Forgotten Station - Pete's Secret Journal

Casting Issues

We had a lot of really good casting calls, but the pilot set that Alex had commissioned already resulted in three injuries, and a lot of the cast dropped out. The only kids that stayed were the twins we thought could play supporting roles, but their parents have taken this chance to suggest them for lead roles. I didn't want to get my son and his friends involved in the production, but if their parents are okay with it, maybe I should just go with that. Alex "offered" to bring his son, but his son is a little young to be acting, and it is obvious that he and Jen just can't find a babysitter. And now Jen's playing Estilla? She told Alex a hundred times she only wants to do costuming.

Why exactly was he so desperate to push forward with production?

The Hero Suit Incident

Today Alex came to me with the worst news imaginable. He was able to get a discount on one-piece surfing outfits as a way to make the hero costumes most cost effective, but didn't even think about the copyright on those designs. We can't design toys with another company's clothing designs! He thinks that if the colors aren't perfect on the toys things will be fine, but kids will absolutely notice. We aren't just making toys for fast food kids meals! We need to be able to sell action figures!

Story Compromises

After long and painful negotiations, the Anderson twins are now playing two much more major leads that before. I've had to make a lot of changes to the stories to make it work, and I'm exhausted by it. On top of that, Alex keeps trying to make Spess more evil and bitter like he's being bullied. Spess is supposed to be an important friend! Especially to Lonya! It is like Alex is obsessed with some weird revenge fantasy. He even suggested Lonya should die in the focus episode. I'm surprised he was okay with her just losing her memory, but I wish she could have been trusted with Spess's secret.

The Crying Asbestos Fight

For as exhausted as I am, I know Craith is having a worse time. The kid plays Spess during the day with the other kids, then has to stay to play Asbestos, and even his mother has to leave to watch Nai-bu and Jason. I'm glad we were able to tell Jen about it, because she steps in when Alex pushes Craith too far. I'm not really comfortable trying to cheer him up when she's all...chunky and scaley. Alex always insists that Craith is just "some thing made by that witch" but so what? That doesn't mean Craith isn't still a kid!

School Year Filming

Alex really got people to take a deal where we film more episodes while trying to air the show? And film during the school year? I'm amazed that the kids and their parents are willing, but it is such a headache trying to know what we need to film with the kids when they can only work on the weekend. It is so much easier to plan out what the adult actors can do when we already have footage of the kids.

Toy Deals

We were shot down again. Whether it is a controversial name or design, they always find something. I'm done trying to find a toy deal. Maybe I can just make my own merchandise and sell it? T-shirts shouldn't be too hard.

Final End of Production

That's it. It is over. The Singhs chewed me out over what they thankfully thought was a costume malfunction, but I think Craith just couldn't tell how exhausted he was. If Alex would have told people to be more delicate, maybe Craith wouldn't have a broken jaw. I can't help but feel like this is all my fault. I shouldn't have left Alex talk me into rushing this production like this. I shouldn't have used Craith like a costume. I shouldn't have cast my kid and his friends. This is terrible.

Mountains of Debt

With everything wrapped up, I'll be paying off this debt for the rest of my life. I might even have to file for bankruptcy. Hopefully Jason can find a scholarship or something to go to college. Right now I just need to make sure we still have a home. I have my family, and that is what's important. I don't have to think about this mess ever again.