When video blogging pioneer Ze Frank took to Kickstarter to raise the funds necessary to revitalize his much beloved the show, the Los Angeles native had a message to his fans about the way he planned to run programming:
“The truth is that I don’t know what kind of show this is going to be because I want it to emerge from the interactions I have with you,” he told his audience in the Kickstarter campaign‘s video. “I want to make a show that you don’t just watch; something unpredictable, strange, and maybe even amazing.”
It’s that connection to his audience that enabled Frank’s campaign to become so successful. The Kickstarter page’s comment section is filled with notes—149, in total—from old viewers happy to see the revival, with many taking the time to make suggestions about what they’d like to see on the new iteration of the show.
One backer, Luke M, suggested that Frank incorporate a sports racer rock-opera, transporting a giant baby from Los Angeles to New York City using a Sports Racer, and a dirty science fair.
“How about a live show with Ze?” wrote backer Alex Fajerman. “An hour or two of him on-stage talking and joking; he’s more of a philosopher comedian, so it’d be funny and inspiration to boot. The crowd could be a part of it too, like having the world’s biggest Telephone game or maybe a big display showing randomly-chosen seats in the building, and the people in those seats have to switch. I think that’d be fun.”
Frank surpassed his $50,000 goal after the campaign had been live for only eight hours. Now sitting at $95,704 with eight days left, it’s quite clear that Frank will close his campaign with more $100,000 raised. Credit for that goes to the project’s 2,424 backers, like Brooklynite Steve McFarland, who summed up the many supporter’s feelings with a comment he left yesterday:
“Can’t decide if I’m more thrilled that the Show is coming back, or that I will get to support it with my own dollars. so so great, all around!”
