four-tified goodness with e-numbers (E4)

Member Name: utero

Product:	E4
Date:	15/04/01 (123 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: new shows broadcast before Channel

Disadvantages: frequent repeats, long ad breaks

After managing to pick up a basic OnDigital subscription quite cheaply I chose this channel for a few main reasons. The primary being that the female members of my family love Friends and so do I to an extent.

This is just one of the shows that can be seen way before it's shown on Channel 4 and for once it can't be seen on Sky one. Other programmes that receive this privilege are ER and Trigger Happy TV so if you're a fan then this is what you need for your fix.

E4 is still in it's infancy and is broadcast from 4pm to 4am everyday. The rest of it's programme contact is very mixed. Quite a lot of the stuff is repeats. Turn on most days and you're greeted with the lame Shipwrecked. In fact up until primetime the channel is packed with youth orientated programming that features dating shows and music shows. One good thing is that you can see the under-rated Party of Five which was never really pushed by Channel 4.

Primetime sees an influx of American comedy and thankfully most of it is the best stuff. The Drew Carey show is a very popular US TV show and has some good light-hearted laughs and good bunch of characters. Norm features Norm Macdonald of Saturday Night Live and again it's a show that has some good jokes and a lot of potential.

Saturday night's are dedicated to theme nights. So far we've seen Ali G, Sex In the City and David Blaine as headliners. Again this is repeats but because the stuff is very good you like to watch it again over the dullness that is terrestrial Saturday night programming.

One other thing is The Sopranos are also on Sunday nights and if like me you got into the show late on it's a godsend. I'll be more pleased if the third season appears on this channel first.

E4 can only get better and when it cuts down on the frequent repeats and increases it's broadcasting hours more people will tune in. The ad breaks are also a bit long but I suppose the money has to come from somewhere and with
most US sitcom shows running 22 minutes it's expected.

At the moment it provides a good showcase for all the best entertainment Channel 4 has to offer. Throw in a few films some weekday nights and it's going to go up in my estimation.

Summary: