Portal (partially lost television series; 2002-2004)
Title card of the G4 television series Portal.
Status: Partially Lost
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, 37 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 its programming strategy in response to lower-than-anticipated rating growth. For a brief time afterward, Portal aired in occasional reruns. On June 22nd, 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 31st, 2014.[7]
Episode List
The following is a complete list of episodes:
Season 1
| # | Episode Title | Air Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mission Briefing | May 1st, 2002 | Found |
| 2 | Anarchy Online | May 1st, 2002 | Lost |
| 3 | Asheron's Call | May 8th, 2002 | Found |
| 4 | More Anarchy Online | May 15th, 2002 | Lost |
| 5 | EverQuest | May 22nd, 2002 | Lost |
| 6 | More Asheron's Call | May 29th, 2002 | Lost |
| 7 | More Everquest | June 5th, 2002 | Lost |
| 8 | E3 | June 12th, 2002 | Lost |
| 9 | Dark Age of Camelot - Albion | June 19th, 2002 | Lost |
| 10 | A Very Swampy Portal | July 3rd, 2002 | Found |
| 11 | Dark Age of Camelot - Hibernia | July 10th, 2002 | Lost |
| 12 | Everquest: Past, Present, and Future | July 17th, 2002 | Lost |
| 13 | The High Level Hoedown | July 24th, 2002 | Lost |
| 14 | VBS Is On The Air | July 31st, 2002 | Partially Found |
| 15 | Dark Age of Camelot - Midgard | Aug 7th, 2002 | Lost |
| 16 | Visions of Rick | Aug 14th, 2002 | Lost |
| 17 | The Secret Origin of Grooter | Aug 21st, 2002 | Lost |
| 18 | Tales of Sacrifice | Aug 28th, 2002 | Lost |
| 19 | Love & Hate | Sept 4th, 2002 | Lost |
| 20 | How to Make Friends Online | Sept 11th, 2002 | Found |
| 21 | Vanished | Sept 18th, 2002 | Lost |
| 22 | Fist of the Redneck | Sept 25th, 2002 | Lost |
| 23 | Captive! | Oct 2nd, 2002 | Lost |
| 24 | Portal's Salute to the Elements | Oct 9th, 2002 | Found |
| 25 | Dave Quits | Oct 16th, 2002 | Found |
| 26 | A Crappy Portal Halloween | Oct 27th, 2002 | Found |
| 27 | Vacation Day | Nov 6th, 2002 | Found |
| 28 | Portal's 1st Annual Film Fest | Nov 20th, 2002 | Found |
| 29 | Searching for Bodies | Dec 4th, 2002 | Found |
| 30 | Virtual Arbor Day | Dec 18th, 2002 | Found |
| 31 | Down The Tubes, Pt. 1 - Enter: Apex | Jan 8th, 2003 | Found |
| 32 | Down the Tubes, Part 2 - Rust | Jan 15th, 2003 | Found |
| 33 | Down the Tubes, Part 3 - Desperate Measures | Jan 22nd, 2003 | Found |
Season 2
| # | Episode Title | Air Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | Down the Tubes, Part 4 - Heroes, Villains, & Bed Wetters | Feb 12th, 2003 | Found |
| 35 | Down the Tubes: The Aftermath | Feb 19th, 2003 | Found |
| 36 | The Trial of Zherbo Reaufeaux | Mar 5th, 2003 | Found |
| 37 | New Beginnings | Mar 12th, 2003 | Found |
| 38 | Plumbers, Gambling Addiction, and Tatooine | Mar 26th, 2003 | Partially Found |
| 39 | What About Bob? | April 9th, 2003 | Found |
| 40 | What About Dave? | April 27th, 2003 | Found |
| 41 | VBS 2 | April 30th, 2003 | Lost |
| 42 | Hearts & Boulders | May 14th, 2003 | Found |
| 43 | A Gal Named Yoodle | June 4th, 2003 | Found |
| 44 | People of the Portal | June 11th, 2003 | Lost |
| 45 | The Patient | June 25th, 2003 | Found |
| 46 | The Social Relevance of Film in Early 21st Century Culture | July 9th, 2003 | Found |
| 47 | Power Fluting | July 30th, 2003 | Found |
| 48 | The Wrath of Bob | Aug 6th, 2003 | Found |
| 49 | Boxing for Boxes | Aug 20th, 2003 | Found |
| 50 | The Tears of Little Michael | Sept 3rd, 2003 | Found |
| 51 | The Supermodel Episode | Sept 17th, 2003 | Found |
| 52 | Attack of the Unrelated Orange Villains | Oct 1st, 2003 | Found |
| 53 | Another Portal Crapoween | Oct 15th, 2003 | Lost |
| 54 | The Incredible Shrinking Woman | Nov 5th, 2003 | Found |
| 55 | Ultimate Victory, Part 1: Hawks and Doves | Nov 12th, 2003 | Found |
| 56 | Ultimate Victory, Part 2: Who's the Dummy Now? | Nov 26th, 2003 | Found |
| 57 | Portal's Weirdest Moments | Dec 10th, 2003 | Found |
| 58 | Ultimate Victory, Part 3: The Foul Smell of Death | Jan 14th, 2004 | Found |
| 59 | Ultimate Victory, Part 4: Tearing Through the Ranks | Feb 25th, 2004 | Found |
| 60 | Ultimate Victory, Part 5: The Day the Portals Died | Feb 25th, 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