For many gaming geeks who have cable G4TV has been a very good thing. Once I started paying attention to the site when it first launched I was filled with some hope about what it could be. Back in 2002 there were several things I wanted to point out about the station and what it should bring to people. My primary concern over the network when it first launched was advertising and revenue. That is, of course, the main concern of any new company or TV network. If there's no funding, there's no content.

As the years have gone by there have been plenty of entertaining shows to view. Sometimes shows repeated but that's okay. It's not like reruns are exclusive to smaller cable networks. After reading about the network when it first was drawn up I believed that the overall goal of the network was to provide reviews, documentaries, events, game tips, reviews, behind the scenes stuff for hard-core gamers as well as those just getting their feet wet in the arena. That and the more than likely making money agenda.

One of my favorite shows has been Filter. A great show for obvious and not-so-obvious reasons. There are plenty of Top-whatever lists that are written on the web by several people so it's not as if that is a new concept. How it's delivered on the show is refreshing. It's also refreshing to see that the list is created by people voting online. The host, Diane Mizota, definitely works well with what's given to her. Hard to know whether she's given a script or just runs with some idea but her delivery is genuine and entertaining.

And for a while that has worked. When G4 merged with TechTV it was a little troubling. First because that happens when at least one of the merging networks needs funding. So the content gets bastardized a little and some new shows come on too. Overall the changes have been decent. Then last night, after not having seen Filter in close to a couple months, I managed to catch the Top 10 gaming story show.

Hmmm. Trouble in paradise. The show has definitely changed. The comments about individual games has been trimmed and plugs for other shows (or other small items) has been added. The flow of the show just is not the same. Even with onlt 3 or 4 people vocalizing their opinions about a show for a minute or two felt short it still provided some perspective. Now there is a lot less and the list is almost something that would be better served just being read on a website. Our host's (or hostesses' if you prefer) abilities certainly have not diminished, but the show feels like it has.

(And as a quick note- that list was infuriating. Some disagreements with the ordering, but there is a primary. Final Fantasy 7 was a phenomenal game but it shouldn't top every list. And if I see more pronounced melodrama with people crying and weeping over Aeris' death I'm going to get dry heaves really soon. Aeris holds the all-time record for getting geeks to cry and it is a very overplayed card. Stop it. Amazing how much emotion there can be over a character that contributed less to a story in life than death. And this is coming from a huge fan of the Final Fantasy series)

Not being able to watch a lot of the other shows on the new G4TV I cannot comment about how the content has changed. Shows should adapt so the whole script does not feel processed, but cutting into the meat of what makes a show great should never be done. If I were a devoted and responsible journalist I would find time to watch more TV (?!) but this is a hobby and not a job, so it's not gonna happen.

So please, hold out hope for this show and the network. Gaming shows should be about games and how people react to them. We like to see people's opinions vocalized and debated. It works. The show became popular because of Diane and because of the content. It has worked for a long time and I want the show to go back to what is has been exceptional at doing. This means that the show's content based on last night's viewing needs to be... filtered?