Truth about G4?
I read everything here. It is wordy but it is a good read. It's about the final taping of Unscrewed and it also tells what G4 has in store. I really think that this is true, i don't doubt for a nano second. If this happens, we're all doomed. :(
From:Wicked-Kitty
I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Ok, well that's not true.... the sad fact of the matter is that since this merger, or more appropiately deemed "conglomerate corporate buy out" between G4 and Tech TV all of our favorite Tech TV celebs and shows have been getting the axe.. including programs that had been with us since the dawn of ZDTV! (Remember those days?) When I first heard of Comcast / G4 buying out Tech TV the first thing I thought is "uh oh.. Unscrewed is toast..." but alas they fooled us and lulled us all into a false sense of security. And now, just after Laura, Marty, Joey, & the crew moved from San Francisco to LA, evil G4 pulls out the rug from under us all. My dad and I are long time fans of Marty's.. back from his Screen Saver days til now and we've literally seen EVERY episode of Unscrewed. Living in the LA area, we attended the last show taping.. as well as hung out w/ the gang at the bar after the show. This thread's purpose is to share that experience with all you loyal fans who deserve to hear about Unscrewed's sunset.. as well as to clear up a few things other threads on this forum were questioning.
First the sad answer to the main question: Yes Unscrewed has been cancelled by the evil G4 empire. There was some speculation because not much 'proof' was delivered other than moblog pics.. but it's true. Some of you may have read another thread of ours about Laura Swisher being interviewed for and appearing in the pages of Draculina magazine which we write for. We wanted to do the story up big, lending lots of publicity for the show but the G4 publicist continued to decline our request (despite the fact we'd MET Laura at a taping and she said she was interested) stating that G4 couldn't appear in a publication which had mild nudity... (uh.. Girls Gone Wired.. cam whores.. etc etc..?!?!) Now we find out the real truth why G4 didn't want any publicity for the show. When I spoke to Laura last night at the show taping about all of this she informed me that she wasn't even told that we'd contacted the publicist to pursue the interview and wasn't aware that we'd been told no. It seems G4 had Unscrewed's death warrant planned out. We wanted to thank all of you fellow members of the Unscrewed Army for your posts, votes, emails, and support. I talked to Laura and informed her that the story could still be done on HER as opposed to plugging G4 and she said she will be contacting me... so it may still be in the works. All you Swish fans, keep your fingers crossed!
Now onto the taping of the last show and the send off at the bar after. Everyone at the last show taping was informed that 'it was going to be a very special show' but the G4 crew still never let the cat out of the bag that the show had been canned. A small number of us had heard and knew already, but for the most part they were playing dumb. It was announced that the G4 dignitaries would be in the studio (whoopty friggin doo) and many Tech TV (and G4) personalities participated as members of the studio audience including Kevin, Sarah, Dan (Foo), Alex, Yoshi, etc. The show began as normal but there was definitely something in the air.. and that was validated by Marty's many on camera inside bitter jokes and cutting cracks aimed directly at G4. (We Love You Marty!) It was expressed to us later that evening by some crew and Joey that it was almost 99% definite that this episode will NEVER see the light of day and will not be aired on G4 because of all of the anti-G4 cracks, innuendos, bitter-ness, and strong language. Thus, the last episode, which explains it's demise in the Unscrewed fashion, may never be seen... so let me take this opportunity to tell you about it... CAUTION: Spoilers below in bold!
Marty opened the show with a G4 audience jab "Helloooo Gamers!" in a slightly high sarcastic voice. (This is not to say there's anything wrong with gamers or gaming but unfortunately G4 has decided to overtake the tech / computer side of Tech TV with gaming.. thus dividing the tech culture and pitting techies against gamers. Sad really...) From the very opening of the show to the end there was assorted inside jokes and jabs at G4 from Marty's innuendos of lowly third tier cable studios which are destined to be shut down and go dark to mentions of how he should steal a printer as a 'momento' from the show. But the king of slams came at the high crest of the show.. the finale where Marty said his goodbye. During the last segment of the show, following one of their long running gags, Marty made a call to celebrity Michael Cain. During this call 'Michael Cain' stated that he's noticed that Unscrewed hasn't been as good since the change to G4 occurred and that they don't seem to be having as much fun as they used to. (At this slam we started cheering, hooting, and hollering in the audience for the pro-Tech TV comment.. at which time we received the dirtiest b*tch look you could imagine from a G4 camera opperator.) Then Michael Cain suggested that Marty should leave Unscrewed and come live with him on his yacht / estate / etc. Marty asked if he could bring the Swish... then he asked if he could bring Joey the intern.. Ricky Kang... The Ambassador of Gay.. as they all made their way onto set behind Marty. As Michael Cain said "SURE" Marty bid farewell to the Unscrewed Army and said he was off to live in luxury with Michael Cain... during this process he gave a heart felt thank you, salute, and a long sincere look into the camera as he bid farewell to all of us who loved the show so...
The end of the show was very climatic and very emotional... such a shame that the rumor is it'll never be seen. Thus the finale of Unscrewed came to an end and filming was wrapped. Marty came forth and thanked the audience for coming and for all their support. Everyone filtered out as Marty and Laura stuck around to meet everyone, take pics, and sign things. Where did things go from here? Well.. when he said "see you at the bar..." he really did mean it. The Unscrewed cast & crew met up at a bar (as they did nightly) for a little after-drink.. needless to say last night was a little bit more special and a bigger deal than usual.
We made our way to the bar where we were welcomed by everyone we'd met from the Unscrewed battalion. Everyone was great and there was many emotions running rampant varying from sadness to bitterness. We spent most of the night talking to Joey and Marty... who both ROCK. All that can be said is, as a fan of Unscrewed, whatever you imagine the gang would be like at an after party... they definitely were. It was a great experience and something any fan would've enjoyed.. and in a way we felt like we were representing the Unscrewed fans by being there. Throughout the night we found out some interesting facts you guys deserve to know...
*First of all, Unscrewed was NOT cancelled due to poor ratings or low viewing numbers. It was taken off the air because that was G4's plan. They bought Tech TV simply to get it's viewership and some of it's properties. Since taking it over they've assimilated Tech TV, stripped it, stolen it's soul, and turned it into all gaming all the time.. so basically they bought Tech TV, killed it, and turned it into G4.
*This is backed up subtle changes that you could notice even around the studio. When we went to our first Unscrewed taping in LA, the sign on the door said "G4 / Tech TV Studios".. now it just reads "G4 Studios". Why you may ask? In January the station will be doing a re-launch and then will cease to be known as G4 Tech TV and will simply be G4. Yes, Tech TV, for all intensive purposes, is gone...
*In addition to Unscrewed being killed, The Screen Savers is also being altered. After today's taping of TSS, the studio will go dark until they start filming again... and when they do, TSS will be very different, if even recognizable. From what I heard they are basically merging Pulse and TSS. Many cast members from G4's Pulse will be taking a spot on the show and what hosts from the current / old school TSS will be left is debateable. I've heard Kevin and Sarah are staying.. but then again Unscrewed was supposedly in the clear too. As for anyone else, it's up in the air. Also, it was speculated from different sources that the title may be changed.
*Completing the raping and pillaging of Tech TV, while Unscrewed WAS cancelled, it is also rumored that one of G4's "new and original series" to be debuting soon will be entited "GIRLS GONE WIRED".. yes you heard right. Cancel the show it came from and then steal the segment.. really classy. :-(
Everyone from Unscrewed and Tech TV alumni are very upset at the recent happenings.. whether they still have their jobs or not. Joey was a riot at the bar and insisted that "It's not over! IT'S NOT OVER!" Marty had the same thing to say. Since Unscrewed was Marty's brain child to begin with, hopeful chances are that a similar show w/ a diff. name will be picked up by a network somewhere with Marty and his gang at the helm. We can all hope.. and of course keep rallying behind them! I'm sorry, but the highlight of the night was still when someone (who I won't divulge the name of.. but no it's probably not who you're thinking) stood up and yelled "F**k G4".. They've hurt us loyal Tech TV viewers so much that I have to agree I really couldn't have expressed a better sentiment myself. At the end of the night as we left the bar and said our final goodbyes Marty repeatedly thanked us for our loyalty, support, and for watching his show. Despite the fact that it was a joy for us (and is for most Unscrewed fans) he could not let us go without expressing his love and gratitude. Never have I met a man who seemed so sincere when it came to expressing his appreciation and his love for the show and fans... that sentiment is something that I carry with me and hopefully convey to all of you, as I'm sure he'd like to thank each and every viewer if he could've.
We can keep our fingers crossed for a bright future for Marty, Laura, Joey, and the gang... and hopefully we'll see an Unscrewed Jr. pop up on some station somewhere soon, but if not then it was a great journey and one that won't be forgotten. The sad fact is that G4 was and IS power hungry, so they simply bought Tech TV to get what it could out of it.. and in the process stole OUR station. They've assimilated it into one big station with all gaming all the time.. and honestly where would gaming be without computers today? There has to be some kind of balance.. but that doesn't seem to register with them. In their corporate money grubbing scheme of things, all their seeing is dollar signs as some 30 - 40 year old station heads in stuffy suits try to guess what the youth of America wants... which in itself is narrow minded because Tech TV served ALL ages, while G4's demographic is ages 13 to mid-30s... even station veteran Leo LaPorte who we all knew and loved was let go because he wasn't young and trendy enough. What a bunch of bunk. In conclusion, if you're a gamer and you want all gaming, all the time, and no tech.. then welcome to your mecca.. but if you're a veteran Tech TV fan, love the tech side of it all, or are into PC's or aspects of the tech world OTHER than just video games then you might as well leave this site now because G4 doesn't want us around anymore... I know that my family for one is a household they won't have to worry about entertaining with their station anymore.
As the night ended and we drove away to remembrances of Joey & Marty's pledges "It's not over" we felt a little better and filled with some hope.. I hope so guys.. I hope so!
RIP Unscrewed.. and really, RIP Tech TV!
Comment why don't ya?
samureye@gmail.com
From:Wicked-Kitty
I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Ok, well that's not true.... the sad fact of the matter is that since this merger, or more appropiately deemed "conglomerate corporate buy out" between G4 and Tech TV all of our favorite Tech TV celebs and shows have been getting the axe.. including programs that had been with us since the dawn of ZDTV! (Remember those days?) When I first heard of Comcast / G4 buying out Tech TV the first thing I thought is "uh oh.. Unscrewed is toast..." but alas they fooled us and lulled us all into a false sense of security. And now, just after Laura, Marty, Joey, & the crew moved from San Francisco to LA, evil G4 pulls out the rug from under us all. My dad and I are long time fans of Marty's.. back from his Screen Saver days til now and we've literally seen EVERY episode of Unscrewed. Living in the LA area, we attended the last show taping.. as well as hung out w/ the gang at the bar after the show. This thread's purpose is to share that experience with all you loyal fans who deserve to hear about Unscrewed's sunset.. as well as to clear up a few things other threads on this forum were questioning.
First the sad answer to the main question: Yes Unscrewed has been cancelled by the evil G4 empire. There was some speculation because not much 'proof' was delivered other than moblog pics.. but it's true. Some of you may have read another thread of ours about Laura Swisher being interviewed for and appearing in the pages of Draculina magazine which we write for. We wanted to do the story up big, lending lots of publicity for the show but the G4 publicist continued to decline our request (despite the fact we'd MET Laura at a taping and she said she was interested) stating that G4 couldn't appear in a publication which had mild nudity... (uh.. Girls Gone Wired.. cam whores.. etc etc..?!?!) Now we find out the real truth why G4 didn't want any publicity for the show. When I spoke to Laura last night at the show taping about all of this she informed me that she wasn't even told that we'd contacted the publicist to pursue the interview and wasn't aware that we'd been told no. It seems G4 had Unscrewed's death warrant planned out. We wanted to thank all of you fellow members of the Unscrewed Army for your posts, votes, emails, and support. I talked to Laura and informed her that the story could still be done on HER as opposed to plugging G4 and she said she will be contacting me... so it may still be in the works. All you Swish fans, keep your fingers crossed!
Now onto the taping of the last show and the send off at the bar after. Everyone at the last show taping was informed that 'it was going to be a very special show' but the G4 crew still never let the cat out of the bag that the show had been canned. A small number of us had heard and knew already, but for the most part they were playing dumb. It was announced that the G4 dignitaries would be in the studio (whoopty friggin doo) and many Tech TV (and G4) personalities participated as members of the studio audience including Kevin, Sarah, Dan (Foo), Alex, Yoshi, etc. The show began as normal but there was definitely something in the air.. and that was validated by Marty's many on camera inside bitter jokes and cutting cracks aimed directly at G4. (We Love You Marty!) It was expressed to us later that evening by some crew and Joey that it was almost 99% definite that this episode will NEVER see the light of day and will not be aired on G4 because of all of the anti-G4 cracks, innuendos, bitter-ness, and strong language. Thus, the last episode, which explains it's demise in the Unscrewed fashion, may never be seen... so let me take this opportunity to tell you about it... CAUTION: Spoilers below in bold!
Marty opened the show with a G4 audience jab "Helloooo Gamers!" in a slightly high sarcastic voice. (This is not to say there's anything wrong with gamers or gaming but unfortunately G4 has decided to overtake the tech / computer side of Tech TV with gaming.. thus dividing the tech culture and pitting techies against gamers. Sad really...) From the very opening of the show to the end there was assorted inside jokes and jabs at G4 from Marty's innuendos of lowly third tier cable studios which are destined to be shut down and go dark to mentions of how he should steal a printer as a 'momento' from the show. But the king of slams came at the high crest of the show.. the finale where Marty said his goodbye. During the last segment of the show, following one of their long running gags, Marty made a call to celebrity Michael Cain. During this call 'Michael Cain' stated that he's noticed that Unscrewed hasn't been as good since the change to G4 occurred and that they don't seem to be having as much fun as they used to. (At this slam we started cheering, hooting, and hollering in the audience for the pro-Tech TV comment.. at which time we received the dirtiest b*tch look you could imagine from a G4 camera opperator.) Then Michael Cain suggested that Marty should leave Unscrewed and come live with him on his yacht / estate / etc. Marty asked if he could bring the Swish... then he asked if he could bring Joey the intern.. Ricky Kang... The Ambassador of Gay.. as they all made their way onto set behind Marty. As Michael Cain said "SURE" Marty bid farewell to the Unscrewed Army and said he was off to live in luxury with Michael Cain... during this process he gave a heart felt thank you, salute, and a long sincere look into the camera as he bid farewell to all of us who loved the show so...
The end of the show was very climatic and very emotional... such a shame that the rumor is it'll never be seen. Thus the finale of Unscrewed came to an end and filming was wrapped. Marty came forth and thanked the audience for coming and for all their support. Everyone filtered out as Marty and Laura stuck around to meet everyone, take pics, and sign things. Where did things go from here? Well.. when he said "see you at the bar..." he really did mean it. The Unscrewed cast & crew met up at a bar (as they did nightly) for a little after-drink.. needless to say last night was a little bit more special and a bigger deal than usual.
We made our way to the bar where we were welcomed by everyone we'd met from the Unscrewed battalion. Everyone was great and there was many emotions running rampant varying from sadness to bitterness. We spent most of the night talking to Joey and Marty... who both ROCK. All that can be said is, as a fan of Unscrewed, whatever you imagine the gang would be like at an after party... they definitely were. It was a great experience and something any fan would've enjoyed.. and in a way we felt like we were representing the Unscrewed fans by being there. Throughout the night we found out some interesting facts you guys deserve to know...
*First of all, Unscrewed was NOT cancelled due to poor ratings or low viewing numbers. It was taken off the air because that was G4's plan. They bought Tech TV simply to get it's viewership and some of it's properties. Since taking it over they've assimilated Tech TV, stripped it, stolen it's soul, and turned it into all gaming all the time.. so basically they bought Tech TV, killed it, and turned it into G4.
*This is backed up subtle changes that you could notice even around the studio. When we went to our first Unscrewed taping in LA, the sign on the door said "G4 / Tech TV Studios".. now it just reads "G4 Studios". Why you may ask? In January the station will be doing a re-launch and then will cease to be known as G4 Tech TV and will simply be G4. Yes, Tech TV, for all intensive purposes, is gone...
*In addition to Unscrewed being killed, The Screen Savers is also being altered. After today's taping of TSS, the studio will go dark until they start filming again... and when they do, TSS will be very different, if even recognizable. From what I heard they are basically merging Pulse and TSS. Many cast members from G4's Pulse will be taking a spot on the show and what hosts from the current / old school TSS will be left is debateable. I've heard Kevin and Sarah are staying.. but then again Unscrewed was supposedly in the clear too. As for anyone else, it's up in the air. Also, it was speculated from different sources that the title may be changed.
*Completing the raping and pillaging of Tech TV, while Unscrewed WAS cancelled, it is also rumored that one of G4's "new and original series" to be debuting soon will be entited "GIRLS GONE WIRED".. yes you heard right. Cancel the show it came from and then steal the segment.. really classy. :-(
Everyone from Unscrewed and Tech TV alumni are very upset at the recent happenings.. whether they still have their jobs or not. Joey was a riot at the bar and insisted that "It's not over! IT'S NOT OVER!" Marty had the same thing to say. Since Unscrewed was Marty's brain child to begin with, hopeful chances are that a similar show w/ a diff. name will be picked up by a network somewhere with Marty and his gang at the helm. We can all hope.. and of course keep rallying behind them! I'm sorry, but the highlight of the night was still when someone (who I won't divulge the name of.. but no it's probably not who you're thinking) stood up and yelled "F**k G4".. They've hurt us loyal Tech TV viewers so much that I have to agree I really couldn't have expressed a better sentiment myself. At the end of the night as we left the bar and said our final goodbyes Marty repeatedly thanked us for our loyalty, support, and for watching his show. Despite the fact that it was a joy for us (and is for most Unscrewed fans) he could not let us go without expressing his love and gratitude. Never have I met a man who seemed so sincere when it came to expressing his appreciation and his love for the show and fans... that sentiment is something that I carry with me and hopefully convey to all of you, as I'm sure he'd like to thank each and every viewer if he could've.
We can keep our fingers crossed for a bright future for Marty, Laura, Joey, and the gang... and hopefully we'll see an Unscrewed Jr. pop up on some station somewhere soon, but if not then it was a great journey and one that won't be forgotten. The sad fact is that G4 was and IS power hungry, so they simply bought Tech TV to get what it could out of it.. and in the process stole OUR station. They've assimilated it into one big station with all gaming all the time.. and honestly where would gaming be without computers today? There has to be some kind of balance.. but that doesn't seem to register with them. In their corporate money grubbing scheme of things, all their seeing is dollar signs as some 30 - 40 year old station heads in stuffy suits try to guess what the youth of America wants... which in itself is narrow minded because Tech TV served ALL ages, while G4's demographic is ages 13 to mid-30s... even station veteran Leo LaPorte who we all knew and loved was let go because he wasn't young and trendy enough. What a bunch of bunk. In conclusion, if you're a gamer and you want all gaming, all the time, and no tech.. then welcome to your mecca.. but if you're a veteran Tech TV fan, love the tech side of it all, or are into PC's or aspects of the tech world OTHER than just video games then you might as well leave this site now because G4 doesn't want us around anymore... I know that my family for one is a household they won't have to worry about entertaining with their station anymore.
As the night ended and we drove away to remembrances of Joey & Marty's pledges "It's not over" we felt a little better and filled with some hope.. I hope so guys.. I hope so!
RIP Unscrewed.. and really, RIP Tech TV!
Comment why don't ya?
samureye@gmail.com
posted by samureye at 11:05 AM
8 Comments:
OMG.....you said that so beautifully at the end! f*** g4....."its not over, its not over" it will be a cold day in hell before i let this happen...some one will take these shows who have been so rudely cast out, and take them under thier wing.. g4 won't, they won't take over the tech world...no matter what unscrewed will never die...it will live on in our memories. and that is enough to get it back on its feet. lets pray for TSS
Yeah...
Posted by samureye
aaaaaaah i hate g4 they stoped techtv showing in australia
Posted by adz999
i came on to the web to look for what happened to unscrewed, i mean it simply vanished. I came across this article and uncovered the truth and all my questions were answered. This is a great article and i wish all techtv people could see it as it explains the systematic elimination of everything we loved about techtv and it's replacement of recycled junk such as judgement day and gvtv.com. Screw g4 and lets hope for the best fo x-play, other then that there is really no reason to watch anymore.
Posted by kevinh
Well said. Thanks for a wonderful (and sad) peek behind the scenes. I'm glad a real fan was there. It made me feel like I was, too.
These things always come down to money. The good news is: there is still money to be made with tech shows and Marty's particular (and peculiar) sense of humor. He's a smart guy and he will figure out a way to re-think, re-tool and re-emerge with something new, better and playing to an even wider audience. And we will be there to spread the word in a viral campaign to put him back on top! (Read "The Tipping Point" by Malcom Gladwell for some pointers on starting trends/social epidemics!) To quote John Belushi in Animal House, "It's not over until WE say it is!"
If anyone knows if Marty has his own website, maybe you can post the URL here. That way, he can stay in touch with his fan base and let us know how we can help.
Let's do it!
OMG i am soo thankfull i got some copys of the last couple of G4 less shows of unscrewed and TSS
freaking comcast was just jelouse of Techtv doing better then thier stupid G4 channle who in the right mind would want to watch portland cinatac swat and those other shittty shows
Almost a year later, i am still insanely mad about the demise of my favorite channels and shows. News of a Martin Sargent show is out now, Martin said that it has been sent to comedy central, and they will hopefully decide to take it. There arent words powerful enough to express my hatred for g4, and my sorrow for the greatest tv channel in history, Tech TV.
--Cory
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