Power Outage Prompts Jimmy Kimmel to Record Show on His Macbook

by Matthew Zuras on June 23, 2010 at 12:40 PM

jimmy kimmel recording his show on laptop

The digital age has smashed the primacy of the all-powerful television camera. Why rely on major networks when we have Twitpics, cell phone cameras and live-streams to make our own broadcasts? It seems that even the networks have recognized that all their fancy machinery can still be bested by a camera on a laptop. When a power failure hit the 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' studio on Monday, the eponymous host took to his Macbook's webcam so that the show could go on.

After a few attempts to re-route power after a failure earlier in the day, Kimmel and Co. were faced with the prospect of no show at all. The studio lights were still in operation, but the cameras and the control room remained darkened. So Kimmel opened up his Macbook, and launched Photo Booth to record the show himself from his desk. The audience seemed to be invigorated with the fervor that goes hand-in-hand with blackouts -- when adults get thrown into a world without power and begin to resemble rambunctious kids at sleep-away camp.

Guests had to hold their own microphones -- just like in the Dark Ages! -- since the remote mics seemed to have been knocked out, too. Musical guest Dierks Bentley was possibly best served by the blackout, as he and his country band rocked out acoustically. The show was not streamed live, however, so ABC played a rerun on Monday, while the webcam show was broadcast last night. You can check out a sample of the show below, or watch the full episode here.

We can only trust Kimmel's assertion that this wasn't a stunt by Apple to hawk its products. "It is not a promotion of any kind," he told the New York Times. "In fact, I'm hoping they're not upset with it." We're inclined to believe him, since Apple hasn't shown much aptitude for, or interest in, surreptitious viral marketing campaigns, and doesn't even seem to think that leaked press is good press. Either way, for an audience largely grown accustomed to the under-lit, wavering and pixelated videos of YouTube (or overly sleek, intensely manicured studio productions), the show came off pretty well. [From: New York Times]