I remember Murder in Small Town X. Basically what it was was a competition series in which a half dozen people are placed in a small town in Maine populated by actors (well, at least the individuals met by the competitors) who act out - in an immersive, always-in-character way - a Twin Peaks-style mystery. The competitors had to eliminate subjects. Instead of being voted off the island, losing competitors were murdered. Not literally, of course, but they were placed in a scenario in which the villain "gets them".
It was a very good show, and was a cut about the standard "Survivor"-style series in that it actually had a plot you gave a damn about. One of the female actors I remember being really cute in a Ginnifer Goodwin OUAT sort of way, too.
Actually now I think about it, it had a very Once Upon a Time vibe as well.
Unfortunately, and this is why we'll never see it released to DVD, the man who won the competition, Angel Juarbe, two weeks after winning the show - was killed in the World Trade Center attack on 9/11. He was a firefighter and died in the hotel that got crushed when one of the towers fell. I remember reading very emotional posts on the fan forum for Small Town X, both from fans and from the actors and fellow competitors.
According to Wikipedia, a British series from 2003 called The Murder Game was based on Small Town X. And there was also a version produced in Brazil.
But, yeah, I think the concept was a great one and I'd love to see them do it again.
Alex
