web series
09/14/2007
"Quarterlife," New MySpace Series from the Creators of "Thirtysomething"
Thirtysomething creators Marshall Hershkovitz and Edward Zwick are no strangers to naval-gazing angst. They practically revived the genre singlehandedly. So it's no surprise that their new series, Quarterlife, takes a long, earnest look at today's twentysomethings as they search for their identity.
What is surprising is that this network-quality show isn't on any network -- it's on MySpace.
Based on a Hershkovitz-Zwick pilot rejected by ABC, Quarterlife will "air" every Sunday and Thursday beginning Nov. 11. A day after hitting MySpace, segments will appear on www.quarterlife.com, and a week after that, they'll be available webwide.
But what's it about? Well, in the broader scheme, it's about a group of friends struggling to find their way out of college. Specifically it's about one woman, Dylan (Bitsie Tulloch), and how her relentlessly honest blogging RUINS PEOPLE'S LIVES.
And, going by the trailer, it also seems there will be a lot of hugging.
The key thing about Quarterlife is not its subject matter -- or even if it's good or not -- but the fact that it is the latest in a number of professional projects that are legitimizing the Web as a place for creative content. What do big money and big names hitting the scene mean for indie creators? That remains to be seen.
But when one of the stars of "Lonelygirl 15" has a lead in a show by the guys behind Blood Diamond and The Last Samurai, the times, they are a changin'.
07/30/2007
Trenches
Now that the technology for producing high-quality special effects isn't confined to Skywalker Ranch, web series set in space are more possible than ever. But how many of them promise to be interesting character-based dramas as well? Well, there's at least one, if Shane Felux's Trenches lives up to the promise of its trailer.
Focusing on the front-line drama of an intergalactic war, the special effects are tight and the actors engaging -- the perfect solution for all those Battlestar fans jonsing for a fix. In short, it looks like Starship Troopers, without painfully fascist -- and it was produced on a shoestring budget by Stage 9 Media. We'll have more about this when it premieres this fall, but in the meantime just start getting excited.
