Centropolis, FOX And Intel Offer Parallel Television And Internet Series

FOX TV Drama "THE VISITOR" and Centropolis Entertainment's "www.thevisitor.com" Share Characters and Storylines

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Sept. 25, 1997 -- Top film and television producers Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, of Centropolis Entertainment, have created a unique interactive World Wide Web series that integrates parallel storylines and characters with its television counterpart, FOX Broadcasting Co.'s new adventure drama, THE VISITOR.

The unprecedented Web show, sponsored by and created on technology by Intel Corporation, is located at www.thevisitor.com. The television show (8 p.m. EDT/PDT Fridays on FOX) premiered Sept. 19 and is produced by Centropolis and 20th Century FOX Television.

thevisitor.com features content created and developed concurrently with the network television series. The Web show will extend storylines and characters from the television show and will add new characters and additional information to each week's FOX episode.

"We started an interactive division at Centropolis because we believe in the possibilities of the Web, and felt there were so many untapped avenues to explore," said Devlin, executive producer and co-creator of THE VISITOR. "Intel has given us the opportunity to push beyond a normal Web site and create something special."

Like the television series, thevisitor.com will follow the story of Adam MacArthur, (played by John Corbett, "Northern Exposure"), who mysteriously disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle 50 years ago, only to re-emerge in present time without having aged and equipped with newfound powers. His miraculous reappearance gains the immediate attention of several government agencies -- including the FBI, the National Security Agency, NASA, the CIA and the White House -- all anxious to track each of The Visitor's subsequent moves.

The main focus of the Web show lies in the agencies and organizations tracking The Visitor (MacArthur) on a week-to-week basis. The Web show will allow users to join an agency, pursue The Visitor and explore clues and other information supplied via either the television or Web episodes. Each organization represented in the television series will also be represented on the Web show, allowing users to augment theories, tap into fictional government Web sites, and explore other cross-television-and-Internet information to help extend their own theories and hypotheses.

Storylines and characters that appear in the television episodes will be further developed on the Web show, which will also boast its own supporting cast of non-television characters. In addition to the Web show, the site will include photos, video clips, chat rooms and behind-the-scenes footage from the TV show.

"Dean has allowed us full access to the show's information to create thevisitor.com," said Richard Titus, the Web show's creator and producer. "By working in tandem with the show's writers, we are able to build storylines that weave in and out of the TV show. It is quite possible that someday one of the TV show's characters may appear in the Web show first. There are a multitude of possibilities that emerge when these media converge, and it is extremely exciting to create something that has never been done before."

"thevisitor.com is an excellent example of how the connected PC can enrich the TV viewer's experience by giving the audience a sense of participation and increased involvement with the show, " said Ron Whittier, senior vice-president and general manager of Intel's Content Group. "Not only will thevisitor.com appeal to the millions of anticipated regular weekly viewers, but we expect the Web show to bring a sizeable audience from the Web to the TV show."

Intel helped Centropolis Entertainment develop thevisitor.com by providing technical support and equipment. The Web show is being shot on THE VISITOR set and produced on Intel Architecture systems featuring advanced multimedia capabilities, high-speed networking and video conferencing. The Web show is designed for anyone with Internet access, although fans participating on high-end PCs will enjoy the highest quality experience, with streaming video, streaming audio and smooth, rich graphics.

thevisitor.com plans to utilize a variety of video, audio, animation and chat technologies, including "The Palace" capabilities for creating socially-oriented virtual worlds on the Internet. The site is optimized for the newest 4.0 browser technologies, including Dynamic HTML-functionality. The multilayered site will increase in depth and size each week, leading up to full operating capacity by Oct. 31, marking the first airing of FOX's THE VISITOR within Nielsen Media Research's November sweeps.

THE VISITOR is a Centropolis Television production in association with 20th Century FOX Television. thevisitor.com will also be accessible via a direct link to FOX's World Wide Web site, FOXWORLD at www.FOXworld.com.

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