Video games that are based off of movie or television licenses have a reputation for either being not nearly as good, or faithfully as disappointing as their source material. There are exceptions to this rule, though they are few and far between. But then there are cases where Hollywood completely drops the ball and neglects a premise that—while it may be hit or miss cinematically—begs to be given a video game treatment.

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Say the words “TV tie-in video game” and the only phrase that could top the number of apathetic stares generated would be “movie tie-in video game.” Upping the ante to “TV tie-in MMO” probably wouldn’t inspire any greater confidence in the average gamer. Where’s the hype for “Oprah Online?”

Certainly the main issue with making a successful television MMO isn’t a dearth of sources or a lack of an audience. Rather, it’s the fact that most television shows don’t have three key ingredients necessary to provide a fun MMO gameplay experience: canonical depth, evolving interpersonal conflict, and (simply put) “work.”

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