Bunkerdown Profiled at SciFinal.com
Tue 15 Jun 2010
Check out SciFinal's Creator's Corner interview with Jason on Bunkerdown.
Tue 15 Jun 2010
Check out SciFinal's Creator's Corner interview with Jason on Bunkerdown.
Tue 11 May 2010
Jason and Rob discuss Bunkerdown with Matt Rainnie on CBC Radio's Mainstreet.
Tue 11 May 2010
Eastlink Magazine's feature segment on Bunkerdown. Rob, Jason, and Graham chat about the origins of the series, characters, and more.
Sat 08 May 2010
Bunkerdown, a new comedy web series, presents a unique look at life after a nuclear bomb in the year 2310.
When a nuclear bomb hits P.E.I., six guys are thrown from a bus, climb down a manhole and find their way into a fallout shelter where a woman, holding a gun, welcomes them, telling them to get comfortable because they’re going to be there for a long, long time.
It’s a trailer for Bunkerdown, a new comedy web series starting May 6 at http://bunkerdown.tv. Featuring Sketch-22 members Rob MacDonald, Lennie MacPherson, Graham Putnam, Jason Rogerson, Andrew Sprague and Dennis Trainor, along with Kinza Mae Baker, this 10-episode, adult, post-apocalyptic sitcom tells the tale of the last seven people on earth, living in bunker in the year 2310.
Fallout to the trailer has been terrific.
Besides hits on their website and Facebook, cast are being approached on the street. “People who know me or know about the series have come up and told me how fantastic the teaser looks — how sharp, crisp and awesome.
“So people seem very excited about what we’re about unleash to the world,” says MacDonald, who co-wrote the script with Rogerson two years ago.
Then, after assembling the necessary actors and crew they shot the series over five weeks in an undisclosed location in Charlottetown this past winter.
“It’s been a lot of fun to do a show that has longevity. Usually when Sketch-22 does sketches they’re like little blips, here and gone. There’s no serial nature to them. So it’s been a lot fun to write it, fun to perform it and then to go back and tape it every weekend, where we’re all playing the same character, week after week,” says Rogerson, who plays Larry Rogerman, a character whose future was decided in high school when he was voted least likely to succeed.
MacDonald likes having time to develop his character, Allison Flowers.
“He thinks he’s a know-it-all. He expects to be the boss of all, but the others don’t respect him because, other than being loud and vociferous, he doesn’t display any leadership qualities,” says MacDonald, adding that the idea for the show originated from a sketch about a bunch of guys living on the moon that they had written for their summer show two years ago.
“It didn’t materialize the way we envisioned it. But we enjoyed the survival and isolation aspects. So that’s the germ of it.
“So when the summer was over, we rediscovered it, thinking we would like to expand it to explore what P.E.I. or the world would look like after a nuclear disaster as well as have some fun with it,” says MacDonald.
His co-star can’t wait for May 6 to arrive so people can see it.
“We’re really excited about the production qualities. I thought the set design and the costumes and the camera work were excellent and everyone was very particular with the lighting and sound,” says MacPherson. “And in the past few months Jason and Graham have been putting in a lot of think time into the editing, so we’re really excited about the show.”
The series runs right up to July 8, the day that the new Sketch-22 season opens at The Guild in Charlottetown.
“We planned it purposefully that way. We’re hoping that the series and website will drive new people to the show. We also wanted to give our fans something because Sketch-22 kind of disappears in the winter,” says Rogerson.
At a glance
Up close and personal with Bunkerdown
Favourite colour: Anything but brown
Behind the scenes: Dan Wagner, sound; Matt Bowness, Robbie Moses, Ryan Townshend, crew; Joey Weale, Adam Perry, camera; Kelly Caseley, production assistant & costumes; Cecily Lalande, props; Luke Leunes, design and Scott Gallant & Ryan Townshend, web.
Five things to take into the fallout shelter:Website: http://bunkerdown.tv, www.sketch22.ca
scoletheguardian.pe.ca