The Gadget Show was one of Channel 5's main staples for almost two decades. It was the perfect show for nerds who enjoyed seeing what kind of fancy nifties would be available in-store, in addition to video games and the like. Sure, there were many scrappy moments, like the infamous "World Tour" reformatting, but it lived up to what it was.
Fast forward to 2022, when Channel 5 had the right mind to recommission the show as... a show that can help you save money and retitled it as "Better Tech, Better Life", then "The Good Gadget Guide", and now this.
At this point, maybe the title hints at the fact that Paramount is so desperate to be relevant to modern society and to cash in on the living crisis. The show has almost no connection to The Gadget Show aside from having the existing presenters, and its only purpose of existing is to give you tips on, well, the name says it right above! What a disgrace to television screens.
And the other thing that I might add? This show is unbelievably boring and feels more like a YouTube tutorial series than something on terrestrial television, which even YouTube channels can do better.
Overall, this show sucks. Why Channel 5 would ditch such a long-running format for a simple cash-in to the living crisis baffles me. Maybe All3Media had something to do with this, but all in all, this is a disgrace.
To update my review for April 2025... Channel 5 axed the series. So not only is this show an abomination, but it completely ended The Gadget Show with a whimper.
