Authors Note: The programming from the Cosmic Era is largely marketed to Arcology Dwellers, many of whom will seldom leave the confines of the building they were born in. They are largely, like the serfs of old, unaware of life beyond their arcology or megacity, and with centralization and collectivism, unlikely to travel far from said building. Another issue is that what was offensive 50 years ago in media today is commercial stock. What is offensive today by the time to Cosmic Era roles around will be passe. So, when reading the following program blurbs, if there is something that seems vulgar, crude or offensive, it should be. Johnny Carson was fined by the FCC for saying the word Pregnant on television, instead of the more acceptable 'with child'. Considering the saturation of the media now with sex and violence, what can the Cosmic Era hold? Society changes, social norms change, and technology changes. HoloVids and Feeds can be watched in a passive holodeck style, while S3 programs use biofeedback to put the viewer literally in the programming.
1. The Mazdas
The Mazdas is a popular daytime drama that follows the exploits of a group of 20 somethings living in the Laguna Mazda Seacology near Los Angeles. the Seacos mixes basic soap opera tropes, life in a seacology, and softcore Baywatch style sex antics. It has dabbled with human-augmen relations after introducing a popular character with genetic grown gills.
2. Stag
Stag is a popular primetime adventure sex drama that follows the exploits of John Stag, a billionaire playboy from the New York Arcoplex. It is a grindhouse of obscene wealth, over the top action, and celebrity titillation. The fanbase has started to become upset because there are an increasing number of hints and clues that John Stag is actually a character within his own show and that the real John Stag is a Walter Mitty do nothing and the entire show is this hidden character's CogNet fantasy.
3. The Prince
The Prince is an action drama that follows the life and nighttime adventures of Prince Rupert Adams. During the day, he is a diplomat and figure of state, but at night he drops the formal attire and enters the underground club scene. The Prince has been praised for tackling tough topics like clone rights, Seibertronian issues, human-augmen relations and other sociopolitical issues. It has also been thoroughly trashed for its excessive use of homosexual intercourse and negative body image for boys and men, as the Prince is ripped like a professional body builder.
4. This Neko Life
Called TNL or just Neko, This Neko Life is a tween-teen drama that is centered in a Chicagoland school where the predominantly female cast faces issues of growing up, experiencing relationships and making friends, against the backdrop of almost every member of the show being a human-feline augmen. The show also has the main characters make bad decisions, face problems like teenage pregnancy and STDs as well as facing bullies, drug use, and peer pressure. It is noted that all of the show's 'baddies' are men, and are very easy to pick out, none of them are augmens. The current season has set show records for viewership as it deals with Leona and her friends dealing with the hostile and sexual advances of a male teacher, who is decidedly older than them and considered a powerful and respected member of the school staff.
5. Sewer Soldiers
Sewer Soldiers is a gritty war drama set in the ruined geofront under Dhaka, Bangladesh. The main characters are a group of mercenaries who are fighting a bloody and violent insurgency against the hostile Dhakan Royalists who have caused a civil war in the nation. The show is considered overly violent and has been condemned by the nation of Bangladesh and the ACPS, since nothing of the sort has happened in that nation in well over two centuries.
6. The Toybox
The Toybox was a popular children's television ensemble program, it was based around child versions of popular media figures and followed the basic tropes of childrens television, espousing CogNet safety, avoiding dangerous situations, and to recognize and respect authority figures. The show was canceled after vitriolic outcries after several politicians appeared in child form to promote their campaigns and ideals to voters through their children.
7. Billy
Billy is a serious drama about William, a man who survives a gunshot wound to the head by having an artificial brain transplant. He goes through his life, constantly keeping a journal, struggling to maintain a relationship with the woman he was previously engaged to and dealing with an abusive relationship with his former best friends.
8. Deconstructing Angela
Deconstructing Angela, or DA, is a flashback drama that deals with a wealthy and powerful lawyer who is still tormented by her childhood and how happiness constantly eludes her in adult life. Considered one of the most powerful episodes of holodrama, the series finale had Angela realize that her entire life was a mistake and the faults were her own decisions she committed suicide. There are several campaigns to have DA restarted and rewritten, the pills only leaving her in the hospital, or some other Fetting of the situation.
9. Cloned Freaks
A low point in Holobroadcasting, Cloned Freaks was a show that dealt with a group of mutants living in the radioactive ruins of an unnamed Geofront. They were amalgams of the common fears of clones, augmens, and other human modifications mixed in with a metric ton of rape, cannibalism, and bathroom humor. The self titled Cloned Freaks had a cloning lab so no matter how many times they were killed by their own stupidity they appeared in time for the next gore and filth splattered episode. Cloned Freaks is still being made, but it is only available on non-sanitized data streams. Once the show went out of mainline feeds, it took a decidedly darker and more vile turn as many of the innuendos and implied events were brought to the front.
10. Cliff & Heath
A popular crime drama Cliff & Heath detail the crimes and beats walked by a cyborg police officer and his augmented canine companion. Cliff is a cool as a cucumber dude with his trench coat, fedora, and green cyborg eye while Heath is a German Shepherd with gold eyes and a silver tongue, he fancies himself a consummate ladies man despite being a dog.
11. The Americans
This popular satire show in Europe is a wacky comedy about an American family that moves to continental Europe and just can't get with the program. The husband is a slapstick moron, the wife is a narcissistic whore, and the children include a militant closet Christian, a CogNet junkie and chronic masturbator, and a young constantly hungry fat baby.Â
12. The Wing
The Wing is a crime fighter action drama about a parapsychic hero who can fly. He fights criminals, dodges the law, and generally tries not to get killed in the process. The Wing has been heralded as a great show that gets back to the detective roots of caped crime fighters, updated for the modern age.
13. CogTales
Cogtales is a popular adult/young adult program that follows the adventures of three brothers who live with their aloof and distant wealthy uncle. They alternate between CogNet adventures and real life adventures, dealing with hacker viruses and finding girlfriends.Â
14. JetDraft
Cop serials have always been popular, and JetDraft in many ways doesn't deviate from the basic premise; a group of new recruit cops learning the ropes and how to be cops without losing their humanity or becoming too weak to do their job. The big sell is that the entire show is about the Jetpack equiped NYPD Sky Patrol. On a completely non-reality based level, most of the villains of the show have been equipped also with jet packs, hovercraft, and heavy weapons. In real life, private jetpacks are few are far between and the training required to use them pretty much ensures that thugs, lowlifes, and muggers dont do their jobs whizzing around at 135 mph.
15. You Are Batman!
An immersive HoloAction program, You Are Batman is just what it says. Viewers are placed into the POV of Batman as he fights his way through Gotham Arcoplex, beating up criminals, blowing up rogue androids, and seducing familiar females of the rogues gallery. The spin off You Are Batgirl followed the same theme but from a female centric perspective but was far from the financial success of the critically panned You Are Batman!
16. Toonworld
Toonworld is superficially about cartoon characters, keeping with the common themes and tropes of Saturday Morning kids holovision. Toonworld deviated from the standards and norms by bringing the two things missing from regular cartoons to the show: sex and death. The show follows a skit layout, and never bothers with bits more than 7 - 10 minutes long. The show has been heavily censored and restricted as it's bright colors can attract younger underage viewers who are not ready for the sometimes shocking things that happen in the show.
17. Dino-Knights
Dino-Knights follows the basic medieval premise of costume action/drama but does so in a psuedo-medieval setting that has dinosaurs. The show generally follows Arthurian legends and Welsh mythology, but does so from the backs of dinosaurs, many of whom appear clad in chromed armor. The sheer ridiculousness of the premise has actually made the excellent writing and production behind the show come to the fore and Dino-Knights has spawned both popular toy lines as well as winning several programming awards for quality and excellence.
18. The Deads
The Deads is a campy comedy that plays with morbid body humor/horror and death the way most primetime shows play with violence and sex. The Deads doesn't take itself seriously and mocks superficial issues among the 'Skins' as they call the still living. The main lead of the show has become a Hollywood Icon and does a good deal of advertising work as his dead persona, selling food and home products and laughing at the damned Skins.
19. The Golden Boy
The Golden Boy is a horror/comedy that is based around the life and exploits of a wealthy, powerful, idiotic upper manager. The lead is the kind of guy you love to hate, and while he makes life miserable for his employees (much like many employees seeing their boss as a hate dispenser) he is constantly beset by accidents, disasters, and other chaotic events that make his seemingly untouchable life miserable. The show has changed lead actors several times, with one committing suicide and two others quitting the show after receiving death threats.
20. General Issue
Considered pro-military explosion porn, General Issue is a shallow and superficial show about a special forces group in the Atlantic Federation military that goes around blowing things up and shooting baddies, and generally letting everyone know how macho and awesome the Federation armed forces are. It is popular among males, and has spawned cartoons, toy lines, and games.
21. Ghosthunters in the Hyper Dimension
GHHD is an investigation show about a group of paranormal investigators who make extensive use of arcanotechnology to fight Storm Breaches. The show is surprisingly accurate when it comes to arcanotech, and the sort of events and phenomenon that occur around a storm breach and how the general populace should react if they notice said events. The heroes investigate and by the end of the show are shooting at cosmic horrors and chaos warped human victims of a storm breach with plasma rifles and hyperdimensional grenades.
21. The Inspector
Born a man, but turning into the greatest crime detective ever built, the Inspector is a gritty drama about a walking crime lab police detective cyborg who is constantly hunting for the criminal mastermind who set the bomb that almost killed him. He has an augmented canine and a LAI who assist him.Â
22. Call of Duty Kids!
CoDkids is a popular but controversial show that was based on the popular Call of Duty: Kids game. The characters of the show are children who are caught in a gritty civil war who become guerilla insurgents while trying to find their missing parents. The show is the subject of scorn as it justifies and glorifies children soldiers, as well as regularly portraying children being wounded or killed.
23. Detention Dogs
Detention Dogs is a prison drama that is based around a group of gang members, augmens, and cyborgs who are being held despite being innocent. The prison warden is corrupt and inept, and only remains in place because of massive corruption in the government and the guard staff.Â
24. The Robot Masters
TRM is a propaganda based show that exploits human technophobia and has been cited for promoting violence against cyborgs, androids, robots, and seibertronians. The show is centered around the premise of a robot uprising and humanity pushed to the brink.Â
25. The Clone Blues
This drama is centered around a group of identical clones who live in a common residence in a large arcology. They enjoy a communistic lifestyle, work hard and don't expect much back. The show dabbles with clone rights issues but takes a light hand with it.
26. Island Hoppers
The crew of a transport zeppelin travel from island to island in the Pacific, having adventures, avoiding sky pirates, and the like. The pilot struggles with his womanizing bachelor ways while falling in love with the company owner while the co-pilot has daring coming of age issues to contend with. Pineapples ensue.
27. Skateboards and Mirrorshades
An edgy action drama set in 1990s California (as misunderstood 300 years from now) a group of skateboard riding Cool Dudes blast their way through weekly adventures that involve misunderstandings of the Drug Trade (Escobar was a cool dude on a white skateboard) Border issues (real mystic coyotes lead criminal gangs through obstacle courses) and the car culture. (if you aren't picturing Bill & Ted, 90s Trapper Keeper art, and pop rocks, you should be)
28. The Adventures of Saratoga Smith
A strange amalgam of Tomb Raider, Johnny Quest, and Indiana Jones, Saratoga Smith is a busty world traveler who lives in a jetset version of the Petroleum age (today sans computers and cellphones) and goes stealing treasures, looting tombs, having whirlwind romances, and occasionally reconciling with her estranged father, her professional cyborg bodyguard, cloned companion, and augmented dog.
29. Tomatoes
A sexploitation series, Tomatoes is about a mad scientist who does nothing but grow amazonian busty women in a cloning chamber to be involved in criminal enterprises. The writers and producers wanted to call the show Boobs, but the networks refused to carry the show if the name wasn't changed. The critics hate the show so much they refuse to even admit it even exists.
30. Humans!
Despite the name, Humans! is a show that has a supercomputer intelligence as it's lead (not really portrayed by one) that has a lab where it is constantly creating devices and experiments on a small group of people trapped in it's lab. The humans attempt to escape, but are invariably caught, or return because they don't want to leave their kin behind. They relationship between the AISC and the test subjects is one that is a textbook case of Stockholm Syndrome.
31. The Slob
The Slob follows the comically depressing life of a Joe Everyman who has just about every socioeconomic problem imaginable. The Slob stumbles through life, cracking crude jokes, groping strangers and generally being the asshole that everyone really wants to be but is either afraid to be, or too considerate to be.
32. Pastville
A time travel machine malfunctions and sends a comic buffoon everyman back to the days before the Resource Wars, where he tries to fit in and live in a society that he doesn't fit in. The residents of Pastville are cartoonishly puritan and offensively militaristic/Christian while keeping up the common trope of the Petroleum era being computer free.
33. The Man with the Mop
The Man with the Mop is a eco-crusading janitor who fights evil polluters and waste dumping industrialists. The show is heavy on action and violence and features caricatures rather than characters. The villains are little more than fat versions of Snidely Whiplash, twirling waxed mustaches and rolling in money in pushbutton empires.
34. The Psi-Men
A group of parapsychic misfits, the Psi-Men are men and women who could pass for fashion models who fight evil parapsychic baddies. A fair number of their parapsychic powers revolve around stripping clothes off and seduction. Robots are frequently blown up for seldom if any reason.
35. The Sharks
The Sharks are an aquatic gang of well meaning canal punks who venture between the beach life, night clubbing, and fighting serial killers and monsters that threaten said coastal areas. They are augmens and have shark tattoos and are surfers.
36. Rita's Cosmic Life
A transition story, Rita is a Federation citizen who makes the move to a big swanky space habitat and deals with the translation from planetdweller to space woman. Rather than being a situational drama, it has been called Rita's Dating and Sex Life in Space. Regardless it remains a popular show for a largely fashion conscious female audience.
37. The Bert & Sledge Show
The gross out show Bert & Sledge follows the misadventures and criminal activities of drug fiend and hyperactive sex addict Bert and borderline retard genetic accident Sledge. The two are obnoxious, racist, hyperviolent and endorse negative sexual behavior. The show routinely gets high ratings.
Birth
This popular reality show takes excess women from the arcology, forcefully impregnates them and drops them into a wilderness or unpopulated area. The women are followed using VR implant chips, micro drones, and satellite surveillance. This series is praised for exploring and tackling the problems of excess population as well making child birth appear interesting and visceral again. Women who are able to raise their child to one year of age are removed from the series and integrated into their source arcologoy's population structure. The show has won many industry awards for editing and presentation, a typical 15 minute episode, which often has no dialog outside of the pop music sound track, will successfully capture the magic of birth, the bond of motherhood, the tragedy of loss and the primal fear of living alone outside of an arcology.
Burn Unit
This unproduced and unstagged reality channel is available 24/7 and follows the activity of the Burn Unit in the Proto-Corp Military Hospital located outside of Kinshasa. The home audience can select between any of 280 cameras in the burn unit and can download the footage to a personal device for later viewing if desired. The channel was originally sponsor by Proto-Corp but has achieved finical independence by selling pop up ad bombs that will enter the screen while viewing.
Father Knows Best
This scripted comedy follows the adventures of successful arcology housing planner Dutch Leopold. When Dutch isn't masterfully making space and distributing rations for the population of his arcology he is advising his teenage sons on their sexual adventures. The story inevitably ends with his sons unable to satisfy their partners and Dutch coming into the bed room to take the reigns and show the younger boys how it is done. The show is both praised and panned (depending on one's social leanings) for its championing of conservative values. Father Knows Best is said to set forth this unrealistic or idealistic father son dynamic where in the father has lots of time to spend with his children, a strong interest their well being and there are no inner family conflicts.
You're Beautiful
This channel can be streamed while walking anywhere in one of its client arcologies. It super imposes an image over the surroundings and represents all the objects around the viewer in the arcology but removes unsightly trash, ware and tear or graffiti. Furthermore it superimposes images of attractive and healthy individuals over the visage of the people in the viewers immediate vicinity. The channel also adds a layer of interaction, in which the super imposed icons are all gazing at the viewer with lecherous and desirous expressions.
Hunley
This loosely scripted comedy follows the adventure of Lawerence Hunley, a man who won his arco Lottery and now joyously passes his days in his archeology compartment. Viewers watch him watch broadcast programs, watch him play video games and watch him have sex with prostitutes all the while looking at the camera critiquing the product he is using. Hunely has proved an excellent platform to promote new media and new sexual service providers. The original Lawerence Hunley was only streamed in single Lancaster Arcology in England, but since then almost every Arcology has produced its own version of Hunley. Just one episode of Hunely and you feel a lot better about living in an arcology. The original Lawerence Hunley has managed to barter his celebrity status into a position as a corporate spokes person and pitchman.
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? Responses (10)
Interesting programs.
I would pay good money to watch Dino-Knights.
As with your other Cosmic Era material, this is some great color stuff that demonstrates what society has come to in the period.
I've thought about laying out some guidelines and seeing if anyone would be interested in adding to the Cosmic Era
I really like the idea of presenting the culture through its media rather that just bluntly listing facts about the culture. But what do we learn about the cosmic era from your re-wrties of Tailspin and Ducktails? From what you write about the cosmic era I would assume that stuff like Tomatoes and Call of Duty: Kids would not be protested or censored. However this makes thinks you want their to be a silent majority in your universe that longs to a return to the 1980s or is that just you? Where do the people of the cosmic era ground their morality? What are the conservatives seeking to conserve or resurrect?
I've never made any point about hiding the 80s and 90s nostalgia in the Cosmic Era setting.
One of the things I have been pondering is where the moral middle is, and what is liberal and progressive version what is conservative and traditional. But, the points I come up with is that the liberal and progressive values are tied up in clone and machine rights, and the Conservative values are tied to religion.
You do think much more deeply and critically on the Cosmic Era than I do, but this is something i do for fun, not to write a doctorate thesis.
Another thing I was pondering was the impact of media and entertainment on culture in general.
'Considering the saturation of the media now with sex and violence, what can the Cosmic Era hold?'
Ducktails?
I also call B.S. on you saying you don't want to write a dissertation on the cosmic era. ;)
This definitely helps give a solid feel for the social mores and interests of Arcologies in the Cosmic Era. I feel like I understand the average sheeple of that time period much more after reading this.
Great views into the culture of the Cosmic Era - it is a good way to present it rather than some dry listing of cultural attributes.
another great 30!!!!!! can't stop handing out 5s to the guy w/ the best 30s!!!!!!!!!!
Totally stealing for my supers game!!!!!!!!!!!!!Only thing wrong w/ it is its not a 300!!!!
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HoH bump because I just got some of the references embedded here.