Pitch Meeting does Limetown
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Producer Guy: So you’ve got a new audio drama for me?
Writer Guy: Yes sir, I do. It’s called Limetown and it’s about a public radio reporter who decides to research the disappearance of more than 300 people from a remote company town where her uncle Emil used to work.
PG: A disappearance huh?
WG: Yeah all the people that lived there are gone! Vanished! And all anyone knows is there was a 911 call from a resident and a news copter sees a big fire and then a bunch of reporters and emergency responders show up but get denied access to the town by private security guards.
PG: The police don't stop them from interfering with an emergency?
WG: Ahhh... <look at notes> No.
PG: Well okay then. So what happens next?
WG: So afterwards the place turns out to be deserted, there's not a shred of evidence anywhere, and all the guards get sent to Guantanamo Bay!
PG: [laughing] Sorry, it sounded like you said "sent to Guantanamo Bay".
WG: Yeah it's all super spooky and mysterious. Anyway ten years later that woman Lia I told you about decides "Hey someone should look into all this" so does that for her podcast.
PG: It took 10 years for something like that to happen?
WG: Well see, the news cycle moved on. Y'know, gay marriage and other stuff so eventually people stopped caring... which also means somehow there was no market for anything related to the inexplicable disappearance of an entire U.S. municipality.
PG: What about the FBI or state authorities? And the lawsuits from the families alone would-
WG: Look, sir we need this to be something that can only be uncovered by our intrepid protagonist so I need you to get all the way off my back right now.
PG: Sure, let me get off that thing!
WG: Anyway Lia finds out the town was built by this rich business guy to attract top scientists for a very important project. And this place was completely self contained, like people worked and lived there with everyone doing double duties as janitors and barbers and things like that.
PG: Telling the world's best scientists they'll work as janitors sounds like a terrible job offer and use of their time. But how does Lia find all this out?
WG: Ah, get this sir. There are actually multiple surviving residents of the town around for her to talk to.
PG: Wowowowow. So they tell Lia what happened?
WG: Actually whenever she asks anything really important they'll deflect with "How are you not there yet?" or "That's not the right question!" or they'll just dive into their personal backstory for a long period of time.
PG: A very indirect group of survivors! And Lia's fine with this?
WG: Oh yeah, which is really helpful because I need for there to be just enough information dripped out each episode to fill up a season.
PG: Smart. Now how's this thing end?
WG: Well it turns out the scientists in Limetown were doing secret experiments on human consciousness and gave some of the residents mental powers just like Lia's uncle and that caused violence to break out.
PG: Oh no!
WG: Yeah but then Lia meets a woman who was there doing corporate espionage to steal the technology and she was the one responsible for everyone in town disappearing and covering it up.
PG: How?
WG: Caves and chemicals!
PG: Ohhh caves and chemicals are tight! I used to do that on the weekend sometimes. But hey wouldn't it be near impossible to hide the evidence for all this?
WG: Actually it's super easy! Barely an inconvenience!
PG: Oh really?
WG: Yeah we'll just have the espionage lady keep saying how good she is at her job. So yeah... that should do it.
PG: Very convincing. Except that 911 call which could've told the authorities anything and the big fire that attracted attention and such.
WG: Oh yeah... Whoops!
PG: Whoopsie!
WG: And so that's it, the espionage lady tries to get Lia to be part of a suicide pact live on air then kills herself because it was all a draw-out plot right as people burst in and drag Lia away. The end.
PG: ....GEEZ. And so this will all make sense and pay off somehow next season?
WG: Maybe! Who's to say?
PG: You, I think? Wait... did you do a Lost where all the effort went into setting up a cool mystery and not on how it ends?>
WG: Dang it. But hey maybe audiences don't even want that, you know? Like maybe the real payoff will be all the suspense and theorizing we did along the way.
PG: I guess that could be true.
[Smash cut to articles/posts titled "Why Limetown Season 2 Disappointed" and "Listeners frustrated by lack of resolution"]