TV and Me

As most of you know I was part of a group of friends that made a short lived Television show called "Floor 42". Originally it was going to be a sketch comedy show where we would tackle the news, pop culture and other funny ideas that came to us. We figure we could make an episode a week with ease, we where mistaken to say the least.
Two years, two weddings, a few moves, an engagement and three completed episodes later we decided to put the show on the back burner because none of us really have the time, energy or financial backing to continue the show. An unspoken pact was made to place the show on the back burner and see if we could revive it in the future some time. Until that day arises the three completed episodes we made now live on Google video and youtube.

It has taken me a while to remember I haven't talked about these episodes on this blog before. So here they are with a few added comments by myself.



This first episode took us about 6 months to shot, edit and finalize. It was a very grueling process that showed us it would take more than an idea and some video equipment to make something of quality.





Ah Episode 2... you where something else. This episode was original recorded without me by the Vince's. I was a little angered by that but in the end it turns out the first take didn't have audio so we had to re-shoot and I got to be there for it. You cna also thank me for the crappy lighting. The most fun I had during this episode was driving around Minneapolis while filming the opening by Josh Parker. We where using some older 50lbs camera which got to be fairly annoying by the end of the day, we survived none the less.





Episode three was my attempt to inspire and re-energize us. I wrote the script, expanded how many people where in it and even added to the crew. We secured locations and tried to organize better than we had in the past. We also built sets and got a small budget for catering, no budget for anything else though. This by far is may favorite episode of the three that we completed.





Now there is a fourth episode. It is mostly an epic fight between myself and the camera man. A wonderfully shot and scored masterpiece it was never completed. We where about two or three days away form completing it and everything just fell apart. All motivation and drive just dissipated, we never finished it but if we had it would have been one of the greatest episodes we would have ever made.

Internet Fame

Recently the Internet show "Quarter Life" aired on NBC. The Nielsen rates for it where very very low, almost non-existent, that got me thinking. Why would a show do better on the web than television? Both would be the same jokes, same plots, same characters why this drop in ratings.

Because finding something is always better than being presented something. When it comes to content on the internet there is a lot there. Millions of short videos, writings, songs just about any form of media can be found on the internet. Thus creating an ocean of possible entertainment. there really isn't an internet guide - Google is to a degree - there to show us what we have available to us. No, we must hunt for what we may want to enjoy. We can spend hours looking for that niche we can find on TV, that little slice of comic genius we know is out there. When we do find it we are thrilled, elated and then seek to share it with others.
TV on the other hand presents entertainment to us. We all sit back the start making our score cards. Tell the television, I am here make my time worth it, show me something good. Something that will make me laugh or that i can loss myself in. Do it or I will turn you off and think more about reading a book." We never get the same thrill that we do when we find something. There is no urning for a prize. No reward for the effort we put forth.

That is way Internet show will almost always do better online then they will on Television.

Imagination be Damed

I and my lovely soon to be wife have made the vast and all too common plunge into debt by purchasing a home. Some would say it isn't really debt but rather an investment. It may be that why when we decide to sell it, but until then it feels like debt. (More about the house and photos will follow at a later date and time.) The house itself is located in the city and since I have an overactive imagination I have been noticing how similar my house is to that of murder victims on crime shows. Years upon years of living in the suburbs will do that to you. Every crime show on TV is showing the most vicious and vile crimes happening in the city too try and shock viewers into sticking around for commercials.

Years of watching that really helps you see dark figures wielding sharpened spoons hiding around corners waiting to slice you open and feast on your spleen while masturbating over your dying corpse. Then they rape your dead body, twice. But lucky there is a handsome young detective there to console your grieving wife who finds the one piece of evidence everyone has over looked leading to a high speed chase down a freeway ending in a full on, no reservations gun battle in an abandoned warehouse. Resulting in the bloody death of they bad guy at the hands of the handsome detective and the happy ever after life for the widow.

Sometimes at night when I look at either one of my neighbor’s houses I start to picture a dark basement full of people they have been drugged and shackled to the wall waiting to be tortured. At night skin is cut off their bodies in little pieces while the toururer draws whiskers on their face with blood and then starts sewing the skin into a suit to fit their cat. That way it isn't weird that they want to have a romantic relationship with they cat, because it is in a human suit, making it look like a little person... with four legs... that purrs...not weird.

Every time I walk into my garage at night I expect to find an underground cock fight ring surrounded by a vicious mob of the most disreputable types of people screaming incoherent curses at the poultry gladiators while drinking some chilled malt beverages. Then I get stabbed in the face because I didn't know the password. As I lye there bleeding profusely from my face the fleeing mob of immoral cock wranglers trample me beneath their feet as the try to avoid the police that have arrived on scene to arrest these perpetrators. The organizer pulls me up as a human shield while he wildly fires and full automated weapon and the police. Once the ensuing fire fight has finished I am arrested for underground illegal cock fighting and get the death penalty.

Most of my imaginary scenarios involve things of that nature. I feel they may be more disturbing than most peoples. I only really saw these imaginary moments of time at night while walking through the darkness to throw that trash out when I first moved to the house. Now I really don’t see them anymore mainly because after I imagine them and they don’t happen to me that means I’ve already seen it and it’s pretty unbelievable to think about. Maybe next season I’ll see something better.