Well! That was pretty cool. The final show was a lot more "viewer-friendly" than the show I was originally brought on to write. For one thing, they integrated a lot more "solutions" into the "collapse" narrative, rather than saving them all for the end. They also soft-pedaled some of the more dire/horrifying peeks into the future. In the end, they pretty much changed every word of dialogue Sari & I wrote, while still keeping the basic storyline and "action sequences." Even so, other than the occasional cringe-inducing line of dialogue, we didn’t hate it; in fact, there were many instances where the new dialogue worked better than what we’d come up with. And the art and animation was stellar! Great work from Messers. Infurnari, O’Connor, Purvis, Hamilton, Bair, and the Guerilla FX crew.
And, yes, Lucy’s love interest was indeed named Josh. Truth be told, all the characters (including the hurricane which struck Miami) were named after people or their loved ones in the creative staff. They made me name Lucy’s hubby Josh, but it was a surprise that Infurnari, et al. actually drew him to look (vaguely) like me! I got a kick out of that. And of course it was satisfying to "die a hero."
I’ve yet to read any mainstream reviews of the show, though there has been some early blog reactions, most of them fairly negative. (One in particular felt that the comics element — big surprise — lowered the program’s overall IQ.) Early word is that the show drew in around 2.5 million viewers. Not bad, except that was fourth place in the network battles. Of course, we were up against an Obama interview and two shows with the word "Mental" in the title. (Note to self: maybe we should’ve named the show Mental 2100?) Also, seems the show has been bought by the History Channel, so expect to see reruns over there shortly enough.
All in all, a fun dip into the TV world. And it gave me and Sari an excuse to at least get a skeletal version of the Dojo Graphics website up.
Earth 2100
Having read books by most of the experts interviewed, and having centered my life around environmental concerns, very little was new to me, and since I rarely watch tv, didn’t even know the show was to be aired.
However, I was getting a haircut, and my hairdresser had on the tv. She knows of my interest in such things, so she asked me to stay and watch it with her. I found that the program really resonated with her, in particular the graphic framing narrative about Lucy and Josh. During the show she took several phone calls and told her friends to turn it on. After the show she told me she plans to contact her town’s government about certain issues.
Rather than “lowering iq”, I think this show was a great way to get the message across to folks who may not have much exposure to discussion of the fate of the earth in their everyday lives, and in an emotionally meaningful format. We all understand and internalize stories more easily and deeply than we do “talking head” analysis or opinion. (Of course the “business as usual” ads provided an ironic counterpoint, but programming must be paid for.)
It will take all we’ve got to move our collective path away from the grim scenario depicted.
Great job everyone.
Re: Earth 2100
Thank you very much! I’ll pass on your note to the other collaborators.
Forth place? I was waiting to hear the ratings. Obama was indeed a big worry at the wrap party.