A few days ago, I was having coffee with a cinematographer friend of mine. We got to talking about the apparent failure of the Internet to foster a revolution in consumer-created entertainment. He said he wasn't surprised, and observed that the frame refresh-rate on a computer screen is exponentially greater than the frame refresh-rate on television (which itself is significantly greater than the frame rate of film). At so many frames per second, he explained, the brain isn't required to work to "fill in the gaps." In other words: When we're looking at the computer screen, our brains are essentially on auto-pilot... even moreso than when we're watching television. No wonder people can't sit through a 30-40 minute dialogue-heavy show.
There's a corollary to this idea in John Muir's final episode of The House Between, and I must say that it's tempting to use it as an explanation for the fact that the series - which I truly believe is one of the most ambitiously intelligent science fiction series that has ever been dreamed up - has not "gone viral" in the last couple of years. Whatever the explanation, this hard truth does nothing to diminish the series -- which now exists in its entirety for future viewers to discover, like a lost artifact of a bygone civilization.
For my part, it has been an honor to be associated with this series and the many talents that brought it to life, onscreen and off. Though I have no reason to expect that the story will continue, I truly believe that The House Between will return in some form, some day. It simply has too much to say. And as Bill Clark continually reminds us, "Anything's possible." For the time being, pop over to John Muir's blog for a beautiful prelude to "Resolved", and then check out the final bow...
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