Our Fascinating Earth, Television Series Proposal

A proposal for television

Strassner Entertainment Group
510 East Sutton Circle
Lafayette, CO  80026
303-545-9955, FAX 303-545-6658

Phillip Seff Ph.D.
Nancy Seff M.Ed.
Marcie B. (Bunnie) Strassner (bunnie@fascinating.tv)
WGAw regis 1997 #817430
Copyright 1990 - all rights reserved

At a time when television seems more focused on science fiction than science, tabloid rather than truth, recreations instead of reality, along comes a program with fun, music, drama, excitement, unbelievable information and some unexpected surprises -- all firmly rooted right here on terra firma.  It’s a show for all ages, produced with style, personality, and entertainment value.  It’s called

Our Fascinating Earth
Based on the series of books that the New York Public Library voted one of the ten best for families, and that is featured at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum store in Washington, DC, Our Fascinating Earth will take ordinary ideas about Earth and show how they are actually incredibly extraordinary…

Conversely, we’ll examine some bizarre notions and demonstrate why they are not so far out.

Through magazine style segments,
3D computer animation,
contemporary music,
historical footage,
a constantly evolving Website,
and real life adventures,
we’ll focus on the earth, its environments and it’s creatures.

We’ll cover all ends of the earth through the help of:

The US Geological Survey
The Museum of Natural History
The Smithsonian Institution
M.I.T.      
NASA
NOAA
The Weather Channel
The University of Colorado at Boulder
Internationally recognized scientists
and more…

…Unlike ‘Beakman’s World’, ‘Bill Nye the Science Guy’ and other laboratory science shows for younger children, we’ll be out in the field – looking at the very things that make Earth so amazing.

The research of Phillip and Nancy Seff will take us over, under, around and through the globe as we get the scoop on topics like:

What’s the oldest living thing on earth?
(a giant fungus - 11,500 years old – and it’s in Michigan)

You can’t drown in the Dead Sea!
(unless you try really hard by fastening weights to your feet)

Modern Day Locusts.
(Hungry? You won’t believe it.)

 200 Mile per Hour Avalanches
(how fast can you get out of the way?)

 Ancient Antibiotics from Egypt.
(an RX from BC)

 Inside Killer Tornadoes
(and ones that won’t even break an egg)

 Underwater Volcanoes
(what a way to boil a fish)

When the moon was just 12,000 miles away.
(surf’s up…way up)

With:

Celebrity guests from all walks of life.   As they did on the original Muppet Show, actors, singers, musicians, scientists, politicians, and business leaders will come to visit and encourage kids and their families to enjoy amazing scientific stories.

The series… will provide an entertaining blend of information, music and humor – a mix between National Geographic Explorer, Entertainment Tonight and MTV. 

There is a strong push towards educational programming in television.  OFE’s contemporary music, pop culture references, exciting digital effects, Interactive Website and the fun added to the documentary segments will provide education in a captivating format that will entice our viewers and keep them tuned in.

OFE will be content-heavy but never boring.

Our target audience… is Elementary and Middle School students and their families.  Adults (with or without families) will enjoy OUR FASCINATING EARTH as much as youngsters. 

Children, tweens and young teens today have large amounts of disposable income so they are a prime target for advertisers.

Parents appreciate the sponsors of quality programming and encourage their children to buy their products.

Cross Promotion tie-ins… possibilities are remarkable.  The Seff’s materials are currently in hundreds of American classrooms providing curriculum on elementary, secondary and even college levels.  Also, their regular column and science strip runs in major newspapers around the country. 

The books will be available for sale on the Website.

Videotapes, CDs or DVDs of Our Fascinating Earth episodes or of similar segments re-edited by subject could help fill the real need in classrooms nationwide for curriculum enhancing materials.  

There are also many opportunities to develop games, toys and other merchandise based on the series.

The format… will present 2 or 3 major stories per show, wrapped and narrated and packaged with information-filled bumpers, music and contact addresses for further information.  

We will invite celebrity guests from all areas of entertainment, sports and science.  

There will be hyperlinks to the Website for viewers with interactive TV and referrals to the site for those who don’t.

The style… will vary from mysterious and moody to down-right funny depending on the material. 

Dynamic digital effects will provide the necessary, contemporary images to hold the attention of young viewers.   Music montages will play an important role, as will the accessibility and intelligence of the writing.

Show Topics:

Tornadoes
Hurricanes
Undersea Volcanoes
Earthquakes
Burial Rights & Finds
Pyramid & Cave Painting
Animal Communication
Avalanches
Oceans & Tides
Icebergs
Seas
Animal Families
Rainforest Medicine
Glaciers
Insects
Meteors
Eclipses
Bats
Undiscovered Species
Cavemen
Smelly Animals
Magical Desert
Animal Communication
Giant People
Mirages
Solar Phenomenon
Poisonous Creatures
Thunder & Lightning
Pestilence
Oldest Living Things
Space Phenomenon Nearby
Mass Migrations
Ancient Food
Meat Eating Plants
Quest For Fire
Weird Weather
Water
Dinosaurs
Animal Mating Habits
Mythological Creatures
Sharks
Camouflage
Footprints
Scavengers
Secrets Of Ancient Egypt
Ice Ages (Past & Future)
Ancient Medicine
Endangered Species
Tsunamis
Glaciers
Human Migrations
Luminescent Creatures

Additional ideas

Video contests

We’ll invite students to send in their science experiments and explanations on videotape and vie for prizes.    These prizes will range from books from the OFE series to trips to Space Camp or archaeological digs.

WEB Site
An Internet address (already in development at fascinatingearth.tv ) filled with interactive activities and exciting information about OFE facts, figures and personalities.

 CD-ROM / DVD - Interactive disks, each focused on a particular discipline (i.e. archeology, paleontology, astronomy, meteorology, etc.) would allow our audience to increase their knowledge and enhance their schoolwork on their own time.

Eyewitness reporWe’ll invite (through pre-production on-line searches) eyewitness reports of science fact and phenomenon.

 The development team is headed by Bunnie and Norman Strassner of Strassner Entertainment Group, LLC and includes Phillip and Nancy Seff as consultants and Producer Brian Seff.

Our animation team is the highly regarded Pixel Kitchen of Boulder, Colorado and Wyndham Hannaway & Associates.

Special thanks to Gary Grossman and Robb Weller at Weller/Grossman Productions