’t this what MuchMore was rebranded for? Not only does this take up the space which should be used to show more relevant shows, but it also pushes back all the music-related programming to the mornings and late at night; all because some people can’t get enough Fresh Prince.

I know I’m out of order complaining about stuff I don’t fully understand but, are you seriously telling me that Bell Media wants to lower the amount of music programming on Much just so they can air more reruns of teen sitcoms? No, apparently it’s because "music videos no longer distinguish the service as they are readily available through other sources." Bull. Freaking. Horseshit.

It’s better for Much to leave the teen programing to MTV and just target college students. More importantly, since Degrassi, Teen Wolf, Pretty Little Liars, Akward and Video on Trial are still considered to be the flagship shows, they should get the most air time, not the Fresh Prince reruns.  I’m really hoping the new direction Much will take in the fall will be successful (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP1YAAJa0GE) because these past two years have been MuchMediocre.