Once upon a time, there was a cable station called G4tv. At one point, it was even given the tagline “TV for Gamers”. The tag fit perfectly, as the programming was all about video game previews, tips/strategy, interviews with industry movers, coverage of major gaming events like E3, and even video game competitions. It was a good network. Then came the shows about cars. And Star Trek. And The Man Show. After that, G4 became nothing more than another TBS clone. Oh well, it was good while it lasted. At least they still show X-Play every now and then.
So, I’m reading the latest issue of Wizard (also known as Wizard: The Comics Magazine), and I come across something inexplicable: an article about the TV show “Lost”. A few pages later, there was a blurb about how the movie “The Grudge 2” is going to be too good to miss. What’s all this? Don’t get me wrong, Wizard has been about a lot more than just comics forever, but they’ve always been grounded in comics-based material. They’ve always talked about movies and TV, but only as they relate to comics – TV shows like Mutant X, movies like Spider-Man…that type of thing. Throw in an action figure and a Batman statue or two, and it’s still good. Add a recommendation for a non-comic-based TV show or movie, and the formula is broken.
I already had to give up watching G4 (unless I’m in the mood for Star Trek, of course) because it broke its formula. I don’t want to have to give up Wizard because it has aspirations of becoming an Entertainment Weekly clone.
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