Local teens' show ends run

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

For the past four years, three local boys have grown up in front of cable television audiences, cracking jokes, poking fun of one another and even acting as a pre-party drinking favorite for local college students.
“Whenever I mention the Lakers, they have to take a shot,” said the show’s co-host Jake Longstreth of the drinking game devised by students.
The same goes for co-host Teddy Steinkellner, who said e-mail communication with residents in collage dormitories and fraternity houses throughout the area indicate that whenever he makes a nervous twitch with his neck, drools, or boasts about a fourth grade spelling bee victory on air, an additional shot of liquor is required.


College revelers continue drinking when the show’s third co-host, Mike Schmitt mentions the TV show “Scrubs.”
But the diverse audience the teen show has drummed up through the years will have to find another place for early afternoon and late-night entertainment, as the final episode of “Santa Barbara Uncensored” graced local televisions for the final time yesterday with the boys’ first and only live episode.
Loyal watchers need not worry that the ending of the “Santa Barbara Unsensored” era is due to a corporate media conglomerate changing its direction (the show has appeared on public access channels 17 and 21), or a feud between the fun-loving hosts.
They’re just growing up.
This fall, Schmitt is off to New York University, while Steinkellner will head north to Stanford University.
Longstreth is set to begin his junior year at Laguna Blanca School and plans to maintain his television presence on another public access show called “View at Your Own Risk.”
The three boys decided to begin filming the show after attending a summer camp film camp put on by the nonprofit The Santa Barbara Channels.
“We just did it a couple times and really loved it,” Longstreth said. “It’s probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done with my life.”
Since meeting at summer camp, the trio has filmed two episodes every other week, amassing nearly 160 shows.
During their final episode, the three jokers didn’t miss a beat despite being unusually dressed in suits.
In nearly all of the “Santa Barbara Uncensored” episodes through the years, the boys have sat comfortably on a set that consists of a chair, couch and coffee table covered with dozens of action figures -- a setting that Longstreth said resembles any one of the living rooms in their homes.
That level of familiarity set the scene for the boys to take a half hour of their lives, as it would have been inside their parents’ homes or a cafe, and open it to the public.
According to Schmitt, this everyday tone has created an interesting lens through which three boys have slowly but surely grown up.
“It’s a time capsule,” Schmitt said of the show. “It’s just really exciting to see how our perspectives changed.”
When asked about his favorite episode, it didn’t take Longstreth long to pinpoint a bit during which the boys ranked the best and worst areas of Santa Barbara -- with downtown topping the list and Hope Ranch at the bottom. He said that episode concluded with a conversation about urinating inside a car, but won the trio an award at the Western Access Video Excellence Awards for best youth access show.
Steinkellner said one of his favorite episodes featured a local man who is the singer in a Doors tribute band.
Steinkellner said the man talked about how he traded Indians with Jim Morrison.
“That was really public access at its finest,” Steinkellner said.
The three hosts weren’t shy about admitting the majority of their viewers consist of the drunk Isla Vista crowd and mothers.
When asked what the possible connection is between the two target demographics, Schmitt answered jokingly: “They’re bored and they’re looking for some fun in their lives.”
Similar to the conversational tone of the show, this comment led into another segment of the viewing public that the boys seemed to enjoy joking about.
“Girls enjoy looking at us,” Schmitt said.
“We’ve definitely had more than one woman e-mail us to tell us how attractive we are,” Steinkellner said.
Mike Schmitt’s father, Bob Schmitt, who mans camera No. 3 on the set, described the show as a combination of sketch comedy and teenagers hanging out.
“Even if it does have the “uncensored” title, it never got rude, it was always very smart humor,” Bob Schmitt said.
The elder Schmitt said he never stopped being amazed at how many people approached his son in public to comment on the show.
“It’s a riot,” Bob Schmitt said.
Mike Schmitt and Steinkellner both said they plan to resurrect the show from time to time when they visit from college.
No tears were shed on the set yesterday, but hugs were given all around as the boys loaded their action figures into a bag, pictures were taken and the set was dismantled for the final time.
“We couldn’t have ended the show any better,” Longstreth said. “It ended perfectly.”