MovieChat Forums > FreakyLinks (2000) Discussion > the problem with this show

the problem with this show

posted 15 years ago by Vandal451
8 replies | jump to latest

the one problem that i found with this show was that it struck too early. the fact that the show was interactive and was heavily based around computers and the internet made it way before its time. like arrested development, if it had been released a year or two later it would still be going (arrested development, not freakylinks). if freakylinks was released just 8-9 years later it would have had a long running career, since most of the shows today are all about being interactive. still a great show nonetheless.

i was just day dreaming today when i saw it on and thought about what if they were to bring the show back (just dreaming outloud, throwing around ideas, etc.). i then began to think what the two senarios would be if they were to do this.

senario 1:

they redo all original 13 episodes with new actors that can pass for 20 somethings and then build from there with the original ideas for the show. however a major pitfall here is that the original cast was very good and i doubt it would be the same or could be topped. i could be wrong, but again, thinking outloud.

senario 2:

(side note here) i've yet to see the last 3 episodes, since i can never catch them on tv, but i'm just going to base the idea off of what i had just thought up.

they could bring back the entire original cast where it's 9 years later. the storyline could be something along the lines of that de santo or whoever was chasing them and threatening them actually got to them like a week after the last episode would have happened. they could have all be thrown into prison or some mental health facility or maybe have been kept in some sort of comotose state for the entire 9 years (but i think the prison and loony bin set up works better). then from there they somehow get released and have one thing lead to another where they start up the site again. from there they can continue where the show should have originally gone.

again, these are just pipe dreams of a fan. feel free to comment on my senarios, maybe add in a twist, or come up with a better or different senario. just all in good fun.

[–] ShadowEnigma 15 years ago

the one problem that i found with this show was that it struck too early. the fact that the show was interactive and was heavily based around computers and the internet made it way before its time.

Yes, a lot of what we've accepted as commonplace now (blogs and interactive internet / TV entertainment) were first utilized in this series and a big reason why I find that the series stands up really well for being almost 10 years old. I really don't think that caused any sort of relatability problem with the audience though. It was that damn Friday night death slot that FOX insists on sticking good creative shows in. That really killed it. With The X-Files on the wane, it was all set to fill the void but FOX dropped the ball.

i was just day dreaming today when i saw it on and thought about what if they were to bring the show back (just dreaming outloud, throwing around ideas, etc.).

I think every FreakyLinks fan has done the same thing, I know I have. The problems being with both scenarios is that----

Scenario #1 almost defeats the purpose of calling it FreakyLinks. Why resurrect a brand and pay it's creators when you could create something similar but not the same and call it something else and arguably get the exact same results?

Scenario #2, which I prefer most, has a limited appeal. Yeah, you get the original stars back playing the characters they were meant to play but will that bring in more of an audience than just us hardcore fans. I kind of doubt the network would be able to sell the show to the same demographic it was getting almost 10 years ago. So once again resurrecting the property in this manner wouldn't exactly translate into profits.

I want continuance so bad from this series but the best I think we can hope for is a DVD release, and that looks as though it'll take hell freezing over to get out of FOX.

Hurdy Gur, Freaker!

~Shadow

Freakosity is a very vast subject.

[–] Vandal451 15 years ago

thanks for the back and forth shadow.

i do agree that fox has a tendency to stick really good shows into time slots that are death sentences. kind of like when the last episode of arrested development (i notice i keep using this example lately, my apoligies) was put on at the same time as the olympics.

it does suck that fox is mostly about profits when it comes to their shows as well. i remember when they put the oc in a doomed time slot to end the show because the ratings dipped slightly because of the grey's anatomy release and remember so many people being angry about it.

fox should probably look into investing into a secondary network like nbc did with their usa channel that carries mostly reruns and some (what i call) "secondary shows." that tv show "psych" premiered on nbc for an episode or two then they moved it to usa because it didn't have a massive following like heroes & house, yet they recognized that there was enough of a fan base to keep it running.

and i do agree with you on senario #1 as well. (just a quick preface: i'm a film student) i've actually been preplanning a script (probably movie rather than a tv show) that pays a slight homage to the show, but in more of a comedic way. months ago i did come up with a webseries that was inspired by this show, but it was supposed to be a bit darker and more gurilla style, however, getting a cast together, finding locations, and no budget has prevented even a pilot from even being made.

[–] prydain17 15 years ago

Well, most Freakylinks fans would probably want to rip my throat out for saying this, but...I wouldn't have anything against this show being "remade". Even for FOX, especially since it's being run by a different creative team. Not sure if a show like this could ever really succeed on a major network, but for some reason nearly ALL of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy/horror shows are from network television (and usually short-lived).

Anyhoo, I know the original creators would probably refuse to come back and work for FOX, but if FOX would be willing to give them the creative freedom to do what they wanted, I would definitely love to see this show come back. And I do think the angle of it existing both online and on TV would work far better now than it would have back in 2000, after the success that "Lost" has had with it's viral stuff.

If the show did return, I'd like it to be darker than what we saw but I'd still want it to retain a little of that offbeat/goofy feel that Gregg from the Haxan site didn't seem to like. We still don't seem to have much information regarding the mythology, but the more I learn about it the more sad I am that the show was interfered with so badly and that it was so short-lived. I like the original cast but it's not as though it would be impossible to find a new cast that couldn't do just as well. But yeah, I'd definitely like to have this show back if possible, with the original creators, being able to be darker and scarier like they wanted, and able to do what they wanted with the mythology.

If you ask me there aren't enough shows on the air that skew for younger male viewers, and if FOX wanted that kind of audience bringing back Freakylinks how it was originally intended would be a good way to do it, IMO.

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[–] libra113 14 years ago

I say jump it ahead to today and maybe have a thing where the group kinda just fell apart after that "Final Word" appearance on TV made them look bad.

Something happens and they have to get back together and just find that it's like riding a bike and fall back into the rythm of things. :)

It's a shame they didn't wait until the current boom of horror tv shows and maybe weren't on a slighly less ambitious network that would let them grow.

As a "Supernatural" fan I see what a diffrence proper timing and placement can do. "Supernatural" came in on that first wave (started by "Medium" the season before) and is the only show left (other than "Ghost Whisperer") that survived and while a LOT of "Supernatural" fans dis the way the CW treats the show (and beleave me I have done my fair share) they HAVE let it run into five seasons (all the creator Kripke has said he wanted) and their interferance has been thankfully limited.

Also, I gotta say I would LOVE to see a "Supernatural"/"Freakylinks" crossover given how Dean tends to feel about websites like Freakylinks I can just imagine the fun Dean would have have Derrick's expense and how suprised he would be to find that he's not some nerd living in his parent's basement. :)

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[–] Thiang 11 years ago

"I want continuance so bad from this series but the best I think we can hope for is a DVD release, and that looks as though it'll take hell freezing over to get out of FOX."

I honestly believe that any vreative writer worth their salt would be able to revive this show with Embry and maybe one of the original characters heading up the cast with some fresh new 20 something faces and new storylines -somewhat - picking up where they left off.

[–] prydain17 11 years ago

There'd be zero point in picking up where they left off, though, as surely less than 500 people clearly remember this show. It's 13 years old. Ethan Embry looks rough.

If they remade this, it would have to be with a new cast for sure.

--

"Betty's voice brought darkness to the land." - Amanda Tanen

[–] half-fiction 11 years ago

the one problem that i found with this show was that it struck too early. the fact that the show was interactive and was heavily based around computers and the internet made it way before its time. like arrested development, if it had been released a year or two later it would still be going (arrested development, not freakylinks). if freakylinks was released just 8-9 years later it would have had a long running career, since most of the shows today are all about being interactive. still a great show nonetheless.

so true. and as someone else posted, this was right before the big horror/sci-fi/paranormal boom. i remember thinking about how clever it was they actually created this online universe. i don't remember, where there clues on the freakylinks site? i do remember they even set up the original site derek & his brother had on geocities.

it's such a shame the timing wasn't right/fox couldn't get its act together. i wish there was a channel that went around snatching up shows that are about to be cancelled before their time. we could call it second run.

[–] 11 years ago

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