TV enters a new universe

More than a few producers of long-form TV are concerned about the future of traditional viewing fare. "With so many new outlets available," says "24" showrunner Robert Cochran, "sometimes I ask myself, 'What is going to happen to the core TV business, which was eroding anyway because of cable?' " The industry veteran worries about the solo nature of such entertainment. "As this all gets so splintered," he says, "we will lose part of what used to be the point of entertainment, which was to bring people together to share an experience."

Others worry about the ability to regulate content in this new environment. This issue took on a particular urgency this past week as the WB announced that it would release two versions of its new drama, "The Bedford Diaries": one "sanitized" version for FCC-regulated broadcast and another unedited, racier version for the Internet.

"I call it the 'Lord of the Flies' scenario in cyberspace," says Adam Thierer, director of the Center for Digital Media Freedom, a think tank in Washington, D.C. "It's our kids raising themselves in cyberspace, because kids know much more about these technologies than their parents, and it's heavy lifting to get the adults up to speed."

But new formats can provide a welcome creative synergy, says "24" story editor Duppy Demetrius, who has worked on "24" games both for the Sony Playstation and the cellphone. "Videogames allow you to push the story and characters further, sometimes in unexpected ways," he says, adding that the games allow him to explore characters' backstories in more depth as well as test them in new situations. "With so many outlets through which to tell our stories, it's a win-win situation for everyone."

The most telling hallmark of this looming generation is its participatory component, says Mark Glaser, host of the PBS blog Mediashift (pbs.org/mediashift). "This is a generation raised on reality TV featuring real people just like themselves," he says. "These shows feed into the mentality that everyone can be a star and everyone can make their own shows, good or bad."

These users are far more likely to explore new material rather than rely on familiar "branded" TV shows, he adds, much like Florida law student Erika Mariz, who says she never watches TV. "When I want to watch something, I go online and look for new videos," says the 23-year-old. "If I want to watch something funny, I type in 'funny' on the Google or Yahoo video search, and lots of funny things come up." Ms. Mariz says she particularly likes commercials from foreign countries, because they're "like a whole window into a different culture."

Mariz and her peers herald a coming shift in entertainment tastes. She's able to chat with her buddies as she searches out the best videos online. "You don't have to hold onto just one thing at a time," she says. "You can do multiple things at once."

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