Hi, I’m DanyLektro, Gamer Army member #551. I’ve been a loyal fan of Pure Pwnage for a number of years, and have been attending the live screenings in Toronto, since Episode 11 (their 3rd live premier). I’ve been an active and inactive member in the community, have made many new friends and had some wonderful experiences because of this show. Pure Pwnage fraking pwns.
Now, however, it doesn’t just pwn your computer monitor. at 10PM Friday, on Showcase (Canada’s HBO), Pure Pwnage premiered their first television episode and spanked across the airwaves and, well… let me start you off with a bit of history about this show first.
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Beginning off as a mockumentary, essentially done for fun, the characters that Geoff Lapaire and Jarett Cale created were hilariously likable, which convinced the two of them to create a second and third episode (and introduce the immensely popular FPS_Doug, played by Joel Gardiner). FPS_Doug’s unmistakable catch-phrases turned him into a bit of an internet meme for awhile which drew many new fans in, while the hilarious writing of the show kept people hooked. For Episode 9, the main cast which lived in Toronto, decided to do a screening of their new episode, where fans of the show could meet the cast and see the episode on the silver screen. The success of these premiers which were eventually put on as far as Australia, only strengthened the cast’s resolve in their series.
At this point, the show had taken a much more serious tone, and was developing a real story. The cast could afford to live off of the profits from t-shirt and other merchandise sales. Unfortunately, the ever-growing fanbase of the show could only provide so much support as a tragedy struck in their lives. A car accident claimed the life of one of their newest characters, T-Bag (played by Troy Dixon), who had made a wonderful debut and was welcomed with open arms by the community. After a few months, Jarett logged into the forums to explain the situation to everyone, and Geoff Lapaire announced that he would no longer be able to direct Pure Pwnage. It’s fate was uncertain, until an announcement hit the site, sparking new life into the community.
Pure Pwnage was coming to TV. We’ve waited a long time for this, and while the internet series (joining such other “TOS” favourites in history which ended before their time) remains unfinished for the time being, the re-imagined TV series hit the airwaved with a phenomenal debut. Now, I can’t speak for everyone’s enjoyment; that babe next door with the fake tan that drives downtown to get drunk and sleep with a douchebag who drives a riced up Honda Civic probably won’t get too into it, unless she’s a closet nerd (here’s hoping..). However if you’re reading this website right now, chances are that you’ll think it’s as awesome as I do.
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Beginning off with a dedication to an idea explored in the internet series, the show draws us in not with character drama, but by showing off a little skit that really captures how silly it is when people take a game way, way too seriously. It may have been intentional, it may have just been “damn that’s funny, this is a great intro”, either way: damn, it’s funny. It’s a great intro.
Like any re-imagined series, the characters all have to be introduced once again, and while there are a couple of afterthoughts picked off from earlier writings, everything is completely new, no recycled jokes, and it feels fresh. FPS_Doug’s peeping out from under a pile of leaves while Jeremy sits around, as if this is the most normal thing in the world, completely captures the contrast of their two characters, without having to know who they are. I watched the premier with some friends who weren’t fans of the internet series, and after such a fresh premier, they’re excited for me to showcase them everything that’s already been put out.
While some of the familiar faces dominate the screen, Anastasia (who seemed like she was in the process of being written out of the series by the last episode released) and Dave are nowhere to be seen. The female presence is filled in by a new character whom I don’t know what to think of, yet. She seems to be a combination of Anastasia’s WoW nerdness, combined with Dave’s sass, but only time will tell on that one. So far, I like her. Apparently she was in Saw 4, but nobody watches those movies anymore.
It feels like old times. The show is strongly sporting the humor that made it popular, with the matured storywriting that they learned in producing the internet series in the first place. They were definitely ready for TV, and it’s while it’s very sad that it happened to coincide with a terrible accident, the whole ordeal only seems to have made them stronger in carrying Pure Pwnage on. Yessir, Pure Pwnage is pwning the airwaves.
If you live in Canada and missed the premier on Friday, you can watch it legitimately on Showcase’s website @ http://www.showcase.ca/video/
If you live outside of Canada, use a proxy. 
–Jeff “DanyLektro”
