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Chat with Doug TenNapel of Push, NV

SpaceBass: Next up is Diandra.

Diandra: I noticed that some of the puzzles in Push (for example the touch-tone dialing puzzle and the puzzle to remove the static from the audio clips) were very similar to puzzles in Majestic. Were any of the same people involved in both ventures…or was it merely coincidence? If it was coincidence, were you (at some point) aware of the similarities?

TenNapel: …I know that we all liked the idea of Majestic…
TenNapel: … and perhaps Majestic tanking would have been an omen for us to listen to…
TenNapel: … but I don't recall having that kind of direct contact with any of the Majestic developers…
TenNapel: …those are pretty common game/puzzle elements so I doubt there's any deliberate borrowing.
TenNapel: Next?
SpaceBass: Curlay has our next question…

Curlay: Are the scripts actually written for the 'rest of the season', and/or are the shows produced?
Curlay: I know you said mostly the puzzle end

TenNapel: The scripts were written through like 11 episodes…

Curlay: Out of how many? 15, were there?

TenNapel: We produced 2 episodes that were not shown I think. Next?
SpaceBass: Next up is kingohugs.

kingohugs: Some of the web "only"stuff was quite entertaining, and seemed to promise some great story line material…if the show had lasted, was there talk of seeing things like the Skate Park or RoadRunners brought into the TV plot late in the season or in the (ideally) following season?

TenNapel: There were originally 13 episodes…
TenNapel: We were always looking for ways to intermingle fantasy elements with real life elements…
TenNapel: …I'm not sure what would have happened but we were always borrowing stuff from each other. Next?
SpaceBass: Next, we'll go to imbri.

imbri: What were the expectations for the online element and were you overwhelmed/underwhelmed by the internet response? After the experience is there anything that you would do differently? What and how?

TenNapel: Underwhelmed on all accounts…
TenNapel: …I'm not sure how to fix whatever went wrong, I think only time will allow us the opportunity to take another crack at blending TV with internet…
TenNapel: …we were just too early for this kind of thing on a broad general audience basis. Next?
SpaceBass: Next is Gupfee.

Gupfee: I was wondering if there were more plans for underused elements like highwatertrucking.com that didn't get implemented because of the show's early cancellation?
Gupfee: and the follow-up would be what was the best thing we never saw?

TenNapel: There are no plans I'm aware of to implement anything now…

Gupfee: not now, during the run of the show, I meant

TenNapel: …perhaps if the show got big we would have tapped more stuff we planted in the show earlier.
TenNapel: …The best thing…
TenNapel: …you never saw the show parts where Jim Prufrock takes down Push…

Gupfee: can you elaborate on that?

TenNapel: …the scripts had him utterly dismantel the town and the remnants were burned to the ground!
TenNapel: …during the run of the show…
TenNapel: …you missed seeing all of the fun we had making the thing!
TenNapel: …great crew, I grew to love those people. Good people.
TenNapel: Next?
SpaceBass: Tien_Le has another question

Tien_Le: what was going to be the clue for 'underwear'? And why was Peter Pan a clue?

vpisteve: to the channel: we can take more questions now, btw

TenNapel: …good one
TenNapel: …Underwear was me having fun…

Tien_Le: so we weren't going to see all the Push characters in their skiveys?

TenNapel: … it was a pun where one of the characters says, "The money's under the bed." and another character bends down to look under the bed (and there is no money there but he is showing his underwear) and the character says, "Under Where?!"…
SpaceBass: lol

Tien_Le: LOL

TenNapel: …Peter Pan was our clue that Disney/ABC was a bit involved with Watermark…
TenNapel: …The reason why Push was aired on ABC, owned by Disney was because perhaps Watermark owned every TV network…

Tien_Le: thank you

TenNapel: …I think we already did see all of the Push characters in their skivies!
TenNapel: Next?
SpaceBass: Next up is the42guy with another question…

the42guy: «Thanks vpisteve»
the42guy: 3 follow ups: So if the DVD is made, is it possible to see the unaired eps or read unaired scripts? So Jim, at home, – how did he figure out he was still being manipulated and go back to Push? And was the final clue originally going to air during Mondey Night football?

TenNapel: I would think that the unaried eps would be included in the DVD release. I know there's still some tidy-up work to do on those eps but the hard part is done on those episodes….
TenNapel: …Jim figured it out when everything was too perfect…
TenNapel: …His auditor instincts kicked in when his own life looked like a classic set-up…
TenNapel: …yes the original clue was going to be aired during MNF…

the42guy: whats the % chance of a DVD anyhow? And will it be announced if made… I noticed the book seems to have been cancelled.

TenNapel: …We had to have a national simulcast to fairly disperse the last clue of the show to all timezones!…

the42guy: aah.

TenNapel: …I have no idea about the DVD. I'm sure if it gets made they will tell everyone they can about it!…Next?
SpaceBass: Next, we'll bring back kingohugs…

kingohugs: How much monitoring of the Internet groups, BESIDES the Enoch Yahoo group did you conduct? And as a follow up: Where you surprised by what you saw? Any outlandish speculation in terms of overall plot or individual puzzles that stuck out in your mind?

TenNapel: …We looked at as many groups as possible…
TenNapel: …I didn't really care what specifically was being discussed, I just wanted to make sure that at least some people were getting my puzzles!…
TenNapel: …my fear was that I had made all of these puzzles and nobody would get it! Next?
SpaceBass: I have some questions from people who couldn't make it today.
SpaceBass: kxmom11x asked: Were there any specific events that changed or altered the course of the game? (excluding cancellation, of course) From the PM's point of view, what was the most memorable event of the show/game?
TenNapel: …nothing really changed the course of the game other that the lawyers…
TenNapel: …it's very difficult to make a "legally fair" game when there are so many different kinds of people creating different kinds of law suits…
TenNapel: …Truly our litigous society ruined the puzzles the most…

vpisteve: 🙁

TenNapel: …As I said the most memorable event was working with this incredible crew around the clock… next?

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This entry was posted on Sunday, December 8th, 2002 at 12:00 am and is filed under compendium, interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.