Oblivion Wiki

=Oblivion= Oblivion is a sitcom-length episodic web series following the exploits of a group of punks, mods and rockers in the fictional city of Holwenstall.

The show was created by no-budget filmmaker Mike Cuenca and shot on stolen locations, utilizing mainly non-actors, practically no crew and available resources. The core writing team includes: Cuenca, Ashlee Elfman, Steven Escot and Kent Zardenetta. With the exception of the pilot, every episode is shot by award-winning cinematographer Jessica Gallant.

The series is a satirical portrayal of the counter-culture lifestyle, blending slapstick humor, absurdism, underground music and coming-of-age melodrama to analyze the interlocking lives of the characters portrayed.
 * List of Episodes
 * List of Characters

Premise
Almost considered an anti-series, the serialized show isn’t centered on a core group of characters and shifts from person to person through interweaving plotlines.

The Brookhurst, a free-arts commune in Holwenstall, is where most of the characters live. Joy, who co-runs the Brookhurst with Louise, is fed up with her chosen lifestyle and her on-off, long-term relationship with her scumbag boyfriend, Rat. Through her diary (narration) we learn of the many interconnected Brookhurst inhabitants and the incongruous predicaments they get themselves into.

The show’s preliminary trigger occurs when the Brookhurst catches on fire and Rat is arrested for possession with intent to sell.

Characters

 * Main article: List of Characters in Oblivion

Permanent Residents of the Brookhurst

Louise Martin (owner)

Joy Santiago (co-founder)

Rat (Joy’s boyfriend)

Blair Kerrigan

Pox

Dexter Gordon (official cook but usually stays at his dad’s place)

Fay Darrow

Frankie Robinson

Non-Brookhurst Residents

Vinnie Arsenic (lives with a cousin)

Ziggy Romero (lives with Darla)

Darla Dagger (lives with Ziggy)

Vince Arthur (lives in a garage converted into a home)

Danny Cutter (has his own place in the Holwenstall Hills)

Cliff the Mod (couch surfs)

Antagonists

Jake Weavers and the Holwenstall Gruffs

The Petropolis Percocets

Debbie Debonair

Absurdism
Initially conceived as grounded in reality, the show has taken its own course, and is now steeped in illogical reasoning. Noticeable examples are Blair being obsessed with The Cramps but not knowing their lead singer has passed away; Cutter being in on an inside-joke even though there’s no way possible he could have been aware of it, etc.

Mike Cuenca adds, “An actor will read a script and I’ll get an email or call asking how such and such thing can make sense. And I’ll just reply with: I know. It’s not supposed to.”

Many of the characters obsess over minute things, and attempt to find meaning in them, despite the fact they know better.

Influences
Dancing Mood, an underground music community site, has called the show “…a live-action comic book. A punk rock soap opera.”

Although many pop-culture references are spread throughout the show, Oblivion carries noticeable influences:
 * The show follows a large ensemble of misfits, freaks and the socially inept while jumping from person to person as portrayed in Richard Linklater’s Slacker and Dazed and Confused, George Lucas’ American Graffiti', and even Robert Altman’s Short Cuts.
 * It utilizes some of the camp-humor of John Waters films. Waters’ films have been described as featuring, “…filthily lovable characters in outrageous situations with hyperbolic dialogue.”
 * John Hughes teen-comedies.
 * Focuses on the overlooked punk, mod, rocker counter-cultures found in Chynna-Clugston’s Blue Monday comic book series and Love and Rockets.
 * Cuenca is a huge fan of Daniel Clowes, owing much to Eightball for the dialogue and color-scheme used in the series.
 * Series cinematographer, Jessica Gallant, has referred to the show as "Seinfeld with punks”. Cuenca adds to this comparison by stating, “The show is heavily-plotted but to be honest the plots are just these irrational McGuffin’s…an excuse to hang out with these folks. I think as the series progresses we’ll see more of what I’m referring to.”

Guest Stars
Don Bolles plays Fay’s psychotic boyfriend Peyton Shockoe.

Rikk Agnew is Ziggy's wastoid publicist, Mud Guts.

The role of Vick Arthur (Vince’s father) has been offered to John Doe, Sid Terror, and Lee Ving. None have been confirmed.

Episodes

 * Main article: List of Episodes

The show is currently filming with a planned first season to consist of eighteen to twenty-four episodes. Cuenca envisions the series with a three-season arc, the second mostly set as a flashback with a lot of the characters in their teens.

Each episode is presented in its full (approx. 22 minutes) running-time on the official Oblivion website (http://obliviontheseries.com) with episodes broken up in three-parts for easier internet viewing on YouTube, Blip.Tv, Facebook, and other video hosting sites.

A DVD collecting every episode will be made available after the first season concludes. A "Cast and (lack of) Crew Commentary" will be recorded to accompany episodes online and on the DVD release.

Trivia
Cliff was named after Jamaican ska singer Jimmy Cliff.

Vince and Vinnie Arsenic obviously share the same name. This is due to Mike Cuenca wanting Oblivion to diverse itself from other shows by featuring two prominent characters with identical names. To differentiate them, Vinnie is almost always referred to Arsenic, unless it’s someone who’s close to him, or if someone’s angry with him.

Vinnie Arsenic is named after the underground comic series Arsenic Lullaby.

Ziggy was named after David Bowie's definitive rock star alter-ego Ziggy Stardust because, “It’s typical. And that’s who Ziggy aspires to be.”

Holwenstall was named after the German mountain village, Holstenwall – a city prominently featured in one of Mike Cuenca’s favorite movies: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Although the city's name is of German origin, none of its residents pronounce it correctly (“W” with “V”s). Instead everybody calls it “Hol-when-stall”. A planned story arc will delve more into the city’s history.

Near-by city Petropolis was named after the city mentioned in Alfred Hitchcock’s ''Notorious'. The line in the film states, “When you drive up to Petropolis'', the road winds quite a bit.”

Murphy’s Bar is named after Peter Murphy of Bauhaus.

Blair was named after George Orwell’s pen-name Eric Blair.

Production
Oblivion is shot on HD-DV, in guerilla-form with a four-person crew (director, cinematographer, 1st AD, Production Manager). Many of the cast members do their own hair and make-up and Yvonne Trinh provides a wardrobe that she procures from thrift stores. Due to being deficient in budget, no one receives pay or meals.

In November 2009 the gear used to film Oblivion was stolen from Mike Cuenca’s car, placing an indefinite hold on Oblivion. Through a successful Kickstarter campaign Cuenca was able to raise funds to replenish some of the gear. Filming re-commenced in February 2010 with all new episodes debuting summer 2010.

Cuenca stated, “The show is shot without permits on the streets, with a small crew, no catering, no fancy deals, using mostly untrained actors. As raw as it gets. Everyone involved works incredibly hard on this show and I'm blessed to have such a great, talented group of individuals donating their time in front and behind the camera, making the nearly half-hour show a reality.”