Interview #1

Our first cast interview was with a member of the animation team at RBN studio, who worked on Precious Nothing from the first season until the end of the 2nd season. They have asked to remain anonymous.

Hello uh… does referring to you as “sir” constitute a violation of your anonymity?

Not in particular. You have my voice modified, right? Like, with the warpy thing they do on the news to protect journalists?

Of course, we’ll have that all handled in post-production.

Good, that’s all I ask for.

Okay then sir. So, how was it working at RBN Studio?

Oh, it was fine work, for a time at least. It was demanding sure, but the network paid us our fare share for the work we did, at least for my first year working there. I started out doing the tweening[1] for Chucky and Charles, an old series of shorts that played between the advertising block and Monday night programming.

I take it that things changed the next year?

That there’s an understatement. The network heads saw the success of Fox’s animation block, Nickelodeon, and the like, and began to make higher demands of us from that point forward. Same old story: an increase in workload and responsibility, but not in pay. I remember missing a date with my girlfriend at the time, as kind and wonderful as a warm blanket on a cold winter day, all because of a finicky director who didn’t like how I animated the walk cycle of a damn beagle.

How did the production of Precious Nothing compare to what you’d seen so far?

We thought Precious Nothing would just be another iron in the fire. Manfred Carlson was a fine animation director. His passion for the craft was a breath of fresh air compared to these demanding executive types. He was awkward, sure, but he knew animation like an old friend, and everyone can bond over a shared friendship. Unfortunately, the iron he brought to our fires was tainted with lead. The screenwriters, Rudy Barlas and Charlotte Crump, were always at odds with each other. They agreed that the show should discuss the issues relevant to the time, but what issues and how they should be handled was another matter entirely. It started as mere bickering, but the thing about lead is that it only gets deadlier the longer you’re exposed. Barlas was eager to cross the line in any way he could, and the more the network tried to reign him in, the worse he got. Didn’t help that he knew all the right buttons to push on Carlson. Crump kept him in line, but it only went so far, and it only worked as far as she was present.

What happened to Miss Crump?

Don’t know, she just stopped coming into work a few episodes into season 2. The higher ups told us she quit because she couldn't handle the pressure, but we saw how well she handled herself. She wouldn’t have abandoned the project just because Barlas was being a shmuck. The whole situation smelled rotten, and the stench only got worse when Carlson made that bastard Barlas showrunner! Sonofabitch trashed most of our progress on episode 4 and made us do it over, and every minute he spent in power only got him more addicted!

You suspect foul play was involved?

I wouldn’t go that far but I wouldn’t say it’s impossible. Barlas… seemed to be chasing something. I don’t know whether it was power, fame, money, or whatever, but it ate him down to his very core. And with what we know now, I don’t think it’s very much of a stretch to say it’s something he never thought of.

What can you tell us about season 3?

Jack diddly squat. I quit that wretched job when I saw what he had in store for the season 2 finale. The moment he became show runner Barlas demanded gore. Adding a little bit of blood to my slapstick was no problem, but you have to understand, he brought medical texts, ER footage, even a snuff film: all as reference material! I couldn’t stand it, not the subject, nor the labor it would take to measure up to his standards for it. I quit right there, and never looked back.

Any closing remarks?

Not in particular but… you do know there’s plenty of other lost media to be looking into, right?

I suppose so, but even among lost media, Precious Nothing is buried and buried deep. It doesn’t even have a page on the lost media wiki. You can’t help but be a bit curious when something as relatively recent as PN up and vanishes.

You do have a point there. Don’t take this the wrong way, I’m not going to try and wag the finger at a young person like yourself who’s simply following their heart. I’d be acting too much like my dad if it did. Just take a second, as you continue your investigation, to think about why the first and possibly only person to accept an interview with you asked to remain anonymous.