Portal (partially lost television series; 2002-2004)
[[Has brief:: Portal is a television series that aired from May 2002 to February 2004 on the video game-oriented channel G4. It is notable for being one of the launch programs for G4 when the channel first launched, as well as being the channel's only scripted series at launch.]] It is unrelated to the video game series Portal produced by Valve Corporation.
Portal is a machinima series focused on Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs).[1] The show is a mix of numerous genres, including sketch comedy, satire, serialized drama, and nonfiction news, and informational segments on new MMORPG features.
Portal follows a Cybernaut named Dave (played by show creator and writer Dave Meinstein[2]), who is tasked with monitoring the transmissions from various online games from a place called The Hub. He is assisted by an artificial intelligence named VAL. He eventually finds allies such as The Drifter, Sonny Dove, and Grooter, as well as enemies such as The Ultimate, Apex, and Bob Claws. [3]
60 episodes of Portal were produced from May 2002 to February 2004. Of those 60, 35 have been found online in their entirety. Additionally, 2 episodes are partially complete. These episodes have lasted thanks to fans preserving them on video websites such as DailyMotion and YouTube. Information on missing episodes can be found on Wayback Machine's archive of the old G4TV.com website.[4]
Portal was suddenly cancelled in early 2004 when G4 decided to change their programming strategy in response to lower-than-anticipated rating growth. For a brief time afterward, Portal aired in occasional reruns. On June 22, 2006, Dave Meinstein, star, and writer of the show, also indicated on the G4TV.com forums that there would be a web-based continuation of the series, although these plans never materialized.[5]
Meinstein eventually left G4 and withdrew from having an internet presence entirely. Portal last aired in reruns in the Summer of 2008. [6] G4 went off the air on December 31, 2014.[7]
Episode List
The following is a complete list of episodes:
Season 1
# | Episode Title | Air Date | Status |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Mission Briefing | May 1 2002 | Found |
2 | Anarchy Online | May 1 2002 | Lost |
3 | Asheron's Call | May 8 2002 | Found |
4 | More Anarchy Online | May 15 2002 | Lost |
5 | EverQuest | May 22 2002 | Lost |
6 | More Asheron's Call | May 29 2002 | Lost |
7 | More Everquest | Jun. 5 2002 | Lost |
8 | E3 | Jun. 12 2002 | Lost |
9 | Dark Age of Camelot - Albion | Jun 19 2002 | Lost |
10 | A Very Swampy Portal | Jul. 3 2002 | Found |
11 | Dark Age of Camelot - Hibernia | Jul. 10 2002 | Lost |
12 | Everquest: Past, Present, and Future | Jul. 17 2002 | Lost |
13 | The High Level Hoedown | Jul. 24 2002 | Lost |
14 | VBS Is On The Air | Jul. 31 2002 | Partially Found |
15 | Dark Age of Camelot - Midgard | Aug. 7 2002 | Lost |
16 | Visions of Rick | Aug. 14 2002 | Lost |
17 | The Secret Origin of Grooter | Aug. 21 2002 | Lost |
18 | Tales of Sacrifice | Aug. 28 2002 | Lost |
19 | Love & Hate | Sep. 4 2002 | Lost |
20 | How to Make Friends Online | Sep. 11 2002 | Found |
21 | Vanished | Sep. 18 2002 | Lost |
22 | Fist of the Redneck | Sep. 25 2002 | Lost |
23 | Captive! | Oct. 2 2002 | Lost |
24 | Portal's Salute to the Elements | Oct. 9 2002 | Found |
25 | Dave Quits | Oct. 16 2002 | Lost |
26 | A Crappy Portal Halloween | Oct. 27 2002 | Lost |
27 | Vacation Day | Nov. 6 2002 | Found |
28 | Portal's 1st Annual Film Fest | Nov. 20 2002 | Found |
29 | Searching for Bodies | Dec. 4 2002 | Found |
30 | Virtual Arbor Day | Dec. 18 2002 | Found |
31 | Down The Tubes, Pt. 1 - Enter: Apex | Jan. 8 2003 | Found |
32 | Down the Tubes, Part 2 - Rust | Jan. 15 2003 | Found |
33 | Down the Tubes, Part 3 - Desperate Measures | Jan. 22 2003 | Found |
Season 2
# | Episode Title | Air Date | Status |
---|---|---|---|
34 | Down the Tubes, Part 4 - Heroes, Villains, & Bed Wetters | Feb. 12 2003 | Found |
35 | Down the Tubes: The Aftermath | Feb. 19 2003 | Found |
36 | The Trial of Zherbo Reaufeaux | Mar. 5 2003 | Found |
37 | New Beginnings | Mar. 12 2003 | Found |
38 | Plumbers, Gambling Addiction, and Tatooine | Mar. 26 2003 | Partially Found |
39 | What About Bob? | Apr. 9 2003 | Found |
40 | What About Dave? | Apr. 27 2003 | Found |
41 | VBS 2 | Apr. 30 2003 | Lost |
42 | Hearts & Boulders | May 14 2003 | Found |
43 | A Gal Named Yoodle | Jun. 4 2003 | Found |
44 | People of the Portal | Jun. 11 2003 | Lost |
45 | The Patient | Jun. 25 2003 | Found |
46 | The Social Relevance of Film in Early 21st Century Culture | Jul. 9 2003 | Found |
47 | Power Fluting | Jul. 30 2003 | Found |
48 | The Wrath of Bob | Aug. 6 2003 | Found |
49 | Boxing for Boxes | Aug. 20 2003 | Found |
50 | The Tears of Little Michael | Sep. 3 2003 | Found |
51 | The Supermodel Episode | Sep. 17 2003 | Found |
52 | Attack of the Unrelated Orange Villains | Oct. 1 2003 | Found |
53 | Another Portal Crapoween | Oct. 15 2003 | Lost |
54 | The Incredible Shrinking Woman | Nov. 5 2003 | Found |
55 | Ultimate Victory, Part 1: Hawks and Doves | Nov. 12 2003 | Found |
56 | Ultimate Victory, Part 2: Who's the Dummy Now? | Nov. 26 2003 | Found |
57 | Portal's Weirdest Moments | Dec. 10 2003 | Found |
58 | Ultimate Victory, Part 3: The Foul Smell of Death | Jan. 14 2004 | Found |
59 | Ultimate Victory, Part 4: Tearing Through the Ranks | Feb. 25 2004 | Found |
60 | Ultimate Victory, Part 5: The Day the Portals Died | Feb. 25 2004 | Found |
References
- ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361226/
- ↑ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1355877/
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20041010232211/http://www.g4techtv.com:80/portal/episodes/index.html
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20041010232211/http://www.g4techtv.com:80/portal/episodes/index.html
- ↑ http://g4s-portal.wikia.com/wiki/Portal
- ↑ http://g4s-portal.wikia.com/wiki/Portal
- ↑ https://www.polygon.com/2014/11/17/7233183/g4-is-going-off-the-air-for-good