The House Between is an online science fiction series created by American author, John Kenneth Muir "for internet and DVD distribution". According to Muir, the show is an independent, low-budget production: "...we steered our own ship, without committee, without interference," he noted in a column called Independent TV in August 2006, "Our production team was sequestered in an empty old house during the shooting schedule. Over the span of seven very, very long days we shot seven original half-hour scripts."
Contents
Story
The House Between tells the mysterious story of five strangers, Astrid, Arlo, Travis, Bill Clark and Theresa, who awaken to find themselves trapped in a strange, empty Victorian house. There is no furniture in the house, and all the exits (doors and windows) are painful to the touch. In short order, the five protagonists begin to reckon not just with each other and their differences, but with the unusual abode, which seems to possess mystical properties, according to the series creator. "Each new room represents a different mind-state, a different manifestation of their inner selves. The house understands their secrets, their guilts, their fears...their dreams...their nightmares"
According to an interview with creator Muir at "The Thunder Child", he was inspired to create the series, at least partially, by Jean-Paul Sartre's play, No Exit. He recounts: "In the existentialist drama, Hell was actually a sort of sitting room. The idea of the play was literally “Hell is other people,” to quote one character; that for eternity you have to cope with someone you don’t like, someone different from yourself. And you can never get away from them.
I got to thinking, “hmmm that’s not just Hell…that’s life on Earth!” People who are religious, people who are scientists, lawyers, psychics: we all share the same speck of dust in space, and must find a way to get along here, lest the human race destroy itself. So that underlying metaphor, the house as Earth, became a sub-text, an important crux of the series."
In the same interview, Muir lists other inspirations including The Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, and the original The Outer Limits. The House Between has been compared to Doctor Who in its early black and white days, by radio host Howard Margolin on Destinies: The Voice of Science Fiction. In a live radio interview on Friday, February 23, 2007, Margolin noted: "In the tradition of the original Twilight Zone and early Doctor Who...a series that succeeds on the strength of the writing and the characters."
Joseph Maddrey, the producer of The House Between lists further details of the series creation: "He [Muir] said it was partly inspired by his frustration with the ABC series “Lost” – which was continually resorting to flashbacks, rather than dealing with the present dilemma of its characters - and partly inspired by Jean Paul Sartre's play No Exit. I immediately thought of Night of the Living Dead, the brain-child of ten friends who volunteered their time and money to make a film that transcended its minimal production values. To his credit, John understood that minimal production values did not necessarily reduce the scope of storytelling possibilities. He was determined to explore questions of physics, psychic phenomenon, mysticism, religious fundamentalism, politics, greed and good old fashioned personality disorders… on 2% of the budget of the famously low-budget Night of the Living Dead."
The House Between has been called "an entertaining and mysterious series that represents what is possible for future online shows" The series had its premiere in Chesapeake, Virginia July 31, 2006 when a rough cut of the first episode "Arrived" and a series trailer was shown at the convention called Fantasci.
First season
Seven episodes were created for the first season, and the series began airing on VEOH February 16, 2007.
Episodes
Main cast
Kim Breeding as Astrid Jim Blanton as Arlo Lee Hansen as Travis Crabtree Tony Mercer as Bill T. Clark Alicia A. Wood as Theresa.Guest cast
Florent Christol as Sange Kathryn Muir as Samantha ClarkCrew
Producer - Joseph Maddrey Director of Photography - Rick Coulter Stunt Coordinator/Special Effects Director - Rob Floyd Lighting Co-Directors - Kevin M. Flanagan and Bobby Schweizer Original music - Cesar Gallegos & Mateo Latosa Executive Producers - Joseph Maddrey and Kathryn Muir Make-up - Rob & Phyllis Floyd Writer and Director - John Kenneth MuirSecond season
Eight episodes were created for the second season, and the series began airing on VEOH and GOOGLE VIDEO on January 25, 2008.
Episodes
Main cast
Kim Breeding as Astrid Jim Blanton as Arlo Lee Hansen as Travis Crabtree Tony Mercer as Bill T. Clark Alicia A. Wood as Theresa.Guest cast
John Kenneth Muir as Sam Clark Craig Eckrich as Sgt. Dexter Brick Craig T. Adams as Future Arlo Bobby Schweizer as "Pod"-Dave Kevin M. Flanagan as "Pod"-Frank Kathryn Muir as Samantha ClarkCrew
Producer - Joseph Maddrey Director of Photography - Rick Coulter Stunt Coordinator/Special Effects Director - Rob Floyd Lighting Co-Directors - Kevin M. Flanagan and Bobby Schweizer Original music composed & performed by - Cesar Gallegos & Mateo Latosa Executive Producers - Joseph Maddrey and Kathryn Muir Make-up - Rob & Phyllis Floyd Writer and Director - John Kenneth Muir, except where noted.Third season
Six episodes were filmed for the third season, and episodes began airing on VEOH and GOOGLE VIDEO on January 30, 2009.
Episodes
Main cast
Kim Breeding as Astrid Jim Blanton as Arlo Lee Hansen as Travis Crabtree Tony Mercer as Bill T. Clark Alicia A. Wood as Theresa Craig Eckrich as Sgt. Dexter BrickGuest cast
John Kenneth Muir as Sam Clark Rob Floyd as Vinnie Coto Alison Velasco as Nora PearceCrew
Producer - Joseph Maddrey Director of Photography - Rick Coulter Stunt Coordinator/Special Effects Director - Rob Floyd Lighting Director - Bobby Schweizer Original music composed & performed by - Cesar Gallegos & Mateo Latosa Executive Producers - Joseph Maddrey and Kathryn Muir Make-up - Rob & Phyllis Floyd Writer and Director - John Kenneth MuirSoundtrack Release
An Original Internet Television Soundtrack for THE HOUSE BETWEEN, in the form of an MP3 CD, was released in April 2010 on Powys Media's music label, SOIL. It features 132 cues from the series. Initial copies came with a souvenir bag and medallion. In addition to the full score composed and recorded by Cesar Gallegos and Mateo Latosa (better known as TKU: Tecamachalco Underground), the CD also includes "The House Between (Astrid's Song)"--source music composed and sung by Kim Breeding.
Both composers were interviewed [by Howard Margolin], and selections from the soundtrack were featured, on the August 6th, 2010 Destinies: The Voice of Science Fiction (WUSB).
On the CineRadio Top 20 Airplay report for August 2010, the soundtrack for THE HOUSE BETWEEN charted at #11 for music played on soundtrack music specialty shows.