The Block (2001)

Conceived way back at the turn of the Millennium, long before Facebook and YouTube were part of our lives, The Block was a visionary project I co-authored with Hari Kunzru and Jesse Cleverley at BBC Fictionlab. 

A drama that would run in parallel on TV and the Internet, The Block was also designed to be interactive in a very real sense. Via an online social media environment, the audience would be able to have their own apartments in, Halcyon Point, the skyscraper at the heart of the drama. They could invent characters, interact with other participants, and - if what they invented was compelling enough - could be invited to take part in the drama itself.

The show was on the verge of being greenlit when Osama Bin Laden flew two airlines into the World Trade Center. Suddenly a interactive drama set in a kilometre-high building didn't seem so fun any more, and the project was shelved. Such a shame, as it would have been awesome. You can get a flavour of what we were trying to achieve from this promo we made.