A milestone was reached recently by GCW, and I'm not talking about the 2nd anniversary of the company.
This was a little bit more impressive considering the time demands and the effort needed to pull off a project like this.
And it's a project that seems to be getting better as we continue...
IN POOBAH'S CORNER
"100 IS A LOVELY ROUND NUMBER"
For those that might not know, GCW TV finished putting to tape its 100 episode this past month. That's 100 original half-hour episodes...in a row. That's somewhere around 300 matches.
Somehwere along the way, hundreds of hours of videotape was edited, thousands of sheets of rundowns were printed and thousands of gallons of nacho cheese was consumed.
You may not be exposed to the nature of producing television, but its an extremely time-consuming process. From writing scripts, to pre-production meetings, to day-of-event production, to post-production editing, to syndication, it drains what little time one has left to give.
Much like running a wrestling group, there's alot that goes in to a project that only lasts a few hours.
To be quite honest, 100 episodes was something that I thought this group would never reach. I thought we'd make around 20 and call it a night.
But then 20 became 30, and 30 became 50, and 50 became 75 and 75 became the present.
If you've been a long-time viewer of the program, you'll see the logical progression of the program. It started out as just a "house-show" program, which was pretty much a replay what one would see live at any GCW event.
The change was made (for the much better) to make GCW a "studio-oriented" show after about 9 episodes of the old format aired. The goal was to make GCW's show a little more contemporary in presentation.
Yes, it meant a little more progression into the "sports entertainment" aspect of the profession, but it turned out to be a wise move.
Although the roster was already solid with solid wrestlers, the true personalities of GCW began to shine. And in the past 100 episodes, they have flourished.
To wit:
I think there is no better promo person in the business today than Nikki Strychnine.
I think Jack Adonis has come full circle in less than two years.
Ryan Ash has no shame.
Billy McNeil is surprisingly hilarious.
I have found an opponent for Jim Cornette, and his name is Chuck Farley, who can match the Louisville Slugger word-for-word and minute-for-minute.
Pete Madden's promos always worry me when they go astray but always seem to come back to earth and sell the point.
Delirious, Chaz Wesson, and Ratboy don't ever have to speak to get over.
There are other things to remember about the first 100 episodes, some of which will be featured on our 100th episode in couple of weeks. Due to time constraints, we were only allocated about 3 minutes to show as much as possible. After I finished edited the 3 minute piece last week, I saw that I has just barely scratched the surface.
I appreciate those who have supported the project since day one, which is the GCW booking committee, past and present, the GCW wrestling staff, the GCW support staff, the production crew and the loyal followers who come to see our "three act plays" every month.
With the booking committee, they have helped us weave the web creatively between tv programs and house shows, which is what any good wrestling tv show should do.
With the GCW wrestlers, they have graciously dedicated their time and energy, without complaint, to make this production a very entertaining one. They have performed following grueling matches the night before. They have performed with injuries, aches and pains, however, they still go out and amaze me every time we do this monthly. And during this whole process, no one, and I mean no one, has ever said "No I won't do that." That is the thing I will always respect the most.
With the support staff and production crew, they are the glue that holds the foundation together to bring a good visual product on the air. Yeah, we may be public access, but sometimes we don't look like. And thank god for Evil Jim.
And to the audience, thank you for your patience and support throughout our many episodes. Their are many dedicated fans, friends and family members who have helped our product by being vocal.
The thing that I am most happy about in our project so far is that it has made people notice that local wrestling is still alive and kicking. It can be entertaining and still have the aspects of wrestling that we all enjoyed when we were wee lads.
I didn't think we'd make 100 episodes...I'm glad I was wrong.
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