Watercooler: TV shows only part of the TV experience

Remember the dark days before we had the Internet and writers' strikes and all this multimedia synergy? Television viewing was so straightforward. So anticlimactic. You knew that "Dallas" came on at 8 p.m. on Friday, and if you wanted to watch it, you had one simple option: Get yourself in front of the television at 8 p.m. on Friday.

Today, of course, things are different. "Dallas" is about to become a movie, and television shows themselves are only one small component of the television-watching experience.

Anymore, popular television shows come with all sorts of sparkly, fun accessories - from webisodes to minisodes to character blogs, even book clubs.

I was reminded of this delightful fact earlier this week when an envelope from NBC arrived on my desk.

The contents: A DVD containing four webisodes of "The Office," available at (www.nbc.com/The-Office/webisodes/).

They're short little snippets, just a couple of minutes each, and they follow bumbling Kevin though his typically dippy attempts to pay off his gambling debts.

The webisodes don't advance the plot, nor are the main cast members even in them. But they certainly are good for a little "Office" humor during the long wait for the series itself to return.

The webisodes aren't even the only "Office" diversions out there. NBC's Web site also includes a blog by Dwight Schrute, written in-character in his hilarious, beet-farming voice, and called Schrute Space. (http://blog.nbc.com/DwightsBlog/).

Also at NBC.com, viewers can watch last year's webisode series, view deleted scenes, play an "Office" trivia game, even learn all about actress Angela Kinsey's surprise baby shower.

Meanwhile, another show has recently started dealing in minisodes. "Rescue Me," the Denis Leary cop drama on FX, had its fifth season delayed until spring by the writers strike.

So to tide viewers over - and keep them from forgetting about the show - "Rescue Me" is airing a series of five-minute mini-episodes. They started on June 24 and air at 9 p.m. Tuesdays.

I also recently spent a quality computer hour on amctv.com watching some behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast of "Mad Men."

And earlier this week, I read about a new online book club launched at ABC.com that hits upon every title ever referenced on "Lost." (A show that also has a history with webisodes.)

The first selection is "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac. Other titles will include "Carrie" by Stephen King, "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck and "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking.

Book club members can go online to discuss the reads with other fans, or if they're so inclined, they can order the books with a click of the mouse.

Many of the books on the list were read on the show by Sawyer, lounging on the beach in an airplane seat, squinting through his cobbled-together eyeglasses.

Which gives me a great idea for a whole new set of "Lost" accessories, which could be among the most popular yet - Sawyer-sodes.

I'd watch ‘em.

What are you and your friends talking about at the watercooler? E-mail Denise Neil at dneil@wichitaeagle.com.