Gamepad back for a third series

Gaming makes a long awaited return to our TV screens next week, with the third series of Violet Berlin's Gamepad set to air on Bravo every weekday for a month long stint.

The 20 half hour shows are to run at 4.30pm and 7.30pm on the "men's channel" from November 18, and apparently has a "fresh look thanks to a cool set redesign" by our old mucka Gaz Top, sorry, Gareth Jones.

The show promises to cover "all the key releases on all the major games systems" with previews of next year's biggies also lined up, as well as interviews with "designers" (presumably they mean developers) from Britain, the USA, and - get this - all over Europe.

But the thing that has us all excited is the prospect of the "Crash Course" it is planning, whereby a number of our journalist peers pass on their sage like wisdom to the salivating public. We fully expect our forums to be alive with bile about this one.

That's not all. Gamepad's "trademark" charts will be back (eh, they've trademarked the charts? How dare they), plus a 30 second review snapshot covering "games you wouldn't normally expect on television" (we await with bated breath the review of Sam Fox's Strip Poker). Finally the "Game On" feature is back, in the slot where you "don't have to be a gamer" to go on. Amusing possibilities, we're sure…