The G4 news series "Attack of the Show" will be hosting an
open casting call in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York for a new co-host to replace Kevin Rose who left the show almost two months ago. Sounds like a cool oppurtunity for whoever wins the spot...but it was surprising that the producers decided to open the doors to anyone interested for the job to apply since many were under the impression that the new host was going to be chosen from the group of individuals who have been guest hosting the show these last few weeks. Did G4 always plan on having an open casting call or did the idea only come up when they decided that they didn't like any of the current candidates? Sure, some of them did a lousy job but most of them weren't awful. Just how well did the guest hosts do? Here's my scorecard:
Adam Sessler: The co-host of G4's "X-Play" seemed a tad nervous at first but he soon fit in nicely. He was funny and he had the best chemistry with hosts Kevin and Sarah which is probably why he was asked to come back a few weeks later. The only downside is that G4 viewers may already have their fill of Adam on "X-Play" which currently reruns a million times a week. Since he already has a steady hosting gig, the last thing that they'd want to see is more of Adam. Personally, I can't get enough of the guy. Grade:
A Chris Gore: AotS fans already know Chris as the DVD critic who has his own segment every Tuesday called "DVDuesday". Chris seemed like a natural choice since he knows the territory. Not so. During his DVD segments, he's comfortable and he seems to know his stuff (although his recommendations are questionable). But as guest co-host, it was a different story. He came off like that insecure kid in high school who even though he's friends with the cool kids, he's not really a part of the in-crowd and he's desperate to feel like he's being accepted. His "nice guy" persona makes it hard not to like him though. Grade:
C Peter Rojas: Boring. He never got comfortable enough to show some personality. Instead, he just seemed to stand there, lifeless, waiting for someone to ask him something. His only saving grace came when he made the other hosts laugh by yelling out "Ye-yah!" like a Dave Chappelle clone. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late. Grade:
D- Geoff Keighley, Laura Foy & Tina Wood: The three hosts of G4TV.com traded off for one week. Probably the best of the bunch, Geoff has a nice onscreen attitude and, like Adam, he had good chemistry with Kevin and Sarah. He was confident without being cocky. Since his show is only on once a week (a show which hardly ever gets rerun), it would have been nice to see more of Geoff on a daily basis. Geoff's G4TV.com co-hosts Laura and Tina only got one day each to guest host on AotS so they weren't on long enough to leave a lasting impression. What we did see of them though was nice. They were both cute and it was fun to watch them interact with Kevin and Sarah. Grades, Geoff:
A- Laura, Tina:
B+ Tom Fulp: Out of the non-G4 personalities, Tom was probably the best one. That's not to say that he was great...just better than the others. At times, he could come off as bland but it was niceley balanced out by a good personality and decent interaction with the other hosts. Plus, it didn't hurt that he reminded me a lot of former host Kevin Rose. Grade:
B- Wil O'Neil: The one bad apple. There's nothing worse than a nerd who thinks he's better than the other nerds. Wil had an attitude where it seemed like he thought everything being discussed on the show was stupid. Sure, some of it can be stupid but at least Kevin and Sarah know how to have fun with the show no matter what the topic. The only time Wil showed any interest was when the subject of conversation was himself. Grade:
F Sarah, Brendan and Spencer: For one week the show featured no guest host. Instead, Sarah teamed up with Kevin while AotS friend and correspondent Brendan Moran filled in for her on the couch. Meanwhile, Spencer, the cute little monkey from
Outbreak, helped out for one day. Since Brendan is on the show every week, it was business as usual on the set of AotS. As fun as having a guest host can be, the regulars proved that they can handle the show on their own...as long as Brendan is there. On the one day that week that Brendan wasn't there, the show seemed very awkward with just Kevin and Sarah. It wouldn't be such a bad idea to bump-up Brendan to full-time host since all three of these kids seem to have a lot of fun together. Grade:
A- (
Note: I would have taken away some points for the day Brendan wasn't there but, thankfully, Kevin saved it with his own hilarious impersonation of the roving reporter. "Soooo!")
Morgan Webb: What took them so long?! After Adam Sessler was asked to host not once but twice, the quesion on everybody's mind was, "What about everyone's favorite female gamer Morgan Webb?" Adam's "X-Play" co-host finally got her chance in the spotlight but, sadly, she was only given three days. The rest of the week was filled with reruns. So far, she's a nice presence. She's bright, bubbly and cute. The only problem is that while she has a delicious and snarky attitude on "X-Play", on AotS she seems to be going for flirty stewardess instead. She's definately at her best when she's being honest such as when she dissed Michael Bay after his film
The Island bombed. Let's have more of the sarcastic Morgan we all know and love. Grade:
B- Well, that's it. On July 31, the auditions begin and the few hopefulls picked will each be given a one-week stint on the show later this season. How well will they do? Who will ultimately be chosen to be the new host? Only time will tell. Till then I look forward to seeing some new faces on AotS and I'll be grading each person who is lucky enough to pass the audition process and be given a week-long tryout on the show.
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