Channel 101 is a short film festival (usually monthly) in Los Angeles created by Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab where participants submit a short film in the format of a pilot under five minutes in length. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West Dan Harmon is a writer and performer and along with Rob Schrab, a founder of the alternative Television network/ Website Channel 101. Rob Schrab (pronounced Shrob ( November 12, 1969) is a Comic book creator Actor, writer and film producer A television pilot is a test episode of an intended Television series. The event is structured such that the audience controls what is shown and which film-makers return for the next screening in much the same way TV programs are rated and managed. According to the Channel 101 website, “Channel 101 is a chance to sit in the worn-out chair of the fat network exec, drunk on the blood of lowly artists whose right to exist is given in exchange for their ability to nourish. . . You run the network. You pick the programming. ” [1]
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Concept
Roughly every month, a screening for Channel 101 occurs at the Cinespace theater in Los Angeles, with (usually) ten shorts being screened. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West At the screening, the audience votes on which shows they would like to see return. The top five shows are entered into the “prime time” slots on the Channel 101 website, and get to make a follow-up episode for the next screening. This process continues with new “episodes” being shown at each screening until one fails to make the top five, at which point the series is “cancelled. ” Some successful shows also can choose to be voluntarily be cancelled, (The first to do so being Timebelt), making one last unvoted episode. Shows that fail to make the prime time spot are known as “failed pilots. ” An added benefit of having a prime time series is that prime time directors are part of the panel that decides which five new pilots will be shown alongside the five established shows from the previous screening. Shows that fail to make the screenings are known as “rejected pilots. ” Each calendar year of the festival is referred to as a “season,” comprising of 10 screenings, due to there being no December screening, plus month break “to allow the creators to rest” between spring/summer and the November screening, which is the yearly awards show (The Incredibly Prestigious Achievement Award or “Channy,” so named as a parody of Emmy).
Other rules have been tried out, most notably the “Chauncey” (named after director Chris Chauncey, the first to invoke the rule), wherein a director could overrule the voting panel and force their pilot to be screened, but the audience had the option of stopping the film at any time. Introduced in October 2003, it was done away with in November 2005 due to the popularity of the festival making it difficult for the honor system to be viable. [2] Only one Chauncey ever made prime time (Dick Richards: Private Dick).
History
The idea for Channel 101 began in 2001, when Schrab invited several friends over for a screening of Jaws 4, but challenged them to bring a short film predicting what would happen in the movie. Jaws The Revenge (aka Jaws 4 is a 1987 horror &ndash Thriller film directed by Joseph Sargent. [3] In 2002, three more short film challenges were issued, but the group of viewers outgrew Schrab’s living room. Instead, the screening was moved to the backroom of an LA nightclub. Additionally, friends of friends of the filmmakers were beginning to ask what this “festival” was called and how they could enter. In 2003, Schrab and Harmon named their creation the Super Midnight Movie Show and decided on a monthly screening and a five minute format. However, they quickly realized that once the show started growing, it would only be a matter of time before a large number of low-quality submissions were entered, and filmmakers would need to be turned away for time constraints. They decided to adopt a TV network-like ratings model where the audience votes on which films they like, and popular filmmakers were allowed to screen more films accordingly. In 2004, a pilot for a reality show about Channel 101 and its filmmakers was shopped to FX Networks, but was eventually passed on. FX (for Fox eXtended is the name of a number of related subscription TV channels owned by News Corporation 's Fox Entertainment Group. [4] A sketch comedy show based on the format of Channel 101 and executive-produced by Harmon and Schrab that recently aired on VH1. VH1 (known as VH-1 Video Hits One from 1985 to 1994 and VH1 Music First until 2003) is an American Cable television [5] The show is called Acceptable.TV and it began airing 23 March 2007. AcceptableTV was a television program from the makers of Channel 101 that first aired on VH1 on March 23rd 2007 [6]
The success of Channel 101 has inspired a similar film festival in New York, Channel 102. The City of New York Channel 102 is a monthly live screening of five-minute-long "TV shows" in New York City, created by Tony Carnevale with the blessings of Dan Harmon and
Notable Shows
- Classroom—Longest-running prime time show (13 episodes total); parody of after-school specials
- Chad Vader—A popular video series that was created for Channel 101, but was cancelled after only two episodes. Chad Vader is a Fan film series by Blame Society Productions that has gained popularity on the Internet, particularly through viewings on YouTube and The creators, Matt Sloan and Aaron Yonda, went on to continue the series, and it became an extremely popular series on youtube where it was "featured" multiple times.
- The ’Bu—Second-longest-running prime time show (11 episodes); also known for being filmed with new casts and crew for the last three episodes. The show was created by The Lonely Island.
- Computerman—Starring Jack Black as a cross-breed of a man’s DNA and his home computer. Computerman are a four piece indie Synthpop band from Nottingham although they are often referred to as a Leicester band due to two members heralding from rural Thomas Jack Black Jr (born August 28 1969 is an American Actor, Comedian and Musician. Deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA) is a Nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known
- Call Me Cobra—Starring Drew Carey, a show about a man who is mistaken for a professional killer, but takes the job for the money. Drew Allison Carey (born May 23 1958 is an American Comedian, Actor and Game show host.
- House of Cosbys—About a man who clones Bill Cosby several times over. House of Cosbys was an animated cartoon about a Bill Cosby fan who creates a cloning machine to clone a series of Cosbys each with a different personality
- Laser Fart—Long-running series starring Dan Harmon, noted for guest-starring Jack Black. Thomas Jack Black Jr (born August 28 1969 is an American Actor, Comedian and Musician.
- Timebelt—Previously held the record for longest-running prime-time show; the show was an homage to Quantum Leap and guest-starred Paget Brewster. Quantum Leap is an American science fiction television series that ran for 96 episodes from March 1989 to May 1993 on the NBC network Paget Brewster (born March 10, 1969 in Concord, Massachusetts) is an Actress who appeared in the short-lived Comedy series The show was created by Chris Tallman. Chris Tallman (September 22 1970 is an American actor that hosted the show Crossballs.
- Kicked in the Nuts!—Starring Family Guy writer/co-star Mike Henry (television writer/producer). Kicked in the Nuts was created in August 2003 for the Channel 101 short film festival as a spoof of hidden camera shows Family Guy is an animated American television sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane that airs on Fox and regularly on other For the American football player and actor see Mike Henry. Mike "Bear" Henry (born March 25, 1964) is an A Candid Camera parody that consists of an orange-haired man kicking men in the testicles, later to their delight when he tells them that they are on TV. Candid Camera was a Television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on Radio as Candid Microphone The testicle (from Latin testiculus, diminutive of testis, meaning "witness" virility plural testes) is the male Made reference to on the Family Guy episode “The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire. ”
- Yacht Rock—Credited for launching a revival of “smooth music” in popular culture. Yacht Rock was an online video series following the Fictionalized lives and careers of American Soft rock stars of the late 1970s and early 1980s
- Channel 101: The Musical—Fully orchestrated Broadway style musical featuring Sarah Silverman and Happy Days' Donny Most. Sarah Kate Silverman (born December 1 1970 is an Emmy -winning American Comedian, Writer, Singer, Guitarist, and
- Most Extraordinary Space Investigations—Starring Dan Harmon, Sevan Najarian, Justin Roiland and Sarah Silverman. Sarah Kate Silverman (born December 1 1970 is an Emmy -winning American Comedian, Writer, Singer, Guitarist, and Noted for intentional mistakes, and purposely performing notable errors.
- Twigger's Holiday—Colorful Musical about a kid growing up. Starring Rob Schrab. Rob Schrab (pronounced Shrob ( November 12, 1969) is a Comic book creator Actor, writer and film producer
- Shitbuster—Holds the record for most downloaded failed pilot.
- The Jogger—Cancelled pilot about a jogger solving problems, it garned praise for the choreography and was later featured in Entertainment Weekly. Entertainment Weekly (sometimes abbreviated as EW) is a Magazine published by Time Inc The show later had its rights picked up by a production company. [7]
- The Wright Stuff—Starring Ethan Phillips as President Teddy Roosevelt. Ethan Phillips (born February 8, 1955) is an American Actor, Playwright and Author. Created by Ford Austin & Scott Ingalls. Became the highest budgeted Channel 101 series at $5000 per episode.
- I Love Vaginas—The creators, at age 14, were the youngest ever to make it to the Channel 101 screening.
- The Serious Businessman—This show’s challenge to its rejection by the voting panel created the “Chauncey” system.
- Sockbaby—Zero-budget martial arts from Doug TenNapel, the creator of Earthworm Jim. Sockbaby is a four-part no-budget Short film directed by Douglas TenNapel, the man best known for works such as Earthworm Jim Douglas TenNapel is an American Musician, Animator, Eisner Award -winning Artist and Film maker. Earthworm Jim is a Run and gun platform Video game starring an Earthworm named Jim in a Robotic suit who battles
- Cautionary Tales of Swords—Trip Fisk (Michael Ashe) tries warning the world of the dangers of sword ownership, and later, decides to fight the problem himself. Created by Drew Hancock.
Notable Personalities
- Jack Black: Computerman, Timebelt, Laserfart, Exposure
- Drew Carey: Call Me Cobra, Yacht Rock
- Sarah Chalke: The ’Bu
- Jeff Davis: Laserfart, House of Cosbys, Ultraforce
- Flavor Flav: Six Months to Live
- Kato Kaelin: Call Me Cobra
- Jason Lee: Yacht Rock
- Bob Odenkirk: Your Magic Touched Me: Nights
- Sarah Silverman: MESI, Channel 101: The Musical
- David Faustino: Skateboardpunks, The Amazing Christopher
- Ethan Phillips: The Wright Stuff
- The Lonely Island: The ’Bu, ITV Countdown
- Jimmy Kimmel: MESI
- Paget Brewster: Time Belt
- Chris Tallman: Timebelt, The Wright Stuff
- Donny Most: Channel 101: The Musical
See also
External links
- Channel 101
- Reel Chicago—Profile of Channel 101
- The Guardian—The Kings of Dot-Comedy by Stuart McGurk
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