THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 27, 1995 TAG: 9503250040
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: THE GATEWAY
EXPLORING THE COMPUTER WORLD
SOURCE: By DIANE TENNANT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
HIGH TECH HAS finally met the Old West. Talk about your potential culture clash.
But put down yer shootin' irons, pardner. Ever since Turner Network Television (TNT) started flashing Internet and World Wide Web addresses on TV screens, following broadcasts of the 1960s show ``The Wild Wild West,'' fans have been flooding the network with e-mail.
The show airs on what TNT calls its Lunchbox TV programming block.
``We've had over 1,000 posts just for Lunchbox, just people wanting different shows and loving this stuff,'' said Lisa Mateas, a TNT programmer. ``Television's always been a medium that gets a lot of feedback. But this is just so dang instantaneous.''
``The Wild Wild West'' was chosen for the ad campaign because it already had a Web site, Mateas said.
Phil Oppenheim, another TNT programmer, used to answer his e-mail the same day it arrived. Since beginning to broadcast the addresses just a few weeks ago, his e-mailbox is so full he's down to a three-day response time.
``It's easier and more fun than getting a letter,'' Oppenheim said. ``People love it. The response you get is, `Gee, I'm glad you guys are doing this.' ''
The ads air on Lunchbox TV, which features ``classic television series and stars so popular in their day that they became pop phenomenons.'' Programming includes ``Knots Landing,'' ``Starsky and Hutch,'' ``Kung Fu'' and, of course, ``The Wild Wild West,'' the Western/spy/comedy/action show that starred Robert Conrad and Ross Martin.
``TNT's Lunchbox TV invites you to interact with `The Wild Wild West,' '' the ads say. ``Drop us a line on the Internet or check out `The Wild Wild West' World Wide Web page. Explore the frontier of TNT's Lunchbox TV.''
The flood of e-mail that resulted has already impacted programming. TNT, leery of black-and-white shows, has begun airing the earliest B & W ``Wild Wild Wests'' to appease fans, and will air an entire week of black-and-white episodes in April.
``We're running black-and-whites because of demand,'' Oppenheim said. ``It's a microcosm of very committed folks (who e-mail), but I believe it more than Neilsen.''
TNT also produced a ``birthday salute'' ad last Wednesday to honor the late Ross Martin, after fans scolded the network, via e-mail, for ignoring the occasion.
``I don't know how we missed Ross,'' Mateas mused. ``I'm a Ross Martin person, so I was ashamed of myself. But we fixed it; we fixed it.''
TNT did a similar ad for Erik Estrada on the show ``CHiPs, after fans gave the network an online nudge.
TNT has also begun posting airdates and episode titles on ``The Wild Wild West'' mailing list, so fans can set their VCRs.
The mailing list membership has nearly tripled since TNT broadcast the address of the World Wide Web site that points to it.
``It's been crazy,'' said Kristin Sabo, self-described ``axe-physicist of Louisiana'' and cruise director for the mailing list. ``We didn't know they were going to do it and then, holy cow, there we are on TV.''
TNT, she said, is more responsive than many other networks. ``They answer their e-mail, unlike an awful lot of networks,'' she said.
``The Wild Wild West'' World Wide Web page (try saying that three times, fast), lists every episode of the show, features voices of the lead actors and basically fulfills fans' desire for information.
TNT also is trying to fulfill that desire.
``The whole company has this online initiative,'' Oppenheim said. ``We want to make a fairly elaborate Web site with episode guides to all our shows, photos, etc.''
Taking a risk with the black-and-white episodes is one example of meeting viewer demand, Mateas said. ``People have been saying, `Where are the black-and-whites?' It's like, well, dammit, we have to run them. We're cable. We're supposed to be able to do great things.
``We just keep thinking that anybody that picks up magazines is going to be interested in the Internet,'' Mateas added. ``If you find the library a boring place, you're not going to like the Internet.'' MEMO: E-mail TNT at one of three addresses: lunchbox(AT)turner.com (regarding
afternoon programming), saturday.nitro(AT)turner.com (regarding the
Saturday night action lineup) or tnt(AT)turner.com (for everything
else.)E-mail TNT at one of three addresses: lunchbox(AT)turner.com
(regarding afternoon programming), saturday.nitro(AT)turner.com
(regarding the Saturday night action lineup) or tnt(AT)turner.com (for
everything else.)
Access ``The Wild Wild West'' mailing list by sending a ``subscribe''
message to listproc(AT)moose.uvm.edu.
Access ``The Wild Wild West'' World Wide Web site at
http://moose.uvm.edu/(tilde symbol)glambert/twww1.html.
by CNB