Jonathan Frakes, best known for his portrayal of Commander William T Riker on Star Trek, will be directing episode 9 of the upcoming Current TV series Bar Karma, the world’s first community-developed television series which debuts on Friday, February 11 at 10pm/9pm Central. The series, which is the first to give viewers control of the show content before it hits air, was created by game creator Will Wright (The Sims/Sim City) and Worldwide Biggies CEO Albie Hecht.
Star Trek fans and Jonathan Frakes devotees can participate in the creation of the series by logging on at current.com/barkarma, through social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter or through free iPhone, iPad and Android apps to submit story ideas. Viewers will be able to cast their vote for their favorite storyline they would like to see Frakes direct. The episode will air on Current TV in early April.
Set at a mystical watering hole at the edge of the universe, Bar Karma stars William Sanderson (True Blood, Lost, Deadwood) as James, the 20,000 year-old bartender, Matthew Humphreys (Obsessed, Big Love, The Forgotten) as bar owner Doug Jones, and Cassie Howarth (Deranged High, Deathclock) as the lone waitress, Dayna. The series answers the age-old question: “What would happen if you could change your fate?” Set in a time traveling bar owned and operated by members of the mysterious organization Karma, Inc., each weekly episode follows a new bar patron as they enter at happy hour and must make a life-changing…and possibly world-saving …decision.
Bar Karma uses Wright’s innovative, easy-to-use Storymaker application, which users can access by logging on at http://current.com/shows/bar-karma/, as well as through social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter, and a free iPhone App. Each week, the global online community (which has been participating in the creation process since mid-November), is invited to vote on the top storylines chosen by producers. Once a final storyboard is selected by the community at large, the producers will adapt, shoot, produce and edit the winning storyline into a 30-minute episode. Users whose submissions are used will be on the credit roll at the end of the show.
To date, the voting public has selected the storylines for the second and third episodes. Episode two, submitted by user Jason Lee Holm, a Barberton, Ohio Interactive Developer, is about an author who goes into the future to discover the political fall-out from his children’s book is going to cause a global meltdown. Episode three, submitted by Moses Silbiger, an Austin, Texas based consultant who is a former architect and graphic designer, follows the story of Lucy, a famous actress in her 60s who enters the bar in a hospital gown and is forced to examine her relationship with her son.