Video on Trial

Last updated
Video on Trial
2014 Title card for VOT.png
The opening title card starting in season 9
Starring Aisha Alfa, Paul Lemieux
Country of originCanada
No. of episodes250 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducersVarious
(see section)
Running time30 minutes
Production companies CHUM Limited
CTV Globemedia
Release
Original network MuchMusic
Original releaseAugust 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) –
July 6, 2014 (2014-07-06)

Video on Trial is a Canadian comedy television program that airs on Canadian television network MuchMusic. The show consists of a panel of musicians, comedians, and entertainment columnists critiquing five different music videos in a courtroom-esque manner. The panel acts as the jurors, poking fun at and questioning each artist's behaviour in each video. Artists' personal lives and off-set behaviour are usually mocked by the critics in relation to the music video. They are shown in separate clips to use their opinions.

Contents

Since its debut on August 15, 2005 the show has become one of the most highly rated and successful shows on MuchMusic, attracting a dedicated cult following and has garnered a Gemini Award nomination. The show also experienced a brief run on American television, airing on television network Fuse TV from October 2011 to early 2012 before being replaced by another series, Special Videos Unit: Video on Trial, based upon the same premise as the original Canadian Video on Trial.

At the start of the ninth season, the show's format was overhauled to feature recurring sketches and segments. The panel was replaced by Aisha Alfa [1] and Paul Lemieux. [2] Only four episodes into the revamp, which was not well received, the show was cancelled as part of significant cutbacks at Bell Media on July 11, 2014. [3]

Production

Videos

The show's producers usually pick the videos featured on the show. However, they are still required to get clearance from the copyright holders of the video to get the video featured on the show. Only after clearance is given can the video be featured on the show. [4] An episode usually features videos recent at the time of the episode's airing, with at least one of the five videos per episode still being in rotation. Some non-themed episodes feature older videos, though, mostly those from the early 2000s, and popular videos from 1997 to 1999 have been played on rare occasions.

Writing and shooting

The jurors' jokes serve as the majority of the show's content. These jokes are written by themselves. According to an interview with series regular Trevor Boris, the jurors receive copies of the videos for the episode, and are given a period of time to write jokes and prepare for the shooting of the episode. [5]

On her MySpace blog, juror Sabrina Jalees described the size of the room where the show is in as "the size of a large coffin", and that a laptop with a DVD of the videos is placed in front of the juror as a guide. [4] The five "jurors" usually shoot their scenes separately. [5] However, the show gives the impression that all five jurors shoot the scenes together, with jurors often shown engaging in interactive behavior with each other.

Format

Video on Trial features five music videos being critiqued in a courtroom-esque manner; the above image shows the opening segment of each episode that introduces the five videos, seen with the different visuals the series has used throughout the two formats it has undergone. Video on Trial Formats.jpg
Video on Trial features five music videos being critiqued in a courtroom-esque manner; the above image shows the opening segment of each episode that introduces the five videos, seen with the different visuals the series has used throughout the two formats it has undergone.

The show's basic format involves a narrator starting the show by announcing its name, and introducing the five videos set to be "tried", referred to as "cases", as well as the jurors of the episode. Following this introductory sequence, the actual "trials" of the videos begin.

Videos are critiqued, or "tried" separately and consecutively by "case number". A short intermission separates the trials of each video; the show cuts to a commercial break after two videos' trials have been aired.

Each video is critiqued for around 3–4 minutes. Most of the videos featured on the show are generally given bad reviews, though this is to add to the comedic nature of the show. A video's trial ends with selected jurors from the episode giving his/her own verdict to the video's artist, though verdicts are occasionally given to a selected element of a video, such as a person featured in the video.

History

Elements of the show were introduced, altered, and discontinued throughout its run.

In the format used at the start of the show's run, the jurors' occupations were given, though sometimes fictional. Graphics for this format included CRT televisions and film reels. This format also included opening voiceovers, written by Tim McAuliffe and Ron Sparks, these explained what the video was "accused for", and information for "the jury" to know) and "final verdicts" given to the artists of each video, of relating to them in real-life or their behavior in the video. The nineteenth episode of the third season retained this basic format, but introduced new visuals, giving its graphics a more modern look; for example, at the start of each episode, videos were introduced on flat-screen televisions instead of CRT televisions. [6] This basic format was used until the twenty-first episode of the show's fifth season. [7]

With a re-run of the fifth season's twenty-first episode, the show underwent a major alteration of its format. [8] The verdicts and opening voiceovers previously given to each video were discontinued. Graphics and visuals were once again modernized, to give them a more futuristic feel. [8] The nineteenth episode of the show's seventh season altered the show's graphics and visuals, giving them a more colourful feel, while retaining the show's second format. [9]

At the start of the ninth season, the series was completely revamped. In addition to the jurors' being replaced by Aisha Alfa [1] and Paul Lemieux, [2] Season 9 uses a new format featuring recurring sketches and segments. [10] [11]

Special episodes

Special themed episodes have also been produced, usually focusing on a specific theme such as a particular decade, one-hit wonders, teen pop, music videos set on beaches, songs by Canadian musicians, and Christmas music ("Holiday Crap"). For example, there have been a series of "Totally '80s" and "So '90s" episodes where songs from those decades are featured.

The first Video on Trial special was a MuchMusic "Holiday Wrap" courtroom episode called Stars on Trial , which starred Sparks as "The Judge" and McAuliffe as "Rusty the Bailiff." Six regular jurors sat together as a jury and artists were put on trial in general, not for particular songs as is normally done on the regular VOT show.

In a similar manner to Fromage , a previous holiday special on the network, a special one-hour-long episode aired during December 2008 as part of MuchMusic's "Holiday Wrap" year-end programming, counting down the top 20 "worst" videos of the year. The special has returned for every year since then. In the 100th episode, it was revealed that the working title for the show in its early development stages was "Anatomy of a Video."

Cast

Producers

The show has seen various producers throughout its run.

Source: [12]

Jurors

The panel of jurors critiquing the videos are randomly selected for each episode; the panel regularly consists of Canadian stand-up comedians. Although some jurors make regular appearances, by contrast, some judges have made just one appearance. Examples of jurors who have made multiple appearances on the show include Marty Adams, Nicole Arbour, Sabrina Jalees, Hunter Collins, Eddie Della Siepe, Trixx, Jemeni, Boomer Phillips, Laurie Elliott, Ron Sparks, Dini Dimakos, Sara Hennessey, Darrin Rose, Andrew Johnston, David Kerr, Debra DiGiovanni, and Trevor Boris; [12] the latter two have been jurors the most times on the show, both appearing in more than 50 episodes of the show. [12]

In some occasions, celebrities in professions as diverse as music, sports, modeling, and acting have appeared on the show, such as "Weird Al" Yankovic, [13] Kardinal Offishall, [14] Jimmy Pop and Jared Hasselhoff of the Bloodhound Gang, [15] Perez Hilton, [16] Russell Peters, [17] Chris Jericho, [18] Pauly Shore, [19] and Jesse Jane. [20] On one occasion, Josh Ramsay of Canadian rock band Marianas Trench appeared as a juror for his own band's video for "Shake Tramp". [21]

The artists whose videos are critiqued on the show range from diverse genres, such as hip hop, rock, and electronic, but generally videos that have been aired by MuchMusic.

Many artists have had multiple videos of theirs critiqued; for example, 14 different videos by American singer Madonna were critiqued on the show; one of them was critiqued on 3 separate occasions. An entire episode was also dedicated to critiquing her music videos. Other artists critiqued multiple times include Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Mindless Behavior, Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Blink-182, The Killers, Beyoncé, Pink, Christina Aguilera, and My Chemical Romance. From his first appearance on the show, Ron Sparks frequently made jokes about Shawn Desman and deadpanned "Shawn Desman sucks", even in episodes in which no Desman video appeared. 50 Cent reappeared often enough that Trevor Boris jokingly gave him a mock "Lifetime of Sucking Award", and during Nicki Minaj's video for "Va Va Voom", Boris joked that she appeared more times on the show than he did himself, which he did not really like.[ full citation needed ] DiGiovanni frequently swooned over certain male artists.

Reception, legacy and achievements

Success and cross into American television

Debuting quietly in 2005 on Canadian music television network MuchMusic, the show slowly rose to fame, eventually becoming one of the network's highest-rated shows. For the show's first six seasons (and for a few episodes of its seventh season), its broadcast on television was limited to Canada. However, in 2011, American music television Fuse TV successfully obtained rights to air the show.

Fuse started airing Video on Trial on October 20, 2011, marking the formal television debut of the show in the United States, as well as the debut of the show anywhere outside of its home country, Canada. [22] The show's American debut started with episodes from the late fifth season of the show. However, in early 2012 Fuse ceased to air episodes of Video on Trial, opting to instead form a new series based on the show's premise. The outcome of this decision, the similarly-titled Special Videos Unit: Video on Trial, premiered on March 9, 2012. [23]

Criticism

There have also been guests who complained about the show's compensation and/or production. Juror Hugh Phukovsky pulled all Video on Trial listings from his Myspace page, claiming on his Myspace blog that "[he] gave those fuckers some GOLD!" and that "[they] cut it all out with "humourless editing". [24]

On a Kelevision radio broadcast, guests Aaron Berg, Darren Frost and Boomer Phillips discussed the show and its shortcomings (the latter two had appeared as jurors on the show). Frost was especially upset about the show, particularly the small fees that comedian guests were paid; he has never appeared on the show again to date.

Juror Ron Sparks once joked, while pointing to a green screen behind him, "Can you say budget? We can't. We're actually contractually not allowed to bring it up."

Awards

NOMINATED
Gemini Awards:
  • Best Music, Variety Program or Series
    • 2007–Video on Trial (Episode 2.13, "Video on Trial: '80s Superstars"; producers: Kerry Cunningham, Jason Ford, and John Kampilis)

Episodes

Related Research Articles

<i>You Cant Do That on Television</i> Canadian sketch comedy television series

You Can't Do That on Television is a Canadian sketch comedy television series that first aired locally in 1979 before airing in the United States in 1981. It featured pre-teen and teenage actors in a sketch comedy format similar to that of American sketch comedy Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and Canadian sketch comedy Second City Television. Each episode had a specific theme normally relating to the popular culture of the time.

<i>Austin City Limits</i> American television music program

Austin City Limits is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show to receive the National Medal of Arts, which it was awarded in 2003. It also won a rare institutional Peabody Award in 2011 "for its more than three decades of presenting and preserving eclectic American musical genres". Austin City Limits is produced by Austin PBS under the Capital of Texas Public Telecommunications Council. The show was created in 1974 by Bill Arhos, Bruce Scafe, and Paul Bosner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MTV2</span> American pay television channel

MTV2 is an American pay television channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global.

<i>Idol</i> (franchise) Reality television music competition format

Idol is a reality television singing competition format created by British television producer Simon Fuller and developed by Fremantle. The format began in 2001 with the British television series Pop Idol; its first adaptation was the Polish series Idol in 2002. It has since become the world's most widely watched television franchise, as well as one of the most successful entertainment formats, adapted in over 56 regions around the world, with its various versions broadcast to 150 countries with a worldwide audience of roughly 3.2 billion people. The franchise has generated more than $2.5 billion in revenue.

<i>Pop-Up Video</i> American TV series or program

Pop Up Video is a VH1 television show that shows music videos annotated via "pop-up" bubbles — officially called "info nuggets" — containing trivia and witticisms relating to the video in question. The show was created by Woody Thompson and Tad Low and premiered October 27, 1996. For a time, it was the highest-rated program on VH1, though Behind the Music overtook it by 1998. It was originally produced by Spin the Bottle Inc., and later by Eyeboogie Inc. during its original run.

<i>Electric Circus</i> Canadian TV series or program

Electric Circus was a Canadian live dance music television program that aired on MuchMusic and Citytv from September 16, 1988 to December 12, 2003. The name originated from a nightclub that once existed at Citytv's first studio at 99 Queen Street East in Toronto.

<i>Fromage</i> Canadian TV series or program

Fromage is an annual Canadian one-hour special produced by the MuchMusic cable channel. Fromage paid "tribute" to music videos considered the worst or cheesiest of the year by MuchMusic staff.

Stars on Trial is a MuchMusic television special based on the MuchMusic television program Video on Trial. It premiered in late December 2005, as part of the network's annual "Holiday Wrap." Stars on Trial uses basically the same concept as Video on Trial. However, the special was a full hour long as opposed to being a half-hour long and took place in an actual courtroom set instead of a black background set. Also, the jury analyzed celebrities themselves instead of just music videos.

Pants-Off Dance-Off (PODO) is a dance contest that premiered on April 18, 2006, on Fuse. It features stripteasers as they dance while disrobing.

Sabrina Jalees is a Canadian comedian, actress, and writer. She has written for various series, and starred as a main cast member alongside Patricia Heaton in the 2019 TV comedy series Carol's Second Act.

The Pepsi Power Hour was a live one-hour program that aired on the MuchMusic television channel in Canada from 1986 to 1991. It ran once weekly every Thursday, until 1989 when a Tuesday hour was added. The show was dedicated to hard rock and heavy metal music videos, and showcased a variety of well and lesser-known artists. It balanced coverage of major international acts, with newer bands, and a variety of Canadian acts both major label and independent. For example, members of Canadian bands such as Brighton Rock, Helix, and Triumph were invited to co-host the show. On other installments, independent artists such as Mif from Slash Puppet were brought in for live, in-studio interview segments. International artists also often co-hosted, such as Iron Maiden, Rob Halford, and Motörhead.

The first season of the Canadian television comedy series Video on Trial premiered on MuchMusic on August 15, 2005 and concluded on August 6, 2006. It consists of 37 episodes.

The second season of the Canadian television comedy series Video on Trial premiered on MuchMusic on August 27, 2006 and concluded on July 15, 2007. It consists of 30 episodes.

The third season of the Canadian television comedy series Video on Trial premiered on MuchMusic on August 12, 2007 and concluded on August 11, 2008. It consists of 26 episodes.

The fourth season of the Canadian television comedy series Video on Trial premiered on MuchMusic on September 8, 2008 and concluded on August 31, 2009. It consists of 26 episodes.

The fifth season of the Canadian television comedy series Video on Trial premiered on MuchMusic on September 28, 2009 and concluded on September 6, 2010. It consists of 31 episodes.

The sixth season of the Canadian television comedy series Video on Trial premiered on MuchMusic on September 27, 2010 and concluded on August 29, 2011. It consists of 30 episodes.

The seventh season of the Canadian television comedy series Video on Trial premiered on MuchMusic on September 19, 2011 and concluded on December 9, 2012. It consists of 42 episodes.

The eighth season of the Canadian television comedy series Video on Trial premiered on MuchMusic on January 23, 2013 and concluded on March 23, 2014. It consists of 24 episodes.

References

  1. 1 2 "MEET AISHA ALFA, THE NEW STAR OF VIDEO ON TRIAL". RedHotMuch Blog. 2014-06-05. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  2. 1 2 "MEET PAUL LEMIEUX, THE OTHER NEW STAR OF VIDEO ON TRIAL". RedHotMuch Blog. 2014-06-05. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  3. ↑ "MuchMusic, Canada's First Music Video Channel, Lays Off 91, Cancels Music Shows". Karen Bliss. 2014-07-11. Retrieved 2014-08-20.
  4. 1 2 Jalees, Sabrina (2006-11-07). "Video on Trial...Behind the Scene(s)". MySpace . Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  5. 1 2 "Video on Trial Celebrates 100 Episodes". dose.ca. Postmedia Network Inc. 2008-11-03. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  6. ↑ Video on Trial. Season 03. Episode 19. 2008-04-27. MuchMusic.
  7. ↑ Video on Trial. Season 05. Episode 21. 2010-05-21. MuchMusic.
  8. 1 2 Video on Trial. Season 05. Episode 21. 2010-08-05. MuchMusic.
  9. ↑ Video on Trial. Season 07. Episode 19. 2010-05-07. MuchMusic.
  10. ↑ "GET YOUR FIRST LOOK AT THE BRAND NEW VIDEO ON TRIAL!". RedHotMuch Blog. 2014-06-04. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  11. ↑ "THE THREE THINGS THAT ARE NEW ABOUT THIS SEASON OF VIDEO ON TRIAL". RedHotMuch Blog. 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  12. 1 2 3 "Video on Trial Cast and Crew on TV.com". TV.com . CBS Interactive.
  13. ↑ Video on Trial. Season 02. Episode 10. 2006-11-12. MuchMusic.
  14. ↑ Video on Trial. Season 01. Episode 05. 2005-09-12. MuchMusic.
  15. ↑ Video on Trial. Season 01. Episode 12. 2005-11-13. MuchMusic.
  16. ↑ Video on Trial. Season 02. Episode 25. 2007-06-03. MuchMusic.
  17. ↑ Video on Trial. Season 03. Episode 03. 2007-08-26. MuchMusic.
  18. ↑ Video on Trial. Season 01. Episode 16. 2005-12-25. MuchMusic.
  19. ↑ Video on Trial. Season 03. Episode 24. 2008-07-14. MuchMusic.
  20. ↑ Video on Trial. Season 02. Episode 03. 2006-09-10. MuchMusic.
  21. ↑ Video on Trial. Season 03. Episode 14. 2008-02-17. MuchMusic.
  22. ↑ "Breaking News - Fuse Is Turning Up the Volume This Fall with New Shows and More Fan Favorites". Fuse . 2011-10-10. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
  23. ↑ "Special Videos Unit: Video on Trial - Fuse". Fuse TV . Fuse Networks. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  24. ↑ Phukovsky, Hugh (2006). "Blog". Myspace . Retrieved 2011-02-20.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.