If you’re a Chesapeake Collectibles fan, you’re probably a member of a powerfully bonded community — or two, or three. Even if you didn’t realize it.
Series executive producer Patrick Keegan, who was newly at the helm when he guided the show through its recent 11th season, didn’t think much about his relationship to objects before his work on the program. He just figured, for instance, that he and his wife were “drowning in books.”
But now he’s much more reflective about the things he’s attached to — about what he “loves” and why — and he has surrendered to collector behavior with a self-teasing acknowledgment that it’s a compulsion as well as a joy. And that it links him with countless others who are equally driven, and who see in Chesapeake Collectibles the panorama of people’s, er, obsessions.
“I have a particular passion for terrible movies by deluded auteurs,” Keegan says cheerfully, noting that some of the very worst films had extremely limited releases and distribution. Which means he’s now leaning into quests that include “the most obscure material to be found on Blu-ray and DVD.”
Inevitably, of course, he has been drawn into contact online with those who have common interests, so he’s steering into the quirky learning curve of simultaneous collaboration and competition. Anybody out there know where to look for copies of the cult film “After Last Season”? Yes? Great, but shhh, just tell Patrick.
The cultural backdrop to this fun, besides the fascinations of collector psychology, is additional education for Keegan as a TV producer. He has developed a much keener sense of the importance of physical media given the increasing challenges for consumers in preserving access to digital material. The downloading and streaming world is complex and fragile from both business and technological standpoints, and there also are issues with being able to see or hear material in its originally produced form.
“The passion of our guests and appraisers on Chesapeake Collectibles greatly increased my appreciation of the values of physical things,” says Keegan.
He also benefits from the good fortune of having enthusiastic support from a particular community of one that not every collector receives.
“I greatly appreciate,” he notes emphatically, “that my wife has joined me in this obsession.”
Chesapeake Collectibles’ producers are making plans for season 12! In the meantime, be sure to watch Chesapeake Collectibles – Behind the Scenes, a special look at the making of the beloved series, on Monday, June 10 at 7:30 pm. Series fans can also catch a replay of the entire 11th season on Mondays at 7:30 pm, on the free PBS App, and online at video.mpt.tv/show/chesapeake-collectibles/.