Thursday
Mar202008
Ten Years After
Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 7:57AM 
I have a plane ticket to Vancouver for this Monday. I was scheduled to fly there to tape Week 44 of The Lab with Leo. Except I'm not. After 645 Canadian episodes of Call for Help and The Lab, Rogers has decided to cancel the show.
It's a decision I can't help but agree with.
Our Australian affiliate, the How-To Network, had stopped running the show due to poor ratings. The Canadian ratings haven't been so hot, either. The slide began a year ago when Amber left the show. The entire staff left in January and I was left the last man standing. I'm not good with slow fades. It's time to move on.
Rogers is planning to replace it with a daily, live show which is, ironically, what Call for Help used to be, but unless I pack up and move to Canada there's no way I could host it, so we've parted ways amicably. I will always be grateful to them for keeping Call for Help alive these past four years. I have worked with many wonderful Canadians both in front of and behind the camera, many of whom will continue to be friends and partners as I segue into new ventures.
TV, like all performing arts, is full of transitions. It's graduation day over and over again. You know you'll see some people again, and you also know that others, many of whom have been close friends, will drift away never to been seen again. It's sad, but it's inevitable. Every new beginning is also the beginning of the end. I guess that's life.
There will be new shows through May; we were producing several months ahead. Repeats of both Call for Help and The Lab will continue indefinitely. Everything comes to an end except re-runs.
Call for Help launched on May 11, 1998. It was cancelled April 2004 and revived by Rogers two months later. Ten years after its birth, four years after its resurrection, and after nearly 2,000 shows, Call for Help is finally over.
Except, it's not. I'll talk about the next chapter tomorrow.
This is Call for Help the way it was meant to be - with a handsome young host (hey it was eight years ago!) and guests Martin Sargent and Andy Ihnatko.
tagged Call For Help, TV, The Lab in Blog, News
Call For Help, TV, The Lab in Blog, News
Reader Comments (176)
I hope this leads to the expansion of video for some of the Twit programming. I wonder what Leo exactly has in store for us.
Its sad.. But the sadness fades away as TWIT LIVE is coming !...
Leo your show - and you - were both pioneers - you stayed on in one form or fashion for a great deal longer than some well-known, prime-time, national network dramas.
You're to be congratulated. It was groundbreaking work that influenced those of us who now follow in your footsteps and who are lucky enough to work with you.
Leo, congrats on the good run. Keep up the great work with TWiT - you're certainly one of the leaders.
Wow, that's so sad, yet satisfying/rewarding as well to know that you were apart of a great staff! I'm excited to see what's in store for you next in the television world!
I was a huge fan back in the TechTV days. While I haven't seen the show in nearly 4 years, it is sad to see another part of tech history die. But you guys at TWiT and those at Revision3 have done a killer job at almost reviving the old days. I will follow you where ever you go mister Laporte. Lead on.
Photos! Photos! Photos! of the next step.
I've been an avid Canadian viewer for just over a year. I often found it useful to have my laptop open during the show, as I'd invariably be inspired to try something new or read up on something. The show will be missed.
It's also too bad that it's stopping now, just as you recently started showcasing various medical imaging modalities on the show -- you guys never got around to ultrasound, my particular research field. I was going to volunteer to come on and talk about it!
I cannot wait for TWiT Live! As a geek/tech nerd living in New York, I haven't seen any of the Canadian shows since G4 stopped showing Call For Help after the 12 second it picked it up. This will give everyone the opportunity to watch Leo and friends on a regular basis, regardless of where you live. That is a pleasure indeed. RIP Lab, hello the future!
Leo and the gang at The Lab,
As someone who has seen every Canadian CFH/Lab episode (thanks to the guys who maintain the torrent tracker, btw. I, too, eschew cable tv.), I just want to thank you for your work.
I continue to listen to all that comes out of TWiT HQ and am looking forward greatly to your new venture. If you produce it, I'll consume it.
And once I figure out a way to make a recurring donation, I'll be kicking in some coin, too.
Hey Leo, You know the old saw, "When one door closes anther one opens"! I think this will be a terrific opportunity! Not to mention a chance for your American horde of fans to actually WATCH you new show!!! Personally,,, can't wait! I think this is a great thing!
Thanks for all your hard work!
A fitting tribute to the once but was. Call for Help, The Screen Savers, The Lab, etc... will all continue within our fond memories.
Here's to TWiTLive \\ //_ Live Long & Prosper!
(I think I still have some of those ZDTV red cubes somewhere?)
I have signed up for audible because they are your sponsor and this news finally made me click on the recurring button for Paypal for Twit.tv because i am excited for the coming video episodes and want to help fund it.
Thanks Leo
Call for Help was always the best tech show on TV and I was really disappointed when it was canceled by G4. It's a great format and it's a shame G4 would rather show reruns of Cheaters and Cops. But it's nice to know that Leo still has a call-in show on the radio. I hope to see you in video again soon!
I'm so excited about your new show, Leo!
Hi Leo. I've been listening to you for a few years now and although I know it's hard to see something that you've put so much energy into go away, greater things are coming. I can feel it!
Keep up the great work and God bless,
David
Hi Leo -- I've watched every episode of C4H and The Lab since we had the cable put in, so I was a bit shocked when it ended so abruptly. You and the show will be missed. At least I've found a source for the eps that weren't/won't be aired here in Australia. I'll be looking out for whatever you do next. If it involves computers and tech generally, I'll be a viewer -- paying or otherwise. All the best for now -- and extend my fond regards to any others from the Lab crew you happen to see. I guess everyone's scattered to the four corners. I watch Sean and Andy's, and Ambers podcasts every week, so I hope I can add yours to my Miro soon! Cheers!
To paraphrase, old blue eyes, you did it your way!!!
Hi Leo,
It is really a shame that CFH/The Lab is canceled. Thanks to you, I have discovered very cool and helpful things in the Tech world. I think I only missed very few of your shows since 2002/2003. You made technology more human and more fun thanks to your humor and enthusiasm.
Time for me to cancel my G4Tech as I have absolutely no interest in watching endless reviews of Video games.
Take care and I hope that we will see you soon on TV.
TechTV - back in the pre-G4 days, of course - was a viewing staple in my home. Call for Help, Screen Savers, et al. were unique and wonderful shows. The way I see it, however, is that the TV shows were a great recruiting drive for current and future TWiT programming. Keep doing what you do, Leo... and we'll keep watching, listening and downloading. ;-)
The end of an era Leo
that is always sad
I personally want to thank you for all the great content over the years.
I am very excited about your new plans though,and really enjoy the interactivity with your streams and the Techguy chatroom.
Onward and upward
CFH is never really gone, it just keeps changing into different formats and media? mediums? medius? In any case, whatever and wherever the show goes, Ill be following along on my computer, my TV, my iPhone and my RSS reader.
The show is dead! Long live the show!
Whats TV? Love your podcasts Leo and thanks for pushing forward after techtv collapsed.
Sorry to hear you won't be coming back to Vancouver Leo. Call for Help/The Lab were great shows. It's hard letting go of something you love but I know you'll be happier doing your own weekly video net cast. It is the future and Twit Live is gonna kick! Thanks for keeping our appetite hungry for tech. I wish only the best for you and you're future endeavors.
Leo,
What can I say? You are a major pro in what you do. You will have new experience beside the podcasts in informing people of the benefits, uses, and the fun of technology.
I know you do that for me way back in 1998 and I will never forget it.
Again, thanks for all the info, humor, kindness, and knowledge you have shown your fans through the years.
To this day, I am your biggest fan.
peace
a