The first episode of 2016 is also the last episode of TMZ The Mernahuana Zone hosted by Matt Mernagh live streamed from Vapor Central in Toronto, enjoy the last hurrah for TMZ on Pot TV with this archive of Episode #240 from January the 5th 2016 series finale of The Mernahuana Zone:
TMZ Finale Jan 5 2016
https://twitter.com/mernahuana/status/684396076124733440
The Mernahuana Zone: The Last Hurrah
POT TV – After 240 consecutive weeks, The Mernahuana Zone retires from the internet Tuesday January 5.
TMZ: The Last Hurrah airs 720-1020 pm EST from Vapor Central on Pot TV Tuesday January 5 – WATCH IT ABOVE.
The 200+ episode club is a rare feat for weekly television and TMZ will reach 240 shows January 5, which is four more episodes than Friends.
Compared to television shows, TMZ slots in with The Andy Griffith Show (249 weekly episodes), Happy Days (250 weekly episodes), M*A*S*H (251 weekly episodes), and The Jeffersons (253 weekly episodes).
TMZ has set the bar for other webcasts to follow at a time when webcasting is just starting to become a thing.
Much like how these television programs captured a period in time, often satirically, in its own way TMZ did the same for cannabis.
By retiring we are ending our era, but have opened doors for people to fill our space.
It’s like the old Star Trek being replaced by Star Trek: The Next Generation immediately, which we all know was light years better. Personally I prefer Deep Space Nine as my ultimate Star Trek, but I’m weird that way.
Unlike sitcoms with their slew of writers, The Mernahuana Zone relied on seat of our stoned pants satire and mainstream cannabis prohibition news stories.
You can’t make this up is one of my favorite TMZ catchphrases because a weed writer couldn’t create a fictional item better. It’s possible in my stoned state I did exaggerate some items, but seriously was Toronto Mayor John Tory a trafficker back in his law school days?
I wasn’t getting stoned and thinking of satirical items beforehand, but marijuana medicating and reading mainstream news daily, visiting weedy websites and engaging in social media.
The silliness was out there and it came from journalist, police, politicians or even one of our own.
Physically Grinding Gig
Crazily, The Mernahuana Zone is a physically demanding grind for three hours.
Wednesday, the day following our live webcast, is generally my highest pain day.
My pain is often out of control and I’m for sure exhausted from expending energy to entertain.
It’s mentally demanding to stay on point while people are offering you dabs and you’re sampling strains.
Sometimes on Wednesday or Thursday I’ll photograph cannabis to switch it up from words, but often I’m too tired to do much of anything.
Creatively I feel spent several days post-TMZ.
Ideally I’d be blogging for RollingStoned, Cannabis Culture or one of the new weed websites, work on a followup to Marijuana Smoker’s Guidebook or freelance an article to NOW.
However, it has been a tough grind lately because I’m mildly creatively tired and have pain issues from my disability.
Not a great combination!
Last winter I pulled a muscle so horribly that walking became a challenge.
The pain hobbled me during some shows I was certain before going on I’d only be able to do an hour.
I was really pushing myself physically and while the muscle has improved, it hasn’t fully healed.
Like slapstick comedy, professional wrestling or roller derby, The Mernahuana Zone hurt long after the camera turned off.
TMZ Waged War on Harper
The Mernahuana Zone was needed to fight Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
We fought our PM and his prohibitionists like our freedom depended on it and in many ways it did.
Fuck it, Harper has resigned.
Therefore it seems fitting The Mernahuana Zone retires too, but unlike Harper we are going out as champions.
Without Harper I don’t think cannabis would be as popular because you need a foil.
TMZ needs a heel to succeed and Justin Trudeau is the biggest face since Hulk Hogan.
We called MPs, MPPs, MLAs, and even some mayors on their BS and now many of them don’t have jobs in public office.
TMZ warned them to get on the weed band wagon, but they didn’t heed our warning.
Morning talk radio hosts used to do the crank call all the time and we did our own brand of it by combining the crank call with prohibition fighting.
It’s entertaining and political activism!
With a majority Liberal government there are many less prohibition MPs to do our prohibition crank call.
As Mastah Rollah quipped, “What are we going to do? Thank them.”
No one is going to tune in for that!
TMZ reported on weed busts by calling people directly impacted.
We spoke with the people hurt by police raids and learned about pot prohibition’s harsh realities firsthand.
Our coverage wasn’t limited to Canada, we used a professional Skype account to speak with people around the ganja globe.
We covered cannabis becoming legal in every state because High Times used a Toronto 420 image to celebrate Colorado’s win.
Our news gathering was really amazing considering the resources we had at our disposal.
It Wasn’t All Seriousness Because … Dabs
TMZ spoke too many people engaged in creating cannabis culture while also creating plenty of our own.
Our guests list was awesome!
Thank you all for coming on and letting me ask you questions.
There is so much marijuana content a friend has suggested breaking up the three hours into small chewable best of segments.
My goal was to create a fun cannabis lounge like experience virtually. This would allow people in smaller communities who don’t have the same freedoms we do in The Big Smoke to virtually experience what’s going on.
People saw how much fun we were having that I like to believe TMZ was a small catalyst in getting people motivated to host a 420 rally, open a lounge or create their own cannabis culture.
Or maybe they were motivated because we came across unprofessional and they could do better. Though I think that’s asking much of TMZ Haters.
Our segments 420 Bud Swap and Weight Is Right were awesome and broke up the night beautifully.
When 420 Bud Swap started we considered the possibility I could be charged with trafficking. The idea was so outlandish that I’d gladly take it to trial.
Over lunch a lawyer friend pointed out telling viewers to buy marijuana from sponsors Herbal Dispatch or Bud Buddy may result in trafficking charges. Again so outlandish I’d gladly take it to trial.
Dabbing wasn’t a thing when we began webcasting.
Now it is.
We have dab ninjas, dab warriors and myself a dab cheerleader, battling our own personal dab demons to push ourselves to dab bigger and bolder every week.
Last week I dabbed to the point I floated a few minutes around the room.
It was awesome.
TMZ The Last Hurrah January 5
The speech from the throne informed Canadians the new government is going to legalize ganja. When it’s put in the throne speech it means government is very serious about resolving the issue.
Our message during Harper’s long reign was ‘these are the dark days before the dawn.’
The Mernahuana Zone goal was to improve our public speaking to prepare us for mainstream media interviews.
Now the dawn has begun to creep up over the horizon and I’m kind of bloodied and battered from going toe-to-toe with HarperCons weekly.
All this talk about legalization needs more people to take to the airwaves.
Don’t read the media become the marijuana media you want to see and hear.
The tools to go live on the internet are more accessible than ever before.
It’s easy to start a weed webcast, but the real challenge is to do it every week on schedule.
With dedication to the craft comes improvement.
We all became better and like long lasting television show’s characters we evolved as people.
Thank you for feeling connected to a creative endeavor that was designed to connect cannabis people – especially those living outside Canada’s marijuana meccas.
Marshal McLuhan media observers would observe TMZ is a classic example of McLuhanism. We used the means of media to reach people in a global village to popularize the idea of marijuana legalization.
Thank you for watching The Mernahuana Zone.
Article source Pot TV
