After a few technical issues, the second episode of “Era Man,” Boothbay’s one and only scripted television production, is finally available online through video hosting site Vimeo. The brainchild of Boothbay natives Ryan Leighton, Cody Mitchell and Brian Papineau, the show is described as a surreal social commentary on the trials and tribulations of growing up in a small coastal Maine town, sort of the “Wonder Years” meets a “Murder She Wrote” fever dream. The non-linear story arc and clever camera work aspire to higher artistic standards but Leighton keeps the operation simple.

“We write and produce each episode in the span of about two weeks. There is a bunch of planning and coordinating of schedules that takes a lot of time and energy,” said Leighton. “Most big shows on TV have the entire season written and then they take the next six months to film principal photography. With us, we're developing, filming, and editing everything in two-week blocks.”

The motive is not monetary; the idea was hatched to stave off the boredom and inertia that sets in during the long, cold winter months in Boothbay. It is set squarely in the 1990s and great care has been taken to recreate the era from period-specific music to the type of soda the actors consume. Like most do-it-yourself projects, “Era Man” has had obstacles.

“We operate on zero budget and we rely on people of the community as our actors, so we're definitely presented with a unique set of challenges for each episode we tackle,” Leighton said.

The trio have taken advantage of the sparse crowds in the winter to shoot outdoors. On a recent chilly afternoon at Barrett’s Park, the smell of summer was in the air as the Era Man crew tended to hot dogs over a charcoal grill, sipped bottled beer, and huddled together before shooting a critical scene for episode two involving the splash landing of a bicyclist into the frigid ocean. For this the Era Man producers turned to a cheap, affordable option, a willing but maybe unwitting intern from Boothbay Region High School. The community response to Era Man has been positive with many locals joining the cause. Leighton uses the support as a creative tool even if the actors are amateur.

“On the set, it's really fun to watch people who aren't trained actors tap into what I call their "Inner Brando" and for that moment they embody a character. Most everyone has a character or multiple characters inside,” he explained. “Everyone is an actor at heart. For me, this is my first episodic that I've written, so there is a steep learning curve in making dialogue and scenes flow together naturally. I start off with a character that I want to develop and then work them into a scene.”

The plan is for six episodes per season, depending on their schedule, to be rolled out over the next two months. Leighton and Mitchell currently work at local cable access Channel 7. As a former newspaper reporter, he appreciates the difference between writing news and television but counts his time spent at the Boothbay Register as valuable insight into the psyche of the town.

“My favorite part about the show is being on the set with all that energy, the room is just humming. To watch my words get interpreted by actors and then take shape into a scene, there's no better thrill. Working with Cody and Brian and the rest of our characters has been amazing,” he said.

All of the episodes of Era Man can currently be seen at https://vimeo.com/channels/eraman/161653281