Call for Help (television program)
| Call for Help | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Created by | Leo Laporte |
| Starring | Leo Laporte (1998–2001) (2003–2007) Chris Pirillo (2001–2003) |
| Country of origin | United States (1998–2004) Canada (2004–2007) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network |
TechTV (1998–2004) G4 Canada (2004–2007) |
| Original release | May 11, 1998 – April 7, 2007 |
| External links | |
| Website | callforhelptv |
Call for Help, also known as CFH, is a computer-themed television program that first aired exclusively on TechTV (formerly ZDTV), a cable and satellite television network focused on technology, and then aired on G4techTV Canada and the HOW TO Channel in Australia. The final taped episode aired on February 26, 2007, but because the episodes were taped out of order, a number of other episodes taped during the same shooting week aired through April 6, 2007. A spin-off called The Lab with Leo Laporte aired much of the same content as Call for Help and ran on the same networks. The Lab was canceled about one year later due to low viewer ratings and the final episode aired in August 2008.
Broadcast live from San Francisco, California, the show premiered on May 11, 1998 with Leo Laporte as host. The show's very first caller (by accident) was Laporte's mother. He functioned as a technical advisor to viewers experiencing difficulties with their personal computers (or "personal confusers", as Laporte jocularly referred to them). Such individuals were encouraged to contact the show via e-mail, telephone or webcam, with telephone/webcam users serving as on-air participants. Laporte also welcomed in-studio guests (including Martin Sargent, Roger Chang, Brett Larson, Hahn Choi and others), who expertly highlighted and reviewed various technology products with a novice perspective in mind.
In 2001, Laporte decided to focus solely on another TechTV program, The Screen Savers, and Becky Worley became the lead Call for Help host (briefly joined by Scott Herriott as co-host). Later that year, Chris Pirillo took over the lead hosting duties, with Alison Strahan Cat Schwartz, Morgan Webb, and TechLive correspondent Laura Burstein serving as rotating co-hosts. In 2003, Pirillo left TechTV for publicly unspecified reasons, and Laporte returned as lead host alongside Cat Schwartz. Morgan Webb left her CFH co-hosting duties (and her other show, The Screen Savers) to co-host TechTV's X-Play.
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