Laser Time is a podcast network. The network's namesake show, Laser Time is a weekly comedy podcast. Other shows on the network feature the former hosts of TalkRadar, a popular podcast formerly featured on the GamesRadaronline video game journalistic website.
''Laser Time''
The podcast is hosted by former GamesRadar editor Chris Antista with regular guests including PC Gamer editor Tyler Wilde, former Capcomonline community manager Brett Elston, former GamesRadar employee Henry Gilbert and others. Many of said critics and journalists have also been featured on TalkRadar. The podcast is a non-scripted comedy-based discussion featuring sound clip examples with each episode typically based around a central theme ranging from certain genres or specifics examples of programming or from the medium. In addition to the regular hosts, other guests include those from other publications, such as those from other Future Publishing names, including and independent video game developers. Other guests have included Dan Amrich, Brent Weinbach, Seth Killian and crossovers with Bob Mackey and the Retronauts podcast. The main website features news stories, new media release articles and comedy pieces along with an online community forum and a Twitch gaming stream channel.
Current shows
The network hosts several companion podcasts hosted by other regular guests of the titular podcast as part of the "Laser Time Network".
''Bonus Time''
Exclusive to the podcast's Patreon supporters, Bonus Time is a weekly companion to the main Laser Time podcast, formerly hosted by Chris Antista, Dave Rudden and Matthew Jay. After Antista's move back to Florida the show has feature his local friends Sam and Sarah with occasional guest.
''Thirty Twenty Ten''
The latest podcast created as a result of Patreon supporters. Brett Elston and Diana Goodman host a nostalgia-themed podcast taking a look at events that took place 30, 20 and 10 years prior to the week of the podcast. Brett has since left the show and has been replaced with Chris Antista and Sara.
''Vidjagame Apocalypse''
Beginning in February 2013, former Official Xbox Magazine editor Mikel Reparaz, formerly of GamesRadar and TalkRadar, hosts "Vidjagame Apocalypse", a throwback to TalkRadar that features news and discussions exclusively about video games, with some episodes featuring journalists from other game sites including GamesRadar.
''VGMpire''
Laser Time was also in connection with VGMpire hosted by Brett Elston that features and discusses video game music. Originally the show was separate from the website, only featured on iTunes but has since become regularly featured with the other podcasts.
Former shows
''Talking Simpsons''
In June 2015, a new podcast, Talking Simpsons, hosted by Retronauts host Bob Mackey became available to the podcast's patrons on Patreon. The podcast focuses on discussing each episode from the long-running animated series The Simpsons in chronological order. The first season of the podcast is exclusive to Patreon donators, while following seasons are available to the general public. The show is currently covering the show's eighth season and has also consisted of interviews with Simpsons alumni such as Bill Oakley. The show would later be spun-off into its own network with its own Patreon. Chris Antista's final appearance was on the episode "Mother Simpsons" on March 13, 2018. The show has continued as a separate network with each episode featuring a special guest. The Talking Simpsons network launched its second show, "What a Cartoon!" which features an random episode of a different show each week on March 12, 2018. Older episodes of Talking Simpsons can still be found on the Lasertime Network.
''Cape Crisis''
Cape Crisis, was a weekly show hosted by Henry Gilbert that premiered on February 24, 2012. The show ran for 200 episodes, with various specials throughout its life span eventually coming to a conclusion on June 18, 2016. The show predominantly featured news and discussion about comic books and other forms of sequential art. The show was cancelled following a career change for Gilbert but occasionally returns for one-off episodes where Gilbert talks about recent events or releases in the comic book world.
''Cheap Popcast''
Following from Laser Time episode "Wrestlin' Buddies", an episode about professional wrestling, Dave Rudden began another separate podcast known as Cheap Popcast in November, 2012 that discusses the topic in greater detail, particularity current news in World Wrestling Entertainment. The original Laser Time episode was later re-posted and became the "official" second episode of Cheap Popcast. Unlike the other podcasts, the show was released on a monthly basis near the same time as an upcoming pay-per-view wrestling event each month. The show gets its name from a term coined by the professional wrestling community: "Cheap Pop" which refers to a performer generating positive crowd reaction by complimenting the locals of a venue. All podcasts are featured on iTunes and zune for free. The final episode of Cheap Popcast was uploaded on November 7, 2017. Episode 100 is assumed to be the final episode as Henry Gilbert and Dave Rudden are no longer actively involved with the Lasertime Network.
Reception
In a review by CraveOnline for the original Laser Time podcast, reviewer Christian Krauspe called it "absolutely hilarious" in addition to the "undeniable chemistry" of the hosts and guests.
