April 1, 1998
tctv2 show spoofs teen-angst genre
'North Valley High' is Aaron Spelling meets Stanley Kubrick
By Eric Dick
Herald editor
Two minutes into the interview and you realize they are goofy. And not just goofy in an odd sort of a way; the kind of goofy that makes David Letterman raise his eyebrows and shift his seat.
Their goofdom explains "North Valley High," Traverse City's first public access comedy series that premiered at 7 p.m. Friday on tctv2. The show, set around a troubling group of graduating seniors and their equally troubling school, spoofs the teen-angst genre. "It's sort of like 'Saved By The Bell.' On crack,'" according to the show's web page.
Indeed, co-creators Lars Kelto and Andy Hoffman have set their sights on the unusual. In the first episode, a student daydreams of playing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons with his French teacher. A school counselor asks a character, Lyle, if he is "comfortable with little Lyle," before he joins the service and its community shower stalls. The principal accuses staff of stealing his cigarettes and later bribes them with coupons to a fast-food restaurant.
"North Valley High" is Aaron Spelling meets Stanley Kubrick. The show is similar to "Saved By The Bell" and "My So-Called Life," Kelto said, "but we take that little extra twist to make it a little strange, a little dark, a little disturbing. And it's funny."
The idea for the show hatched about six weeks ago during dinner conversation at "Traverse City's finest 24-hour establishment," said Kelto, a 21-year-old computer consultant from Acme Township. Both fans of public access television, Kelto and Hoffman wanted to create an entertainment show to complement tctv2's existing lineup of government, community events and arts programming.
Kelto had produced tctv2 shows before, including "Hamster Wars," which he described as "hamsters, spaceships, explosions - that sort of thing."
Hoffman, a 21-year-old nightclub bouncer from Garfield Township, had written before, including high school talent show sketches and "three short stories thrown together in a really weird loop," he said.
While brainstorming at the restaurant, they considered a sketch show and a mock talk show before the two 1994 Traverse City Senior High School graduates ("We're the meaty byproduct of honors education," Kelto said.) settled on "North Valley High."
"High school is such a perfect social microcosm to make fun of," Kelto explained.
Casting calls were made to friends, family and bar patrons. Final cuts were made based on whoever showed up on the first day of taping.
Three episodes, 10 to 30 minutes each, have been produced and Kelto and Hoffman hope to debut a new episode every two weeks.
Ultimately, they said they hope the show draws creative contributions from the community and a dedicated audience.
"CULT STATUS," Kelto said with emphasis. "We want people to sit down every week and be excited to see this."
Two types of celebrity exist to achieve, Kelto noted: the Tom Cruise and the Kato Kaelin. "We're going for the Kato."