Karen L. Newman has been a published writer since 2004 in the horror, science fiction and fantasy genres. Over two hundred and fifty of her short stories and poems have been published both online and in print. Her books include EEKU (Sam’s Dot, 2005) and ChemICKals (Naked Snake Press, 2007) and her work has been nominated for a Dwarf Star Award. She won the 2005 Mary Jane Barnes Award and two of her poems received honorable mention in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror. She edits the online magazine Afterburn SF, which publishes speculative short stories, and is the editor for the print poetry magazine Illumen. She also write reviews for Dark Discoveries. Her reviews have also been featured in Noneuclidean Cafe, The Dream People, Night to Dawn, and Gothic Review.
Having different lighting to show each different universe is not original. I saw it on the few episodes of Charlie Jade that aired on the Sci-Fi channel before the series was suddenly removed. It was appropriate that the evil universe was shown in a darker light. The set design for the Fatboy industry was well done. However, I suspect it was computer-generated. With the fate of the show uncertain, I can’t see the producers plopping down big bucks. The actors were able to show their chops with the different roles. I thought Matt Keeslar was wonderful as the evil Middleman. I really didn’t see what a good actor he was before because I felt that Natalie Morales overshadowed him.
Will The Middleman come back? In today’s climate where shows like New Amsterdam don’t make it, I think odds are against it. Being on ABC Family should help. I hope it does return for another season. It’s been a fun ride and I want to see what happens next.