Believe Everything. And we mean everything. That’s what former Pulitzer Prize-winning
journalist Tucker Burns learns when he takes a career detour to join the staff of one of
the world’s least reputable tabloids – The Chronicle.
The weekly one-hour drama with comic sensibility comes from creator Silvio Horta (Urban
Legends) and stars Chad Willett (Steal This Movie, Jack & Jill), Rena Sofer (General
Hospital, Melrose Place) and Reno Wilson (Mighty Joe Young, Fallen).
Tucker Burns (Willett) is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and recipient of
a student Pulitzer. He had an extremely promising writing career ahead of him. The key
word here is had. After a career-ending mistake, he’s stripped of his award, blacklisted
and forced to join the staff of a tabloid rag just to pay the bills. With the help of his
new colleagues, feisty ace reporter and multiple alien abductee Grace Hall (Sofer), and
street-wise, eager to be abducted photographer Wes Freewald (Wilson), Tucker learns
something Columbia never prepared him for – the Chronicle’s outrageous headlines are all
true!
The talk is at the newsgroup alt.tv.scifi.channel. As a matter of science fun-fiction,
the fans have taken an active interest in the show’s characters:
Christine Francis is drawn to The Chronicle because of the personalities and the stories.
Interestingly enough, her two favorite characters are the not the stars! Well? “Wes
because of his enthusiasm and fun nature, and Vera (receptionist) because of her
confidence and competence. Both because of their love of their jobs."
It happens, sometimes, that a co-star’s character will just get inside the head of a
viewer and just blow them away. Fan Bob Lawrence agrees whole-heartedly with Christine on
the Vera issue: “She's big, bodacious, beautiful and doesn't let anything get in the way
of flirting with Tucker while fielding calls from ‘contributors’ to the Chronicle's
stories."
Big, bodacious and beautiful thoughts have most definitely transformed Bob’s mind into a
whimsical way of thinking! When asked how he would pen a script for the show, he replied
he would have “an investigation of a fat farm with a very different agenda. Make their
patients tremendously fatter! Send Vera undercover to discover it's run by a secret group
of oil sheiks / aliens / insane aerobics instructors, who want to meet and marry super
sized fat people! Vera would have a field day!" Are the series’ writers reading this?
Your audience is speaking to you!
Britt, a cutie-pye of a gal, is also an avid watcher of The Chronicle. Britt didn’t have
enough sticky notes to write down all the great things she loves about the show. Pieced
all together, Grace is definitely her favorite character because “of her past. We were
given the impression in the pilot that after the abductions, she was made an outcast, and
yet she makes the best of her experience. She also has this ‘kick butt’ personality and
is not afraid to speak her mind. Not many women characters are portrayed like that on
Sci-fi. I also LOVE Tucker. Besides the fact that he is absolutely GORGEOUS (you go
Britt!), his character really adds something to the show. I like how he has opened up his
mind and believes in what he is writing in."
The writing is naturally an important item when working on a script. Christine Francis
would like to see a little more character development and “possibly some encounters with
rival tabloids, some ‘crossovers’ (either actual or implied) with other shows / movies."
A crossover is when characters from a completely different show are mentioned or actually
brought into the show at hand. If done properly, viewers who haven’t seen “the other
show" will not feel like they’re left out of the storyline, but viewers who ARE familiar
with the other show get a thrill out of seeing some of their favorite characters join
forces with their other favorite characters.
If you were going to guest star on The Chronicle, what kind of character would you like to
play? Check out the answers from our three friends listed above:
Christine Francis: “The janitor, who sees the ‘fallout’ and remains of what went down, as
well
as deals with late working reporters. Maybe they even bounce stuff off him / her. And
maybe he / she eats bugs and summons spirits in his / her spare time. Or maybe they're
just a normal person." Christine?!
Bob Lawrence: “The guy who owns the anti-fat farm and eyes Vera as his special project!"
Bob?!
Britt: “I would want to play Grace's younger sister. It would give the audience a look at
what caused Grace to lose so much faith in people, and of course, the younger sis would
somehow find a way to hook up Grace and Tucker!" Younger sister, eh Britt? Shhh, we
won’t tell Rena you said that!
The Chronicle airs Saturdays at 9pm ET/PT. If you think you’re in for a surprise – you’re
right. And don’t forget to go to the newsgroups alt.tv.scifi.channel to post your
thoughts on this show.
|
"Believe in The Chronicle"
