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FreakyLinks
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 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (November 2017) |
| FreakyLinks | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Horror Mystery Comedy Science fiction |
| Created by | Gregg Hale Ricardo Festiva |
| Starring | Ethan Embry |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production companies | Haxan Films Regency Television 20th Century Fox Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | Fox |
| Release | October 6, 2000 – June 22, 2001 |
FreakyLinks is an American science fiction series that combined elements of horror, mystery, and comedy. It was created by Gregg Hale and David S. Goyer (under the pseudonym Ricardo Festiva), and aired on Fox from October 6, 2000 until June 22, 2001, for a total run of 13 episodes. The feel of the show closely modeled that of The X-Files and other supernatural-themed shows that were popular at the time.
Setting and plot
[edit]FreakyLinks centered on Derek Barnes (played by Ethan Embry), who, assisted by his friends Chloe (Lisa Sheridan) and Jason (Karim Prince), ran a website called "FreakyLinks.com" that sought out the dark and forbidden truths behind paranormal phenomena and urban legends.
Derek took over the site after his twin brother, Adam, died under mysterious circumstances. The show's episodes revolved around Derek and his friends investigating supernatural claims for the website and uncovering clues that might reveal the truth of his brother's fate.
Cast
[edit]- Ethan Embry as Derek Barnes / Adam Barnes
- Lisa Sheridan as Chloe Tanner
- Karim Prince as Jason Tatum
- Lizette Carrion as Lan Williams
- Dennis Christopher as Vince J. Elsing
Production and marketing
[edit]FreakyLinks, originally titled Fearsum until a few months before airing, was developed by Haxan, the creators of the film The Blair Witch Project.[1]
Haxan decided to follow a marketing strategy similar to Blair Witch's and created a website, long before the show was set to air, called "Freakylinks.com," which was cleverly designed to look like an amateurish, home-brew website made by real-life paranormal enthusiasts.[2]
The website was fairly successful and seemed to create some amount of "buzz," but this did not translate into high ratings when the show finally aired. The show went on hiatus for a few months before returning to the air to finish out the season, but it was not renewed for the next fall television season.
An online petition was created to ask the Fox Network to bring the show back for another season; however, this was unsuccessful.[citation needed]
Legacy
[edit]In 2006, Lisa Sheridan reflected on the show:
“That was a blast. Probably the most fun thing about the show was that as part of the storyline, all our characters carried around video cameras wherever they went. There were portions of each script that our characters shot on video, and the show’s producers realized pretty quickly that it was far too time-consuming to have a cameraman dress up as one of us and shoot those sequences as opposed to us doing it ourselves. So little by little my fellow actors, Ethan Embry, Karim Prince, Lizette Carrion, and I wound up shooting a chunk of each episode. Funnily enough, there was a lot of improv on the show because of that. We’d be playing around with different shots and the editors would like what they saw and keep it in the show.”[3]
Ethan Embry was also very enthusiastic about the show and said “people like it“: “I had a lot of fun making it. It was the Blair Witch guys that created that show. And when we did the pilot, it was a lot darker tone-wise. It was more about suicide and the devil and the Antichrist, but when they picked it up, a new showrunner came on and they scrapped the whole devil idea and made it a little more like popcorn fare. I think that decision was fine, but they were consistently trying to figure that show out the entire time we were working on it.“[4]
Episodes
[edit] | This section needs a plot summary. (August 2021) |
| No. | Title [5][6] | Directed by [6] | Written by [6] | Original release date | Prod. code [6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Subject: Fearsum" "Pilot" | Todd Holland | Gregg Hale & Ricardo Festiva | October 6, 2000 | 1AEF79 |
| 2 | "Subject: Threethirteen" | Stephen Cragg | Michael R. Perry | October 13, 2000 | 1AEF02 |
| 3 | "Subject: Edith Keeler Must Die" | David Straiton | Juan Carlos Coto | October 20, 2000 | 1AEF03 |
| 4 | "Subject: Coelacanth This!" | Jef Levy | Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner | October 27, 2000 | 1AEF01 |
| 5 | "Subject: Desert Squid! Myth or Legend?" | Scott Lautanen | Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner | November 3, 2000 | 1AEF04 |
| 6 | "Subject: The Harbingers" | Jay Tobias | Juan Carlos Coto | January 5, 2001 | 1AEF05 |
| 7 | "Subject: Still I Rise" | Joe Napolitano | Adisa Iwa | January 12, 2001 | 1AEF06 |
| 8 | "Subject: Me and My Shadow" | Thomas Wright | Mark Verheiden | January 19, 2001 | 1AEF07 |
| 9 | "Subject: The Stone Room" | David Grossman | Juan Carlos Coto | January 26, 2001 | 1AEF08 |
| 10 | "Subject: Live Fast, Die Young" | David Barrett | Michael R. Perry | June 1, 2001 | 1AEF10 |
| 11 | "Subject: Police Siren" | Randy Miller | Adisa Iwa | June 8, 2001 | 1AEF11 |
| 12 | "Subject: Sunrise at Sunset Streams" | Bill Norton | Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner | June 15, 2001 | 1AEF09 |
| 13 | "Subject: The Final Word" | David Straiton | Mark Verheiden | June 22, 2001 | 1AEF12 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Net pilot slates filling for fall". Variety. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ Higley, Sarah; Weinstock, Jeffrey (2004). Nothing that is: Millennial Cinema and the Blair Witch Controversies. Wayne State University Press. p. 78. ISBN 0814330649.
- ^ "Sci-Fi Blast from the Past - Lisa Sheridan (Invasion)".
- ^ "Interview: Ethan Embry on THE DEVil's CANDY, His Time on THE WALKING DEAD, and FREAKYLINKS". March 14, 2017.
- ^ From the Writers Guild of America, West catalog: "Signatory Project Confirmation [search: "FreakyLinks"]". Writers Guild of America, West. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
- ^ a b c d From the United States Copyright Office catalog: "Public Catalog - Copyright Catalog (1978 to present) - Basic Search [search: "FreakyLinks"]". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
External links
[edit]- Freakylinks.com – The original Freakylinks.com website, now part of Haxan's portfolio
- FreakyLinks at IMDb
- FreakyLinks at epguides.com
FreakyLinks
View on Grokipediafrom Grokipedia
FreakyLinks is an American science fiction television series that blends elements of horror, mystery, and comedy, centering on a young man who runs an underground website investigating and debunking paranormal phenomena while searching for clues about his twin brother's mysterious death.[1][2]
Created by Gregg Hale and David S. Goyer, the show premiered on Fox on October 6, 2000, and ran for one season consisting of 13 episodes, concluding on June 22, 2001.[2] Inspired by the found-footage style of The Blair Witch Project, which was produced by the same team at Haxan Films, FreakyLinks follows protagonist Derek Barnes (played by Ethan Embry) and his friends Chloe Tanner (Lisa Sheridan) and Jason Tatum (Karim Prince) as they operate the fictional website FreakyLinks.com to probe urban legends and supernatural occurrences.[2] The series is motivated by Derek's discovery that his supposedly deceased brother Adam may still be alive, leading the group into eerie adventures that often blur the line between skepticism and the uncanny.[1]
Critically, FreakyLinks received mixed reviews, earning a 31% approval rating on the Tomatometer from Rotten Tomatoes based on 13 critic reviews, with praise for its innovative premise and Embry’s performance but criticism for uneven pacing and underdeveloped characters.[1] On IMDb, it holds a stronger 7.9 out of 10 rating from 1,032 user votes as of November 2025, reflecting a cult following among fans of early 2000s horror anthology-style programming.[2] Despite its short run, the show is noted for its ahead-of-its-time exploration of internet culture and viral mysteries in the context of paranormal investigation.[2]
Premise and format
Setting and plot
FreakyLinks is set in the contemporary United States, with the core operations based out of Florida, where the protagonists maintain the fictional website FreakyLinks.com as a central hub for exploring and debunking urban legends, paranormal phenomena, and enigmatic mysteries.[3] The site, originally created by Derek's twin brother Adam, serves as an online clearinghouse for user-submitted creepy content and evidence, facilitating investigations into the supernatural.[4] The series follows protagonist Derek Barnes, a web designer and paranormal investigator who inherited and expanded the website following the mysterious apparent suicide of his twin brother Adam two years earlier.[4] Motivated by an anonymous email containing recent photographs that appear to show Adam alive, Derek becomes convinced his brother survived the suicide and may be entangled in occult events, propelling the overarching narrative.[4] This personal quest underscores the show's world-building, where everyday technology like the internet intersects with eerie, unexplained occurrences, often linking to broader supernatural lore such as lost colonies or shape-shifters.[3] Assisting Derek is his core team: Chloe Tanner, Adam's former fiancée who joins as a co-host and provides investigative and emotional support; Jason Tatum, Derek's laid-back best friend and logistics handler who drives the team's van during fieldwork; and Lan Williams, the group's computer specialist who conducts digital forensics and verifies anomalous footage or data.[4] Their dynamics blend camaraderie and tension, with Chloe's connection to Adam adding layers to the interpersonal stakes.[3] The narrative maintains a tone that fuses horror, mystery, comedy, and science fiction, presenting self-contained cases of the bizarre while advancing the serialized mystery of Adam's fate.[4] Across the season, investigations yield escalating clues—such as prophetic visions from enigmatic figures or ties to historical anomalies—that heighten the suspicion of Adam's survival and deepen the protagonists' immersion in a hidden world of the paranormal.[3]Episode structure
FreakyLinks adopted a procedural anthology format, wherein each episode featured the core team investigating a distinct paranormal case submitted through the in-universe website FreakyLinks.com, often drawing from urban legends and supernatural claims. These self-contained horror and mystery narratives were blended with subtle, ongoing revelations about the protagonist Derek Barnes's quest to uncover the fate of his presumed-dead twin brother, Adam, who had founded the site, thereby linking episodic content to a season-spanning arc.[4] The series incorporated mockumentary techniques to heighten its immersive quality, utilizing found-footage aesthetics such as handheld camera work, website archival clips, emails, and personal video logs to depict the investigations in a raw, pseudo-documentary manner reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project. Running approximately 60 minutes per episode, the standard structure began with an introduction to the viewer-submitted case, progressed through the team's on-location probing marked by humorous banter and escalating horrific or bizarre twists, culminated in a resolution for the immediate anomaly, and concluded with a teaser advancing the Adam storyline.[4][5] Spanning 13 episodes in its sole season, the show methodically accumulated clues toward a climactic partial unveiling in the series finale, "Subject: The Final Word," yet the overarching brother mystery remained unresolved following the program's abrupt cancellation by Fox due to insufficient ratings. A pioneering aspect of its presentation was the seamless web integration, with episodes directly referencing and incorporating real-time content updates from the companion FreakyLinks.com site to foster viewer engagement and blur the lines between the broadcast narrative and online extensions.[6][4]Cast and characters
Main cast
Ethan Embry led the cast as Derek Barnes, the determined host and primary investigator of the FreakyLinks team, whose personal quest to locate his missing twin brother Adam drove much of the series' narrative. Known previously for his breakout supporting role as Mark in the 1995 teen comedy Empire Records and as T.B. Player in the 1996 film That Thing You Do!, Embry infused the character with a focused intensity that anchored the show's pseudo-documentary style. Lisa Sheridan (1974–2019) portrayed Chloe Tanner, the compassionate co-host and romantic interest to Derek, offering emotional depth and psychological analysis to the group's paranormal probes. Prior to FreakyLinks, Sheridan appeared in films such as A Stranger in the Kingdom (1999).[7] Karim Prince played Jason Tatum, the lighthearted cameraman and technical whiz who provided comic relief amid the eerie investigations. Prince's early career featured roles in youth-oriented action series such as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1995–1996), where he played Cestro, the Blue Alien Ranger, honing his skills in high-energy, teen-targeted productions before joining the FreakyLinks ensemble.[8] Lizette Carrion embodied Lan Williams, the eccentric hacker and website maintainer whose tech-savvy quirks added a layer of unconventional flair to the team dynamic. Emerging from New York theater scenes, Carrion's casting contributed to the youthful, relatable vibe sought by producers Haxan Films, the team behind The Blair Witch Project, to mirror a modern group of amateur sleuths.[9][10] The selection of this core quartet emphasized a balanced, contemporary ensemble to appeal to young audiences, blending intensity, empathy, humor, and oddity in their portrayals of the FreakyLinks operatives.[4]Supporting and guest characters
Dennis Christopher portrayed Vince Elsing, a recurring supporting character who acted as a conspiracy theorist and mentor to the main team, offering cryptic advice and historical context on paranormal phenomena across multiple episodes.[4] Elsing's appearances, beginning in the pilot as a former contact of Adam Barnes, provided continuity to the overarching mystery of Derek's brother's disappearance while tying into various case investigations.[11] Adam Barnes, Derek's presumed-dead twin brother, appeared as a recurring figure through flashbacks, video footage, and hallucinatory sightings, always played by lead actor Ethan Embry to emphasize their identical resemblance and emotional bond.[12] These portrayals deepened the series' central narrative thread without dominating individual episodes. Notable guest stars enriched the anthology structure by embodying victims, skeptical experts, or otherworldly beings central to each freaky case. Horror icon Jeffrey Combs guest-starred as a coroner in "Subject: Live Fast, Die Young," delivering a chilling performance that amplified the episode's adrenaline-vampire plot with his signature unsettling demeanor.[13] In the same episode, Finn Carter played the local sheriff, bringing grounded authority to the team's desert probe into unnatural deaths.[13] Zahn McClarnon appeared as Buckner Fulsom, a key figure in the thrill-seeking cult, contributing to the episode's exploration of reckless supernatural risks.[14] Leslie Jordan (1955–2022) provided a memorable one-off turn as a quirky hotel clerk in "Subject: Desert Squid! Myth or Legend?," injecting humor into the tension of livestock attacks by a tentacled creature, which balanced the horror with eccentric small-town vibes.[12] Other guests, such as Paige Moss as thrill-seeker Claudia "Sweetie" Vance in "Live Fast, Die Young," portrayed adrenaline-fueled victims whose fates drove the investigative drama.[15] These supporting and guest roles enhanced episode diversity by introducing fresh dynamics, with genre veterans like Combs lending credibility to supernatural twists and performers like Jordan varying the tone from pure dread to wry unease. Guests often clashed or allied with the core team during fieldwork, intensifying the procedural suspense in their encounters with the unknown.[13]Production
Development
FreakyLinks was created by Gregg Hale and David S. Goyer, with Goyer credited under the pseudonym Ricardo Festiva. The series built directly on the success of Haxan Films' 1999 mockumentary-style hit The Blair Witch Project, leveraging the production company's expertise in low-budget, immersive horror to develop a television format that extended found-footage techniques into episodic storytelling.[12][4] Originally titled Fearsum, the concept evolved in the late 1990s to emphasize internet culture, with the central premise revolving around a fictional website dedicated to paranormal investigations. This shift reflected the growing popularity of online communities and digital media at the turn of the millennium, positioning the show as an early experiment in transmedia storytelling by integrating real-time web content with broadcast episodes. Development of the pilot began in 1999, drawing inspiration from urban legends and supernatural mysteries to create a narrative framework that blurred the lines between reality and fiction.[16][17] The production involved Haxan Films alongside Regency Television and 20th Century Fox Television, which handled distribution for Fox's broadcast schedule. Key creative decisions in the writers' room, led by Hale and Festiva, focused on balancing horror elements with comedic undertones to broaden appeal to Fox's younger demographic, resulting in a tone that evoked a modern Scooby-Doo infused with The X-Files-esque intrigue. This approach aimed to make the series accessible while maintaining suspense through the protagonists' video-recorded investigations.[4][18] Although the show premiered with an overarching multi-season arc intended to resolve the central mystery of the protagonist's missing brother, it was canceled after its first season, leaving the storyline unresolved.[19]Filming and crew
Principal photography for FreakyLinks primarily occurred in Los Angeles, California, with additional shoots at various U.S. locations to depict the characters' paranormal investigations. Specific sites included 341 Adena Street in Pasadena for interior scenes and Sable Ranch in Santa Clarita for outdoor ranch sequences.[20] The production employed digital cameras to emulate amateur web footage, aligning with the series' faux-found-footage aesthetic inspired by low-budget horror techniques.[21] The series featured a rotating roster of directors, with Todd Holland helming the pilot episode "Subject: Fearsum" and an additional installment.[12] Other notable directors included David Straiton (two episodes, including "Subject: Edith Keeler Must Die"), Todd Holland (two episodes), David Barrett (two episodes), and Stephen Cragg (one episode).[12] Cinematography emphasized handheld shots and grainy visuals to reinforce the low-budget, investigative horror style, contributing to the show's immersive, documentary-like quality.[22] Post-production incorporated seamless website integration, where episodes referenced and expanded upon content from the companion site freakylinks.com, blurring lines between on-screen and online narratives.[21] Editing techniques focused on a fragmented, found-footage structure, with quick cuts and simulated glitches to mimic user-generated video. Sound design highlighted subtle paranormal effects, such as eerie whispers and ambient distortions, to heighten tension without relying on overt scares. The production faced typical television constraints, including tight schedules that necessitated efficient on-set improvisation to capture the show's spontaneous, web-savvy tone, fostering a chaotic yet energetic environment.[23] Key technical crew included producers from Haxan Films, the company behind The Blair Witch Project, with oversight from executive producers Gregg Hale and David S. Goyer, who ensured the series' innovative blend of horror and digital interactivity.[24] Additional production involvement came from Regency Television and 20th Century Fox Television.Broadcast and marketing
Airing and episodes
FreakyLinks premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company on October 6, 2000, with its pilot episode, and concluded its run on June 22, 2001, after airing all 13 produced episodes in an irregular schedule marked by extended hiatuses and frequent timeslot shifts due to underwhelming performance. The series initially aired Fridays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT for its first five episodes from October to early November 2000, before a two-month break; it returned on January 5, 2001, in the same slot for four more episodes, followed by another long hiatus until a summer burn-off beginning June 1, 2001, also on Fridays. These scheduling disruptions stemmed from low ratings, far below Fox's expectations for the demographic. The poor viewership prompted the network to pull the series mid-season and ultimately cancel it after one season, though all episodes were eventually broadcast to clear the inventory. Post-cancellation, FreakyLinks entered limited syndication in the United States and select international markets, including airings on cable networks like Chiller for reruns and broadcasts on channels such as Global and ONE in Canada. The series follows an anthology format in its episodes, each centered on a standalone paranormal investigation tied loosely to the overarching mystery of Derek Barnes' missing brother. Below is a comprehensive list of episodes, including production details and brief synopses:| No. | Title | Air Date | Director | Writer(s) | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Subject: Fearsum | October 6, 2000 | Todd Holland | Gregg Hale, Ricardo Festiva | Derek Barnes receives a mysterious video suggesting his supposedly deceased twin brother Adam may still be alive, leading the FreakyLinks team to investigate a shape-shifting entity connected to Adam's past. |
| 2 | Subject: Three Thirteen | October 13, 2000 | Stephen Cragg | Michael R. Perry | The team examines claims of a pregnant woman possessed by a demonic force, uncovering eerie supernatural occurrences that challenge Derek's skepticism. |
| 3 | Subject: Edith Keeler Must Die | October 20, 2000 | David Straiton | Juan Carlos Coto | While hunting for alligators in New York City's sewers, the group stumbles upon a horrifying urban legend involving subterranean creatures and unexplained attacks. |
| 4 | Subject: Coelacanth This! | October 27, 2000 | Jef Levy | Russel Friend, Garrett Lerner | Mysterious deaths in a remote small town prompt an investigation into rumors of a prehistoric fish-like monster terrorizing the locals, met with resistance from suspicious residents. |
| 5 | Subject: Desert Squid! Myth or Legend? | November 3, 2000 | Scott Lautanen | Russel Friend, Garrett Lerner | In the desert, the team probes reports of a giant squid-like creature mutating livestock and endangering ranchers, blending myth with bizarre biological anomalies. |
| 6 | Subject: The Harbingers | January 5, 2001 | Jay Tobias | Juan Carlos Coto | The crew visits a Florida town plagued by psychics with ominous, prophetic abilities, revealing a dark conspiracy that may link back to Adam's disappearance. |
| 7 | Subject: Still I Rise | January 12, 2001 | Joe Napolitano | Adisa Iwa | Sightings of a deceased hip-hop artist, revealed to be undead and on the run from supernatural forces, draw the team into a web of celebrity intrigue and horror. |
| 8 | Subject: Me and My Shadow | January 19, 2001 | Thomas Wright | Mark Verheiden | Chloe provides counseling to a young boy traumatized by a murder scene, where his shadow appears possessed, leading to terrifying manifestations of evil. |
| 9 | Subject: The Stone Room | January 26, 2001 | David Grossman | Juan Carlos Coto | Jason enlists Derek's help to investigate paranormal disturbances at his estranged father's law firm, exposing ghostly secrets tied to corporate corruption. |
| 10 | Subject: Live Fast, Die Young | June 1, 2001 | David Barrett | Michael R. Perry | A video of an extreme athlete surviving a fatal fall leads the team to a group of adrenaline-fueled vampires seeking to recruit Derek into their immortal thrill-seeking. |
| 11 | Subject: Police Siren | June 8, 2001 | Randy Miller | Adisa Iwa | Analyzing police footage of a car explosion that leaves no remains, the investigators uncover a pattern of impossible accidents linked to a vengeful spirit. |
| 12 | Subject: Sunrise at Sunset Streams | June 15, 2001 | Bill Norton | Russel Friend, Garrett Lerner | The team fabricates a story about a mythical creature for their site but must confront real danger when a local death forces them to reveal the truth amid escalating threats. |
| 13 | Subject: The Final Word | June 22, 2001 | David Straiton | Mark Verheiden | Investigating a teenage murder suspect's claim of innocence due to a flying monster attack, the group races to prove his story before a wrongful execution. |