Newark resident shoots TV pilot on Main Street

This past weekend when shoppers walked into Flavor Clothing, they were immediately confused by the grown men wearing kiddie cowboy hats and fake mustaches. Their eyes zeroed in on a camera as the store's employees explained the bizarre scene before them. It wasn't just any bizarre scene — it was a one being filmed for the pilot episode of a new TV show called "Watching the Detectives."

"That's a wrap, people," says Tim Carr, the show's creator. "I think we got something hot."

Filming for the pilot episode took place in Newark throughout August, with the last scenes shot on Saturday at Flavor Clothing and Frolic, which is also located on Main Street. The show is about department store detectives who go undercover to catch shoplifters.

In the pilot episode, Carr's character decides to take on a position as a mall detective after getting divorced from his wife and fired from his job. Carr says his character is just trying to find his way in the world and in the last few minutes of the episode, surrounded by jeering antagonists, he finally starts to stand up for himself.

"Here were five guys making fun of him. My character had already been hit by a car, he doesn't know what he's doing. He's just trying to swim with the big boys," Carr says.

"Around minute twenty he steps up and says he's going to make a go at this because, yeah, he got hit by a car, but he feels alive. It's that on-going philosophy that maybe any change isn't necessarily a bad change, maybe him getting fired and him getting divorced is his chance to start over."

This final scene was shot in Flavor Clothing, where recent employee and university senior Garrett Mutz was asked to stand in as one of the rivals mocking Carr's character.

"My acting career started today, it's kind of funny," Mutz says. "I'm a visual communications major and I've worked with film a lot so for me it's really cool just to have them at work."

The store remained open during filming, and Mutz says the store and the film crew tried to be mindful of one another.

Jamey Godfry, owner of Frolic, says the crew shot about three short scenes on their last day of filming.

"They were shooting a shoplifting scene," Godfry says. "They were pretending to be shady so it was pretty funny."

He says he hopes the show takes off so Carr returns to film more in the store.

Carr, who lived in Newark when he was younger and now owns a home in the area, says he has always loved the spirit of the town. He misses Main Street venues like The Stone Balloon for their independence and vitality.

"The more I came back the less independent it became; it became more corporate. There's more giant coffee conglomerates and tanning beds," Carr says. "I just wanted that spirit back."

One of his goals is to bring attention back to the independent businesses in Newark, which is why he chose to film on Main Street rather than in the Christiana Mall. On top of that, he says, he sees Newark as the "express lane to the United States" because of its proximity to cities, beaches and other states.

"Whatever I was doing I would always try to bring it home, come back and involve the town and Delaware," Carr says. "You really have a lot to work from so that's what brought us up here."

Carr first got the idea for "Watching the Detectives" about ten years ago after he worked in the Christiana Mall as an undercover security guard for one of their department stores. He would walk around the store in normal attire and then take action if he saw someone shoplifting. He was 19-years-old, recently dumped and starting his life over, he says. He began to think that would be a good starting point for a show.

"Working at the mall I used to dream of doing TV, now I'm doing TV and I'm filming that job," Carr says, laughing. "Who does that?"

He started making phone calls in January and found a network that was interested in the idea. The only problem was they wanted to have all rights to the show, meaning they could change characters, content or kill off the entire cast. Carr decided to take matters into his own hands and film the pilot episode on his own.

"I said ‘Look I'm gonna go shoot this on my own dime, take it to my own town, and I'll bring the finished product to you and if you want to put that out then we can talk,' so it's kind of a ballsy move," Carr says.

One thing he wants to accomplish with the show, he says, is to have a strong supporting cast reminiscent of shows like "The Simpsons" and "Scrubs." The five core characters are played by Carr, Keith Bullard ("The Happening"; guest appearances on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"), Brian Anthony Wilson ("The Wire"; "Law & Order SVU"), Lymen Chen ("The Departed") and Mark McGraw ("Spice Up My Kitchen"). From there Carr plans to build a large base of at least 100 characters.

The first episode introduces approximately 15 to 20 characters.

"In a 22-minute episode we have 6 characters already that are going to be tormenting us for the rest of the season," Carr says.

Actress Liv Allison plays a shoplifter in the first show, and says she is excited to see what happens next with the show and with her character.

"I enjoy being the secret bad girl, I'm just waiting to see how it develops," Allison says. "Tim's always really creative."

Actor Mike Schoch plays a parking lot streaker, and says he doesn't know much about his character except for the fact he is creepy.

"I creep myself out playing him," Sehoch says. "Maybe we'll find out more what's ticking inside his head there. I'm dying to know myself."

Another thing Carr says he hopes to accomplish with "Watching the Detectives" is longevity, something he thinks the show has the potential to achieve because it is fresh and unfamiliar. He says he thinks TV is starting to suffer from a sense of familiarity and shows following the same kind of formula.