@The Squid: I agree with you. Every piece of a Transmedia Story must stand on its own. You shouldn't need to have seen any of the other pieces of story to enjoy whatever it is you're checking out.
If anyone wants to see a particularly egregious example of RETCONNING in serialized television -- I direct you to ALIAS, Episode 11 of Season 3. Written by yours truly. Its in-on-the-joke title is: FULL DISCLOSURE. One thing I always find particularly amusing here is Sydney Bristow's plane ride with Kendall. They fly in a circle. At the time it just felt like there was something about a clandestine flight that made pages of mind-warping retcon more believeable.
Great article. Serialization on TV is very difficult to sustain at the creative end for many reasons. Writing staff churn at all levels is one. Lack of a clear process and workflow to monitor the serialized elements is another. Other than the one and only JMS doing it all on Babylon 5, I think the staff of 24 did a nice job with their season 7. I just watched it all over a few days, while being stuck in bed with a cold. I think they balanced the episodic and serial parts to good effect. They kept their characters emotionally consistent through endless plot twists and allegiance turns and found a conclusion that made one of the most glaring character inconsistencies actually seem earned and poignant. And I must say that I do enjoy how R.T. Davies found ways to drop token bits of serial into Dr. Who. The way that show was written, without an in-house writing staff, makes even adding those few serialized bites a real challenge for a show runner to pull off.
@JaiMak: I was gonna mention DEATH RACE! I agree with you! A fun blend of practical and CGI. P WS Anderson takes a lot of flack but I'm glad he keeps making movies.
@jimmyolsenblues: PRIMER is an amazing film. Blew me away! The commentary on the DVD is worth a listen.
@Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.: Day One will certainly have a ton of VFX. The pilot is crazy with 'em. We got amazing work from EDEN FX, Branit FX, and an incredible matte painted named Eric Chauvin. But for the series I'm hoping to bring out my inner Blomkamp. The show is set in present day in the real world so we should be able to do much of it practically. At the end of the day our stories are what is going to hook people or not. The writers room is hard at work coming up with awesomeness!
@WizarDru: Yeah -- I blew it with the Star Wars as mid-budget reference. I guess what I was excited about was actors on practical sets. And I'm still a fan of ILM's miniature work in New Hope.
@CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard): I loved OUTLANDER! Exactly the kind of movie I want more of! Totally would love to see Morwen's revenge!
Sorry about the R. Lee Ermee typo! He's the best! I consider his monologue in ON DEADLY GROUND to be the best ever!
NBC is being super cool to me. Angela Bromstad and everyone at the network loves the pilot and is committed to the show. My writers start next week and we're gonna scribble are butts off to make every episode of DAY ONE awesome! If it tanks -- it's on me.
Wow! So excited to see this stuff here! I'm a huge fan of the site!
