Summary (after two episodes)
Mike and Lucy Fisher are trying to get an
internet startup company, 'seethru.co.uk', off the ground.
Mike (Justin Pierre) had previously run the new music website
alone out of his bedroom and it has gained a strong following
while Lucy (Claudia Harrison) worked in publishing. Now
he has gathered a small team of young staff:
Sophie (Amanda Ryan) - arrogant, controversial
lesbian writer and content manager
Jake (David Williams) - perfectionist site designer
Brandon (Iddo Goldberg) - programmer, brilliant but painfully
shy geek
Reece (William Beck) - sex-obsessed programmer
Mike also takes on thirty-something Yvonne (Sally Rogers)
as marketing manager - unaware that she had stolen the CV
of a rival - and prettier - candidate.
Joe, the backer they have lined up, delays
producing a contract for Mike and Lucy to sign because
it takes much longer than they expected for the team to
redesign the site ready for an official launch. The initial £50,000
that Joe had put in has run out so Mike and Lucy are desperate
to get the contract signed. When Joe finally comes with
the contract the terms are much tougher than Mike and Lucy
originally agreed with him. Joe insists on them because
he fears that seethru.co.uk will always be late and unreliable
otherwise. However, before Mike finally - and reluctantly
- agrees to sign, Joe suffers a pulmonary embolism and
dies.
Seethru now desperately needs a new backer
- the money has gone and the staff are about to need paying.
Mike and Lucy had put their flat up as security for the
initial investment from Joe but his estate now expects
the money to be returned. They conceal the crisis from
the staff and meet many venture capitalists in an attempt
to secure funding. One had been very positive but when
Mike and Lucy meet with the group Mike gets angry with
one of them. Finally, after another potential backer turns
them down, Mike and Lucy tell the staff about the situation.
They are angry and walk out. As they go through the door
the positive venture capitalist arrives to talk.
Background
Attachments comes from the same production
company as This Life and The Cops - Tony Garnett's World
Productions. These series earned considerable reputations
as ground-breaking drama - defining moments for television's
development.
Attachments is set to be seen in the same
light. It's the first dotcom drama and has an associated
website - not a website about the series but the website
that is central to the series. The seethru.co.uk site that
Mike Fisher's company is constructing is online and is
updated with appropriate content throughout the series.
It looks and feels like its been created by the fictional
characters in the series and will change to reflect events
on screen. Articles and other content elements mentioned
in the programme are there as well as Seethru office webcams
so that viewers can see additional material. It's a Baudrillard-like
blurring of reality and fantasy.
Jane Root, controller of BBC 2 says "There
will be lots of people watching and arguing about things
- stuff that's on the webcams, that people have written
- who can go and see it on the internet after the show...
I hope people who contact the site will be able to have
a role on it."
The style is gritty and somewhat claustrophobic
but despite the reputation of its creator, Attachments
has not so far attracted impressive viewing figures -with
strong competition from ITV's Peak Practice. A second series
has already been commissioned. A video of the first series
will be available from late November 2000.
Study questions
In episode 2 Mike meets someone who offers
to buy some of the Seethru content for his own website.
Mike refuses, saying 'I don't believe in your website;
I believe in my website.' The man mocks Mike parodying
American Pentecostals: 'I believe!' Why do you think Mike
does believe in his website so much?
Do you think any of the other characters
believe in the website or their contribution to it? What
else do they believe in?
How would you describe the various relationships
within the team? Which are good? Which aren't? What might
be the reasons for this?
Mike and Lucy are portrayed as people of
integrity: at one point Jake says to Sophie 'I defy you
to find a straighter pair of people'. What evidence have
you seen for this? When Mike tells the team that there
is no money Sophie accuses him and Lucy of lack of integrity.
To what extent is she right? How does integrity relate
to morality? How would you assess Mike & Lucy's morality?
The site content is not supposed to be pandering
to the tastes of the market but rather the site's philosophy
should direct the content. Do you think this is really
true? What is good and bad about such an approach? Why
is it so important to Mike that the content is controversial
or even offensive? How important is it to the users of
a website like this?
What does the series suggest about contemporary
attitudes to work sex the internet the purpose of life
What do you think the creators of Attachments
are trying to achieve through the seethru.co.uk website?
Action questions
Some of the characters demonstrate a typical
postmodern lack of commitment and are inclined to spend
a lot of time playing games, winding each other up, sending
emails, etc. and then working flat out because there's
a deadline and their jobs depend on producing results.
What are the challenges that this approach to life poses
to the church - in our discipleship and in our evangelism?
How can we best respond to those challenges?
To what extent has your church or organisation
considered the challenges and opportunities of the internet?
What do you think are the main issues involved? What kind
of approaches do you think would be helpful for a website
that is intended to help people come to know Jesus Christ?
What would the characters in Attachments
need in order for them to seriously consider the claims
of Jesus Christ ?
This study guide produced by Tony Watkins
Online Resources Editor: Tony Watkins
Copyright © Damaris Trust
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