When the local cable company (at the time Adelphia Cable, just prior to the Federal Treasury agents’ raid - now Time Warner Cable) came to us and asked for some ideas for an exclusive, locally-produced show that might be different, attention-grabbing, and controversial enough to draw audiences away from satellite and other competitors, a group of us sat down and thought about this challenge. What kind of show would be "talked about around the watercooler the next day,” as the cable folks described it, and still make sense economically and artistically to produce on a regular basis in a local market? The answer was clear, a locally focused satirical sketch comedy show. So a crew of talented writers and performers was assembled to create the pilot show of the proposed series. The only directive, other than be funny, was to keep the focus on local events, personages, and themes. This meant politicians, civic blunders, historical faux-pas, commercial missteps, and more, were all fair game. The show’s writers were tasked with being unbiased, apolitical, and even-handed, spreading the comedic abuse to all parties, walks of life, communities, and sensibilities. Working with infoTech Niagara, a local tech-oriented business develop ment organization that sponsors an annual awards show for IT achive ments, the producers crafted the pilot as segments that would be used at the BETAs (Buffalo Emerging Technology Awards) as entertainment and, at the same time, a test audience for the pilot. The show premiered on March 21, 2007 at the Buffalo & Erie County Convention Center. The reaction was terrific, the audience commenting that it was about time that certain people and events were taken to task, comedically, and the overall response was very positive towards a series being produced. The pilot is now in the process of being sold to local sponsors, turned into a viral marketing campaign, with other developments pending.