Electric City (web series)

Did You Know?

• Tom Hanks wrote the first story on an Olivetti Lettera 22 typewriter.
• Animation services were provided by 6 Point Harness in Los Angeles under Joel Trussell.
• The series was developed at Playtone without a distribution plan until Yahoo! purchased it.

Plot

In a post-apocalyptic setting, mankind is reduced to small settlements whose main business is to produce electric power. With fossil and nuclear fuel sources mostly depleted, the communities depend on naturally created electricity from air, water, or muscle power, the latter used as punishment for criminals. Under the motto 'All in service to all', everyone must contribute. Electric City is a collective name for several geographically separated precincts, including Nerima, Greenlight, Morningside, The Mines, The Agricultural Territories, and The Outside. Central administration occurs at Central Stations. The precincts are connected by power cables and a wired radio service, but free communication, trading, and traveling are illegal to conserve power and maintain the influence of the 'knitting society', a matriarchal group of war survivors who founded Electric City. The Tap Coders, an underground movement of free-thinkers, seek to establish an illegal communications network, posing a threat the knitting society tries to eliminate.

Technology

Technology use is limited; wood is the primary construction material instead of metal or plastic, and firearms appear absent. Some conveniences exist, such as electric light and heat. No horses or pack animals are present, but bulk transportation uses freighter boats on canals. The Skytrain is a crude electric tram system on an elevated suspended cable. The Walking Post delivers interpersonal communication but does not carry parcels. The Wire Service is a radio broadcast hardwired into sets from Wire Central. Electricity is generated from several sources, but the city powers down overnight except for the Wire Service. Citizens are punished for tapping off the Wire Service power supply. Recording wire technology is used, largely obsolete since the 1950s. The newspaper The Daylight appears only in broadside format posted in kiosks. An encampment on The Outside has a library of vinyl records and stereo players salvaged from lost cities.

Cast of characters

Cleveland Carr (formerly Lorenzo Seventeen), voiced by Tom Hanks, is the main protagonist. He was a team leader of the AMP (Allied Municipal Patrol) but lost his old life due to a tragic accident and was recruited by the knitting society as a grid operative and assassin for Ruth Orwell. He begins to doubt his loyalty after meeting Hope and being assigned to assassinate Richard Jacobs. Ruth Orwell (Holland Taylor) is an elder and childhood survivor of the apocalyptic war, a member of the knitting society, and Carr's immediate superior. Mrs. Emerson (Lindsey Stoddart) and Mrs. Zelaski (Edith Fields) are founders of the knitting society. Hope Chatsworth (Jeanne Tripplehorn) is a popular anchorwoman for Wire 6, called the 'Voice of the City', and becomes Carr's girlfriend. Frank Deetleman (Joey Kern) is Hope's technician and a secret Tap Coder activist. Roger Moore (Tara Sands) is a Youth Auxiliary member who spies on Tap Coders for the AMP. Gladys Elba (Kristin Klabunde) is a Youth Auxiliary member and friend of Roger. Garrison 'Knobs' Butler (Jason Antoon) is a small-time crook selling illegal radio sets, later forced to serve Carr. Dr. Loman (David Kaye) heads revolutionary forces, with assistant Makaela (Tara Strong). Biff (Josh Feldman) and Happ (Bo Stevenson) are revolutionaries killed by Carr via electrocution. Richard 'Dick' Jacobs (John Rubinstein) is a fabric cutter and grid operative who retires to support his family, leading to his assassination by Carr.

Tie-ins

Along with the web series, a mobile application was released for iOS and Google Android, including the 20 episodes, 2 comics, a behind-the-scenes sneak peek, and character profiles. A game called Electric City: The Revolt is a role-playing iOS game developed by Jump Games Pvt. Ltd. and released on July 17, 2012, allowing the player to undermine the knitting society's power.