20-something villagers flood Internet with suds

Friday, April 12, 1996

New interactive soap bridges creative gapBy Cheryl Klein

Daily Bruin Contributor

Sam Southey is a rock and roller on his way to stardom. He is
immeasurably cool, from his sunglasses to his unruly mop of brown
curls. He declares "blood red" as his favorite color.

Sam is eager to make friends, to write to them and confide in
them. And thanks to the Internet, the fact that he lives in New
York doesn’t need to be an obstacle. Neither does the fact that
he’s completely fictional.

Or is he? Sam is just one member of the 12-character cast of
"The East Village," a new soap opera on the Internet that bridges
gaps between fantasy and reality, the East and West coasts, and
entertainment and interactivity.

"The East Village" doesn’t play out like a traditional
television soap opera because computer limitations prevent
video-style movement. But what the show lacks in live action, it
makes up for in the dramatic action of the characters’ lives.

Each episode is narrated by Eve Ramsay, the show’s 20-something
star. On one side of the screen, viewers encounter text updating
the lives of Eve and her friends. The other side features sketchy,
but colorful photographs of the main characters.

Those who desire to talk to one particular member of the
ensemble can join a "clique," where they are privy to inside
information about the show via e-mail from Sam or his fellow
villagers.

"The cliques are an opportunity for you to become friends with
the community portion of the site," says Charles Platkin, "The East
Village’s" executive producer.

Characters can act as common ground for friendships with
flesh-and-blood internet visitors. "You can send an e-mail; ‘Hey,
what do you think about what happened to Sam?’" Platkin says. "What
happens is you end up meeting people that you like also in the
community."

The cyber community of "The East Village" is made all the more
vivid by way of chatrooms, downloadable video interviews with the
characters, soundtracks and profiles of the dramatic 12, in
addition to the main text and plot line of each episode.

Working in a new genre of entertainment posed a unique set of
challenges to its creators.

"You really need to think, I would say, geometrically," says
Platkin. "You can’t design as you necessarily would for a magazine,
or for film or for television."

Jennifer Schonborn, an "East Village" writer, elaborates on the
difficulties this causes.

"You don’t have the recognizable faces that you see on TV," she
says. "We had to find ways to make it compelling, since people
aren’t as into reading as they were in the past. We wanted them to
keep coming back."

The patrons she refers to are the show’s target audience of 18-
to 34-year-olds.

"I think that the characters are naturally people that college
students can relate to," says Platkin.

Schonborn feels that the setting of "The East Village" is an
important component for attracting young adult viewers. "The East
Village in New York has a trendy, almost seedy, neighborhood
flavor. It’s full of young struggling Bohemians."

The exhilarating plot developments that define soap operas also
play a significant part in capturing audiences’ attention.

"There’s all kinds of crazy things with plot twists and turns
every which way," says Platkin. For example, "Eve and Mick are good
friends and God knows what’s going to happen to them. They’re
getting pretty tight."

The inspiration for these relationships came from the creators’
own television sets.

"We looked (at) prime time soap operas," Platkin says. "You know
­ the ‘Melrose Places’ and ‘90210s.’"

Platkin stayed away from "The East Village’s" daytime
counterparts because of the soaps’ habits of straying too far into
the realm of the outrageous. "Instead of making it a completely
glamorous, unrealistic world, we decided to make it something that
we felt was very realistic and really reflective of that
interesting, creative area of New York."

Yet, while the characters may be comfortingly believable, the
things that happen to them are at times shocking. Platkin describes
one character’s amnesia and hints at an upcoming alien
abduction.

Interactive entertainment can allow audiences to board a
spaceship with its unwilling victim, or simply lounge about Eve’s
favorite restaurant and soak up the local color. It is this wide
array of options that the "East Village" writers feel will bring
popularity to Internet entertainment.

"I think that entertainment on the World Wide Web will become
more and more sophisticated," says Platkin.

Adds Schonborn, "It’s a whole new dimension."

INTERNET: To access "The East Village" log on to http://
www.theeastvillage.com

Viewers can participate in "The East Village" drama via
e-mail.

"We had to find ways to make it compelling, since people aren’t
as into reading as they were in the past."

Jennifer Schonborn

"The East Village" Writer