According to the wikipedia article the show generated revenue by selling clothing worn by the characters, sponsorships and advertising for the movie Hairspray which can be seen at the end of every individual episode and placed periodically in between episodes in the weekly compilations. The official website is also trying to sell a downloadable version of the first season of Prom Queen on Amazon.com. Viewers can either rent the first season for $3.99 or buy it for $9.99.
Plot Summary
Prom Queen centers around a British exchange student named Danica and her peers. The cast of characters is the average slice of the high school pie with nerds, jocks and all the rest. But each of them has a secret and when one of the characters gets a text message that he is going to kill the prom queen tension builds as the day draws near.
Characters
Much like KateModern and Quarterlife, Prom Queen uses character profile pages to help the viewer to get to know each character better. Prom Queen uses MySpace profiles which can be accessed by clicking on each characters name.
Major Characters
Danica (Laura Howard)- is a British exchange student that the series revolves around. She has insomnia and a problem with sleepwalking that she takes medication for. She also has a video camera that she often uses to record her trip in America and to keep her occupied during her fits of insomnia. She is staying with Lauren and her mom Jill while she is studying in America.
Ben (Sean Hankinson)- is a smart, charismatic student who aspires to be president one day. He receives a text message saying he is going to kill the Prom Queen early on in the series which becomes the main tension throughout the series.
Sadie (Katy Stoll)- is Ben's sister and a quiet loner who writes for the school newspaper. She puts up an act that she hates the idea of prom, but in reality wants to go to prom with Chad.
Chad (David Loren)- is a star soccer player. He carries around a pick cell phone that he receives calls on from an unknown sender. Chad is trying to decide between going pro after high school or going to college so that he can go to medical school.
Nikki (Alexandra French)- is Chad's girl friend and friends with Lauren. She is the typical stuck-up know it all who wants to be prom queen.
Lauren (Haley Mancini)- is a flirt and friends with Nikki. Lauren and her mother don't get along well and numerous instances of the two fighting are caught on camera by Danica.
Jill (Amy Kay Raymond)- is Lauren's mother and teaches at the high school that much of the series is set in. She appears to be mentally unhealthy and has an obsession with Ben. She was prom queen when she attended prom and got pregnant with Lauren that night.
Courtney (Sheila Vand)- The girl who Ben likes. They are doing a school play together, but she has a second life, of sorts. is a girl that Ben is in a play in. Both Ben and Courtney like one another, but Ben's unusual shyness around Courtney and Courtney's after school job that keeps the two of them from developing much of a relationship.
Minor Characters
Michele (Kateland Carr) - known on the Prom Queen website as most likely to break your heart.
Nolan (John Shires) - known on the Prom Queen website as most likely to inherit a billion-dollar company.
Josh (Jake Shideler) - known on the Prom Queen website simply as Josh Becker. His MySpace profile names him as Jay Del Ray. Who is he really?
Brett (Andre Boyer) - known on the Prom Queen website as the class clown. Tries to make money by buying a portable blackjack table and taking it to parties, but never seems to have much luck.
Curtis (Mills Allison) - known on the Prom Queen website as most likely to destroy the world. Is good friends with Sadie, but later has a falling out when he finds out she wants to go to prom. Goes streaking in the third episode to make a viral video. Most memorable for his interesting t-shirts.
Narrative Style
Unlike KateModern which is told in first person by many different narrators, Prom Queen is narrated by the main character Danica as well as an unknown narrator. The way the camera is used contributes to the way the narrative is being told. There are a few episodes filmed by Danika that have the same feel as Kate Modern. In these episodes, Danica speaks to her audience directly breaking the traditional television technique. However, the majority of the episodes are filmed with techniques similar to television shows, adding to the series scripted feel. For instance the camera may be almost still while panning in on a character who seems to be unaware of it, while ambient music plays in the background. At the same time, some camera techniques seem amateur due to the movement of the camera as if someone we do not know is filming everyone. Although the characters are not actively participating in the audience’s involvement in the show, each character has their own MySpace page that help the viewers become more involved in their world.
Product Placement
- Macs are the only computers seen used by the characters in Prom Queen
- Various cell phones are used by the different characters, although none are directly commented about aside from the "pink phone" carried by Chad
- Throughout the series advertisements for the movie Hairspray are played at the end of episodes
Vidoes
"Prom Queen" - Episode 01 - The Long Walk
(Dave: Try to trim or move the summary and character sections so that you can have more room to discuss and develop the narrative style and connect with the other themes of the course, and other texts we have been talking about. Look at KateModern page for ideas. Also add external links and perhaps pictures as examples.)