Summary[]
This homage to those 70's movie-of-the-week detective shows takes you back to a day when the networks had time to create personable classic characters- seeing as how there were only three channels and you were pretty much a captive audience.
A Columbo parody, with P.F. Tompkins playing a Jack Cassidy-esque school principal.
Filming was done at Walter Reed Middle School. Setting a no budget short in a school is risky. Fortunately, producer CJ Arabia once had a relative attend there and even chaperoned a dance. So she was the in. And, if you use students in your film, you don't have to pay. It's called an educational experience. Everything was finished everything in eight hours - all they gave the production crew.[1]
P.F. Tompkins got involved with the short as he knew Eric Hoffman, who wrote and starred in that short.[2] Principal Overmind was written specifically for him. Originally Hoffman was thinking of having Paul's Jack Cassidy be the guest villain in all the Detective Theatres - but one has to temper their Cassidy tributes, he decided.
The show was intended as the first installment of four Detective stories.[3]
Cast[]
- Paul F. Tompkins - Principal Overmind
- C.J. Arabia - Counselor Massoth
- Eric Hoffman
Crew[]
- Jon Schnepp - Camera/Director/Microphone/DP/Editor/Storyboards
- CJ Arabia - Producer
- Eric Hoffman - Writer