Kurt's Thoughts

[Warning:  This is a completely reactionary post.  I’ve done very little research here so this is pure “in the moment” blogging.]

Who is this “Alison Haislip” girl on G4TV?  Where did she come from?  Yeah sure, she’s cute as a kitten but more importantly, she seems almost like a seasoned, talented co-host.  And she’s actually really entertaining to listen to… unlike some other female G4TV personalities.  How did she end up as frickin’ “The Feed” reporter and more importantly, just when can we anticipate sending Layla Kayleigh to the World Poker Tour once & for all?

In the event that someone from G4TV reads this:  (Hell, I actually have contacts at G4TV’s IT group… maybe I should just pick up the damned phone…)

Dear G4TV,

As an avid fan of your network, I regret to inform you that I stopped DVRecording AOTS and XPlay 6 months ago and I wonder if there are others that feel the same way. 

• XPlay spans gaming across multiple consoles and frankly wastes too much of my time with Nintendo DS & Playstation 3 content.  I don’t have time to watch a TV program about games that I have no intention of ever playing so despite my long running and sincere appreciation for the show going back to TechTV, I dropped the delete button on the “series recording/season pass” of XPlay.  Maybe you guys can do 3 individual 20 minute segments that would allow a person to record just their console’s content.(Still podcast you guys though!  Sessler’s Soapbox is the shiznit.)

  I did start recording it occasionally however once the format changed… especially, whenever it contains Xbox 360 content being that I have sooooooo much respect for the talent & intellect of fellow UCLA Bruin alum Adam Sessler & dread Cal Bears alum Morgan Webb.
  

• Attack of the Show?  I’ve given up on Olivia Munn – I remember when she joined the cast as a stiff, unauthentic, teleprompter reader… but she’s just not gotten any better since that day and subsequently annoyed me beyond my tolerance for the show – especially when paired with Layla Kayleigh’s talentless oration of the day’s news – and this is despite my sincere and deep appreciation for G4TV’s high quality, ever improving production. (And there has been great improvement over the years.)

  What sucks at the most fundamental level is that she’s clearly not got gaming at her core, despite being the cohost of a show a good part of which is about gaming.  At least not in the same way that Kevin Pereira, Morgan Webb, and Adam Sessler do:  Instead she does a reoccurring bit about… uh… magazine articles?  And another about sex advice?  WTF is that?  If I wanted this, I’d go watch the Oxygen Network.  I’ve worn out the 30 second skip button just on Olivia’s segments alone.

  Then when she talks about games, she comes off as just a complete & utter phony.  You leave with the impression that if you showed her a PS controller and an Xbox controller, she couldn’t tell you which is which. 

  And she doesn’t at all seem emotionally passionate about… well… anything in the show in the same way that Blair Butler is about comics or Chris Gore is about movies or Zach Selwyn is about music… & debauchery.  God bless you, Blair, Chris, & Zach.

  And her personality isn’t nearly as infectious as Kristin Holt’s who’s just straight up got this All-American aura about her not to mention having an awesome vocals in Stranger Days to boot.  Meanwhile, I don’t what what the hell Chris Hardwick is supposed to be but he’s just funnier than sh-t and that makes up for a lot.

And then… Alison Haislip comes along.   WHOA.  Where the hell did she come from?  Animated, funny, beautiful, and just downright GENUINE.

Folks, this is the kind of stuff that makes me want to put AOTS back on the DVR “Series Record” list.  Please G4TV:  I love your network.  I really, really do.  Ninja Warrior… Jamie Kennedy Experiment… Championship Gaming Series… and ESPECIALLY THE E3 COVERAGE.

Give me a reason to record more of your shows.  Alison Haislip?  Definitely a good one. Slide her into Olivia’s spot, put Kristin Holt into Layla Kayleigh’s spot, give Olivia another role, and fix two casting risks you folks made so many years ago.

Sincerely,

Kurt

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If you haven’t seen Alison in action, check this out: