Unscrewed with Martin Sargent
Encyclopedia
Unscrewed with Martin Sargent was a late night American
television show
focusing on the comedy
of technology
. It was produced at TechTV
(later G4) and aired from May 26, 2003 to December 2004. The show was set as a traditional late night talk show
, including a couch for guests to sit during interviews, with subject matter including with unusual guests scooped up from the Internet
, Sargent's reported binge drinking
adventures, and pornography
.
The show was originally taped in San Francisco, California
at the TechTV studios but later transferred to Los Angeles
following the sale of the network
by Microsoft
co-founder Paul Allen
's Vulcan Ventures
to the Comcast
owned G4, a gaming oriented network. The executive producer
of the show was Paul Block. Much like The Screen Savers
from 2002-2004, it was taped from a studio audience. However, this show was taped in advance. At TechTV, the show normally taped two episodes on Tuesday and two on Thursday and at G4, the show normally taped one episode a day from Monday-Thursday.
Martin Sargent
served as the show's always irreverent host. Sargent's sidekick was stand-up comedian Laura Swisher
. The mislabeled Joey the Intern rounded out the triumvirate. Other regular characters featured included The Ambassador of Gay, former child star Gary Coleman
(of Diff'rent Strokes
), Big Missy (Martin's alleged girlfriend whom he met online, created and written by show writer and frequent on-air character actor Stewart Engesser), Rael of the Ralien movement who claimed the 1st false prophet under the illuminati God Amon Re till Prophet Revebo struck his balding wax to a shine. Rael was actually the script supervisor on Superman IV and arch nemesis Revebo would actually arm wrestle topics to the galactic gladiator battle such as, "What would Rael Do" , "To Be or Not To Be H.Stern", and the infamous "Podcasting or Poorcasting that spawned Gator
". Later, writer Stewart Engesser starred as the funnyman parody of real legendary actor Michael Caine
, a role he continues to play occasionally on Martin's podcast, Infected. The series often featured computer
to which Martin would share a candlelight embrace of the twilight princess of the adept LiveJournaled heroes of the nightlife known as HTML . In early episodes, the show also highlighted regulars such as Scary Gary, who showed grotesque segments such as a skin-implemented cellphone, and The Porn Mom, a stay-at-home mom character who provided segments dealing with finding quality pornography on the Internet. One of the more famous events on the show was Sargent's interview with George Ouzounian, better known as Maddox, creator of the website The Best Page in the Universe
.
Sargent officially dismissed the Unscrewed Army (a term he used in reference of the shows viewers) on the final episode of Unscrewed with Martin Sargent, which was recorded in Studio 3 at the G4techTV studios on November 10, 2004. Fans speculated that this episode would never be televised due to its non-stop explicit
bashing of G4 and Comcast. Surprisingly, G4techTV aired the episode twice, although the network reported to the programming guides that it was to air the prior year's Christmas
episode instead.
On November 11, 2004, the show was officially cancelled
and the majority of its staff was terminated. Rerun
s were shown on G4techTV
until December 2004.
On November 11, 2005, Sargent launched Infected
, a podcast
hosted by himself and Joey. The podcast focuses on the humorous and weird side of technology and the Internet, making the show somewhat of a successor to Unscrewed.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television show
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
focusing on the comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
of technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
. It was produced at TechTV
TechTV
TechTV was a 24-hour cable and satellite channel based in San Francisco featuring news and shows about computers, technology, and the Internet. In 2004, it merged with the G4 gaming channel which ultimately dissolved TechTV programming...
(later G4) and aired from May 26, 2003 to December 2004. The show was set as a traditional late night talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
, including a couch for guests to sit during interviews, with subject matter including with unusual guests scooped up from the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, Sargent's reported binge drinking
Binge drinking
Binge drinking or heavy episodic drinking is the modern epithet for drinking alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time. It is a kind of purposeful drinking style that is popular in several countries worldwide,...
adventures, and pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
.
The show was originally taped in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
at the TechTV studios but later transferred to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
following the sale of the network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
co-founder Paul Allen
Paul Allen
Paul Gardner Allen is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates...
's Vulcan Ventures
Vulcan Inc.
Vulcan Inc. is an investment and project management company founded in 1986 by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, to manage his investments...
to the Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
owned G4, a gaming oriented network. The executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
of the show was Paul Block. Much like The Screen Savers
The Screen Savers
The Screen Savers was a live American TV show on TechTV. The show launched concurrently with the channel ZDTV on May 11, 1998. The Screen Savers originally centered around computers, new technologies, and their adaptations in the world...
from 2002-2004, it was taped from a studio audience. However, this show was taped in advance. At TechTV, the show normally taped two episodes on Tuesday and two on Thursday and at G4, the show normally taped one episode a day from Monday-Thursday.
Martin Sargent
Martin Sargent
Martin Paul Sargent is an American television personality and was co-host of the This WEEK in FUN podcast with Sarah Lane...
served as the show's always irreverent host. Sargent's sidekick was stand-up comedian Laura Swisher
Laura Swisher
Laura Swisher was the comedic sidekick of Unscrewed with Martin Sargent that aired late-nights on TechTV. The show was cancelled on November 11, 2004, after G4 had purchased TechTV....
. The mislabeled Joey the Intern rounded out the triumvirate. Other regular characters featured included The Ambassador of Gay, former child star Gary Coleman
Gary Coleman
Gary Wayne Coleman was an American actor, known for his childhood role as Arnold Jackson in the American sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and for his small stature as an adult. He was described in the 1980s as "one of television's most promising stars". After a successful childhood acting career, Coleman...
(of Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
), Big Missy (Martin's alleged girlfriend whom he met online, created and written by show writer and frequent on-air character actor Stewart Engesser), Rael of the Ralien movement who claimed the 1st false prophet under the illuminati God Amon Re till Prophet Revebo struck his balding wax to a shine. Rael was actually the script supervisor on Superman IV and arch nemesis Revebo would actually arm wrestle topics to the galactic gladiator battle such as, "What would Rael Do" , "To Be or Not To Be H.Stern", and the infamous "Podcasting or Poorcasting that spawned Gator
Gator
Gator is often used as an aphaeresis of the word "alligator".Gator may refer to:*Gator , a 1976 action movie starring and directed by Burt Reynolds*Gator , a swimming pool game*Gatorade, a popular brand of sports drink...
". Later, writer Stewart Engesser starred as the funnyman parody of real legendary actor Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
, a role he continues to play occasionally on Martin's podcast, Infected. The series often featured computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
to which Martin would share a candlelight embrace of the twilight princess of the adept LiveJournaled heroes of the nightlife known as HTML . In early episodes, the show also highlighted regulars such as Scary Gary, who showed grotesque segments such as a skin-implemented cellphone, and The Porn Mom, a stay-at-home mom character who provided segments dealing with finding quality pornography on the Internet. One of the more famous events on the show was Sargent's interview with George Ouzounian, better known as Maddox, creator of the website The Best Page in the Universe
The Best Page in the Universe
The Best Page in the Universe is a personal satirical humor website created by George Ouzounian, better known as Maddox, of Salt Lake City, Utah.Launched in 1997 without any high expectations, the website became known by word of mouth.-History and status:...
.
Sargent officially dismissed the Unscrewed Army (a term he used in reference of the shows viewers) on the final episode of Unscrewed with Martin Sargent, which was recorded in Studio 3 at the G4techTV studios on November 10, 2004. Fans speculated that this episode would never be televised due to its non-stop explicit
Explicit
Explicit can mean:* Sexually explicit, content that might be deemed offensive or graphic* the final words of a text, which are immediately followed by a colophon...
bashing of G4 and Comcast. Surprisingly, G4techTV aired the episode twice, although the network reported to the programming guides that it was to air the prior year's Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
episode instead.
On November 11, 2004, the show was officially cancelled
Cancellation (television)
In television, cancellation refers to the termination of a program by a network, typically because of low viewership and/or unfavourable critical reviews. Another reason why television programs can be cancelled is to make room for new television programs...
and the majority of its staff was terminated. Rerun
Rerun
A rerun or repeat is a re-airing of an episode of a radio or television broadcast. The invention of the rerun is generally credited to Desi Arnaz. There are two types of reruns—those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Reruns can also be, as the...
s were shown on G4techTV
G4techTV
G4techTV was a cable and satellite channel resulting from a merger between Comcast-owned G4 and TechTV. The headquarters is based in Los Angeles...
until December 2004.
On November 11, 2005, Sargent launched Infected
Infected with Martin Sargent
Infected by Martin Sargent was a weekly video podcast produced by Revision3, hosted by Martin Sargent. Sargent created the podcast as a spiritual successor to Unscrewed, the late night TV show he hosted on TechTV and later G4techTV...
, a podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
hosted by himself and Joey. The podcast focuses on the humorous and weird side of technology and the Internet, making the show somewhat of a successor to Unscrewed.