Here’s the second, and sadly, last episode of Switcher, the most ambitious Channel 101 show in terms of narrative.  Below is writer/director Aaron Moles’ commentary on what he set out to do with that episode.  While I’m bummed the show got cancelled, I can’t wait to see what he does next.

aaronmoles:

Switcher - Episode 2 (720p Vimeo)

If Channel 101 is television, then I don’t want to be the Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, or even The Office, of Channel 101.  I want to be the Breaking Bad, or the HBO.  That means shorter runs, ballsy creative choices (moments the audience may not enjoy), and committing to the show I want to do rather than the show the audience wants me to do.  That’s a choice I make every time out, so I have to expect things like this.  At Channel 101, the audience is God. It will strike me down if I don’t please it.

I’m happy with both episodes of Switcher and I think I made almost zero of the second episode mistakes I’ve made with past shows.  It’s consistent and I don’t always think that about everything I do.

So, what now?  This February, I will have been doing Channel 101 for 6 years.  That’s a long time to do anything.  Longer than I was in college, longer than I was in high school, and I don’t think I’m done.  You never really quit 101, you just kind of step away from it a bit until you get an itch you have to scratch and re-enter the fray.  Or you get a TV show or sell a screenplay and have bigger beasts to slay.

Last time I got canceled like this, my immediate instinct was to quickly make Ninja Cop and come right back with a show.  This time?  There’s some real, tangible things I’d like to have going on in my life. Whether I jump right back into 101 or not depends on when I get inspired to make something again, and that ain’t right now.

This week, I’m going to cut some reels for myself (editing and VFX), work more, and watch some Best Picture nominees I’ve been putting off seeing.  It’s time to be an adult for a bit.

I have a great kitchen at the new house and I want to learn how to cook, I want to finish a new spec script, I want to fix my car up, I want to date more (at all), maybe paint something, start a crazy Photoshop meme.  Do some things that I haven’t been doing.

It’s not that I can’t do any of these things while working on 101 stuff, but the focus just isn’t there when I have writing and editing deadlines looming for stuff I’m not getting paid for.

So, we’ll see what happens.  I’m around to help if you’re working on 101 stuff, I’m just taking a break for a bit.  And that break could end as early as next week, or tomorrow, if (when) something pops into my head.

Well, back to Xbox.