The GATE » U8TV

U8TV: Exit interviews with The Lofters

W. Andrew Powell — Thu, 03 Jan 2002 20:44:42 +0000

Almost all of the remaining Lofters (except Tre, who snuck out on us) sat down and talked to us just before they finished their time at U8TV. Find out what their plans are now that they are back out in the “real” world and hear them talk about some of their fondest and most hated memories inside The Loft. [And you may also want to know that this will almost certainly be the final news piece in our original U8TV area.]

[Due to space constraints, all U8TV video files have been archived.]

U8TV: Lofter’s diaries on Kalen & Valery

W. Andrew Powell — Thu, 25 Oct 2001 22:23:36 +0000

So, in my goal to collect as much information as I could about the events, here are a few selected quotes from all over the U8TV site, including quotes from the Lofter’s diaries. Each quote actually gives a lot more information than I expected and in particular, I found out exactly how much the Lofters make each week: $490, thanks to Arisa’s recent diary entry. That must be net income since it only comes out to around $25K a year, and while I know they don’t pay for housing, I think they deserve a lot more! Anyway, on with the quotes!

Loft Log: Day 282 Saying Goodbye To Valery:

“Tonight on the Lofters, U8TV says goodbye to the lovable and talented Valery Pasionek. A few weeks ago, Valery made the decision to take her experience in the Loft and move on to new experiences. For her own reasons, she felt that she had to leave the Loft and as we all know, VG is not one to ignore her gut-instinct. When she broke the news to her fellow Lofters, there were a lot of surprised looks and some tears. Read Jen and Sandy’s diaries on Valery’s departure. Why did she leave the Loft? Tonight’s episode of U8TV: The Lofters will go back through past shows to find the answer.”

Arisa’s Diary – How It Feels To Live In The Loft:

“Myself and 7 others live through forced competition through challenges, auditions, preference and having to fight for only one phone, spending WAY too much time together, high degrees of bullshit including arbitrary rules, a dirty, DIRTY environment, bizarre schedules, watching The Lofters show (together in the same room, no less) where the worst parts of ourselves, as well as the petty and serious fights are replayed OVER AND OVER, then immediately having to work on other shows together as if these tensions, that have been encouraged by the sheer existence of the show, didn’t exist, calling someone named ‘Master’ every 5 minutes to let them know where we’re going, being under constant scrutiny from viewers, as well as the insane, round-the-clock people-traffic and noise being a very real stress. When people who live OR work together need some space from each other to recharge or heal, they can generally get it. Not us. We take a licking, and keep on ticking. Sorry about the harsh honesty, but you have to take the bad with the good. Hence – I live in a production studio, and despite all this… I’m really, really happy about a few things.”

What Arisa Thinks About Valery:

“Valery – the definition of sweet. There isn’t a cruel bone in your entire body, and I love ya for it. Always rocking the good intentions, the funkiest, craziest style in this place, and some new obsession that you’re excited about. Crafty, fucking brainy and genuine. True, I would love to take up your offer of moving in with you. Math says he’s afraid of the nighttime production noise in my room if he moves into my place (riiiiight). Let’s buy him some earplugs, and see if he changes his tune…”

Arisa’s Thoughts On Kalen:

Kalen – the Loft’s soft spoken sweetie… moody but genuine, you never fake how you feel and are there for me when I need you – when I’m about to crack and need to get out of here, or when I just need a hug, a lap to chill out on or a bed to sleep over in. You know the value of friendship, because you’re really aware of the things that count in life. I think you’ve got a halo under those dreads. And I didn’t want to forget the amazing flicks you take…I like your drive, baby, and I’m amazed how you’re never distracted by the drama swirling around this place.

Jennifer’s Diary – Now That Kalen and Valery Are Gone:

When Kalen decided to leave the loft, I was disappointed but mostly unaffected. Kalen and I got along fine, but we didn’t work on shows together and we didn’t hang out much. I was sad to see him go, but I knew he was happier without us. Now that Valery has decided to leave as well, the impact of a second loss to the core eight is much more noticeable. There is a feeling of survival cropping up in the loft. The six of us that are left are looking around at the empty beds and realizing that this is becoming a test of endurance. There isn’t a single person that can truly relate to or understand what it’s like to be a participant in this experiment. Living in this space is the hardest thing I have ever done, and the only people who would agree with me are the five other souls in the loft.

Sandy’s Diary – The End Is Near – Sandy Sums It Up The Best:

“Just seeing Valery’s items packed and ready to go by the front door gives me that nostalgic feeling. When Kalen left I knew things would never be the same but now I really know it. As much as we don’t realize it, we’ve all grown to appreciate each other as much as we irritate one another and we are going to miss this year when we hear a song that takes us back. ”

“As much as I hated getting woken up in the middle of the night with Dave’s tirades, I kind of miss Kalen’s laugh that would seep through the wall that divided our rooms. I kind of miss seeing Kalen shuffle his furry black slippers to the kitchen in the morning, with no shirt and plaid pants on, to make a huge breakfast. It’s weird going in Dave’s room to see an arm chair and a million panda bears replacing Kalen’s bed, what happened to smell of incense burning and sound of jungle music drifting from there?”

“Walking in Arisa’s room is just as surreal. There’s no more pictures on Valery’s side of the room, almost everything has been packed up. It’ll be strange to be in the vanity area and not see Valery come out of the shower with a robe and towel wrapped around her head ready to share the crazy facts she has somehow stored away in her brain for the moment someone mentions anything slightly relevant. I think Vava’s one of those people who asks you a question and actually cares what the answer is and you can see her dissect your words. It sucks that she’s leaving, really, I was getting so used to having a little critter around (Vava’s cat.) ”

“It just shows that the end is closer than we think! I think that making it this far shows a lot of strength in the eight amazing people that were selected in this project. Kalen and Valery were especially brave to not get wrapped up in what others would say and take matters into their own hands to live their life in the best possible way. I wish you both all the happiness you deserve!”

U8TV: Did Valery really leave?

W. Andrew Powell — Mon, 15 Oct 2001 20:20:15 +0000

This whole situation with Valery and Kalen leaving the loft has created quite a strange environment among fans, U8TV, and the people involved. I’m digging into some behind-the-scenes information, but a lot of what I know I can’t fill you in on for various reasons. All I can say is this, U8TV has obviously glossed over the fact that Kalen and Valery have left and the current Loft Log (#271) actually even has a piece about Valery and Stas and the havoc that has been created because of their long-distance relationship.

Weird, but it seems like U8TV isn’t about to fess-up to the fact that some sort of trouble has made two of our favorite Lofters want to vanish from the spotlight. I do know that Valery chatted with some people on the website before she left about the reasons why she was leaving, but I haven’t been able to find out exactly what she said.

On the other side of things, back at U6TV, I emailed Mathieu about the whole affair and here’s what he had to say about things:

“Andrew!!!!!!

Kalen left for personal reasons. That is the truth and I have to respect his decision. He is not under contract to reveal anything about his life anymore, so I would like to respect his privacy.

Valery left because she was fed up with the project. She was almost [not] hosting any shows anymore and was very hurt by it. She had no fun anymore, so she left. I respect her decision and still truly love her.

Talk to you soon!
Mathieu”

For now, that’s all I’ve got…

U8TV: Valery & Kalen Quit?

W. Andrew Powell — Thu, 11 Oct 2001 18:16:22 +0000

Although I can’t confirm this right now, I received feedback today from someone claiming that Valery and Kalen had quit the Loft. I’m digging around to see what I can find out, so for now this should be treated as a rumor and nothing more, but I can say that Kalen’s image has been removed from the Lofter’s page and replaced with the U8TV logo. Here’s the original note:

“The boot camp in the loft might not be as crowded as you think. Two of the lofters have quit, Kalen and Valery, others aren’t so thrilled to be there any more. Perhaps by the time boot camp begins there won’t be anyone in the loft.” — Teleos

UPDATE: I have a little bit more information regarding the news about Kalen and Valery. Seems that all the way back on October 3rd Kalen stepped out according to posts on the U8TV message boards. As well, I talked with the media representative at U8TV and she had the following to say:

“Kalen and Valery have left the loft, both for personal reasons, which we can’t delve into or publicize for privacy and legal reasons. At this time, I don’t think we’ll be replacing them.” She went on to say that their shows were already being taken over by the other 6 Lofters. And, “[W]e have wished them well as we wouldn’t want to have anyone living here who didn’t want to be here.”

Personally, I think I can understand why they left the Loft. It wasn’t an easy place to live, but maybe there are multiple reasons. Valery was always my favorite though and it’s really sad to hear that she’s stepped away, but I do wish her the best. As well, as I met Kalen at the initial audition for the Lofters, I can say that he was pretty cool and I’m sure he’ll go on to other big things.

U8TV: HMV Interviews

W. Andrew Powell — Wed, 03 Oct 2001 22:07:30 +0000

Jen & Tre were at HMV at 333 Yonge Street here in Toronto yesterday to interview anyone who wanted to be one of the next 8 Lofters. But, just to be different, they weren’t just there talking to people, they were there in their pajamas and in a bed near the magazines. I was there taking pictures so that you could see what was going on…

U8TV: Year II Auditions

W. Andrew Powell — Wed, 26 Sep 2001 19:05:01 +0000

One year ago, yesterday, I auditioned to become a Lofter on U8TV. Now, the process is starting all over again and the folks inside the Loft have a few events coming up to help them find a new group of people to live their lives inside the media bubble.

On Tuesday, October 2 starting at 12pm and going until 2pm, Jen and Tre are going to be at the HMV at 333 Yonge Street. Not only are they going be there handing out applications to be a Lofter, but they’re going to be doing it from a bed and they’ll be in their pajamas! Nothing says “lofter” like a dramatic stunt and people in their PJs! (Although having a tub with the Lofters in it might have been better!)

But, if you really want to be a Lofter for the year 2002, auditions will be running through the last week of October in various locations. All auditions will begin at 8 a.m., except for in Vancouver where auditions will start at 7 a.m. Callbacks for 20 finalists in each city will be held the next day, respectively.

The audition schedule is as follows:
October 29: Halifax: The New Palace – 1721 Brunswick St.
October 31: Toronto: U8TV – 332 Richmond St. West
November 5: Vancouver – Alliance Atlantis Cinemas, 2110 Burrard St.
November 7: Calgary – Chinook Centre, 6455 Macleod Trail South

As well, applications will be available at all HMV stores across Canada and on HMV.com starting October 2, 2002 or you can go to U8TV.com and click on “Be On U8TV”. For those who cannot attend the auditions, applications with photo, and optional VHS cassette tape, will be accepted by mail until November 8, 2001 at: U8TV, 332 Richmond Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5V 1X2. You can also call for more info – Telephone: (416) 848-8888.

After all the applications have been reviewed, 16 finalists will be announced on Monday, November 19th. As the U8TV press release put it: “[The finalists] will move into the loft from Monday, December 3 to Thursday, December 13 for the 2002 Lofters Boot Camp. Boot camp will take the 16 finalists through a series of on-camera tests and determine their compatibility and comfort in the loft. Viewers will be able to watch their every move on U8TV.com’s snoop-cams.

There’s also another reason to be watching the finalists. You see, people will get to vote on who they want to get in as a Lofter for 2002, but the person who guesses all 8 correctly will win a European trip! In early January the 8 Lofters will move in, during a press conference, and find out who their loft-mates will be for the entire year. And don’t forget, the Lofters each get to live rent-free and get paid $30,000 for the year. Oh, and they get to meet all sorts of famous people, musicians, actors, artists, and sleazy folk and do the wildest stuff on TV and live on the web.

I just have one question… how are the 16 finalists going to fit in that loft for the Boot Camp, and where does that leave the current Lofters?

U8TV: The Party

W. Andrew Powell — Fri, 09 Mar 2001 23:39:39 +0000

Jennifer Hedger

[or "Wow! Another Article"]

I actually thought that my coverage of U8TV was over until just a couple of weeks ago I got a special little VIP pass to a party I didn’t even know about. Seems that the Lofters and their bosses at U8TV were looking to have a little party and who was I to refuse a party?! So, donning one of my ultra-suave, lady-killer ensembles I headed out for some beers, music and a little U8TV celebrity spotting.

The party was held at Roxy Blu and the whole place was setup with food, candy, oysters and booze. All the Lofters were hanging around and looking fab. Then at 8:30 Baby Blue Soundcrew came out to shake the room up a little with some seriously wicked DJ skills and vocals. They mixed up a lot of amazing tunes and really kicked the crowds collective ass. Arisa even went up on stage a couple of times to dance with the guys from the group.

Jen and Arisa were shaking some serious booty and were by far the best dancers. They looked like they were having a blast, but even Kalen looked like he was mostly enjoying the scene. I even caught a quick sighting of Mathieu and Vallery doing a little funny bump-and-grind to the music.

It was a great party and the bass in the main room was so intense that it shook the floor. There were lots of funky people all over the place trying to get a chance to meet the 8 Lofters and party with them. I even shot some video that night and as much as I want to show you, due to technical difficulties [read: stupidity] we have destroyed our only evidence. But, I’ll make everyone a promise that I’ll setup something before the year is over to get some more video of the Lofters!

U8TV: The Final Review

W. Andrew Powell — Wed, 17 Jan 2001 21:35:35 +0000

Since that chill autumn day nearly 4 months ago, when I got my first glimpse at the U8TV-machine, I’ve gone through every stage of love and hate for the concept of U8TV. From the odd name to the cool idea of the high-tech loft, I thought every idea over… and none of it prepared me for the last two days that I’ve sat in front of my computer watching these 8 wonderful freaks try and make something out of nothing.

I’ve cursed the chat system, tried to talk to the Lofters, watched the lovely ladies strut their stuff, laughed with/at the transvestite guests and I’ve nearly pulled my hair out each time something went wrong. But, while I love some of the stuff they’ve done so far, I can’t believe how badly other things are going. The sound and video on all the live streams is choppy nearly half the time (and I’m running on a high speed connection) and I often tune in to see the cameras, mostly on the snoop cams, pointed in odd directions or without the right microphones on.

But, whatever you say about U8TV, you can’t deny it’s ingenuity. It takes the idea of the “reality show” and pushes it in a little different direction, something a little more Canadian in its hands-on feel and naiveté. You can’t really call it unique, but it is still something fresh on the whole landscape of new media. Especially compared to that awful The Mole show or the old Big Brother.

Unlike some of the popular media outlets, I’m not here to talk cliche or totally dis the show. I want to dish out a fair review here because so far I don’t think many of the other things I’ve read have really taken a good, long look at U8TV. So let’s stop comparing it to American television for starters and move out of this media box we seem to be in.

For starters, the actual shows aren’t bad but they never really seem to capture any life. They bounce along with each person’s energy stretching it out of shape in fun but weird directions all the time, but the purpose never seems entirely clear. Some of the stories or shows (like one on quitting smoking and another to get people to make an oath to have more sex) are really well done, and others seem a bit too tepid (like the Spin The Bottle show, which is really slow and really lame). No matter what you say about U8TV however, it won’t survive 10 more minutes if the idea of “team” isn’t kept inside those loft’s walls. If those 8 Lofters continue as 8 loose canons then U8TV won’t be worth watching as anything more than an example of how NOT to do a show.

As far as the actual Lofters are concerned, I’m liking them a lot more than I ever expected. Kalen, David and Vallery are my favorites because of their charm and wit but Sandy is surprisingly a very cool person too. Her honesty and energy makes her a little edgy but that’s half of why she is worth watching for more than 10 minutes. Mathieu, Jen, Tre and Arisa on the other hand are good, but on camera they don’t come across quite strongly enough. In fact I’ve only seen Tre and Arisa in the Loft for a few minutes at a time. So on the Lofter side of things, they could all use some time to become better hosts but they’re pretty funky people and only Kalen and David suffer from ham-it-up-itis.

I am worried about the Lofters though because I think they’re all going to become alcoholics. So far, both Monday and Tuesday nights, I’ve seen everyone in the Loft drinking. Not casually either… they’re drinking like they mean it! Worst part is, they have to buy their own booze! I wonder how long it’ll be before they are panhandling for money, smokes and cheap wine?

All this doesn’t mean a thing though if you’re a voyeur like me. I can sit for hours and watch U8TV, but I find that I’m less likely to watch when they’re doing any of their shows. The unscripted stuff is actually pretty damn good. However, if things don’t get tighter, funkier and more interesting soon then I’m afraid this will be the quickest demise of a media outlet that the world has ever seen. I’m quietly optimistic though that things will pull together, the Lofters will become great hosts, and U8TV will expand into one of the hippest “stations”, but it’s going to take a whole lot of work behind the scenes first. Well, Survivor wasn’t built in a day!?

U8TV: The Loft

W. Andrew Powell — Mon, 08 Jan 2001 18:32:46 +0000

For the record, as I know at least one Lofter (the fabulous Tre – who rated the site 10/100 – Ouch!) has visited this page, I want to make something honestly clear. My opinions and ideas on each of the Lofters is nothing personal. At the same time, Tre took my “pompous” comment rather well.

Now, on with the big news… I have pictures from deep inside the heart of the Loft from this weeks press conference. There’s also a couple of quick photos of a few Lofters. Hope you enjoy and expect a review of the first day of broadcasting on Tuesday afternoon.

U8TV: The Eight

W. Andrew Powell — Thu, 04 Jan 2001 17:04:32 +0000

U8TV Lofters

It’s coming.

Yes, January 15th at 8:00am the cameras start rolling and the world will get it’s chance to take a look at these 8 people who would/could be stars. Just the other day I got my chance to go down to the Lofter’s home and see what all the fuss was going to be about. I know I shouldn’t be negative since the show hasn’t even premiered yet, but I wasn’t exactly impressed. While this show could be one of the coolest things to come out of Canada in a while, its sincerity could be the best or worst thing about it. If this comes off looking like a bunch of hams in front of the camera I can’t see it lasting long. At the same time it has the advantage of breaking some amazing new ground.

But, not everything was as I hoped in this paradise. In the media room hangout I got my little package for U8TV and it didn’t take me long to find the first thing to worry me. Three sheets of pictures were slipped in with all the info and although they were good photos they are also the cheesiest, most over-produced images I have ever seen. The group photo looks like something from Beverly Hills: 90210 or Melrose Place. There’s nothing real about the people in these pictures… they look like a horde of makeup artists, hairdressers and clothiers spent a day on their bodies just to prep for the pictures. And the backgrounds on the individual pictures look like they were done at a stylish studio instead of au naturel.

Although I know they need to promote this show and make it look slick, I am worried that they are already over producing the show. At the same time, there are two outlets for this show and that can’t help but make things different. As a pure internet tv station I think they might have pushed for an edgier look but since they are also aiming for spotlights on the Life Network (a 30 minute show every day -except Sunday at 9:30pm- where they recap the day) I think they had to gloss up the image quite a bit more to satisfy everyone’s needs. They may also have decided at that point to pick some of the “glossier” people who applied though. Each of the people is in shape, fashionable (in their own ways) but not exactly stereotypical. So after a quick intro from the big wigs from Alliance-Atlantis… the new stars stepped out.

First out was Mathieu Chantelois acting like a pomp VJ from MTV, he swaggered in and after introducing himself plopped down into a seat while grinning into every camera possible. Every instinct told me I’d dislike this guy… maybe as a real person he was okay but on camera he was going to be a swaggering annoyance.

Next was Arisa Cox, the only person in the group who wasn’t white. (An almost all white cast possibly makes her a token nod to Canada’s multiculturalism but makes me wonder why the 8 couldn’t be more diverse besides the two French speakers) She was by far one of the more interesting people to listen to, but still seemed to fit all too well into the hip style they seemed to be looking for.

A pleasant surprise was #3, Valery Gagne (Pasionek), a kind of in-your-face cool-chick from Montreal with an attitude that was wicked without being put-on or without being too much of an act. She was the real deal, even if that means being a bit in your face.

Overall, the coolest person on the stage, Kalen Haymen came next. From the start I thought he had a good chance (although early on that wasn’t a comfort to me – see Day # 1) and there he came in all his glory. Carrying incense and his camera he was a breath of fresh air with his dyed hair, kilt and mass of piercings amongst all the other mainstream-looking Lofters.

U8TV Lofters

Jennifer Frances Hedger, one of the most camera friendly faces of the group, was next. She wasn’t exactly what I had hoped to see and lacked the honesty I expected from the Lofters but she seems like the one person to be the most likely to become a star. She has a presence about her that screams stardom, even if it isn’t so much a feeling that reminds me of real, down-to-earth people.

Next, David Keystone came out. His introduction was short, but he was the most real, smart, and likeable person I ever expected on that stage. He was genuine to the point of being like an old friend and yet he seemed like the most reserved person there. A welcome change from a couple of the others.

[Sandy Medeiros was left out of this article by a sheer forgetfulness. This wasn't done on purpose, but at first I'll admit I didn't like her as much. At this point though, after watching part of today, I think she is one of the few trying to talk to people over the net and is actually pretty interesting.]

Lastly came Trevor “Tre” Smith. He was the most outspoken person on stage and also the most pompous of the group. Unlike the others, he was actually chosen as a replacement for one of the original members who decided to drop out because, as Lili Shalev put it, “He doesn’t feel that he can deal with the reality-based part of U8TV and he did not feel comfortable exposing his life on camera to the world.” Unfortunately, that’s probably exactly what U8TV needed more than another guy who was just aching to have a camera on him.

It’s hard not to judge this all yet, since I really only like 3 of the Lofters but that is possibly an interesting edge for the show. U8TV seems to be aimed at providing some real life experience and to get that they’ve generated a bit of possible tension. They’re controlling a few key things to make an environment that will provoke some sort of reaction from the group. Although I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach there is a bright side…

When I got home that evening I watched a rough cut of the U8TV Bootcamp video that they had given out. It was a draft of a show that would introduce the people watching the Life Network to the whole process of finding the Lofters and picking the 8 people (I was actually shown on it for a mere 15 frames… yes, I counted). It gave a whole new light to the people on the stage and gave a new promise that this could still be a very cool idea. Almost everyone, even Tre and Mathieu, were interesting and lively. It brought out a side to their personalities that either fear, training or rehearsal had erased from them in that press conference arena.

I’ve learned a lot though. There’s a great chance that this’ll go well but I don’t want to bet on it yet. Until Monday, I’ll leave my opinions to the side and watch it with a clear mind to see how things turn out. Maybe, just maybe… this could be something that won’t suck as bad as Big Brother. From Monday on, it’s not up to the creators to build the image though… only the Lofters can make people love or hate them by being themselves and letting the audience decide if they’re interesting enough to watch for an entire year.