Warning: This will be somewhat passionate, but also if you like G4, it's ok and I think you're still cool and advise you to hear me out :)
I was reminded of the now infamous clip where a guy was showing off an Edison cylinder during one of the Call-For-Help-A-Thons, but ends up having it break in his hands. The YouTube search results just for that one clip just had this flood of both nostalgia, but also a continued appreciation for just how great TechTv was. It was such a beacon of nerd and geek friendly programming, for both that point in time and honestly today. So many great shows with very smart and knowledgeable people hosting them. Everything from shows about computers, tech, anime, and video games. I honestly find it sad when people go on about G4 being great and so on and for me, it couldn't be farther from the truth! The G4 acquisition and merger into G4TechTv and eventually just G4, just gutted most of what made TechTv special and ruined most everything that remained. The only thing that seemed to make the transition ok was X-Play and eventually that went downhill as well. If you liked G4 back in the day before it became the Cops channel, then honestly do yourself a favor and try to find some old clips from the TechTv days; things like Call For Help, The Screensavers, Extended Play, etc. Honestly the best time was probably when it was just a merging of shows from both networks (aka G4TechTv), but eventually everything shifted and got tossed out and changed.
I have such fond memories of coming home from school in time to catch Call For Help and then it going into X-Play and then Anime Unleashed. Which for a nerdy kid living in the middle of nowhere in the late 90s-00s just felt so refreshing and just everything I wanted out of a television station! Like, everything about the people who hosted the different shows to the shows themselves just really resonated with me! Like, I was such a little fanboy for TTV back in the day. I'd record whole anime series to VHS from Anime Unleashed so I'd have them to watch. It was my first exposure to a lot of shows I still honestly kinda like to this day but haven't seen in years. Shows like Crest of the Stars / Banner of the Stars (also bought all the manga for back in the day), Read or Die (honestly still great!), Silent Mobius (!), Gatekeepers 21 OVA (have on dvd), and Serial Experiments Lain (STILL FANTASTIC!), just to name a few!
Do you have any memories of TechTv or even when it was briefly G4TechTv? I'd love to hear them! :D