CROSSOVER OF THE WEEK (?) [7/24/06]

And now for something completely different.

With the advent of the computer being so pervasive in people's everyday lives (much to the chagrin of Number Six in 'The Prisoner', more than likely), the borders between the Internet and the world of Television are becoming increasingly blurred.

Not only are the showrunners using the Web to promote their TV shows with ads, but they're also creating content that ties into those programs. We've already seen short scenes that fit into the continuity of TV shows (like 'Rescue Me', 'CSI: Miami') appear on the Internet. And don't get me started with the mobisodes being created for shows like 'Doctor Who', 'Lost', 'Prison Break', and 'The Beverly Hillbillies'.

(Okay, I made that one up, but I really am looking for a way to see the 'Lost' mobisodes which will feature Hurley. Being voluntarily cell-phone deprived - too conspiracy-minded about them! - I hope there will be a way to see them online like the "Tardisodes" of 'Doctor Who'.)

'Lost' is really doing a bang-up job to keep the fan base excited about the show until it comes back in October, and maybe even past that point. They've been building a cyber-world of conspiracies centered around the Hanso Organization which has even bled into their television programming.

As I wrote on May 31st, Jimmy Kimmel addressed this so-called conspiracy against the Hanso Organization on his show the same night as the 'Lost' finale aired.

Here's an excerpt from that blog report:

Hugh McIntyre "truthfully" answered all of Jimmy's questions regarding the Hanso Foundation and there was no hint that it was supposed to be any kind of a spoof.

But they kept talking about 'Lost' as a TV show which was mocking the foundation; with its own fictional variant on the "work" being done by the scientists who were funded by Alvar Hanso.

So this put 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' into yet another TV dimension, separate from the main Toobworld; one where 'Lost' is just a TV show just like it is for us here in the Real World.

ABC and the 'Lost' showrunners aren't just doing this sort of thing on TV and the Internet either. This past weekend was the big, famous San Diego Comic-Con, and they even "infected" that with their blend of Toobworld, the Real World, and "Cyberia".

During a panel discussion on the show which featured Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, and actors Jorge Garcia and Daniel Dae Kim, suddenly the proceedings were disrupted by a young woman who's been making her presence known as a cyber-terrorist on the various Hanso sites.

Here's how Quadruple Tree described what happened for "Ain't It Cool News":

At one point a "protester" crashed the presentation and confronted the producers asking if they had no shame. She said her name was Rachel Blake and that the Hanso foundation was real and that the producers were using them for entertainment purposes even though they had done terrible things in Africa and Iceland.

She said to go to hansoexpose.com if we wanted the real truth just before security escorted her away.

So this "event" ties in more with 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' rather than with 'Lost' itself, as both referred to the TV show as fake (Blasphemy!) and yet the Hanso Organization and the Dharma Initiative which are portrayed within the show are considered to be "real".

You can read the entire report by Quadruple Tree here.

Like I said, this is something completely different for this weekly entry. But in this heat, it was easy enough to summon up; didn't want to work too hard on the crossover this week.

But be thankful.

I could have instead written about CBS' ploy to advertise its shows by imprinting messages on eggshells!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby