The Lab with Leo Laporte
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Categories: Articles lacking sources from July 2007 | All articles lacking sources | Non-fiction television series | Citytv network shows | TechTV | 2007 Canadian television series debuts | Documentary television series in Canada
The Lab with Leo Laporte was a technology-based television program hosted by Leo Laporte. Episode #1 debuted on April 23 2007 on G4techTV Canada and HOW TO Channel Australia. The program was produced by Greedy Productions in Vancouver, Canada. Production was overseen by the show's producer(s), Matt Harris (ep.1-180) and Marc Lefebvre (ep. 181-195). The show aired on Citytv affiliates after Rogers Media acquired control of the stations, and episode segments were also posted to Google Video several weeks after initial airing.
HistoryOn November 25, 2006, Leo Laporte announced on his KFI radio show that production of Call for Help would move to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Rogers Communications, the owner of G4techTV Canada, contracted with Greedy Productions to produce the show. Laporte also announced that the show would be renamed The Lab with Leo Laporteand would be recorded in 16:9 High Definition (HD). The primary reason for choosing The Lab name over the original Call for Help was with the constraints of the branding contract. The Call for Help name is property of G4/Comcast and is licensed under agreement. The name change eliminated the need for an affiliation licensing agreement. Laporte traveled to Vancouver from his home in Petaluma, California monthly to record 15 episodes of the show. Episodes were typically recorded from Tuesday through Friday of the four-day "shoot week." Four shows were recorded live to Blu-Ray disc Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday; three episodes were recorded on Friday. One goal of recording in HD was to attract a U.S.-based distributor; however, a U.S.-based distributor was never found. On March 6th, 2008, Leo Laporte announced on net@Nite #46 and via Twitter.com that Rogers had canceled The Lab after 195 episodes. He announced that as a result, he would be "ramping up video production from TWiT now."[1] SegmentsThe show focused on answering viewers' technology related questions that had been submitted via the show's website. During each show, as many as four callers asked Laporte for solutions, on-air, to their technology questions. Questions were chosen by Laporte in advance of show taping, and callers appeared on the show via telephone (audio) and via Skype (video) simultaneously. Kate Abraham, call coordinator (ep.1-180), scheduled the callers and introduced them to Laporte during the show; Abraham also appeared in several segments throughout the show's run. Briana Mcivor replaced Abraham as the call coordinator for episodes 181-195. The Lab also featured guests who presented technology products and technology tips, demonstrated software, and discussed technology issues, such as Internet security, with Laporte. Among the regular guests on The Lab were tech personalities Steve Gibson, Alex Lindsay, Chris Pirillo, and Andy Walker. Walker, along with Amber MacArthur, was Laporte's co-host on the Toronto-based Call for Help; Pirillo was the show's host for part of its earlier U.S.-based run. Members of Vancouver's technology community, such as Rick Yaeger and Kris Krug, became regular guests on The Lab. Each show also included a number of regular features. Yewell's Jewels was a free-file segment presented by chase producer, Ryan Yewell. The featured files included utilities, productivity tools, and entertainment software. Yewell also scheduled the guests that appeared on the show. Another regular feature was What the Tech? which served as a transition into and out of one of the show's commercial breaks. What the Tech? invited viewers to identify the subject of a close-up photograph of technology. Content producer Sean Carruthers created the segment and took the photographs used. Carruthers was also an on-air presence whom Laporte queried for additional suggestions regarding caller questions. In addition, Carruthers developed a regular segment entitled Sean's Shinies during which he demonstrated an interesting/unique tech product. Another feature that served as a commercial transition was the Quick Quiz Question, a multiple-choice technology trivia game that occasionally had errors that made it to air. References
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