I-98: Introduction

For background to this post, please see a recent post: rumors of an I-98 to be built across North Dakota.

From wiki:

Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America in a Chevrolet Corvette sports car. It ran weekly on Fridays on CBS from October 7, 1960, to March 20, 1964. It was shot on location, and though it derived its title from a famous American highway, very few episodes involved that highway. 

The program starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for the first two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock.

Route 66 was a hybrid between episodic television drama, which has continuing characters and situations, and the anthology format (e.g., The Twilight Zone), in which each week's show has a completely different cast and story. Route 66 had just three continuing characters, no more than two of whom appeared in the same episode.

Long-time readers will remember the Keystone XL series "As The World Turns" on the Million Dollar Way blog. The last episode was aired almost exactly one year ago. [At the link, you will have to scroll down to the video.]

If all goes according to plan, a new series for the Million Dollar Way, "I-98," will begin airing sometime next week on the blog. It will be a shameful copy of Route 66 with some changes. For one thing, I-98 does not exist yet, so in some sense the series will be a foreshadowing of events yet to occur in the Bakken. In addition, the Bakken characters will be seen driving not less than four vehicles during the two North Dakota seasons: August and winter.

During August, the two protagonists will be driving a yellow Lamborghini bought at the Dallas Lamborghini dealership in Plano, Texas. During the winter, at least one of the vehicles will be the Porsche Cayenne. The other two vehicles will be "product placement" vehicles and will be selected based on terms of the royalty contract the blog receives for featuring those two cars. I'm hoping the Tesla Model S will compete. [Don has already sent one suggestion for a "product placement" vehicle for the spring flood months in the Bakken.]

As in the original series, there will be three main characters, but only two will be featured at any one time.

Samuel "Oilman" Goshwin will be a billionaire oil operator in the Bakken.

Liam Nikolai Gjorkstad ("LNG") will be a Norwegian natural gas promoter who after giving up on a huge wind-generated electric transmission line in Minnesota comes to North Dakota to promote a natural-gas-long-haul trucking corridor on the new I-98.

Because of Goshwin's competing interests outside the Bakken, a third character, Archie McCool, a North Dakota lignite tycoon will often be seen.

Generally, only a synopsis will be provided of each episode.