4 out of 5

Hosted by: Kevin Smith, Greg Grunberg

covers season 1

We’ve successfully graduated.  Geek culture is in; post-air talk shows dedicated to specific shows – mimicking the bar or forum conversations fans would love to have – are resplendent; and the top movies of the past few years have had colorful people in tights.  There is no fringe culture anymore.  Shows with a more general Geek Gossip format aren’t new, but to get prime airing time on a respectable channel – AMC – is another sign of the times.

The first couple episodes of Geeking Out are a little uncomfortable, as hosts Kevin Smith and Greg Grunberg seem unsure how enthused they’re supposed to be, but once they get the bears of the interviews down and “correspondent” Tiffany Smith is accepted as essentially another co-host (where are her title credits?) the show becomes quite enjoyable.  And, wisely, because the internet exposes us all to the same news, there’s no fakery about exposing new info: The crew truly does just geek out over geeky things, and use their Hollywood (and perhaps AMC) connects to go behind some cool closed doors and talk to some cool people.

The legitimate excitement from each person (especially the goofy and affable Smith, who reminds you why we like him despite some bumpy cinematic years) seeps into the show’s fibers and similarly makes viewing it exciting as well.

Nothing groundbreaking, but a better than average time that manages to pack an effective amount into its half hour.