OBC: You're On It!

By Steven Otte

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Note: If you can't view the entire program grids, maximize your browser, and if that doesn't do it, view the article in a separate window by clicking here. I just couldn't squeeze the program grids any smaller. Sorry.

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Proposed Spring Broadcast Schedule, OBC-1

Lindsay

Morning

Program Notes

OBC Money Week and OBC Entertainment Week [10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday]: These two shows share a common set, look, format and feel with the well-established OBC News Week and the re-engineered OBC Sports Week. Together, these four shows create a unified block, like the departments in a news chipzine. One show will lead right into another, greatly reducing switching between shows. Each show will have an ensemble cast drawn from the news department's rookie class to develop new talent. That technique will also keep costs down.

Serena Rodis [10 a.m. weekdays]: Yes, that Serena. You might not think a bang divina can handle a chat show, but she's smart as a whip, hologenic as all hell and skews through the roof with the 18-to-25 set. And she's a genuine clairsentient! We're thining of playing that up in the promos: "Serena Rodis: She knows you're watching." Ramping off the strong audience of "Manny & Dani," this one can't lose. Now if we could just do something about J.J. ...

EarthZone [7 a.m. Saturday]: Kids don't watch educational shows, I know, which is why I moved it to the graveyard. But it makes us look good with parents and the green set, and as long as Orgotek keeps sponsoring it, we'll keep producing it. Don't know what they get out of it; must be P.R. for them, too.

Boo Crew [7:30 a.m. Saturday]: New holosim, for the younger set. It's a bunch of teenagers, their dog Spooky and spectral mascot Boo, hunting ghosts and solving mysteries. Skews well in the more animist cultures.

The Fleagles [8 a.m. Saturday]: The wacky adventures of a family of anthromorphic dog space colonists on Kanine Lu Ge. A spinoff of the popular Bleu Cat & Gouda Mouse property, which it leads into.

Space Rangers [10 a.m. Saturday]: This action-adventure holosim should be a perfect fit between last years' breakout hit "Strike Team: Psion" and the consistently strong "Jake Danger: Aberrant Hunter." The Space Rangers are three attractive young women in a mythical interplanetary police/rescue force. The main characters' being female will draw in female viewers of all ages, but there's enough action in it that the 12-15 males won't be scared off. We'll keep any romance elements out of it, so as not to ruin that fantasy element. I've seen the early sims, and this show has a chance to draw some older male viewers, too, if you know what I mean.

Daytime

Program Notes

Luna Clinic[2 p.m. weekdays]: Recently canceled by MMI due to reportedly outrageous salary demands by its cast; we were lucky to snap this up. It's got a solid fan base, so all the "legwork" of establishing a new serial is done. Much of the cast would be replaced with younger, more attractive (and less expensive) characters, retaining only a core of fan-popular characters such as Chaz Morgan (Stephen Martin), Dr. Ivan Petrovich (Glenn Horsham) and Nurse Sonya Martinez (Gloria Moran). The murder of Moran's boyfriend, the gravball player Carl Losoya, and her showing up on the initial news vids of that event is actually helping us -- there's a lot of buzz about her right now. We're going to start out with a bang -- literally -- by having an Aberrant attack destroy half the station, neatly taking care of potentially messy character transitions. Shooting in OBC's Melbourne studios, instead of Luna locations, will also lower production costs.

Christchurch [4 p.m. weekdays]: This spinoff of our flagship serial "Siren Song," set in New Zealand, allows us to divide that show's more popular (e.g. more expensive) actors between two shows' budgets, and bring in new (e.g. cheaper and younger) supporting casts. It was originally planned for the 2 p.m. slot, but when the whole Huang-Marr scandal hit the news, we felt it best to drop "Montressor!" at least for a while. Luckily, we landed "Luna Clinic," so "Christchurch" was able to slide right into the 4 p.m. slot. If it shows legs, and we decide to bring back "Montressor!", we can use one or the other of those shows as potential replacements for "Marianas," whose performance has been uninspiring lately.

Blind Date [5 p.m. weekdays]: Popular romantic singing star Enzo Palmieri hosts this half-hour series which sets up volunteer lonelyhearts on surprising blind dates -- with secret admirers, long-lost loves, past guests and even visiting celebrities -- and films it all, no matter where it leads, even right up to the bedroom door. It's cheap to produce, it skews well with the serials' mainly female market, and sex sells.

Evening

Program Notes

Retrospective [10 p.m. Sunday]: This is one of our strongest properties, and now that Warren is gone, God rest his soul, there's no reason he can't work a little overtime on a second night. Hell, I'd have him on every night at 10 if there was enough news out there.

Bad Mack [10 p.m. Monday]: The promo says it all: "A blighted land. A people without hope. Roving marauders who take whatever they want and crush anyone who gets in their way. Into this wasteland roars... a hero. "Mack" -- a drifter known only by the name on the cab of his hauler -- doesn't need psi powers or biotech to fight for what's right. He's got a souped-up hoverhauler, a wisecracking computer-agent, a way with a gun (and the ladies), and a sense of justice as big as Nordamerica. Tune in this spring -- and prepare to be blown away." Huh? Does that sing, or what? And it blows the roof off with males 18-49, the same market that's watching Monday Night Gravball. Let Cori Heisler over at MMI stew, we've got this night locked up.

Laurel & Jake and The Mating Game: Two sexy sitcoms from the producers of "Simeon." With "Man About Town" and a transplant from Thursday, "On The Edge," we should have a solid block of similar 25-to-35-appeal comedies that should carry through the night. "The Mating Game" is showing some focus group problems, particularly the lack of a single central character or couple and some unfunny character backstories; it's undergoing revisions now, but should be ready by the premiere date.

Just The 2 Of Us [8:30 p.m. Wednesday]: Another transplant from Thursday, one of the few good performers from that day. It helps us solidify Wednesday as a "family viewing night."

Beyond Tomorrow [9 p.m. Thursday]: By moving "OBC Reports" to 8 p.m. and putting this news department show, exploring the cutting edge of science and technology, in the saddle between it and "Retrospective," we draw on our strengths to rebuke any challenge MMI, Rafat or Stahu wants to throw against us on Thursdays.

Psi High [7:30 p.m. Friday]: Marty Blake of "HotSpot" is going to scream at losing one of his three nights, but he should be mollified by having his remaining shows shifted to Tuesday-Thursday, where he can lead into our strong news night. Anyway, it had to be done, because this is the perfect slot for Psi High. Targeted to the after-school crowd, "Psi High" is the nickname for a squad of five youthful, attractive, multi-ethnic Triton Division psion agents trained to infiltrate and investigate special situations where an adult agent would be suspect. Breakout youth star Kari Jewell ("The Selene Miller Story") stars as Marie Charest, the French-Canadian electrokinetic leader of the team.

A.L.E.R.T.: Alpha Luna Emergency Response Team [8 p.m. Friday]: We've got a hot group of young actors for this show, including Joseph Tinker ("Montressor!") and Terryl Anchower ("Watson," "Diary of a Cultist"). It follows the travails and romances of the Luna ERTs, facing Aberrants, hull breaches, crashed shuttles and other emergencies. All the primary characters are normals, but there's plenty of room to slip in a psion in the supporting cast if you feel it needs it. Yes, three is a lot of new shows for one night, but every one of them skews strongly with our prime target market of 18-to-35s, and one will feed the others. There's talk around the halls referring to Friday as our "Power Pack," and advertising's testing that for the focus groups for possible use in the promos.

On the Legion [9 p.m. Friday]: Six OBC film crews have been granted unprecedented access to follow and document the exploits of six Legion squads as they go into action. (All but the Second Legion, who are difficult to pin down and perhaps not the best role models, are represented.) With crews following six different squads, there should be more than enough exciting footage to fill a pulse-pounding hour each week. With no on-screen OBC talent, production costs should be minimal, and young men 18-35 eat this kind of stuff up. The Huang-Marr scandals haven't touched the Legions, who are skewing high as ever after the Chromie attack.

F2F With Warren Shaw [8 p.m. Saturday]: This slot has always been a graveyard, but we think Warren Shaw will be enough of a draw to make up for that. And he won't mind the extra work. Shaw would anchor this hourlong weekly series, interviewing only the hottest, hippest and most fascinating celebrities from the world of vids, music and fashion. The name, F2F (OpNet slang for "Face to Face"), gives the show a cutting-edge feel that will appeal to the crucial youth element, especially young women. The series will feature two celebrity segments and an interactive viewer feedback segment each episodes, though special guests -- such as fashion magnate Kostbaar, interviewed for the premiere episode -- may take up the entire hour. After the show establishes its credibility as interviewing only the hottest and hippest, it can become a valuable forum to promote other OBC series through interviews with their stars.

Overnight

Program Notes

OK, This Is Funny And Cool And All, But What's It For?

There are myriads of plot hooks to be found in the entertainment industry. Hundreds of thousands of people work in this industry, including fatcat executives; powerful producers and directors; stars, actors and extras; sim animators and programmers; effects specialists; vidcam techs, makeup specialists, lighting techs, grips, gaffers and best boys. Plus, there's the news division's star newsreaders, show hosts, investigators, field reporters, producers, editors, camera techs and other behind-the-scenes types. Then there's the music industry, the interactive holosim industry, the newsflat industry... in other words, they're everywhere.

Vid or music celebrities can be involved directly or indirectly in the plots the characters are investigating, as victims, witnesses, suspects, meddlers or associates of any of those. Involving a star makes the characters' tasks much more complicated, with their entourages, fans and bodyguards getting in the way of the investigation -- not to mention instant news media attention alerting the bad guys to the investigators' every move.

The entertainment media itself can also provide a plot hook or a clue. The obvious way is to have a news bulletin provide a vital clue. But there are other ways; think about how pervasive the media is in our own society for examples. How do you catch a murderer who starts to emulate the killings in a popular crime vid or holonovel? You just got a cell call from the kidnapper; figuring out what program is playing on the vid in the background could tell you if he's left the time zone. Does the crowd in the background of that newsvid shot contain your suspect? Cross-check archived news reports from previous crimes to find out. A location shoot or live concert can be cover for a crime, or a target of an Aberrant attack. And so on.

For an example of what I'm talking about, take a look at some of the stories in the News section of this site.