About alterna-tv.com
Why another website on television?
For starters, while the BuddyTVs and TV-dot-coms of the Internet cater to fans of any television series, alterna-tv.com has a more limited scope of “quality television.” The term “quality” is obviously subjective, but on alterna-tv.com it refers to television shows that are of a more intelligent nature, that make one think about the world we inhabit in addition to entertaining and making us laugh. The Office, for instance, is a bona fide classic television sitcom but it is also an accurate—albeit exaggerated—example of a corporate America work environment. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, meanwhile, may initially appear as a rude-and-crude comedy to the uninitiated, but its politically incorrect nature and tendency to not shy away from culturally sensitive topics makes the series a reflection of the Twenty First Century nonetheless.
Science fiction dramas like Lost and Fringe serve as philosophical discourses on the meaning of existence as well as being quality television shows in their own right. The works of Joss Whedon likewise raise issues of family, identity, freedom and humanity within their narratives while AMC dramas Mad Men and Rubicon explore the current state of society with both originality and in depth characterization. Similar arguments can be made in regards to such series as 24, The Big Bang Theory and Dexter.
The television shows highlighted on alterna-tv.com resonate with viewers and help to define the times in which we live as much as anything else. Television has evolved over the decades since its inception to become one of the premier storytelling devices of our age, a new form of literature that challenges just as much as it entertains. While collections of Sheldon Cooper quotes from The Big Bang Theory or humorous essays on Dr. Horrible and the meaning of villainy can be found within its pages, the ultimate focus of alterna-tv.com is a deeper exploration of such shows in the hopes of adding to the ongoing watercooler-style debates and discussions being held by similar fans of quality television.
In order to facilitate such a “mission statement,” alterna-tv.com attempts to draw and build a more intelligent and discriminating online community than other television websites. In their book Lost Ate My Life—which chronicles one of the largest and most active fanbases in the history of the Internet—authors Jon Lachonis and Amy Johnston wrote that the ABC drama attracts “a special breed of fan equipped with above-average intelligence and a burning desire to debate”; allows “anyone with any agenda to make the argument that the show fits their worldview”; and that Lost is “not only a cerebral viewing experience, but a show that (has) generated a substantial think-tank of online fans.” It is alterna-tv.com’s intention to emulate that type of fandom.
In this sense, the minisites that alterna-tv.com has built (and continues to build) around specific shows can be looked upon as the types of “guide books” found at local book stores. A reviewer on Amazon.com had this to say about one such book on the FOX drama The X-Files: “Having purchased other series guides from this publisher, I was quite excited to find they were releasing a book on The X-Files. However upon receiving the book I was very disappointed to find that it is actually just a collection of brief plot descriptions with an accompanying review. The other books of this nature provide all sort of information such as analytical essays, dialogue hits and misses—none of this is to be found here.” The comment likewise reflects the difference between other television websites and alterna-tv.com.
Alterna-tv.com does not merely focus on television, however. In recent years, a similar-yet-different narrative platform has emerged and matured—the webseries. Whereas the scope of stories told on television have always been limited by a closed-door Hollywood mentality and the goal of network executives to stick to the tried-and-true in order to achieve the highest possible ratings, the webseries is an entertainment medium open to anyone with a story to tell and a camera with which to film it. From Chicago to Los Angeles, Boston to Minneapolis and Pittsburgh to Dallas, webseries producers have taken their creations onto the World Wide Web while exploring such non-mainstream topics as online gamers, comic book stores, underground music scenes, vampire mobsters and Lebanese lesbians. The fact that an increasingly larger number of such efforts are of an equal, if not greater, entertainment value than those found on traditional television is a testament to the medium.
While most webseries are short, one-season-wonders with little texture to truly explore, others exhibit the same historical and cultural qualities as the best television shows. Alterna-tv.com thus also contains minisites on such webseries—including Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, The Guild, and The Mercury Men—just as it does for traditional television creations. The major websites that cater to the webseries medium, after all, are primarily geared toward the actual community of professionals and independents who produce, write and act in webseries. Alterna-tv.com, however, is built for fans of quality entertainment, regardless of the source.
In addition to television shows and webseries, alterna-tv.com also contains a section on The Industry itself. The growth of the webseries as a legitimate medium, the increase of quality television on cable channels like AMC and FX and shifts in viewing patterns due to the emergence of the Internet as a mode of video distribution have already brought about numerous changes within the television landscape, and the purpose of the Television Industry and Webseries Medium sections on alterna-tv.com is to act as both a primer and guide to these changes. Just like with the webseries medium, the major online outlets that cover the industry are geared towards “insiders” and merely report on the latest trends. The articles on alterna-tv.com, meanwhile, place major issues into both an historical and contemporary perspective while exploring their impact on fans of quality television and the webseries.
Founder and Pittsburgh writer Anthony Letizia has big plans for this little website in the months ahead as alterna-tv.com strives to become one of the best online resources for information on Quality Television, the Industry and the Webseries Medium. Despite being comprised of over 250 articles on a wide variety of topics, alterna-tv.com is still in its early stages and hopes that its readers will join in on the journey ahead—a journey leading to a new and better television landscape in the not-so-distant future.
In addition to alterna-tv.com’s Facebook, Twitter and e-mail accounts, Anthony Letizia can also be found/contacted at LinkedIn.