No More "Kevins on Board"

It seems that whenever I stop going to school for at least a whole semester I grow to love at least one show (always at 11am) on daytime television. Back during my sophomore year, when I took the second semester off, I could find absolutely nothing else on except ridiculous soap operas. Then I came across horrible acting and semi-beautiful people talking about vampires. Plus there was this skeleton woman that I could not stop myself from watching because of her scary, sinewy body. That is how I came to love the "General Hospital" spinoff called "Port Charles."

This time, after graduating in December, I can only say that my new daytime obsession is a little less embarrassing. G4, the video game channel, was a little lacking in content for a long time, but I still loved it despite Tommy Tallarico. Then they teamed up with (bought out) TechTV, a smaller network based in San Francisco, CA, that covered mainly computers with one show that reviewed video games called "Extended Play." So watching G4 I found a show called "The Screen Savers" that was a little silly because it was filmed in a studio without an audience, but you would randomly hear the set people laughing at the jokes said on air. It just seemed like a bunch of friends having fun making a show just for themselves. Well, it turns out it was that and so much more. I went from almost hating the show to loving it in about a week. They actually talked about things I was interested in, and some things that I had no idea about.

After they were bought out, "The Screen Savers" (TSS) and "Extended Play" (now "X-Play," still a great review show) were the only two TechTV shows to stay on the new G4TechTV. Then the name of the network switched back to G4 and TSS changed to "Attack of the Show" (AOTS). The only thing that stayed the same about TSS/AOTS was a man named Kevin Rose. At almost 30 years old, he really still looks about 14, but he loves computers and has a really good way of explaining things. As with the rest of the show hosts, Sarah Lane and Kevin Pereira, I grew to feel like I knew K. Rose. And despite the fact that he was upset that AOTS covered much less tech stuff that the old TSS, it seemed like he was really enjoying working with his girlfriend and the other Kevin on the show.

Then about two weeks ago he announced on his blog that, after a lot of lawyer-talk, G4 had let him out of his contract. So last Friday, May 27, 2005, was his last day on AOTS. I have to admit that I was really sad to find this out. The other Kevin on the show reminds me a little of our favorite Lady Elaine Fairchilde look-alike in the slightly jerky sense. I love everyone on the show, though. But Kevin Rose, you will be missed.

But have no fear. K. Rose and his old TSS buddies have started a new online tech show called Systm. Even if you don't like computers a TON, I would recommend downloading an episode just to see what it's like. The first episode, released this past Monday, was about a box you can make that can pick up video feeds from surveilance cameras. Not too useful, but interesting and scary that it can be done. It was fun to see him interacting with the other hosts on AOTS, but at least we can still get good tech lessons from him.

-J

PS - While I was writing this my brother called to inform me that he had just seen Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. More than his review of the film, he wanted to tell me that he thought the stuttering lawyer from "My Cousin Vinny" was the same person as the evil Emperor Palpatine. Click on these other links of the lawyer guy and the emperor to help make your judgment.