When the writers’ strike brought television to a standstill in 2007/2008, the studios started bringing out everything they had to fill the gaps on the schedule. Shows that would never in a million years have been broadcast were brought out, dusted off, and given premium spots. Even shows that were, by all rights, too good for the studios to understand or appreciate. Shows like Hiatus.
The braindchild of showrunner Manny Ulrich (Scanners 6; The Unawakening; Wee Willie Winkie, Serial Rapist: An Afterschool Special), Hiatus breaks all the rules of science fiction television and instead follows the newer rules of groundbreaking shows like Firefly and Battlestar Galactica (the new one, not the old one with the robot dog). Intelligent plots. Multi-layered characters. Sparkling dialogue. Unexpected plot twists. Humor mixed with drama drenched in action and outstanding special effects that toy with your emotions like no other show before it. Hiatus has quickly become a critical success but is struggling in the ratings, largely due to the network showing the episodes out of order and making the sequential story arc – which so far includes the deaths of several characters and the devastation of the Earth - a much more bewildering one than was originally intended. Also, the shows keep getting pre-empted by local affiliates for city council meeting broadcasts.
Fans have rushed to embrace the show and countless fan sites have emerged to endlessly analyze every line of dialogue and every half-glimpsed boom mike for inner meaning. It has fallen upon us to keep awareness of the show alive, especially since the network’s advertising has so far primarily consisted of ads on the sides of discount orange juice cartons. And we have stepped up to the challenge. We spread the word. We bittorrent the episodes back and forth. We write fan fiction and draw posters and tell everyone we know to watch Hiatus because we know that we’re keeping the show alive. And this site is the next step.
The original site HiatusRockz.com has been closed so that we can open SaveHiatus.com, dedicated to keeping the show on the air. In the coming weeks we’ll be organizing mail-ins, rallies, and petitions to keep the show on the air, and we hope you’ll join us. Tell your friends! And watch Hiatus.
If you’ve never seen Hiatus before, welcome! You’re in for a treat, my friend. Prepare to be challenged and delighted by television for possibly the first time in your life!
Hiatus! Friday nights at 8 p.m. Don’t miss it! And be sure to stop by the forums to find out what you can do to help Save Hiatus.
Screen shots
[Unfortunately we were forced to take down our extensive collection of promo images and episode screen shots after receiving a Cease and Desist letter from the network, claiming that our love, admiration, and unpaid word of mouth advertising was "infringing upon the rights of the copyright holder to fully profit from the Work." Thanks, guys. Way to support the fans.
However, we've heard from inside contacts that we may be able to get copies of candid, behind-the-scenes shots we can run instead, so check back. And in the meantime you can create your own Hiatus artwork, at least until they tell us to knock that off, too. Head to our forums and see what's there already!]