TVNZ to Launch Interactive TV Series, "Reservoir Hill"

New Zealand public broadcaster, Television New Zealand (TVNZ), will today launch an interactive TV mystery series, entitled "Reservoir Hill," on its Web site. The series centers on Beth Connolly, a teenager who is uprooted from her life in a rural community when her parents separate, and who is forced to move to a strange new suburb that is full of people who keep inexplicably staring at her. "Scared and lonely," TVNZ writes in a house publication, "she needs the support of her mates to help her figure out what's going on." A new episode of the show will be uploaded to tvnz.co.nz every Monday, and a new video blog (in which Beth explains "what's going on in her head") every Thursday. Viewers are invited to contact the character and tell her what they think is going on: "Send her a message on Bebo," TVNZ writes, "and she talks back. Text her, and the message could pop up on her phone in the show--and the advice given then steers the story to its natural conclusion, good or bad."

"Reservoir Hill" was created by David Stubbs (who is directing it) and Thomas Robins, both of KHF Media. According to TVNZ, the show's creators will analyze all the feedback Beth has received from viewers each week before going into production on the following week's episode. "It's something that's innovative, experimental and exciting," Stubbs said in a prepared statement. "The fact that viewers can interact with the central character, and drive the story forward, means the show is organic, collaborative, and anything could happen." Added Robins: "Everyone in 'Reservoir Hill' is freaked out by Beth, and she has no idea why. That story links all the episodes, but her personal journey is directly affected by the viewers--by becoming an online friend, by watching her blogs, or even by texting her, they really do become a part of the story."