Gil Hova Made Me Cancel Community...

… And I’m pissed!

Now, what many of you probably don’t know about me is that my other great love, other than gaming is TV. I watch a lot of TV, I devour new series, I rewatch old series. I watch while I work, I watch while I paint and I have even been known to watch while I sleep.

So when the opportunity presented itself to combine my two great passions I could not pass it up. Mike and I interviewed Gil Hova, the designer of the Networks at the UK Games Expo this year but by the time we got to him all of his copies were gone, however this week the game went on sale in the UK and I was able to grab a copy.

Now, since the Expo I’ve obsessed about this game a little. I’ve read stuff, I’ve watched stuff, I’ve typed it over and over into the search bar at Gameslore and really the game had a lot to live up to. So, last night, I played it solo and there was one defining moment that made me realise that this is the TV game I’ve been looking for.

I’d been running the much loved and critically acclaimed series Communist-y for three great years, the show was raking in plenty of ad revenue and it’s aging star was a massive boon for the viewing figures but with only a 0.6 share in the key demographic in a highly contested timeslot, there was no choice but to axe the show and send it to the reruns.

And you know what, I felt bad about it. Over the years I’ve bemoaned the loss of many great shows, CBS’s the Unit, ABC’s Better Off Ted and FOX’s criminally underrated Dollhouse (One of the finest chapters in the Whedon anthology, read more about that on my sister blog (Season 1, Season 2)).

I’ve lost countless gems, Farscape cancelled long before it’s time, Angel slain just as the series was getting good again, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip with Matthew Perry at his very best and the golden goose that is Bradley Whitford. There’s no doubt this cycle of devastation will continue, already this year we’ve lost the musical extravaganza that was Galavant and the irreverent stoner comedy that was Deadbeat and I wait with baited breath to know the fate of AMC’s fine, fine, show Halt and Catch Fire.

My point is that if the Networks gives me the feeling of experiencing what those decisions must be like for the corporate exec then it must be doing something right. I’ll be adding The Networks to the short list of games I need to get to the table before Christmas and I’ll try and do a real review of it sometime in the new year.

Until next time, keep on gaming!