ROX #86: The Harvest

B: I wanted to bill ROX #86 as “the last episode of ROX,” which I thought had a dramatic ring.

J convinced me that we should hedge it back, and so it ended up being “the last episode of ROX for a while.”

We had agreed to go out of production, but we differed about what that meant. I think J nurtured a hope that we would get back on track rather quickly. I was more pessimistic. I thought it was probably over forever.

After production of the Harvest, J and I both struggled to get our lives in order. For me, that meant going back to work at DialAmerica as a telemarketer. For some reason I wasn't too excited about that prospect.

Eventually J persuaded me to give ROX another try, but we didn't produce any shows. We spent one year, most of 1996, just trying to develop a viable, sustainable business plan.

We failed. It really looked as though there would never be another episode of ROX.

Now, seven years later, we're back in production, and no one could could be more surprised than I am.

So J was right, after all, to call #86 the last episode “for a while.” But I still wish we'd gone for the drama and called it the “death of ROX,” becuase that's what it felt like at the time.