NOW ON VOD! When I was a teenager, there was only one place I could turn to when it came to everything “nerd” related. It was a network known as G4, which brought all things video games, technology, and movies to the forefront in one place. It was this that made G4 so unique. From documentarian Chris Gore, Attack of the Doc! tells the story of the rise and fall of the groundbreaking G4 network focused primarily on its beloved flagship show, Attack of the Show!
In the early 2000s, Comcast purchased TechTv and merged it with the gaming channel known as G4. Citing TechTv’s broader cable audience as one reason for the merger, many TechTv employees would either be laid off or just quit after the merger announcement and its operation moving from San Francisco to Los Angeles, thus leaving a channel primarily made up of G4 employees. With a new network comes a new direction, including a number of new shows, and leading this new movement was Attack of the Show!
Attack of the Show! was a love letter to pop culture. The show was hosted by Kevin Pereira and several different co-hosts. It brought the latest video games and tech news while blending in comedic sketches full of pop culture parodies. The show really took off with the arrival of Olivia Munn. She not only matched Pereira’s energy but also allowed Pereira to push the boundaries of decency by doing so herself. It was a stride-for-stride partnership that took the show to new heights. With the show’s nerd focus, AOTS started covering the biggest pop-culture conventions on location at San Diego Comic-Con and E3, which was groundbreaking at the time.
“…the rise and fall of the groundbreaking G4 network focused primarily on its beloved flagship show, Attack of the Show!“
Aside from all the things that made Attack of the Show! and G4 great, the documentary also discusses the birth of Attack of the Show!, its to-hell-with-it spirit, and ultimately the fall of the network. The fall started when hosts began leaving the show to go on to do other things – Oliva Munn is probably the most notable name to go from G4 news anchor to the bright lights of Hollywood appearing on The Daily Show, X-Men franchise, and Magic Mike. Finally, in case you’re curious, the doc touches briefly on the recent 2021 relaunch of the G4 network, but not much can be said about it due to its failure lasting less than a year.
Attack of the Doc! definitely hits the mark when it comes to highlighting the key moments that made the network great. In doing so, it also provided all the nostalgia for me as I had a lot of great memories of G4 as a teenager. I mean, who didn’t have a crush on Oliva Munn, and how else would I see San Diego Comic-Con when I was a broke teen? The documentary also has a few sketches thrown in reminiscent of the many parody sketches unique only to G4.
I felt missing from the documentary was insight from more of the faces of G4, including the likes of Pereira, Munn, and Adam Sessler. There are plenty of archival interviews and appearances from some familiar G4 faces, such as Chris Gore and Zach Selwyn, which all work very well in telling the story of G4. Even though a network like G4, and specifically its show like Attack of the Show! could not be made today, as we saw with its shortly-lived relaunch. It was a kick starter for everything you see on Youtube, social media, and podcasts. Without Attack of the Show! a lot of what we enjoy about pop culture on YouTube today may not exist, and this documentary proves that point. Attack of the Doc! is not only a great hit of nostalgia, but it also takes us back to a time when many of us started to find ourselves and had no fear of doing so.
DISCLAIMER: Attack of the Doc! executive producer Chris Gore is also the publisher of Film Threat.
