Fanon:Pleasantview (TV Series)

Pleasantview is a The Sims drama-mystery soap opera series created and produced by Nathan Banks. It is based on the neighbourhood of the same name. The series premiered on Youtube on the 2nd of April 2014.

The series takes place in the popular pre-made neighbourhood shipped with The Sims 2 game, Pleasantview. The show follows the lives of various characters that were present in the original Sims 2 game from the neighbourhood as they go through different storylines relating to that of the game's storylines.

The Series has so far received a positive reaction from people on Youtube and various other forums around the Web. It was  renewed for a Second & Third series as of April 3rd 2014.

Production
Origins

The idea for a TV series relating to Pleasantview was always said to be at the back of creator Nathan Bank's mind. In an FAQ section on the Sims 3 forum, Banks confirmed that the idea came after he watched various editions of the neighbourhood made into TV series on youtube and was unsatisfied with them. He claimed that the characters seemed lifeless at the best of times and most shows 'played it safe' and elaborated on what the creators at Maxis conceived with the storylines created for Pleasantview when The Sims 2 game was released. After jotting down the ideas and storylines of many of the plots from the game, Nathan began developing them into what could become a TV series. The first episode was filmed and produced and was shared with a few writers on a Sims fanon website, who stated the show would perform well if it was uploaded to youtube.

The show was officially announced on The Sims 3's official website, along with various forums around the web.

Writing

Script-writing was done by Nathan himself. The show's first episode was re-written several times due to the amount of characters provided. Originally the show as set to have 90% of the characters introduced with the original Pleasantview neighbourhood, however the idea of having so many plots and characters in one series was scrapped and many characters were cut. Although it's been confirmed that by Series three all of the well known characters that were featured in the pre-made town will have appeared in some way. The writing of each episode revolves around a centric plot, so instead of throwing plots around endlessly, there's a main storyline for each episode which gives the characters involved in that storyline enough time to shine.

Filming & Editing

There were complications as to how the series would be presented and filmed. The filming was originally going to be done using The Sims 2, however due to the high amount of versions on Youtube made with The Sims 2, it was decided that The Sims 3 was the next best choice. The homes and sims were re-created from scratch to represent their appearances in the original game and many community lots were build to mirror the exact same from the Sims 2. One of the important things for the plot was to incorperate the events from The Sims 3's Sunset Valley storyline into the Pleasantview one, so the pre-made town of Sunset Valley was bulldozed and the lots were re-build in that town. Banks said himself that the idea of featuring the lots in a Sunset Valley world was to give the audience a familiar balance so they'd recognise that Pleasantview was once Sunset Valley before it was re-named. The Editing for the show is done through Sony Vegas Pro and the language is recording in simlish. There were complications during the first few episodes as it became difficult to obtain different sims-speech other than that of The Sims's original game. Due to that problem, the first episodes of Season 1 had some complicated speech from the sims, although by the end of the first series the speech was corrected using simlish from The Sims 2. It has been confirmed that for the second season of the show, the filming will be transfered to The Sims 4.

Season's
Season 1:

The first Season of Pleasantview's central plot revolves around the disappearance of Bella Goth, who disappears in the very first episode. Her family go into emotional turmoil as they search for her in different areas of Pleasantview and Sim City. They're haunted not only be the disappearance of the wife and mother of the household, but also the growing pressure of people outside the family that wish to steal their fortune. The body of Skip Broke proves to be another main storyline of the series with the Broke family suffering twists and turn throughout with a shocking revelation at the end of it.

Season 2:

Season two will see the arrival of some well loved characters - amongst them are the Pleasant family, the Dreamer's and the Oldie's.

Characters

 * The Goths: The Goth family are main characters of the show. Similar to their storylines from the first and second Sims game, their storyline builds up to the disappearance of the wife and mother of the Goth home, Bella. Throughout Season 1 the family tries to track down their missing member but slowly begin breaking apart due to their family's decision making. The storylines for the Goth's are heavily influenced by their game counterparts, apart from the fact that Bella was in fact abducted by aliens. This plot was avoided due to the unrealistic nature of it being portrayed in a TV series.
 * The Caliente's: The Caliente family are also main characters of the show. They deal with their lust for money, men and their distrust of each other.
 * The Broke's: The Broke's hold one of the main storylines of the series. Instead of downplaying the death of Brandi's husband, his demise becomes a main focus point of the first season's plot. Nathan believed that the circumstances of Skip's death in the game were shady and so he decided to develop on them in this series.
 * Lothario's: Don's storyline remains similar to that of his game character's. His lust for women being his un-doing and his unfaithfulness are present during the series.

Episodes
Coming soon!

Critical Reception
The show has received mainly positive reviews from viewers and critics alike. The first episode of Season 1 was reviewed heavily upon it's release with one reviewer on the official Sims 3 website stating it was "fresh and gripping". Viewers on youtube have praised it too, most complimenting the way the show is made and others saying they find the plots gripping an enjoyable. The main flaw pointed out by viewers has been the sims speech in the first 4 episodes, but many have taken back the comments after the improvement of the final few episodes of Season 1.

One reviewer on 'Carl and Pam's Sims Forum' criticised the maturity of the show, stating the show should be family friendly due to it being based on a game for teenagers. The subject was brought up on another sims forum also, with many stating the scenes which were that of a sexual nature should be toned down more. However this has been one of the only main things critisized about the show.

The final episode of Season 1 was met with an overwhelming response as it wrapped up the conclusion of Season 1's biggest plots. Many stated the fantastic filming and also the twists and turns of the storyline which lead to it's conclusion. One reviewer said 'it kept me constantly on my toes and just when I thought I knew who did what, it changed and my mind was reset again'. Another reviewer stated that the cliffhanger in episode 7 was enough to make sure they did return for the second season.

Home Media Releases
The first season of the show has been confirmed to receive a digital download on the 28th November 2014. The link will be posted via youtube and other websites which will allow viewers to have the videos saved to their laptops, along with extra features and exclusive clips of Season 2.