Finally, the highly publicized BEYOND OUR CONTROL is going
to appear before the public's very eyes on January 29th, at
6:00 PM.
Why all the publicity? The answer to that question combines
many of the aspects of the show itself.
First, BEYOND OUR CONTROL received much newsprint space when
the founder the producer, David A. Williams, died. It wasn't
the type of publicity the company wanted, hut they couldn't
stop it.
After the tragedy, which is still felt among the BOC personnel,
came the surprising news that this could be the last season
for the award-winning show.
On a much brighter note came the winning of the coveted Gabriel
award. Being one of the most impressive honors bestowed on
the television program, it followed in line with the Gold
Hugo award, which BOC was given in the Chicago International
Film Festival.
Off the national side of the publicity, the show receives
more fan mail than any other show at the WNDU-TV studio. The
majority of the letters come from young people who enjoy the
show simply because it is easy humor to understand. The show
also received many letters from older viewers, although the
average viewing audience is comprised of the 16-25 yr. age
bracket.
The final reason for the show's public success seems to be
the fact that high school students run every corner of the
actual production. All comedic material is written by members
of the company. The technical equipment in the studio is manned
by BOC technicians and every member of the company is involved
with the acting portion of the show at one time or another.
One of the major problems expected by the company after William's
death was the quality as well as the quantity of the material
produced.
BOC produces their bits in two basic ways: On 16 millimeter
film on location and video taping sessions at the WNDU-TV
studios. The skits are not done in sequence and have to be
edited together by a BOC member with an adviser.
The program's writers have come up with many new and refreshing
pieces of satirical comedy.
Some of the things to look forward to are listed below:
KISS cereal; what would happen if KISS jumped out of your
cereal box and into your kitchen?
Freight Train; a "Soul Train" for tramps.
Justice `78; the cameras come off the football field and
into the jurors box for a zany look at an arson trial.
Punk News; a news broadcast taken over by British Punk Rockers.
Why'd You Ask That?; the Gardeners field questions about
Hollywood and give some surprising answers to their studio
audience.
Sir William's Taco Shop; a Shakespearean luncheon with a
Latino beat.
Son of Jed; a crazed clamp killer brings back old TV favorites
to the air waves.
Which scenes will grace the premier? Unfortunately, the only
way to find out is to watch.
If the public is becoming tired of reading about Beyond
Our Control, they had better catch their second wind--there
is much more publicity to come.
