Leo Laporte Openly Defies Cease & Desist from Comcast-NBCUniversal

The Editorial Board at Total Drama has been on top of all the latest developments with The New Screen Savers. We’ve covered it with our prediction that the launch was imminent (source by Leo’s on-screen leaks via HipChat). We covered the leak of the trailer the day the announcement was to take place. And finally, we posted our post-announcement analysis of where TWiT is heading with the new show, complete with possible legal troubles over the trademark held previously by Comcast-NBCUniversal.

However, many of our regular commenters have asked for sources relating to the cease-and-desist letter TWiT received from Comcast-NBCUniversal lawyers attempting to protect their trademark. We had some people outright disbelieve us. The video below will disprove that notion.

Hilton A. Goring could not be reached for comment.
Hilton A. Goring could not be reached for comment.
We are not lawyers (we haven’t contacted LegalZoom either, which is not a law firm), and we can’t comment about the probable outcome of this legal matter. However, we don’t understand Leo Laporte openly taunting Comcast-NBCUniversal who #Soup at least acknowledges previously held the trademark. Wouldn’t it make a bit of sense to postpone the show until the legal matter is resolved?

Nope. That’s not the way #soup does things. He forges ahead, no matter what anyone else thinks.

When you watch this video, make sure to keep watching. About halfway through, Leo Laporte pontificates on whether his audience would pay his legal bill for him. No kidding. Really. It’s worth 4 minutes of your life.

We hope TWiT reconsiders, given that they are placing themselves in further legal peril and even acknowledge “That’s not going to fool the lawyers”, in the video. We imagine it won’t, since Comcast-NBCUniversal can afford much better lawyers than TWiT.

If Leo Laporte does actually spit in their face (legally speaking) and continues with the relaunch (oh wait it’s not a relaunch now) on Saturday, join us in our chat room to discuss the show with us.

Leo Gives Sarcasm a Try

Not content to let Total Drama handle all the TWiT-related sarcasm, Leo Laporte has stepped up to the plate. The noted accidental-$8,000-lens-orderer had this to say on Facebook today in reference to tonight’s final episode of The Giz Wiz on TWiT:

“I’m gonna be crying my eyes out.”

We’ll set aside the code-switching of “I’m gonna” for now, but definitely check out some of the comments on #Soup’s post below, before they get deleted.

Join us in Total Drama Chat tonight at 4:30PM Pacific, where you won’t be banned for saying “ScooterX is a pile of human excrement” or “PadreSJ looks like a carnie from my nightmares” or “God Leo has really put on the weight.”

Disingenuous at best.
Disingenuous at best.
The natives are getting restless.
The natives are getting restless.

Leo Laporte Trash-Talks @LeoLaporteSucks and Mike Elgan Wishes Someone Cared About Him

Yesterday, #Soup happened upon “LeoLaporteSucks”, either through his web site or his new twitter. Leo tried to act like LeoLaporteSucks has lost his edge, but we support LLS wholeheartedly.

Poor Gum wished for a @MikeElganSucks, so Total Drama has reserved the name for future use. Right now, nobody cares about Mike Elgan (and he doesn’t control the chat nazis that LeoLaporteSucks covers in his tweets, unlike Leo Laporte).

Thanks to an anon in the chat room for the video. Keep those submissions rolling in via the “Feedback & Tips” link on the right.

Before You Host

Today I would like to examine how Padre destroyed another show. When the wonderful Nicole Lee was at TWiT she created a show that seemed a perfect fit for their audience. A product review show. This show has been destroyed by pure laziness. Let us take a look at exactly what they choose to review now that Padre is at the helm. On the latest episode I’ll admit they did review one proper product, The Samsung Galaxy S6. A device people may actually be interested in purchasing. But let us inspect and opine on what else piqued their interest.

BYBInsta
Junk is junky

Myriam bought a $99 Kickstarter gadget that was essentially an ancient dumbed-down Android tablet running the Instagram app. I ask you Padre, does this need to be reviewed? Are there more than eight people inhabiting our planet interested in buying this? We know Myriam had it lying around her apartment but is that a reason it should be featured on the show? And of course the review consisted of her shitting on the product for being exactly what anyone with a brain would have expected it to be.

I love being on camera
I love being on camera

The next product on the agenda was a mystery to me. I watched the review four times and still do not know what the product was. It was either an accessory to a professional television camera, a rig to hold the camera or an actual camera. The chances of anyone from the audience being remotely interested in making this purchase lies somewhere between zero and zero.

Another day
Another day, another toy

If the quadcopter fans don’t get enough of them contraptions on Know-How, and if hundreds of hours of coverage of these things have not quenched their thirst, Padre reviewed another one. In summary: push the joystick forward and it goes forward, push right and it goes right, et cetera et cetera.

Plug it in
Plug it in?

I do not have any idea what the last product he reviewed was. (see right) But I think I have ten of them in one of my drawers in an old dresser. Padre, here is a free tip on how to do a product review show; review products people want reviewed. It is not complicated. Anyway remember, “if you’re gonna take a shit, do it while you watch, Before You Buy. See ya next time.”

OMGchad Clarifies Leo Gets No Patreon Money

Stay thirsty, my friend.
Stay thirsty, my friend.
Our previous post regarding the Giz Wiz Patreon campaign came to the attention of OMGchad. We’re big fans of Chad and <> here at Total Drama, so it was concerning to us that he asked for donations given that Soup said they would redirect RSS feeds and provide other assistance. We felt this might lead to Leo Laporte getting money off the top of Chad and Dick’s donations.

Thankfully, today we learn this is not the case, and we encourage you to check out the Giz Wiz Patreon campaign and donate if you enjoy The Giz Wiz hosted by Chad Johnson.

Good luck, Chad! Let us know if you’d like us to host your IRC chat!

Tech News Today Gains 30 Additional Minutes Daily

How the heck are ya, First Name Last Name? We’ve got a, um, super article for you to ruh-read today. It’s just super. Really, really uhhhh easy. In just a sec, we’ve got some news from Randal Schwartz, host of the show that time (and Leo Laporte) forgot, FLOSS Weekly, but first, check this shit out.

Village Idiot
Village Idiot
Starting around Jun 10, 2015, TNT will begin at 9:30AM Pacific and will last 90 minutes. This, of course, is in addition to the late time the show starts every single day due to Mike Elgan’s incompetence and EffenDumb’s nervous laughter and poor TD skills.

You might be asking yourself, why the heck would you add 30 minutes to such a daily shitshow that has actually gotten worse over time (even since Gum took over) and is a self-parody? Well, the editorial board has discussed possible reasons, and our only conclusion is that it must be #Soup/CeHO’s recognition that TNT is one of the only shows that is keeping subscriptions up. With CPMs falling, that extra 30 minutes affords them at least one more ad! Cha-ching! Keep up the great work Lisa!

Offer code TWiT
Offer code TWiT. Photo Credit
Today, April 29, 2015, Gum did a 3 minute ad, a 3 minute story, and then another 3 minute ad. They really aren’t even trying anymore. What is hilarious is that it was so obvious and embarrassing that the editors cut the Braintree add out and spliced it in at 3:15 of today’s Tech News Today.

Straight From the Horse’s Mouth (Oops)

Get Ready for Dick!

Update: Chad has stated unequivocally now that not a dime from the Patreon campaign goes to Soup or CeHO. Click here to read more.

Rest in peace, idealistic Chad.
Rest in peace, idealistic Chad.
Giz Wiz is gone from TWiT. That much we all know. Some readers may not know the back story. We are here to inform the masses.

Famed soup-slurper Leo Laporte used to employ Chad full-time as a TD and host of various shows. He first axed Chad’s shows and then later spun this as a good thing. #Soup just loooooooooooooooooooooooooves Chad.

They loooooooove Chad.
They loooooooove Chad.
Chad, much like Erik (peace be upon him), couldn’t really grasp the concept being fired, and still stuck around for the pittance that #Soup offered him weekly for the Giz Wiz. Having lost his job, Chad had little choice, so for this, we cannot blame him, and we still supported him. We knew he was on the way way out; that’s the way Leo operates. Leo never outright fires anyone. He prefers to cut off most of their money in an attempt to make them quit on their own and he hopes no one will notice the cause and call him on it (chat mods are there to enforce the silence). See: JRY, Snubs, Erik, Chad, etc.

The very insightful Richard Yes found the evidence and brought to light the fact that the cancellation of The Giz Wiz was imminent. Unfortunately, we were correct, but Leo Laporte couldn’t even be a man and tell Chad and Dick they were fired. Leo gave Chad and Dick the cold shoulder until after the Sunday TWiT when he announced The New Screen Savers. This was news to Dick and Chad. They found out via a phone call after he publicly announced it to everyone.

#Soup, never one to outright fire anyone, pushed them onto Patreon, since he saw that worked well to get rid of Chad once before.

For continuing coverage of the situation, also read SavingTWiT.org’s coverage of the matter.

We wish Chad well, but we will not give one single dime to him until he explicitly states that #Soup and TWiT get no money from the Patreon operation. This is very concerning to us, because Leo said he is giving technical assistance to the fledgling podcast. We encourage Chad to clarify this matter as soon as possible in order to release the contributions from the Total Drama faithful. See the latest post regarding this matter where Chad clarifies that #Soup gets no money from this Patreon campaign.

Listen up, Leo

We can't get enough of the shit on TWiT.
Every step you take, we’ll be watching you.

So listen up, Leo Laporte. We know you’re reading this. So buckle up, bitch. TotalDrama ain’t goin’ nowhere. You thought you could scare us with your phoney-baloney legal threats against us? Not so fast, lardass. You’re going to need to prepare yourself for the hellride of the century—we’re watching every fuckin’ step you take at your lousy network. And we’ll be blogging it harder than ever.

Now that your hair has grown out and you’re feeling cocky, you think you can just continue to broadcast your shitty advice without getting called on it? You think you can just sexually harass the women at the TWiT Shithouse without us seeing? You think that you can just photograph your wife and her kid naked together in a tub without us writing about it?

We saw how you forced Cali Lewis to reveal that she was being groomed for perversion at age 12 with a 22-year-old man. We saw how you made her uncomfortable with talk of her divorce and failed business. So stay tuned, old man. We see everything.

TotalDrama is the champion of the voiceless, defenders of the downtrodden and our voice will be heard. Or whatever.

TotalDrama.Net Launches in the Face of European Opposition

Stop EU Deportation!
Photo Credit: blu-news.org @ Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/95213174@N08/12266940413

The editorial board of Total Drama found out that we are not welcome in the European Union. Angela Merkel personally deported us back to the slum of .org and issued us a trespass warning.

Like Greece, we shall not take Merkel’s disrespect laying down. TotalDrama.Net is back and better than ever, ready to cover every soup-slurping, mic-muting, k-lining, host-firing moment of TWiT.

Call for Guest Writers

We can’t do this without you, the reader. We literally can’t because TWiT sucks so badly now that we can’t watch with the same frequency we used to. We rely on you for tips so we can go back and check the DVR to see what horrible thing they’ve done now and write about it.

This is still a lot of work for a small band of writers. We are calling on you to submit your own articles through the tip functionality of the site. If your writing/videos/images are good over several submissions, you will be given access to post to the site yourself. Give us a real email in this case (make a new anonymous one if you wish) so that we can get in touch with you.

Help us out and help us cover the “netcast” wasteland in Petaluma today!

PS: Gum says adding a picture makes a post more engaging. Did it work?

The ew creen avers

Motion denied legal zoom, you’re not an attorney!
Motion denied legal zoom, you’re not an attorney!

This Ill-conceived show is off to a rough start. Apparently the legal team at TWiT may have misspoke when they proclaimed the ‘Screen Savers trademark’ to have lapsed. A cease-and- desist arrived special delivery. Laporte says he will fight NBC/Comcast but our money says he will acquiesce to their demands and change the name. He may even need to hire an attorney, sometimes you need to spend greenbacks on legal talent too. Our guess is the TWiT legal team is actually the ceOH and a database search.

When does Gûm host?
When does Gûm host?

The show seems destined to go over budget anyway. Much like I’d Fund That, we don’t see them getting guest hosts or guest spots to show up on a Saturday without paying money. Their board (see left) does look cool though. What if Kevin Rose cancels like he did for the anniversary episode? This issue combined with the fact that this is primarily a video show leaves us worried about the fate of the show. Maybe in yesteryear with the lovely and talented Sarah Lane, Iyaz with a how-to segment, Shannon, Becky, Tom, a Kiki science segment, Veronica, Justin and Brian, it had a chance. But the new crop of hosts is not really cut out for broadcasting. We assume all the expected fumbling and bumbling is why the show will not be recorded before the live-stream. Podcasting revenue is 80% from audio down-loads you know.

You get even this close...
You can stay but if you  get even this close…

Speaking of legal questions and since we have attorneys in our audience, help me out: Let’s say the lovely and talented Sarah Lane comes to NY for TechCrunch Disrupt. I list my apartment on AirBNB for a crazy low price. I reject everyone until I get Sarah as a tenant. Then, when she is in the shower I enter the apartment to check the water pressure, is that illegal?

UPDATE: They kept the Framerate and NSFW names in spite (never used them) so maybe they could trade those for TNSS? What goes around does tend to come back around.

UPDATE: The issue at hand is not Trademark but copyright. We do believe TWiT infringed on their copyright but our legal experts do not think Comcast can win in court.