U8TV: The Lofters
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U8TV: The Lofters was a Canadian reality television series which aired on Life Network and online through its website, U8TV.com. The show followed the lives of eight young Canadians who moved into a loft in Toronto, Ontario for a period of one year and had to host television programs for Life Network, other Canadian specialty channels, and U8TV.com.
Shows hosted by the Lofters usually took place within the loft and were quite interactive, with the U8TV chat rooms. Some U8TV-hosted shows are still aired as repeats.
The CRTC approved a license for a U8TV Category 2 digital television channel in 2000, but nothing more came of it. [1] (http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/eng/Decisions/2000/DB2000-488.htm)
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Season one
The Lofters in season one were:
- Mathieu Chantelois
- Arisa Cox
- Valery Gagne
- Kalen Haymen
- Jennifer Hedger
- David Keystone
- Sandy Meideros
- Trevor "Tre" Smith
Season two
The Lofters who began season two were:
- Heather Basciano
- Danny Crowder
- Dan Fraleigh
- Annie Guillo
- Carolyn Jarvis
- Donnie "Chico" Ruiz
- Jason Ruta
- Tonya Thongs
In the second season, a Big Brother-like twist was added to the show. Every ten weeks, the producers would select two Lofters whose hosting skills were sub-par or who didn't share enough of their lives, and nominate them for eviction. Fans of the show could then go to U8TV.com and vote for the Lofter they wanted to evict. The first (and only) occurrence of the twist saw Jason Ruta and Annie Guillo nominated for eviction. Fans voted Ruta off the show, and he was replaced by Stephen MacDonald.
The show also began exercising a degree of self-censorship in the second year. During the first season, Internet viewers were able to view the residents having sex, showering, etc. During the second year, the show instituted a policy that whenever possible the cameras would be turned off during such private moments.
Cancellation
Mid-way through the second season, however, the show was cancelled. Although the show's ratings on television were excellent, the costs to broadcast over the Internet were far too high for the show to survive.
A few former Lofters have gone on to successful television gigs. Season one's Jennifer Hedger is now a reporter at TSN, while the second season's Carolyn Jarvis anchors newscasts on The Weather Network.
External links
- Chart Attack: The Lofty Airs of U8TV (http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2001/01/1105.cfm)
- The GATE: Infiltrating U8TV (http://www.thegate.ca/u8tv/)