Something Cryptid This Way Comes

"Something Cryptid This Way Comes" is the first episode of Down to Film's 19th Season. It premiered on October 25th, 2019.

## Plot

The episode begins with a group of college students (Rich, Molly, Wyly, Lola, and Nik) sitting in the War Room, discussing the results of the TSTV General Meeting. For unexplained reasons, Rich, the leader of the group, seems to be distributing points based on how many prospective recruits the crew members scared *away* from their show rather than how many they convinced to join it. Once he's finished tallying up the points, Rich proudly announces that they have recruited no new members and that now they'll have another season "without humans."

Before Rich can announce the winner of the "competition" however, another student walks into the War Room asking for the "executive producer of Down to Film." Everyone points to Rich, and the intruder identifies herself as Shauna, the new station manager. She tells Rich that he's late for a producer's meeting, and when he resists, she physically drags him out of the room, leaving the rest of his confused crew behind.

Shauna drags Rich to the producers meeting where we meet Terry, the producer of Late Night Sketches and Rich's rival. The two begin to antagonize each other but are interrupted by Shauna as she begins the meeting. She congratulates Late Night Sketches for attracting the most recruits at the General Meeting, then congratulates Down to Film on attracting their first new members "since OT left." This is news to Rich, who reacts with confusion. Shauna explains that two freshmen have joined Down to Film and that they'll be arriving today. Rich, horrified, tries to excuse himself from the meeting, but Shauna shuts him down.

Out in the plaza, the two freshmen, Daisy and Charlie, are walking towards the station. Daisy is worried about making a good impression on the crew of Down to Film, while Charlie is trying to calm her down. We learn that they've been friends since high school, but Charlie is trying to leave her awkward teen years behind her.

While the two walk, Daisy trips on a beige Cortelco desk phone sitting in the middle of the plaza. As Charlie examines the phone, Daisy swears that it hadn't been there a second ago, calling it a "Phantom Phone." Charlie dismisses this as ridiculous, but decides to keep the phone, saying that she likes its vintage aesthetic.

Meanwhile, inside, the crew of Down to Film talk amongst themselves. They're interrupted when Daisy and Charlie enter and apologize for being late. They sit with the rest of the crew and start talking about how great the show's promo at the General Meeting had been, with Daisy citing it as the reason she decided she wanted to join. The crew, meanwhile, sit in stunned silence. When Molly realizes that the two freshmen are there to join their show, she pulls herself, Lola, Nik, and Wyly into her Void.

In the Void, we see, for the first time, that the crew of Down to Film are not human. Nik has grown fangs, Wyly has suddenly sprouted hair all over his body, and Lola now has antlers and scales. The group discusses what to do about Daisy and Charlie. Wyly says that he doesn't understand why two humans joining the show would be such a big deal. Molly reminds the crew of what could happen if they were exposed. They could be experimented on, dissected, or worse. Lola suggests that they act as much like a normal television show as they can to throw off the two freshmen, and the others agree.

The group exits the void, with no time having passed in the normal world. Molly tells Daisy and Charlie that they were just about to start shooting their next episode and that the two of them don't have to help if it would be too inconvenient. To Molly's frustration, Daisy assures her that they are completely available and ready to help. Molly then tricks the two freshmen into leading her and the rest of the crew to the studio.

Meanwhile, back at the producers' meeting, Rich is still trying to get Shauna to let him leave early. When Shauna refuses, Rich tries to develop a plan to reach out to his crew and warn them. Suddenly remembering his cell phone, he starts texting Molly in emojis, assuming that's how "everyone communicated in the 21st Century." Shauna catches him texting, however, and confiscates his phone.