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The Screen Savers Reunited

Posted by Zonk on from the we-can-make-them-better,-faster,-stronger dept.

HABITcky writes "Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose, and Robert Heron have gotten together and recorded their first podcast of The Return Of The Screen Savers (ROTSS) It's a 56kbps MP3Pro file weighing in at around 14MB. Join them for 34 minutes of Skyping fun as they discuss driving in the dust, cell phones, Kevin's new webcast, Systm, and the demise of TechTV. They plan to make this a weekly broadcast."

6 of 191 comments (clear)

  1. Cool, I've missed them by Sebby · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Ever since G4, I've basically stopped watching "TechTV" since it's no longer, well, 'TechTV'. TSS was just about the only info show I watched on it (besides battlebots etc), and pretty much the only raison d'être of the station. Glad to see they're back in this format.

    US stations have such a knack for taking great channels (or TV shows), and totally foobar them in a vain attempt to 'improve' them.

    --

    AC comments get piped to /dev/null
  2. Leo Was Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    He was what made that show watchable. And, as far as I know, he was the only one with any previous experience in that field. Kevin and the new batch are kinda' out of their element on Live TV, in my opinion.

    Leo knew when the guest was becoming uninteresting, and would switch the subject - fast. The new breed kinda' drag on, and commit the most cardinal sin of Live Broadcast: stand in silence.

    But, they're prettier than the old ones, I guess. Have to keep the eyecandy on display for their new audience...

  3. Ummmm... by ghoda_x · · Score: 5, Informative

    ...first podcast of The Return Of The Screen Savers (ROTSS)...

    In TFA it's called Revenge of the Screen Savers.

    --

    Give me but one firm spot on which to stand, and I will move the earth.
    - Archimedes
  4. Re:Cool by Soko · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sounds like it might be cool. But not as cool as Slashdot Radio [thesync.com] was.

    Moderation: (-1, Asskissing)

    Soko

    --
    "Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." - Anonymous
  5. Downhill since 1995... by green+pizza · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Laporte and Ziff Davis started their TV venture in 1995 with "TheSite" on MSNBC. Awesome hour long daily show hosted by Soledad O'Brian and a bunch of over very talented folks. MSNBC canceled the show during a big programming change in 1997. I really miss that show.

    In 1998 ZD started their own TV channel. The Screen Savers started out as a very crappy replacement for TheSite. I still enjoyed it, but you could tell that the company was now using the same resources to make about 5 hours of TV a day rather than 1 hour.

    The Screen Savers was really starting to suck by the time ZDTV became TechTV.

    Soon G4 got involved and totally ruined what little was left of the original ZD venture. Thankfully they finally changed the name of the show.

  6. Re:I LOVED TSS by illumnatLA · · Score: 5, Interesting
    The thing that worked about TSS was that you had Leo who has been a broadcast professional for many years in addition to being a print tech journalist. He was very good with interviews and keeping the show rolling.

    Patrick, also a print journalist, had a bit of geek in him, but was bitter enough about technology to question things rather than drool over the latest new gadget.

    Jessica, of course, eye candy with a brain... what else could you ask for???

    Kevin Rose was always better doing his little bit pieces than he ever was a host.

    Sarah just annoys me (and I hear from a friend of mine who was a set painter for the LA version of TSS that when they first got down here, little Sarah was stomping around bitching about how their set wasn't nearly as cool looking as Martin Sargent's--of course look where he is now.)

    G4 is now using that lovely Hollywood idea of creating programming by looking at the marketing numbers... "Well, my Excel sheet says that if we change TSS to 'Attack of the Show' blah, blah, blah." Merely the fact that they have wardrobe people should tell you something. Do you think Patrick Norton could've gotten away with wearing his utility kilt on G4?

    Yep... Everything that made TechTV semi-interesting to watch has gone away. Why did G4 even bother to buy TechTV?? Oh, yeah, that's right, TechTV actually had dial space on many cable and satellite systems. G4 didn't because who would actually want to watch a network who's programming was pretty much exclusively gaming?

    Here's an example of the brilliant G4 programming: "Cinematech"
    From G4's website
    Complementing the gameplay of many high-end games is an extraordinary assortment of cinematics and trailers. The quality of these mini-movies is so incredible that gamers and non-gamers alike watch them repeatedly, simply for the entertainment value. So dim the lights, grab a bag of popcorn and watch.
    Yep... nothing like watching the screen of someone playing a video game for a half hour. Why, it's so in depth it gives me chills. The creator of that program must be cut from the cloth of the finest tapestry.

    Anyway... listen to the Podcast. It's interesting to hear Kevin Rose and Robert Heron talk about the TV by marketing numbers that G4 is using. Hopefully the podcast will continue on and eventually become a video cast of some sort.

    BTW, here's the direct link to the podcast if you're using some sort of podcast receiving software:

    http://leoville.tv/podcasts/tlr

    --J
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