Pure Pwnage: 2004 - present

It's not a gaming show in the traditional sense, but online comedy Pure Pwnage is so soul-ticklingly good that we had to include it. For those of you unfortunate enough not to know anything about it, PP is a mockumentary following the exploits of cocky, aspiring pro-gamer Jeremy as he lazily strives for world-domination. Along the way he travels the world, encounters secret gamer armies both good and evil, pwns a great deal of noobs, and humps a vast number of monitors in celebration.

Everything about the show is written, performed and directed impeccably. The scripts are fantastically well-observed, the acting is convincing to the degree that many used to think the show was real, and the camera work is slick and creative without ever risking pretension. Throw in an enigmatic supporting cast including stone-faced, ultra-hardcore cooking pro Dave (who now has his own culinary spin-off series) and borderline psycho man-child FPS Doug, and you've got an eternally watchable and rewarding series which is as professional as anything produced on TV. The first few episodes might start out a little slow, but let it get into its swing and you'll be addicted for life.

So where does all of this leave gaming TV now? Given the surprising amount of shows that have actually been made - and we certainly didn't have room to include them all in this feature - and the fact that the few good ones have lasted for multiple series, it seems that we can't completely write off the television industry as not understanding or caring about games. Of course, there's been a lot of out-of-touch pap, but the good stuff has been very good.

Maybe the problem is more the stigma of the bad games shows that have been made. Nothing causes a backlash like a failed show aimed at a passionate specialised market, so perhaps the history of bad programming makes producers a little scared of commisioning one, given how hard the formula is to get right. That certainly makes sense, give that Videogaiden only came about once Consolevania had already proven its worth online. Independent digital distribution certainly seems to be the only way that insightful programming for gamers seems to be happening right now.

But then again, with shows of the quality of Consolevania and Pure Pwnage around, do we really need TV any more anyway?