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| Tom Green's House Tonight | |
|---|---|
| Format | Internet Talk show |
| Created by | Tom Green |
| Starring | Tom Green |
| Country of origin | USA |
| No. of episodes | 176 as of January 8, 2008 |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera setup |
| Running time | approx. 60 minutes to 90 minutes. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | tomgreen.com |
| Original run | June 15, 2006 – present |
Tom Green's House Tonight (formerly known as Tom Green Live!) is an Internet-based talk show hosted by Tom Green. In addition to its primary broadcast on TomGreen.com, the show was syndicated on television stations throughout North America.
Beginning as a partnership between Green and ManiaTV! (who financed the majority of the show), the webcast is mostly spontaneous with a reliance on celebrity guests and viewer interaction via Skype calls, phone calls and instant messages. The show is set inside Green's living room, where a fully functional low-budget studio has been constructed. Early shows often included technical issues with the phone system, computers, streaming and audio. Many viewers found Green's reactions to the technical problems to be entertaining as opposed to a hindrance to the show. Green's regular outbursts towards his off camera staff have become a running joke. Despite Green's serious talk-show demeanor, the majority of on-air calls tend to be pranks, with the resultant interactions between Green and the callers creating a form of bathos that attracts many viewers.
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Web-O-Vision
While it is not the first Internet show, Tom Green's House Tonight may be the first Internet call-in talk show, and Green frequently cites this as an innovation. With little reliance on advertisement funding, his show is similar to public access television, and he often refers to it by a word he coined: Web-O-Vision. It has very few content restrictions, such as a ban on swearing, nudity or drinking, although Green often discourages talk about politics. The relaxed and unrestricted nature of the show, along with the fact they are in Green's own home, often leads to a very natural and open style of interview rarely found on other talk shows.[1] The lack of censorship leaves the show open to prank calls, with racist comments regularly causing Green to stop taking any further telephone calls.
The show previously aired live Monday to Friday for one hour, occasionally going over the hour. At present the show does not adhere to a set schedule. At any time Green can spontaneously go on the air by literally flipping a switch on a remote control which turns on all of the lights and cameras, hits record and sends out the feed to TomGreen.com. Most shows can be viewed in the On Demand sections of TomGreen.com. The total number of video views have reached up to 38 million downloads per month and single episodes have reached up to 2.7 million views.[2]
The Channel
Tom Green refers to his website as The Channel. The output of The Channel is not limited to Tom Green's House Tonight. Other shows on The Channel include Poolside Chats (talk show hosted by comedian Neil Hamburger) which is filmed at Green's house, Leonard Mills Live (Green in character playing guitar and singing, often about ridiculous subjects), YouTube Special (Green playing a selection of videos from YouTube) and The Tom and Larry Show (Green and his foul-mouthed ventriloquist dummy). Past shows have included The Robert Kurtz Show (former producer Robert Kurtz searching the internet for funny or shocking content with the help of viewers who call in and send links), Mysteries from Beyond the Other Dominion (an insight into bizarre stories and scientific discoveries hosted by Dr. Franklin Ruehl) and Girl Talk Live (women talking about various subjects and providing advice to callers). On Friday nights The Channel often aired a Freestyle Friday (featuring live music, a large number of guests and a party atmosphere). More recently either a Casual Friday (Green, with no guest at his house, instead interacts with viewers) or an episode of Tom Green's House Tonight is aired on a Friday night.
Shows appearing on The Channel can vary significantly in length and can last for many hours. The longest show was broadcast live during Green's 38th birthday party and lasted for over six hours. On occasions, Green has slept with a live camera on him all night, which is also the practice of more than a few lifecasters. The Channel broadcasts a video stream to the internet 24/7. Between live shows the feed either switches to a security camera within Green's living room, a selection of clips from previous episodes, or a test card consisting of the Tom Green's House Tonight title screen.
In addition to broadcasts from inside the studio, Green frequently posts footage filmed around Hollywood and Los Angeles, including video recorded with his camera phone. Green sometimes takes a video camera with him when taking a break from The Channel and posts pre-recorded clips such as his visits to Costa Rica and New York. He once showed his surgery after a skateboarding accident. In 2008 The Channel embarked on its first road trip across the west coast of America. Green and his team travelled in an RV that had been equipped to allow cameras to be set up in remote locations whilst broadcasting a live video stream using wireless technology. A fixed camera located behind the front windscreen of the RV enabled viewers to follow along with the journey. Green's first ever world stand-up comedy tour is being planned for 2010.
Samsung was the show's first sponsor, advertising the Samsung Upstage phone. Budweiser became the next sponsor, with Bud Light commercials being shown before each show. Product placement was also used as bottles of Bud Light would be provided for Green's guests during every show and bottles could be seen in Green's fridge.
The show is streamed by BitGravity which is a Content Delivery Network. BitGravity CEO Perry Wu has been interviewed on the show, denoting a strong partnership with the company. NewTek provide much of the video switching equipment.[3]
Television Syndication
In August 2007, Green announced he had split from ManiaTV, which necessitated upgrades to the equipment and technology used to produce and stream the show.
With the upgrades complete, Green launched the all-new TomGreen.com on September 27, 2007 with the help of current producer Victor Borachuk, before leaving for Canada to film for the movie Freezer Burn: The Invasion of Laxdale.
The new site showcases technology by far eclipsing what had been in place before, such as full 16:9 video, live Flash video streaming, and video/audio/text communication with viewers without screening people ahead of time. The show went on to win the TV Guide award for “Best Web Talk Show”.
After several hints by Green that a new partnership would lead to Tom Green Live! being broadcast on television as well as the Internet, in October 2007 Broadcasting & Cable announced the show's January 2008 expansion to TV syndication in a deal with Debmar-Mercury. [4]
To coincide with the television debut Tom Green Live! was renamed Tom Green's House Tonight. As of January 7, 2008 the show appeared in a pared-down version on conventional TV on The Comedy Network. On 6 May 2008 the show was announced as the winner of a Webby Award for "Best Variety Show" in the Online Film and Video category. The show ran on television for two seasons before Green decided to stop syndication, primarily due to dissatisfaction towards his loss of creative control.
Membership Service
On March 11, 2009 a new membership service was launched to provide funding for The Channel. Subscribers to the service receive access to the full video archive and can view exclusive 'members only' live shows. Green's intention is for viewer funding to allow him total creative freedom over The Channel by removing the need for financial support from TV networks and corporate sponsors. However, Green has confirmed he is talking to possible business partners for his show.
See also
- Tom Green
- List of guests on Tom Green's House Tonight
- Poolside Chats
- Webcast
- BitGravity
- LIfecasting
- Tricaster
References
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
