Webtainment Taking Over? Is TV dying a slow death?

I haven't posted a conversational entry in, well, I can't remember when. I now feel the need. For those who follow me as Ann Wilkes the sci-fi writer, this year has been a bit of a sabbatical on that front. I have written what I think is an awesome flash this year, got an article which I wrote last fall published and have kept the blog going. Other than that, I've been a dancing fool, going out dancing five or six times a week. The divorce from the non-dancing husband was final in January and I've been making up for lost time. So, I'm still expressing myself, but with a different medium. ;) Besides, it don't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing... du wop, du wop.

But you didn't come here to read about my dancing exploits. You came here because you love sci-fi. I have an opportunity to get back into writing with a vengeance. I'm so excited about this project that I can hardly contain myself. But contain myself I will. Suffice it to say I'd be teaming up with a big name in the animation industry. Y'all keep your fingers crossed for me, you here? Meantime, I'm going to start shooting the stories back out that need to find their first or second homes. I've also been chairing a local sci-fi contest. The winners will be announced in September. And I'm volunteer coordinator for the Sonoma County Book Festival. So, I haven't been idle. Just not writing much new fiction. I guess I'll have to give up a couple dance nights to work it back in.

For now, I have a question for my readers. Are we going so digital that TV will be a thing of the past in the near future? I keep seeing new web series sprouting up and the quality of some of them is pretty awesome. Do you envision a day very soon when we'll just watch our entertainment on our computer monitors, laptops and handheld devices? Would you switch to this willingly, or kicking and screaming? What about the quality and quantity?

I watched shows on Hulu for a while, until my Internet access went south. It's great that the commercials are shorter, but at least watching shows on the DVR, I could fast forward through them. Online, I can neither do that nor mute them as easily as I could on the TV.

Check out this pilot for a web series before you weigh in. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

PBS's "Pioneers of Television: Science Fiction"

Check out this PBS show, featuring several of our perennial favorite science fiction television creators and stars. The show, an episode of season two of Pioneers of Television series about television history, aired earlier this week. It will be showing again tonight (Thursday, January 20th), at least on my local channel and probably on yours, and will likely show at other times in the near future. Check your local listings or favorite on-line television schedule for details.

The focus of the show is on breakout programs of the 60's, including The Twilight Zone, Lost in Space, and of course Star Trek. Interviews with several of the stars of those shows are included, as are posthumous interview clips of Rod Serling. I especially enjoyed the comments from Bill Mumy (of "Lost in Space", "The Twilight Zone", and my personal favorite, "Babylon 5").

At the end of the show, there is an interesting "extra feature", a timeline of key science fiction television milestones of interest, from the fifties through the seventies.

While not All Inclusive, this show is interesting, fun, and respectful, not only of the shows and their creators, but of the challenges of the times. Die hard science fiction historians will probably not make any bold discoveries watching this program, but the show is still well worth watching. Kelsey Grammer's narration is masterfully soft-spoken, unobtrusive and sincere.

You can try playing the TV Guide clip or the original PBS preview play of the show on your browser if you need more convincing to check this out.

- D. E. Helbling

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Happy Town on ABC 4/28

Premiering Wednesday, April 28, 2010, on ABC – Happy Town



The quiet, rural town of Haplin, MN has enjoyed a respite from the annual disappearances that have plagued the town, also known as Happy Town, for years. Year after year one person would go missing – some old, some young, some affluent, some not. Local legend has it that the Magic Man is responsible. But no one knows who or what this Magic Man is.

Young Henley Boone moves to town, so viewers get the grand tour as given to her by her real estate agent. On the drive to the boarding house with the realtor, Henley notices a question mark with a halo depicted in graffiti all over town. The boarding house is also home to Mr. Merritt Grieves and four widows. Grieves is played by Sam Neil who does a very convincing impression of Vincent Price's trademark creepy serial killer character. He even owns a memorabilia shop called The House of Usher.

The landlady tells Henley that the third floor is off-limits. You know she's gonna risk eviction and go up there to investigate.

Happy Town's happiness is shattered when a man is murdered in an ice-fishing shack on the frozen pond. Murder, in that rural town is unheard of, let alone the bizarre method used in this case. I don't want to give too much away, here. Many people, you'll find out, have a hidden side, deliciously pregnant with secrets or mayhem.

Adding color to the whole small town atmosphere are the quaint little sayings. Things like, "Chin to the moon, son," and "Like she'd been eatin' hornets for breakfast."

The most intriguing element in the pilot is the sheriff's lapses in which he speaks of Chloe. His son, the Deputy, asks him who Chloe is, and he says he doesn't know a Chloe. He is unaware that he's been speaking about her.

The show promises a complex plot, so far. But don't take my word for it. And who's missing this time? Maybe it's me. www.annwilkesismissing.com



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