'Virtually Real' Pre-cancelled, Episodes to Air "Sometime"
Virtually Real, a sitcom set in a video game studio which had attracted buzz from critics but drew concerns from executives about its wider appeal, became the first cancellation of the network TV season before a single episode aired…an unnamed network official said the five episodes already filmed would be aired "sometime, probably this season, it depends on what fails"…the studio is rumored to be seeking a pickup from a streaming service, but it is unclear if any are interested…
Abed Nadir closed the news article on his laptop and glanced out the apartment window where the sun was setting behind the hills, the light glinting off the intervening rooftops of Hollywood. Nothing in the article was news to him; the production staff had been informed of the decision early that afternoon when an executive arrived to shut down filming in the middle of a key scene. He hadn't really been very surprised; the show, as much as it suited his sensibilities, showed all the signs of being too innovative for network television. Most of the writers and actors had been deeply upset; they might have thought this was their big break. Abed, just a production assistant, was less concerned. He could go home to Colorado with some firsthand experience of the TV business to apply to making his own films, free from the limitations imposed by network suits with no appreciation for art. What troubled him at the moment was what he would come home to. He knew the remaining members of the Save Greendale Committee would be there to welcome him at his old school, just in time for another semester. Jeff would make snarky comments, then awkwardly commiserate with him over this setback when they were alone. Britta, feuding with her latest would-be roommate, would be delighted to welcome him back to his old apartment. Maybe Frankie and the Dean would try to get him to teach a film class now that he had experience in Hollywood. But when he thought of Greendale, the people his thoughts turned to the most were those still absent from the campus.
Searching through a long list of films and scripts saved on the computer, he found the file he was looking for, one labelled "Missing Lover Footage." Pressing play, he watched the scene unfold, his former roommate Annie Edison talking flirtatiously to the camera. After a minute, Britta interrupted, Annie breaking character to explain how the protagonists of movies were always shown watching videos like that if their love interest had been killed or kidnapped. Thinking about rationally, Abed had to conclude there wasn't much real need for the footage. He hadn't even shown it to anyone else, even though he'd edited some of it into his documentary about Garrett's wedding. Annie was perfectly safe across the country in Washington, and Abed wasn't supposed to be her love interest outside of paintball and a few in-character scenarios that couldn't safely be allowed to intrude on the main plot. Nonetheless, he kept coming back to this video and a few others she featured prominently in, out of all the hours of video he had to remind him of life at Greendale. He told himself that it was the acting skill that drew him to this scene, her admirable ability to inhabit the role once she fully committed to it, but it was the outtake at the end that he ended up rewinding to see again, the moment of unscripted conversation between them captured on film.
Uncomfortable with the direction his thoughts were taking him, Abed turned to an earlier short film he had made with Troy, one of many he had been revisiting frequently since his best friend set out to sail around the world. After reaching the end of that one, he switched to Time-osaurs, a more elaborate project from last summer, wondering if some final edits to the soundtrack were needed. Again he lingered on the scenes he and Annie had filmed together: her tracking the revived dinosaurs through the forest, and later leading his character across a river to escape a pursuing Allosaurus. The cheaply animated dinosaur looked unconvincing and the small mountain stream where they had shot the scene was obviously not much of an obstacle, but the intensity she brought to everything still made it seem real. He had a finished script for a sequel, but had never tried to film it. He hadn't had much time for his own projects while working on the show, but the main reason was that he couldn't really see anyone other than Annie and Troy in the leading roles.
At last, Abed paused the movie and began looking for tickets back home, trying not to think how empty the study room would seem now. Before he could get far, his cell phone rang, the noise startling in the quiet of the tiny apartment. The caller ID showed an unfamiliar number and area code. He considered ignoring it, half expecting reporters looking for comments about the show's cancellation, but decided to pick up on the off-chance it was something mysterious that could start a more interesting storyline.
"Hello, this is Abed Nadir."
The familiar voice on the other end made him freeze.
"Abed? I'm coming home."