Then there's Bits. It's all too easy to rip into this show and really take the piss, and I'm sorely tempted to, but let's cover the good points first. It shows a good amount of footage, intercut with shots of the presenters for largely no reason. And good point number two, one of the presenters is pretty good. Can you guess which one? Yes, it's the one with the brown hair and the generic English accent, as opposed to the dizzy blonde one with the accent of indeterminate origin and the brash one with the American accent. They're all female and they all shout at you, which I don't understand - why do they need to shout all the time? It doesn't make the programme more exciting and, frankly, it just makes me wince. Maybe they feel the need to keep viewers awake since the show goes out just before 1.00am, but let's be optimistic - the presenters aren't as annoying as those on something like CD:UK, a weekly music show. Its presenters, Ant and Dec, plus token female Cat Deeley, invite violence. Maybe with a swift rethink and some better presenters, Bits could at least pass for something watchable.

We've covered the distinctly average past and the relatively poor present but what about the hopeful future? The best I think we can hope for are primetime slots, but is that too much to ask? I think not, for one important reason: Digital TV. Surely it can't be long before TV bosses, desperate to fill out their new digital channels, turn to gaming. I'd recommend that they get journalists to write the reviews on these shows, but should the journalists present the shows? I don't think so. Leave both jobs to the professionals; reviewing to the journalists and presenting to the presenters. Simple.

But let's not despair; some gaming coverage is better than none at all. And let's be honest, although we can barely trust the reviews of any of these shows, who can we trust for reviews these days? Exactly, very few people (except, of course, Future Gamer). Also, let's not get too paranoid about things - it's not just us who are getting substandard TV. Top of the Pops is primetime but awful, and a quality music show such as Later with Jools Holland is stuck on late on BBC2. It could be a lot worse.