Interactive television? You ain't seen nothin' yet!

Imagine that the program Friends was still on the air. Let's say it airs on Fridays. Friday night, after the program, you go to the NBC website for the weekly polling. The scenario presented for viewer referendum is as follows: "In next weeks episode one of the lead characters is to be revealed as a homosexual. Which of the lead characters shall it be and should they come out of the closet on their own or be outed by their lover? Polling shall end in 72 hours."

Here's another cute angle: Imagine that one night a week, character vignettes were presented on YouTube wherein a dozen characters are introduced and profiled through skits. For ten minutes after each skit, viewers assign a character rating to each of that night's potential actors. At the end of the vignettes the actors with the highest ratings are brought together to create a one hour comedic episode. They have a limited number of days for scripting and rehearsal, then it's on with the show!

Another angle that was hinted at is possibly the most fascinating and would really involve the viewers. First, a script written by professional screenplay writers would be provided online. Then, anyone would be invited to produce one scene utilizing the parameters of the script. A professional panel of judges would select the amateur productions that met their criteria. Then, the winning entries would be professionally edited to create a finished production. Possible themes could be: "A day in the life of a New York City cab driver" or "Crazy department store customers." You get the picture.

So, there you have the leading edge of what could be the new vista in televised entertainment. I cannot honestly say whether or not NBC and YouTube are working on these or other similar ideas. But that was the context in which the information was delivered to me and I've revealed it to you strictly as hearsay. What becomes of the rumor is totally out of my hands! Please, don't shoot! I'm only the messenger!!!