Episode Twenty-Two.... and behind-the-scenes writer's commentary

"Ragged Isle" episode twenty-two, "Exit," (the series finale!) is up at The Entertainment Experiment web site. If you haven't already, go watch it now. After you've seen it, read on for a behind-the-scenes writer's commentary, which will (of course) include spoilers.  So if you haven't watched, stop reading now.  Seriously.  Now.

 When we were shooting "Ragged Isle," whenever we finished a particularly challenging sequence (the "man overboard" scene from the pilot, for example, or the lobster festival from the season one finale), Barry and I would turn to each other and one of us would say, "Hey, Barry" [or "Hey, Greg," if it was Barry talking].  "We just finished the [really hard thing we weren't sure we could do]."

Hey, Barry.  We just finished "Ragged Isle."

So, wow.  Huh.  That was something, wasn't it?  I'm a little emotionally drained, to tell you the truth.  Let's talk about this episode. But first let's talk about how it came to be.

Our first writer's meeting, in January 2010, with Barry Dodd, Karen Dodd, Rick Dalton, Jake Lear, and myself, was blue sky.  Anything goes.  No thought of budget or logistics or anything.  Just throw everything out on the table.  The second meeting, we zeroed in on some of the core ideas that eventually made their way into the show:  A group of five immortal beings possessing island residents.  A sixth one exiled to an underwater cage for decades.  Murder.  Mayhem.  Mysterious, impossible drownings.  We hammered all of that out.

In our third meeting, we were talking about "the jump," the moment the entity transfers from one body to another.  Jake said, "We should have a moment where there are two people right in front of the creature, and maybe it's dying and has to decide which one to jump into. And maybe it decides not to jump at all, just to let itself die."

And we all stopped.  Because that was our ending right there.  Rick got so excited he got down on the floor and acted out the action Jake had just described.  Right then and there, we knew it had to be Rick as the final host.  Everything that has come before was reverse-engineered to arrive at that moment.

Sorry, Sheriff fans.  We hate to see him go, but he turned out to be the hero of the island, didn't he? (We've joked all along that "everybody dies on Ragged Isle," but today we came close to having that not be a joke.) Rick brought tears to Barry's eyes on-set with his utterance of his final line, and I suspect he'll bring tears to the eyes of a few audience members as well. He's always been very, very good in this role, but in this episode, he takes it to a new level.  (Also, the sly look on his face when Paul and Vicki call to him may be the most hilarious thing I've ever seen.)

Okay, I'm jumping all around.  I'm a little excited.  Let's back up.

A lot changed in the scripting process, or course.  Many tweaks and changes and top-to-bottom rewrites along the way, but one thing that's never changed has been the final showdown would be between the sheriff (played by Rick) and storekeeper Gus Hendershot (played by Brent Askari).  Brent was one of our secret weapons.  Someone we seeded in the lobster festival crowd scenes in season one and then introduced as a minor player in season two.  But anybody who knows anything about the local acting scene knows that Mr. Askari deserves more than background player status.  But we had this scene in our back pocket all along.  I have loved it when we've been able to do this -- give a juicy scene to an actor who's been present only on the fringes of our story in previous seasons.  (A special shout-out to Eric Anderson of  The Shoggoth Assembly who supplied Gus's post-crash makeup, as well as the knife-in-leg special effect. This guy's a local treasure.)

A word about that crash.  There was a draft, very early on, in which the sheriff shoots Gus, several times, and that is the source of his injuries. But the no-guns decision eliminated that option, so we went with the classic stepping-back-into-the-road-and-getting-hit-by-a-car gag.  This has been done time and time again, we realize. But the reason it's been done so many times is that it still works.  And although it's not explicitly stated, I like to think that Deputy Dan hit Gus on purpose because he realized what was happening.  (His annoyed "I wasn't going to" to the sheriff's warning not to touch the body tells us that Dan is completely up to speed.)

I love the quiet moment between my character and the dying Gus. It's very quick, but perhaps helps to contribute to his decision moments later.  I also love, love, love Erik Moody's line-reading of "you've got a knife in your leg." Just superb.

Okay, I've gotten ahead of myself again. Let's back up one more time.

The episode begins in the basement.  Again, this is my basement, and it really is that creepy, even in real life.  We don't have a lot of special effects on this show, so we try to make the effects we do have, well, kind of special.  Rose's spider-walk across the basement ceiling was one of the many things we conceived of with no real idea how we were going to pull it off.  I love the way this bit came out (h/t to our composer Richard de Costa, who pitched in on some of the effects shots in this episode), but it's the reactions (Paul's scream, the sheriff's jaw-drop) that seal the deal.

A couple of episodes ago, we learned the significance of Madame Clelia's gift to Dr. Hoffman (the knife, used so handily to dispatch Vance Trundle and then later by the sheriff to dispatch himself and save the island).  In this episode, we learn the significance of the key given to the sheriff in season one.  I love that we flashback to the moment the sheriff gets the key, and that within the flashback, the sheriff seems to realize the significance.  Because that's how memories work, isn't it?  When you remember something, you put yourself back in that moment, but now with knowledge you bring with you from the future. What a clever visual way to convey that. Man, that Barry Dodd is a smart little bugger, isn't he?

We've known the significance of the locket, given to Vicki in episode two, for some time now.  But now we know why it was given to Vicki, as the sight of it finally brings an end to the dissident's blood-soaked quest for vengeance.  I can't emphasize enough how much Rick sells that moment.  Love it.

Then we get one last check-in with the remaining survivors.  While the Paul and Vicki romance has been foregrounded for much of the series, the Dan and Julie romance has long been simmering in the background. And in this episode, the two of them, each having lost a mentor, give themselves to each other.  Paul and Vicki, meanwhile, also still raw with grief, seem almost tentative with each other.  Even Dr. Hoffman and Agent Thorne share a moment, perhaps a new beginning.  (There's nothing like the threat of imminent death to prompt people to pair off.)  As a writer, I wish I'd included one more exchange between Agent Thorne and Dr. Hoffman, something along the lines of: Thorne: "What do you mean it's over? Isn't there one still out there?"  Hofman: "Too many people know the signs now.  She won't stay around here."  (Barry tells me to save it for the novel.) Maybe we don't need it, because there's Rose, one last time, saying goodbye to the island and rowing away.  Where is she going? Will she be stopped by the blockade? Will she get through?

Well, we had to leave some lingering mysteries, didn't we?

The final montage of cast and crew brings back so many memories, of course, as well as conveying the rich community of artists Maine has to offer.  I am so incredibly moved and grateful to be a part of it. 

There's more I want to say.  A lot more. About this episode and the series as a whole.  But for now, I think I'll let both the episode and series speak for themselves (aside from the above ramblings).  I do hope that Rick and Barry and Karen and Jake weigh in, either in the comments below or in posts of their own.
In the meantime, what did you think?

Episode Twenty-One.... and behind-the-scenes writer's commentary

"Ragged Isle" episode twenty-one, "Are You Gonna Wait Forever?", is up at The Entertainment Experiment web site. If you haven't already, go watch it now. After you've seen it, read on for a behind-the-scenes writer's commentary, which will (of course) include spoilers for this episode and previous episodes.

To me, the scariest villains are the ones who don't know they're villains, the ones who think they're the heroes of their own stories — because that's what we all think, right? That we're the heroes of our own stories. Nobody thinks he's the "bad guy," even bad guys. I think of Robert De Niro in Scorsese's Cape Fear. Here's a guy with a legitimate grievance against his former lawyer (Nick Nolte), a lawyer who's own unethical behavior plays a part in triggering the terror that befalls his family. (Not that it excuses De Niro's violence, but the horror comes from the realization that the violence has its roots in the victim's own bad behavior.)

In "Ragged Isle," we've just learned that the main villain of the series, the one who's been killing people left and right, had a back story that helps explain (if not justify) his horrific behavior. That back story also reveals the other villains on the island, those of his kind who put him in that underwater cage with his human lover. In our writing sessions, we informally referred to these people as "the elders."  In this episode, we learn, quite explicitly, how the elders also do not consider themselves to be villains.

We've seen Rose's powers of persuasion before. In the first season, she convinced the town meeting attendees to carry on with the lobster festival (a decision that turned out to be disastrous). In the second season, she convinced a weary Gertie Kendrick to jump into the body of her poor doomed protégé, Trevor Stebbins (which didn't work out very well for Trevor or Gertie). In this episode, she tries to convince the sheriff that what the elders have been doing for centuries is somehow justified. This effort is doomed to failure, of course, as neither the sheriff nor the audience is likely to be convinced that taking over someone else's body (killing them in the process) is okay. But you can see why the creature calling herself Rose Fuller believes she's in the clear, morally. If you can't, consider the lobster (or whatever other animal you're recently consumed).

“I am not the potter, nor the potter’s wheel, but the potter’s clay; is not the value of the shape attained as dependent upon the intrinsic worth of the clay as upon the wheel and the Master’s skill?” 

-Stephen King, The Stand

Julie Katsarakis, always sunny and positive, has an unsavory history that was revealed in her Homeland Security interrogation in season two. In Rose's discussion with the sheriff in this episode, we learn the significance of that history. It turns out, Julie was chosen as a vessel precisely because she was a lost soul, someone who, without intervention, would not have thrived. The elder currently known as Rose reasons that if she cultivates a lost soul, she has the right to take over that soul when the time comes. No different than an organ transplant recipient using the organ of someone who no longer has use for it.

The sheriff's counter-argument is that Julie may have been a lost soul, but now that her soul has been restored, she has the right to it. That's where Stephen King's quote above comes in. I have always loved this quote. (In an early draft, I even had the sheriff paraphrase it pretty directly, but this was roundly rejected as out of character.) The intrinsic worth of the clay.  To the potter, the clay is just a tool, a means of achieving the finished product. But the clay itself has value all its own. The sheriff (and we) can see things from the clay's point of view. The elders cannot.

All of this thinking informed the discussion between Rose and the sheriff that anchors this episode.  This is a long scene, probably the longest single scene since the town meeting in episode four (unless you count the talent show as a single scene), and certainly the longest scene we've ever done between just two  characters.  I'm delighted and riveted by how it's played by Beth Saufler and Rick Dalton. It's a debate between philosophies, between cultures— hell, between species. And both actors perfectly embody the opposing viewpoints.  Both of them quiet, both of them understated, both of them brimming with unuttered rage. My two favorite line readings in this exchange is when the sheriff says "and neither of them... drowned" and when Rose says "Not to me." (I also love Rose's "By all means" that closes out the scene.)

I love this scene.

Other thoughts:

1) The opening scene is about as deliberately comic as we've ever gotten (with the possible exception of "Louszini"'s magic show). I love the pace of this scene, the rapid-fire exchanges, my own character's extremely condensed summary of everything that's been discovered, and the one last Aquaman joke courtesy of Deputy Dan (who delivered our first Aquaman reference way back in season one).

2) I wrote last week about how the parallel investigations are starting to intersect. I'm enjoying watching previously unpaired characters teaming up. Agent Thorne and Sheriff Dalton? You bet! Deputy Dan and Dr. Hoffman? Sure, why not?

3) An early draft of this episode had the sheriff enter Rose's house with his gun drawn, which makes a certain amount of sense, given the threat level. But a decision was made soon after that draft was written not to have any guns on this show. Now, the sheriff plays this scene like an unarmed hostage negotiator, and the scene is all the more riveting for it.

4) Rose's one outburst in her debate with the sheriff reminds me of Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men.  Here's a powerful person who has indulged some impudent questions from an underling for a brief period, but whose patience has definitively run out. "You can't handle the truth!" (This goes back to the villains who don't know they're villains.)

5) The final line of the line of the episode is decidedly meta, isn't it? Rose is (hopefully) voicing the opinion of everyone in the audience, everyone who has to wait for the last episode to see how everything turns out. (This is my favorite closing line of any episode since Madame Clelia's in episode seven.) The line is shamelessly cribbed from Kenneth Branagh's largely forgotten 1991 neo-noir Dead Again.  The movie is pure hokum, but (mostly) pretty clever and entertaining and (at times) wildly over the top. It occasionally streams on Netflix, and the next time it does, you should check it out.

6) I cannot believe there is only one more episode of "Ragged Isle" left. It has been an amazing journey, from that December day in 2009 (when Barry Dodd asked me what strange things could happen on an island) to today, almost five years later, as we prepare to wrap up the series. The show has quite literally changed my life, and I'm grateful to have been a part of it.

7) I'm also grateful to you, the audience, without whom this whole endeavor would have been rather pointless. Thank you for following along on our story. I sincerely hope we've stuck the landing and you dig our ending.

8)"Rose, why is there a man chained up in your basement?"

Episode Twenty.... and behind-the-scenes writer's commentary

"Ragged Isle" episode twenty, "Original of the Species," is up at The Entertainment Experiment web site. If you haven't already, go watch it now. After you've seen it, read on for a behind-the-scenes writer's commentary, which will (of course) include spoilers for this episode and previous episodes.

I've written about our process before. I'm talking about the five original writers:  Barry Dodd, Karen Dodd, Rick Dalton, Jacob Lear, and myself. We had this giant piece of cardboard and these little index cards on which we wrote character descriptions and plot points, clustering them on the cardboard to form loose episode capsules. The first ten clusters, representing the first season, were thickly settled, as a large part of our energy and focus was getting the first season (which we'd be shooting that summer) really nailed down and into good shape. We knew the climax of the whole series, thanks to a brilliant offhand comment from Jake Lear early in the proceedings.  But the clusters of cards between the first season and the climax were a little... thinner.

For example, for the previous episode, we wrote that the "dissident" (which is how we referred to the character who fell in love with Emma Dobson and was exiled to an underwater cage) meets the CDC character (who would be played by me), realizes I'm his son, and tells me so. This is what it said on the card, more or less:  "Dissident meets CDC agent. Tells him he's his son."

When it came time to write that scene, I thought to myself:  Wait, what? Why would the CDC agent believe this guy? Is there anything written on the back of this card? No? Damn it!

After some thought, I hit upon the idea that unbeknownst to the CDC agent, he has the ability to breathe underwater. I wrote the scene that eventually ended up in episode nineteen, in which the "dissident" gives my character a bit of baptism, proving definitively that he's... well, not like other people. Brilliant!, I thought to myself, and happily shared the scene with the rest of the writing team.

To my dismay, Karen pushed back against it. "I think that the CDC agent would have discovered this ability before now," she wrote. Rats! Wait, would he have? Why would he have? We went back and forth on this for quite a while, never quite fully agreeing, until finally, I wrote the monologue my character delivers in this episode, the one about his little brother drowning -- definitively serving up a reason why Dr. Hoffman has never discovered this amazing ability.

Boy, am I glad Karen pushed back, because this is my favorite scene in the whole series (or one of my favorites, anyway). But, boy, was I terrified to actually have to perform it. First of all, I'd be sitting next to Michael Dix Thomas, who's basically great acting personified. Secondly, the tone of monologue is extremely tricky: sad, awed, and capping off with a laugh line about Aquaman that has to be delivered absolutely straight. I'll leave it to others to decide whether or not I pulled it off, but I've been waiting two years to share it with you. I'm so happy it's finally here.

As for the rest of the episode, it has one of the creepiest endings of any episode of "Ragged Isle." I've mentioned this before, but the basement scenes were shot in my basement, which is just inherently creepy anyway, and the sight of a gagged and bagged Paul thrashing around on the chair just gives me chills -- even when I saw it happening on set and I knew Ian was just fine. Yikes.

And oh yeah: I kill a guy in this episode. No sound effects have been added to that slam against the wall. That was really me thumping against the wall. The tricky part was to stay hidden behind actor Denis Fontaine as he advanced towards Vicki until he falls away to reveal me holding the knife. We did a bunch of takes, always starting with me slamming against the wall of the building and then me crouching down behind Denis to stay out of the camera's sight. (When I dropped the knife, I was trying to do it like Michael Corleone drops the gun in The Godfather.)

Also, I throw up again. Dr. Hoffman sure has a weak stomach.  But now we know why he doesn't like boats. Or the water.

This episode also features a quiet scene between Madame Clelia and Louis. This was a very late addition to the script, when we realized we needed a final beat between these two whose friendship has been a part of the tapestry of the show since the beginning (and something that was very much discovered on set, based on the chemistry between the actors). It was a pleasure working with Kathryn Coccyx and Adam Cogswell, both of whom brought so much to their characters. (I'm not saying we've necessarily seen the last of both of them, just that this scene puts a nice bow on their relationship.)

The idea from very early on was that there would be simultaneous investigations happening on the island -- people taking a cold, hard, logical approach (Agent Thorne Homeland Security), people looking for a more supernatural explanation (Sheriff Dalton and Dr. Hoffman), and people digging into the island's history (Paul and Vicki). As we begin to wrap up the series, those supposedly parallel investigations are beginning to intersect more and more. It was fun to bring those separate elements together outside the Ragged Isle Star offices (to be continued next episode).

We're really in the home stretch now, and for me, these final three episodes are the most exciting ones we've done. I can't wait to share the rest with you.

P.S. Those underwater shots are stunning, aren't they? Barry and Derek and David's images are so beautiful. Haunting event.

P.P.S. I keep thinking of other things I want to praise about this episode. How about Kip Weeks and Krystal Kenville acting underwater? Acting. Friggin'. Underwater. Holy cow, these guys are unbelievable.

Episode Nineteen.... and behind-the-scenes writer's commentary

"Ragged Isle" episode 19, which is called "40," is up at The Entertainment Experiment web site. If you haven't already, go watch it now. After you've seen it, read on for a behind-the-scenes writer's commentary, which will (obviously, perhaps) include spoilers for this episode and previous episodes.

Way back when, when there were just the five of us (Barry and Karen Dodd, Rick Dalton, Jake Lear, and I) sitting around Barry and Karen's living room, plotting out story ideas, the way it worked was like so: Someone would think of a plot point or a character. If we all agreed, we'd jot it down on a notecard and tape it to a giant piece of cardboard that had once been the side of a refrigerator box. Gradually, we'd group collections of these notecards together to form a loose cluster of ideas for an episode. Then someone (often me, but not always) would then go home and write up an episode based on these notes, then send it out to the others for comments and revisions.

We knew very early on, from one of our first meetings, what the "original sin" of "Ragged Isle" was going to be -- lovers exiled to the sea many years ago, only to have one return and wreak havoc today. But we didn't really know when or how this would be revealed. Then, Jake said he'd like to write a "flashback" episode, and that's just what he did, turning in a 20 (or so)-page episode set entirely in the early '70s, telling the tragic story of George and Emma. It was quite beautiful, it really was.

I asked if I could take a pass over his draft because I had been thinking about who these characters were 40 years ago for the purposes of Vicki's conspiracy wall, which I was in the process of creating. So, I did a revision, fleshing out the characters I'd been thinking about and adding the business about the sardine factory, tying it into the factory fire story Rachel Moody tells the Sheriff in season one.

(George's early line to Emma, "Do you like sardines?", was one that Karen routinely deleted without comment when she made revisions and one I routinely re-inserted without comment when I got my hands back on a draft. It was a silent war I'm happy to have won.)

The episode was really shaping up to be something amazing, but there were some concerns: 1) As scripted, it would be long. Like, really long. Like, 25 minutes long. Too long for YouTube (or the attention span of the average internet user). And 2) Being set entirely in the past, it didn't feature an appearance by a single regular cast member. We worried that that might be confusing and off-putting to fans of the show.

So, the decision was made to incorporate contemporary scenes that would help anchor the flashbacks. This just made the episode longer, of course, so lots and lots of good material had to be cut. George and Emma's relationship, which evolved gradually on the page, now speeds right along, but I think we've retained the essence of their story, and we've tied it more explicitly to present-day events. I think it's a pretty special episode, one that resolves a giant piece of our mystery.

Some other thoughts:

1) Naming the episodes was one of the last things to happen in the scripting process, and (in case you haven't noticed) all our episode titles are also the names of U2 songs. I was so happy when I realized there was a U2 song called "40," since we'd already decided these events took place 40 years ago.

2) We've sent someone into the water every season. In season one, it was Dominic Lavoie as Mac, falling over the side of Paul's lobster boat. In season two, it was Meghan Benton as Vicki, knocked into the water by vengeful librarian Colleen Drake (Christine Louise Marshall). And this season, it was me. This scene was shot in September of 2011. Fortunately for me, it was a relatively warm day (MUCH warmer than the night Meghan went into the water). We only had one shot at it, since I didn't have a duplicate set of clothes. But that's fine. I was just as happy not to be tossed into the water repeatedly.

3) Michael Dix Thomas is so awesome in this episode, isn't he? He's a COMPLETELY different character.

4) Up until a few days before we started shooting season two, my character's name in the script was Greg Fishman. Too on the nose? Yes, we decided. The name we landed on, Dr. Hoffman, is a reference to Dr. Julia Hoffman in "Dark Shadows."

5) Please welcome new cast members! We've been sitting on these secret weapons for two years now, and we're so excited to finally unleash them. You've gotten glimpses of George (Kip Weeks) and (especially) Emma (Krystal Kenville) before now, but in this episode you get to meet them good and proper. In addition, this episode introduces Bob Greeley as Edwin Cutler ("Take my hand, George"), Shawn Reardon as young Harrison Shaw ("I could really go for a stone fence"), Michael Best as Phil Gerard ("I know what I saw. And so will the sheriff!"), Daniel Noel as Wilbur Henson ("Do what you feel you must, Phil"), Lynne Otto as Agnes Maguire ("What do you mean 'not yet'?"), Vince Shatto as Elmer Stringfellow ("We can write it up any way we want in the 'Star'"), Jill Koufman as Ruby Dusante ("How could you? With one of THEM?"), Sophia Reed as young Clelia (so THAT'S how she got the locket), and Allison Gray as young Rose Fuller ("Hello, Mr. Henson"). It's nice to have them all officially aboard the cast.

6) Even if you're a fan of the horror movie, "The Strangers," you might not recognize Kip Weeks (George), who played the creepy Man in the Mask in that movie. Check out his ax-wielding skills below:

7) This is crucial episode in the "Ragged Isle" mythology -- perhaps the most crucial episode in the entire series. Still, my favorite episode (from the standpoint of a writer and an actor) is the next one. I can't wait to share it with you (sometime in the new year).

8) Thank you sticking with us for this long. Happy new year!

Episode Eighteen.... and behind-the-scenes writer's commentary

Ragged Isle" episode 18, "Gone," is up at The Entertainment Experiment web site. If you haven't already, go watch it now. After you've seen it, read on for a behind-the-scenes writer's commentary.  This will include spoilers for this episode (and previous episodes), so make sure you've seen it before you continue, okay? Okay.

So, the spit is really hitting the spam on Ragged Isle, isn't it? We're gearing up for the endgame, which means fewer and fewer secrets can be kept. Some random thoughts about the making of this episode:

1) That statue of the fisherman is in Eastport, Maine. It was constructed for the reality/game/mystery show"Murder in Small Town X," which aired from July through September 2001 on FOX. The statue remained long after the show closed up shop and it's become an Eastport landmark.  And now, it stands on Ragged Isle, at least in our little corner of the internet.

2) Those helicopters, like the helicopters in season two, were created by "Ragged Isle" cinematographer (and local filmmaker) Derek Kimball.  The man's got chops, folks.

3) That's my basement Paul's tied up in.  It required very little set decoration or lighting effects to make it look that creepy. It was fun having the cast and crew in my house, and we worked hard to keep my family in the dark about plot developments they wouldn't get to find out about for a couple of years. In the original scripts for the season, it took several more episodes to reveal Paul's fate/location after his abduction at the end of season two, but Barry (rightly) insisted that we needed to see Ian earlier, which resulted in a scene I quite like, with Vance torturing Paul with his boring old newspaperman stories. Some nice work here from Denis Fontaine and Ian Carlsen.

4) That's Doughty (just "Doughty") playing the dead Agent Griggs outside Gertie Kendrick's house. Somewhere, there's a blooper of him jumping in genuine startlement when I touched his neck.  Kind of blew the whole "dead" assertion.

5) The pre-opening-credits sequences have been much longer this season, I think.  I'm digging it.

6) That's Justin St. Louis lying on the floor as the murdered Trevor Stebbins (though he wasn't Trevor Stebbins anymore when he died, careful viewers will recall). Justin was a blast to work with, and his parents were generous enough to let their house stand in for Gertie's.  Thank you to the whole family!

7) The scenes in Gertie's house were some of the last we shot, on a very long last day of principal photography. It was quite late (like, dark outside) when we shot some of it, even though this scene is supposed to take place in the early morning.  But with some fine, last-minute lighting improvisation by Barry, we were able to shoot "night for day."

8) Meghan Benton does some of her finest work (imo) in this episode as a grieving Vicki. I was at that day's shoot and it was amazing to watch her turn the grief on and off for various takes.  It wasn't like a switch.  She had to work herself up to it, and then work herself back down.  It was quite extraordinary. Amie Marzen is also so good in this scene, as Julie isn't quite sure how to respond to what Vicki tells her.  Amie improvised her voicemail message to Deputy Dan, all in one take, and while it was great, it probably slowed down the episode too much to stay on her.  In a brilliant stroke, Barry placed it over the closing credits, where it creates even more suspense for the next episode.  (You're going to Rose's, Julie?  Were you not even listening to what Vicki told you?)

9) "Ragged Isle" co-writer/prop-maker/poster-designer Jacob Lear made my CDC identification (dubbing me "Brain Hoffman" -- ha!) and I got the badge at a Halloween store.  It's made of plastic and features an image of a waving policeman.  But it works well enough for this shot, doesn't it?

10) Michael Dix Thomas is so good playing an entirely new character.  One look at him and there's no doubt Vicki's brother Eric is no longer on the scene.

11) So... yeah.  Something's up with my character, huh?  I guess there are still a few more secrets left to uncover.

12) The score is by Richard de Costa and the closing song is "Marathon Caribou" by Jacob Augustine. I love the music on this show. It adds so much.

13) There's more I'd like to say about the scripting process, but I really need to wait a couple of episodes for some more plot to unfold.  Stay tuned.

14) Thanks for watching, and for reading this far.  If you like the show, please drop us a line in the comments section below or on our YouTube page's comments section.

Episode Thirteen... and behind-the-scenes writer's commentary

"Ragged Isle" episode thirteen, "Drowning Man," is up.  Check it out, and when you're done, read on for a behind-the-scenes writer's commentary.



Have you watched it?  Because there will spoilers in the rest of this post, for this episode and everything that came before.  Fair warning

You know what my favorite thing about this episode is?  I got to take a power drill and drill a hole in Sebastian Carlsen.  Hell, yes!

(Okay, maybe that's not my favorite thing.  But it's pretty damned awesome.)

This episode endured a number of rewrites, many due to logistical concerns, though all the changes ultimately benefited the show, I think.  (One of the rewrites -- of season two as a whole -- actually conjured this episode into existence.  More on that in a moment.)

For example, as scripted, the first scene, between Paul, Eric, and Louis, originally took place in a big office that had belonged to Louis's mentor, Harrison Shaw (played in season one by Todd Manter), the idea being that Louis would look very small behind Shaw's enormous desk, which he has inherited.  But we couldn't secure a decent office location (or a big enough desk), and the scene was moved outside, which I believe works much better.  First of all it looks great, showing off once again Maine's beautiful outdoors.  Plus it puts Paul and Eric in an environment in which they're pretty comfortable (but Louis isn't), and it gives us another glimpse of the island blockade, reminding us of this season's raised stakes.  There's some nice work from all three actors in this scene.

The second scene, between Rose and Julie, originally took place in the grocery store.  But we had too many scenes set in the grocery store, which had to remain open while we were shooting, and we just couldn't cover them all in the limited time we had available.  So the scene was moved to Rose's kitchen, and it ends up being a much more intimate setting for Julie and Rose to discuss Julie's interrogation.  I'm in love with all of the acting in this episode.  Beth Saufler and Amie Marzen serve up a nice snapshot of the intimacy between Rose and Julie, as well as some barriers that still exist between them.

The autopsy scene never changed locations, but there was a lot of back-and-forth about what exactly the audience would see.  Barry really wanted us to have a "Twin Peaks moment," like when Agent Cooper stuck the tweezers deep beneath a dead Laura Palmer's fingernail to retrieve a clue.  For our scene, Barry envisioned a close-up of oversized cotton swab being slowly pulled from a hole in a victim's chest.  (We even discussed -- at length -- just how much blood and other bodily goo should be clinging to the swab as it is pulled out.)  I did some research into tests for drowning, and came up with the diatom test, which compares bacteria found in the victim's lung to bacteria found in the local water supply.  The lung isn't usually reached with a power drill of course, but I figured that on an island without a lab, locked down and with few available facilities, the doctor would have to improvise a bit.  This may be wildly unsound, but I'm keen on the effect of the drill and the cotton swab.  And let me tell you something, that drill was fun to wield.  Our special effects wizard, Eric Anderson, rigged up a rubber torso, and poor Sebastian had to crouch at the end of the table, leaning his head way back to complete the illusion.  There was a Styrofoam cup full of fake blood directly beneath the spot I had to drill (and dip the swab).  I hope we achieved the "ick" factor we were going for without being too stomach-churning.

This sequence also features the first face-to-face encounter between Sheriff Dalton and Agent Thorne (something that fans have been anticipating since the season began), and it does not disappoint.  The sheriff's great line, "Control the lobsters, control the world!" came directly from the mind of Rick Dalton, and I love love love the way he delivers it.  We also get to meet the great Cathy Counts as Ragged Isle resident doctor Gail Monroe.  We'll see more of her.

In this episode, we see more of Vicki's investigation, as she digs up old archived Ragged Isle Star articles—which I like to imagine were scanned somewhat haphazardly over the years by Vance Trundle, who probably didn't catalog or cross-reference his work very thoroughly.  So Vicki's search for relevant stories probably amounts to sifting through tons and tons of fine sand in the hopes of turning up the occasional gold nugget.  Which is the definition of good journalism, come to think of it.  We'll see more of the fruits of her investigation very soon.

If you freeze-frame on Vicki's computer screen, you might be able to read the text of the two articles  Vicki has pulled up -- one an archived story from 1937 about the death of a factory heiress, and one a contemporary story Vicki's working on about the island lobstering ban.  The first one's a clue, obviously, more of Vicki's investigation into what exactly's going on.

Again, I love the acting in this scene, as the tension just rises and rises.  Oh, and  Vance's line, "You're a good man, sister," is a direct lift from "The Maltese Falcon" -- a little present for people who love that movie (as I do).

After season one aired, the decision was made to split the already written ten-episode second season into two separate seasons of six episodes apiece, which meant writing two new episodes and tearing apart all of the existing episodes, and pasting them back together in ways that made sense.  Episode thirteen was one of the "new" episodes (though it contains scenes that had been in earlier drafts of season two).  After my first pass on the episode, it was running a bit short, but I realized we didn't have enough Madame Clelia in this season.  So I added the scene on the street, which is a nice showcase for Kathryn Coccyx and further illustrates how divided the island has become.  It's a nice showcase for Louis too, as he takes control of a situation in a way we haven't seen before.

In case it hasn't become obvious by now, the title of every episode of "Ragged Isle" is also the title of a U2 song.  I'm particularly fond of how well this title, "Drowning Man," fits with this episode, which features Louis drowning in his new responsibilities, Sebastian apparently dead by drowning, and Vance Trundle drowning in a sea of Homeland Security questions.  Each of these characters is, in his own way, the drowning man of the title.

I like the camera perspective we get at the beginning of the interrogation scene, which gives a different flavor from the Julie interrogation scene of the last episode.  Still, Agent Thorne continues to prove her badassery.  Her cold stare at Vance Trundle after he attempts to cut the interview short is a joy to behold.

The interrogation scene and the evidence room were both shot at the Baxter Memorial Library in Gorham, Maine (where we shot the library scene in episode six last season).  They were unbelievably gracious and generous letting us use their facility, and the payoff for us is an incredibly cool-looking, authentic set.  We are so grateful to them.

That's actor Benjamin Row as the agent who answers the phone in the evidence room when Thorne is looking for Griggs.  Ben was one of the people who showed up when we put out a call for extras to play agents.  And then he kept showing up, helping out in about a thousand different ways.  Whenever we needed an agent extra, Ben was there.  Whenever we needed something else, Ben was there.  He became such a fixture on the set that we started giving him lines.  "You've got Murphy," and his mispronunciation of "Katsarakis" last week.

Ben's also a stage actor, and during a recent run of "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)," he wore his Ragged Isle t-shirt every night on stage.  He is a "Ragged Isle" hero.  Thanks, Ben!

Have I covered everybody?  Probably not.  But I want to say again that all the actors in this episode brought their A-game, and Barry brought his A-game to shooting and cutting it.

And the music!  Again:  So, so good.

I love this episode.

Episode Twelve... and behind-the-scenes writer's commentary

"Ragged Isle" episode twelve, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," is up.  Check it out, and when you're done, read on for a behind-the-scenes writer's commentary.



Are you done? OK, there will spoilers in the rest of the post, for this episode and everything that came before.

One early idea was for there to be parallel investigations into what has happened on the island -- an "official" one that doesn't consider a supernatural explanation, and an unofficial one that does.  What emerged in writing season two were actually three investigations.  The official one is now being led by Homeland Security Agent Allison Thorne, who's being assisted by Deputy Dan, who last season was assisting Sheriff Dalton, who this season seems to have shifted the focus of his investigation to include the possibility of the supernatural.  Somewhere in between are Vicki and Paul, who are willing to go wherever the evidence leads.  It will be fun to watch these investigations ping-pong off each other as this season (not to mention next season) progresses.  And the lucky audience will be privy to what everybody uncovers, even if the different investigators don't share with each other.

So, Deputy Dan's unanswered question to Julie about Rose:  That's interesting, no?  When we were shooting the lobster festival massacre two summers ago, Barry somewhat spontaneously asked actress Beth Saufler (who plays Rose) to whisper in the ear of Amie E Marzen (who plays Julie).  "What's she whispering?" I asked him, which, as the head writer, I thought was a fair question.  Barry grinned mischievously and said, "I dunno.  But it's always cool to have people whispering."  When the episode aired in May, 2011, I don't think anybody had any idea what Rose was supposed to be whispering, but Barry was right.  It was cool.

So, when it came time to rewrite season two, that whisper was on my mind.  Julie's account to Deputy Dan is what I came up with.  What do you think?  And what do you think it means?  How did Rose know something bad was about to happen?  Feel free to speculate in the comments section.

The interrogation scene between Julie Katsarakis and Agent Thorne boasts terrific acting from both actresses and features a reveal that's been a long, long time coming:  the secret sordid history of Julie Katsarakis.  We've had that one in our back pocket from the very beginning (yes, Amie too), and it's been a delight watching Amie's performance as the always-upbeat Julie, knowing that there was more to that character than meets the eye.  I believe Barry had Amie play the scene many wildly different ways, then cut various takes together for a jarring, unsettling effect.  Very cool, dude.

While I was writing episodes this season, one note I had for my character (Dr. Hoffman) is that he and Sheriff Dalton should each consider the other man his sidekick.  I imagined Dr. Hoffman thinking of himself as a fearless investigator, poking into strange and mysterious goings-on around Maine, and the sheriff would be his local guide on the island.  Meanwhile, Sheriff Dalton would see himself as the lead investigator on the case, with Dr. Hoffman brought on as an outside consultant.

I still think this is a funny idea, but there are a couple of problems:  1) I don't think I ever managed to fully execute the idea on the page, and 2) Rick Dalton is such an impressive, imposing figure (in real life and on the screen), it's hard to imagine anyone thinking of him as just a sidekick.  However, I think there are still traces of the idea to be found in this episode.  Like Hoffman's skepticism at Madame Clelia's, or his taking over the questioning of Gus Hendershot at the grocery store.  It's not much, but there are hints that each man secretly thinks he's in charge.  I just wish I'd been able to push it further.

The CDC identification I flash for Gus was created by co-writer/poster-designer/bean-can-maker/graphics-guru/all-around-swell-guy Jacob Lear.  Fun fact:  He spelled Brian Hoffman's first name, "Brain."  Ha!

During shooting of the first season, I was notorious for knowing every single line by heart, and for gently (I hope) correcting actors when they strayed too far from the path.  I wasn't on set behind the camera as much this season, and when I was in front of the camera, I was usually more focused on my lines than anyone else's, but Rick tells me that in the scene outside Madame Clelia's, I was silently mouthing his lines along with him.  He said the effect was somewhat disconcerting, but I had no idea I had been doing it.  It wasn't caught on camera in that scene, and I hope to God I didn't do it on camera anywhere else.  I can just imagine Barry pulling his hair out trying to cut together a scene without revealing my Rain Man-like capacity for / obsession with knowing everyone else's lines.

OK, enough from the writer/actor.  Here are some stray observations from a fan:

1) Man, does Barry Dodd know how to shoot (and cut) a scene or what?  That kiss between Vicky and Paul is epic!  The acting, the lighting, the music -- everything.  Holy cow!

2) And the tail-end of that scene, the very last second, when the wind blows Vicki's hair out of her face, and then we get a matching cut of the sheriff sweeping Madame Clelia's curtains aside?  Nicely done, Barry.

3) It's always great to see Kathryn Coccyx as Madame Clelia.  She just bring something special to the role.  And yes, that's her house (with minimal set decoration) standing in for Madame Clelia's home.

4) Farewell, Sebastian Carlsen (a.k.a. Sea Bass), played by Sebastian Carlsen (a.k.a. Sea Bass).  Thanks for being on the island with us.  Sorry we had to kill you.

Episode Eleven... and behind-the-scenes writer's commentary

The "Ragged Isle" season two premiere, "A Sort of Homecoming," is up.  Check it out, and when you're done, come on back for a behind-the-scenes writer's commentary.





Are you done? OK, there will spoilers for the episode in the rest of the post, which (fair warning) promises to be quite long.  It's been awhile, and I have a lot to say.

I can't believe season two is finally here. It's been more than two years since Barry asked me to join this project, and more than a year since our season one finale aired. For the last few (okay, twelve) months, I've been fairly bursting with anticipation, and I can't tell you how thrilling it is to have fresh "Ragged" on my computer.

At our first writers meeting, way back in January 2010, there were five of us breaking ideas for the series. It was Barry Dodd, his wife Karen Dodd, Rick Dalton, Jacob Lear, and myself. Out of the group, I only really knew Barry, and was meeting Rick and Jake for the first time. Amazingly, we gelled very quickly, developing what Rick liked to call a "hive mind," building off each other's ideas to construct the strongest story possible.  We filled up notecards with character ideas and plot points and taped them to a giant piece of cardboard that had once been part of a refrigerator box.  (I believe that notecard-laden piece of cardboard still exists somewhere at Barry and Karen's house, but I think it's been pretty well torn up by their many, many cats.)

One of the first notions I brought to the table, even before that meeting, was for a CDC agent to come to Ragged Isle to investigate a mysterious illness, sealing off the entire island in the process. At that first meeting, Rick (who we already knew would be playing a sheriff) began raising objections about this hypothetical CDC agent's authority on the island, and I argued back with him about what this CDC agent would and wouldn't be able to do.  The sheriff's line, "Don't be stupid.  You can't seal off shit in a place where everyone has a boat," comes directly out of that argument, as does my line, "Nobody's getting off the island"

In the middle of our debate, Barry looked at me in wonder and said, "You've got to play this part."

I was pretty resistant to that idea. I'm no actor, and tend to panic in performance situations. Once, while reading a short story in front of an open mic audience, I literally began to go blind, blackness engulfing everything in front of me except for a tiny, word-sized pinpoint of sight on the page I was reading, zipping along as I read, highlighting one word at a time.  I remember feeling terrified that that pinpoint of sight would close up, and I wouldn't be able to see anything.  Yeah, that's some pretty bad stage fright.

Barry finally convinced me to take the role, but (for story reasons) we delayed my character's arrival to the start of the second season, which gave me a year to pysch myself up. During that year, I grew the beard, so my face would have something to hide behind when I was on camera. Okay, let's not talk about my acting anymore.

Before we shot a single frame of footage, we knew how the series was going to end. At one of our early writers meetings, Jake threw out an idea that stopped everybody cold. That's it, we said. That's our ending -- and we've been moving towards it ever since.

As we were finalizing the season one scripts, I was also plugging away on season two (which at that point was going to be our final season). By then, Barry and Karen were rightfully focusing all of their energy and attention on season one, which was about to start shooting, and any time I expressed enthusiasm about the next season, Barry would trepidatiously warn me that there would come a day when he might want to revamp some or all of the season-two episodes I was so excited about.

"I'm just happy we have more story to tell," I would assure him. "If that story ends up changing, so be it." (I'll let you in on a little secret: I loved writing "Ragged Isle" episodes, and it didn't really matter to me how many major or minor revisions any particular episode might require. And no matter how many different permutations an episode went through, the final permutation always seemed to me like the inevitable path, the story thread that was preordained.)

Sure enough, a month or so before we had to cast season two, I met with Barry and Karen, who wanted changes, big and small. They wanted the investigation into the lobster festival deaths to be bigger, with a federal presence and helicopters and government boats and lots of agents in black suits. They asked me if we could take the existing ten-episode season (which finished our story) and split it into two seasons of six episodes apiece.

"No, problem," I told them, with more confidence than I felt, and over the next two weeks, that's exactly what I did, weaving together what had already been written with new plot threads, new episodes, and new characters, including Homeland Security Agent Allison Thorne, awesomely played by Kathryn Perry.  Her character was an extremely late addition to the story, but now I can't imagine the show without her.

Which brings us to episode eleven -- you know, the episode this blog post is purportedly about?

I love the dialogue-free opening montage, which features so many familiar faces, as well as some new ones we will meet in this and later episodes.  I dig the tweak of our opening credits.  And the opening narration, written (as always) by Karen Dodd, once again deftly captures that Dark Shadows vibe.

But I'd like to start at the end of the episode and work our way back, scene by scene.  You may notice the credit, "Story by Barry Dodd, Karen Dodd, Rick Dalton, Jacob Lear, and Greg Tulonen," but another credit that reads, "Screenplay by Greg Tulonen."

This is accurate, but incomplete.

It's true that the five of us collectively broke the major story points and it's true that I wrote (and/or heavily revised) all of the season-two episodes, but the story doesn't end there.  Because it's also true that everyone took stabs at the scripts after the first drafts were written -- either through feedback or direct revision.  (And there were many, many drafts of some of the episodes.)  And Rick originated a couple of crackerjack episodes, which required major revisions and reshuffling after we decided to revamp (though I retained as much of Rick's dialogue as possible -- sometimes sprinkling it into other episodes). Later, actors came in with their own ideas, and lines were tweaked and adjusted on set.  (Rick's "Go arrest yourself" was an on-the-set improvisation.)  "Ragged Isle" was an amazingly, wonderfully collaborative project.

Okay, still working backwards:  That last shot:  Holy cow!  When I wrote the blockade into the script, I had no idea how we were going to shoot it, but I wanted to let the audience know that this was a whole new ballgame.  The boats and helicopters are post-production magic courtesy of scarily talented Portland filmmaker (and Ragged Isle camera operator) Derek Kimball,  and I think they effectively convey the second season's raised stakes.

OK, moving on (or back):  As much as I don't want to talk about my own acting, I'm happy to talk about Rick's:  I think Rick completely nails the scene, capturing the sheriff's exhaustion and emotional devastation.

Hey, that's Brent Askari (who was so great in the web series "Willard Beach") as grocery store owner Gus Hendersot. Brent was one of several ringers we planted in the background last season, knowing they'd be important later.  You can spot Brent at the lobster festival in episode ten, and it's terrific to have him aboard the series proper.  And poor Sebastian (the former "comic genius"), last seen flailing helplessly in his Lobster of Ceremonies costume during the Ragged Isle Lobster Festival tragedy (or shuffling slowly away from the camera in that creepy season two trailer).  Something is obviously up with him.

Regarding Dr. Hoffman and Sheriff Dalton's conversation in Dalton's kitchen (their first full scene together), the mysterious cases they reference in regard to Hoffman's "hobby" contain a few winks and shout-outs. The "Bismuth Beast" mentioned by the sheriff is a nod to my friend Corwin Ericson's hilarious novel, Swell, which takes place on the fictional Maine island of Bismuth. The "Willard Beach Incident" that my character mentions is a reference to the aforementioned Maine web series starring Brent Askari. And Loren Coleman, who Dr. Hoffman indicates is a rival in the field, is a real guy, probably the most preeminent cryptozoologist in the world, and proprietor of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine. You should stop by and ask him about Bigfoot.

The opening scene on the dock was shot on Great Diamond Island in Casco Bay. We put out a call for people in black suits to show up at the ferry terminal in Portland, and we were lucky enough to get a whole bunch of folks we'd never met before, many of them fans of the show.  After we were done shooting that day, we explored the island, used a very kind gentelman's bathroom, and caught the ferry back to the mainland. The same ferry had been by the island earlier, while we were in the middle of shooting, and some of the tourists onboard were extremely curious about what we were up to. They asked us when we boarded, and after we told them, they revealed that they had been speculating all afternoon, and had decided that we were either:  a) scattering a friend's ashes or b) Mormons.

Which just goes to show, there's more than one reason for a bunch of people to get together and wear suits.

I Have Seen the Future

Last night, a group of "Ragged Isle" actors and crew gathered at Barry and Karen Dodd's house to watch the SFN broadcast of the Third Annual Indie Soap Awards ceremony, an event that took place last month in New York City (and is described in more detail here). Even knowing the outcome (spoiler alert: We won!), it was fun and exciting to watch.



Afterward, Barry, drunk on victory and hard lemonade, opened up his (normally super-secret) vault and shared with us select raw footage from the first five episodes of season two. On my Facebook page, I wrote my five-word reaction to what I saw: Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.

Don't get me wrong: I love season one. But from the footage Barry showed us last night, in terms of acting (myself excluded) and cinematography and story, it looks like season two will leave the first season in the dust. Wow. I can't wait to see the finished product. I can't wait to share the finished product with the world.

Wow.

Acting!

At the first official writers meeting for Ragged Isle, when Barry, Karen, Rick, Jake, and I started mapping out the story, we talked about introducing a character to the island who would be investigating the mysterious goings-on (the exact nature of which we hadn't yet determined).

Rick, who we knew for sure would be playing Sheriff Rick Dalton, began questioning what kind of authority this new character would have over this tight-knit island community. I immediately responded with a rundown of the official backup the character would have at his disposal. Rick had more objections, and I kept arguing right back. Our voices may have gotten a bit loud.

Barry, watching us both with amusement, suddenly turned to me and said, "You've got to play this part."

I rejected the idea immediately. I'm no actor, and the little acting I did in college was... unpleasant. But Barry kept bringing it up, and I finally relented.

You can decide for yourself whether or not that was a good idea when season two debuts in May, but I did have fun. Mostly.

There were some days when I would come home with a nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach that I had perpetuated some pretty dreadful acting onto the rest of the world. But Barry has asked me to trust him, promising me that I will not look like a fool.

So, I'm trusting him. For now.

But it's a long wait until May.

Random Image of the Day

The Ragged Isle is coming from inside the house!

A motley crowd of "Ragged Isle" cast and crew descended upon my home on Sunday morning to shoot a few pivotal scenes for season three in my basement.

I can't reveal much more than that -- like for instance whose basement it is on the island, or what's down there, or what happens to the people who venture down the stairs -- but I will say that there's at least one sequence that's absolutely wild, and the actors involved proved to be more than game. I can't wait for people to see it, but that won't happen for more than a year.

Meanwhile, my wife, who remains unspoiled for everything that's to come in upcoming seasons, did her best to ignore what was going on with the shoot, not to mention all the off-camera chatter among the crew.

On Wednesday, I get to utter my first line as an actor on "Ragged Isle." After more than a year of watching these talented folks serve up such great performances, I'm more than somewhat nervous.

Episode Ten... and behind-the-scenes writer's commentary

The Season One finale of "Ragged Isle" is up. After you watch, read through to the rest of the post for a behind-the-scenes perspective from the head writer



WARNING: The rest of this post will contain spoilers for the entire season, so don't read any further if you haven't watched every first season episode.

At a very early writers' group meeting, back in January of 2010, we decided that we wanted the first season of "Ragged Isle" to climax at a lobster festival. We weren't sure what was going to happen, but we knew it was going to be catastrophic, involving several deaths.

A couple of problems presented themselves almost immediately:

1) How were we going to stage a lobster festival? I mean, we all have friends, but could we entice hundreds of friends to show up for a fake lobster fest? Probably not, but...

2) Could we convince a real lobster festival to let us shoot there if we had several characters dropping dead amid the crowd? Probably not, but...

What if we combined 1) and 2), shooting footage at a real lobster festival, but also staging a fake festival at another location on another day for the gaudier mayhem we had in mind.

And that is what we did. In August, Barry and some of our actors headed up to the Rockland Lobster Festival to get some authentic festival footage. A Tarot card reader at the festival was nice enough to let actress Kat Morrison (Madame Clelia) sit in her booth long enough for Barry to get some shots of her. And April Joy Purinton (Rachel Moody) got to do her spooky zombie shuffle through authentic festival crowds.

Then in September, we all headed down to Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth to stage our "fake" lobster festival, to be intercut with footage from the real deal. That day was not without difficulties, but we persevered, guided by the cool professionalism of Karen and Barry.

More than any other episode this season, I think, this one was really found in editing. If you pay attention to the dialogue, you'll notice there isn't that much. And when bad things start to happen, they happen very, very quickly. The script as written was only three or four pages, which usually translates into about three or four minutes of screentime. But Barry crafted a ten-minute episode out of the footage he shot. Bravo, dude.

A note on cliffhangers. Cliffhangers can be frustrating, can't they? But we're asking you to trust us that we know where this is going. We're only half-way through our story, and there is so much more story to tell. We can't wait to share the rest with you.

Episode Nine... and behind-the-scenes writer's commentary

"Ragged Isle" episode nine is up. After you watch, read through to the rest of the post for a behind-the-scenes perspective from the head writer.


WARNING: The rest of this post will contain spoilers for episode nine (and earlier episodes), so don't read any further if you haven't watched.

Very early on in the scripting process, but after we had mapped out most of the major story points we wanted to cover this season, Barry came to me and said, "I want to do a talent show episode."

"Okay," I said, cautiously. The talent show premise is a staple of many long-running TV series (especially sitcoms), usually turning up fairly late in the series' run, after the writers have run out of ideas and the actors have gotten thoroughly bored with their characters. Neither was the case with "Ragged Isle," and I wasn't really sure how to approach it.

But then Barry said: "And Karen and I are going to write it."

"Okay!" I said, far more enthusiastically.

It soon became clear that Barry and Karen had something more in mind than simply giving the actors a chance to show off their underutilized talents. They wanted an episode that would be funny and entertaining, but would also advance the emotional arc of the season. With a song.

As originally scripted, the song Rachel and the Sheriff sing was going to be Olivia Newton John's classic, "Magic." However, after repeated requests to obtain the rights to that song went unanswered, Barry wrote the original song you heard here. I think we traded up.

I did take a pass on the script after Barry and Karen turned it over to the collective, coining the phrase "Lobster of Ceremonies" (you're welcome), and contributing Vance Trundle's dialogue with the Sheriff, as well as a few other bits of dialogue here and there. But this episode enjoyed creative contributions from everyone involved. Sebastian Carlsen, who dabbles in stand-up, came up with his own comedy routine. Adam Cogswell originated his magic act (and costume). Michael Dix Thomas and Ian Carlsen choreographed their Awesome Times Two dance routine. Awesome. Amie Marzen's aggressively sunny take on the character of Julie continues to be a joy to behold. And Barry's band The Lodge were April and Rick's backup musicians.

April and Rick! Charged with doing the emotional heavy lifting of the episode, April and Rick really delivered on Barry's song. It seems clear that Sheriff Dalton and Rachel's relationship is in different place when the song ends than it was before it began. That's quite an achievement -- a testament to the power of the writing, the song, and Rick and April's talent. Well done, all around!

By the way, many thanks to Geno's Rock Club, a friend to this project from the beginning, for providing the location for this episode and for hosting our premiere party in March.

Episode Eight... and behind-the-scenes writer's commentary

"Ragged Isle" episode eight is up. After you watch, read through to the rest of the post for a behind-the-scenes perspective from the head writer.

Episode Seven... and behind-the-scenes writer's commentary

"Ragged Isle" episode seven is up. After you watch, read through to the rest of the post for a behind-the-scenes perspective from the head writer.

Okay, the rest of this post will be some behind-the-scenes insights into the episode. WARNING: There will be spoilers for episode seven (and earlier episodes) from here on out, so don't read any further if you haven't watched.

Episode Six... and behind-the-scenes writer's commentary

"Ragged Isle" episode six is up. After you watch, read through to the rest of the post for a behind-the-scenes perspective from the head writer.

The rest of this post will be some behind-the-scenes insights into the episode. WARNING: There will be spoilers for episode six from here on out, so don't read any further if you haven't seen it.

Episode Four... and behind-the-scenes writer's commentary

"Ragged Isle" episode four is up. After you watch, read through to the rest of the post for a behind-the-scenes perspective from the head writer:

Okay, the rest of this post will be about the writing of the episode.  WARNING:  There will be spoilers for episode four from here on out, so don't read any further if you haven't seen it.

Episode Three... and behind-the-scenes writer's commentary

"Ragged Isle" episode three is up, and it's a good one.  If you haven't seen the first two episodes, you should definitely watch those first. And after you watch episode three, read through to the rest of the post for a behind-the-scenes perspective from the head writer.


There, did you watch?  Wasn't it cool?  Okay, if you're all caught up, keep reading for a little peek at how the sausage is made.  WARNING:  There will be spoilers for episode three from here on out, so don't read any further if you haven't seen it.