API Lives on Twitter - 11/13/10

Television viewers everywhere are the losers since AMC foolishly canceled the deliciously deep spy thriller Rubicon after thirteen gorgeous episodes. It was the best thing I've seen on television in a long time, the show I'd think about for days and wanted to watch again and again. As Maureen Ryan wrote, "This was a thoughtfully made, beautifully filmed story with an atmosphere, look and vibe all its own." It follows an interesting group of overly intelligent personalities who work together at a high security clearance, Three Days of the Condor style think tank, the American Policy Institute (API), as they track terrorists and fend off foreign attacks amidst what appear to be deeply embedded domestic conspiracies. The story consists of an intriguing maze of messages hidden in crossword puzzles, codes, white papers, four leaf clovers, along with healthy doses of loneliness, longing, loss and addiction, and I couldn't help but feel very invested in the characters. Well written and visually gorgeous, it's worth watching just for the beautifully framed architectural shots of New York if not for the stellar performances by James Badge Dale, Michael Christofer, Arliss Howard, Dallas Roberts & Lauren Hodges (and one of them blows the boundaries off of gay stereotypes on television).

I promoted the show on my little tiny corners of Facebook and on Twitter, where I also often interacted with other fans, a handful of critics and the folks who were tweeting as the show's characters, most of whom don't look like they're planning to stop tweeting just because no network is currently planning any more episodes of Rubicon. It seems our friends from API, as seen on Twitter, were in Juarez, Mexico at an attendance-mandated company "retreat" when the news broke that they'd been canceled. From their perspective, they've been locked out of API, and they're openly planning their next moves. Note to networks launching new television shows: Go ahead and sign up all your characters' Twitter identities before the show starts, because if you don't somebody else will. Oh, who are we kidding? Somebody else will even if you do, but get your voices out there first to stake your show's territory on Twitter or you'll have zero control over where it goes. So, now that we know that AMC wasn't really so serious about its proclaimed philosophy Story Matters Here (more like Zombies Happen Here), it looks like this story is in the hands of strangers, a multi-user, interactive live story-telling online.

Television viewers everywhere, go now, find the thirteen episodes that are Rubicon (Amazon iTunes) and watch them, or gift them to a friend who likes well-written television drama. Then follow @TruxtonSpangler @TheWillTravers @TanyaMacGaffin @Grant_Test_API @MilesFiedler @KaleIngram @KatherineRhumor @JuliaHarwell and their various nemeses because their story is living on Twitter. It's in their hands now and they are making it up as they go along. Is this a great time to be alive, or what?

Thanks so much for stopping by. Peace, out, y'all.