2010: The Year of the Web Series

Infancy or not, the web series phenomenon is here -- and it's here to stay. Technology has made it possible for aspiring filmmakers in the remote parts of the world to develop, write, cast and produce web series that are worlds apart from the gritty backyard films that made YouTube famous. Webisodes are no longer trendy, they are mainstream.

In some ways, the industry speculated correctly about the effects of accessible technology on independent filmmaking and the video generation. YouTube exploded in the last two years, giving rise to other video sites like Vimeo, Exposure Room and Hulu. The world flocked to these sites to view and upload content. What wasn't accounted for was the slowing down of the Hollywood machine -- the machine that once gave limited access to independent filmmakers -- to the point of near total exclusion of new filmmakers. Filmmakers with completed feature films, some with name talent, have had to go back to the distribution drawing board after festival screenings resulted in zero sales. Where did these filmmakers turn? They turned to the one media source they could control: the Internet distribution.

The same can be said for actors who've seen their featured roles go to name talent in an effort to increase the marketability of studio films. Some actors have created their own web series in an effort to showcase their talents. Others have turned to web series because that's where the work is.

2010 promises to be an abundant year for web series. From series shot on cell phone cameras and produced on $99 video editing programs to professional quality web series with recognizable names attached as director or lead actor, edited on professional editing programs and scored by award-winning composers -- the year will explode with webisodes from all walks of life. Although viewers can expect to see much of the same as previous years -- homespun talking-heads videos with little to no story -- many new web series will be bigger, better, funnier and possess well-crafted stories and exponentially better performances.

A look at Mashable's list of Top New Web Series for 2009, based primarily on hits leaves very little for video watchers interested in more than comedy or gaming. However, there is a larger video world out there comprised of smarter, better written and better performed dramatic web series. In that world there is an audience that wants a web series experience that resembles cable TV more than it does YouTube.

Apocalyptic Playground. A web series with little to no dialog? Creator James Rhodimer (writer/director) makes it work with stunning in-camera visuals, crafty camera work and a good-looking yet diverse cast. With the first 10 episodes in the can, in this surreal SciFi drama we quickly understand that the landscape is a character. The rich locations give birth to remarkable ad-libbed and scripted performances by an ensemble cast. In AP we're introduced to several characters with unknown origins. Seemingly, their only link is that they have no knowledge of where they are or what happened to the world. However, they are all connected by invisible wormholes -- pockets of energy that transport them across the desert plains, and through time and space. The series is beautifully shot in locations most independent filmmakers only dream about. Tight editing, with a touch of the experimental, adds to the film's surreal parallel universe feel. Despite the series' noticeable lack of dialog in the first few episodes, the playful performances and hint at dread is satisfying. Actor Michael Allen Burns is particularly interesting to watch with performances that border on the brink of Three Stooges-like genius and Forest Gump likability. The score is ethereal and ambient but well composed and perfectly matched to the action.

Resurrection of Serious Rogers is a promising dramatic web series. Developed with a feature film mentality, the first season's twelve episodes were written as one long-running story, creating a cohesiveness that is often absent from a web series that is written and shot episode-by-episode. Serious Rogers markets itself as an action thriller web series in the vein of The Professional meets The Usual Suspects, and with the provocativeness of Basic Instinct.Serious Rogers is told via a fly-on-the-wall perspective as the story of Sarah "Serious" Rogers (Cooper Harris) unfolds via an interrogation scene between Trixie (Mercedes Manning) and FBI Agent Martin (Jamie Fishback). As Trixie weaves her tale about a highly skilled assassin who went berserk it becomes unclear what parts of the story are fact and which are fiction. As Trixie lures Martin in with her confounding story she begins to suspect that Martin's intentions aren't as noble as he claims. So the cat and mouse game continues, the roles changing back and forth.

As the story continues to unfold we learn about Ms. Rogers -- the perfect assassin who suffered heartbreak and shame, turning her into an emotional unprofessional killing machine. We learn of the perverted senator, Victoria Ritchey (Amelia Pawlak), with a fetish for young women. Victoria calls in a contract hit for her nanny after she sexually assault the young woman. We learn about Serious' boss, the Mystery Man (Jeff Torres), a puppeteer of men who's plugged into government and organized crime. And we learn about the rogue, drug-addicted FBI agent, Hooper (Philip Hersh), who's life and career was ruined by the Mystery Man and now he's out for biblical justice. Vanity (Nancy Corbo) promises to be a nemesis of epic proportions. Created by an award-winning writer/producer, shot by an avant-garde cinematographer and cast with rising talent the series may delivery things notably absent in many web series: good writing, a good story, and great performances.

SOLO - the Series is an upcoming comedy sci-fi web series by writer/star Jonathan Nail (AMC's Mad Men, HBO's Carnivàle, Criminal Minds). It is, quite naturally, set in outer space. In SOLO, the hero, Scott Drizhal (played by Nail), is chosen to go on a solo, three-year mission to Mars as part of a reality series. Unfortunately the show is canceled and Scott is now stuck on a round-trip ticket to Mars and back. With no company in deep space other than a smart-alec, artificially-intelligent ship computer (PHAL), his wife declaring him legally dead so she can claim the millions in insurance, a Napoleonic producer whose hubris lands him and the show into Japanese mafia infested waters and a malfunctioning, prototype ship that was never meant to fly to Mars. Hilarity ensues. The series also stars Michele Boyd (The Guild) and Jason Burns. Solo is being pitched to major cable TV networks with firm commitments to the development and creation of original Internet content.

Who Shot Mamba? is the quintesential silly-comedy-played-straight, with a Dragnet cum Kojack cum Naked Gun feel. Straight from the demented mind of its star and writer, Brian Spaeth, the show is hilariously funny and the performances are near perfect, most notable is Dominic Pace. The series also boasts well-known names like Ted Lange and Bill Walton -- yes, that Bill Walton. The film/series is proficiently directed by Dustin Pearlman who also moonlights as the Director of Photography. In WSM, when Merri Sherman (Spaeth) is framed for the murder of his best friend, a charismatic snake named Mamba, he must follow the ominous, doom-laden instructions of the Prophesy of the Orange Roundie in order to unravel the truth and clear his name. Enter Detective Tracey Riggs (Pace) on a whacked-out and obsessive mission to solve the murder and put Sherman behind bars. To clarify some things: the Orange Roundie is a magic glowing basketball that could destroy the entire world, one of the main characters is an inflatable gang leader, and in case you missed it, the titular Mamba is a talking snake. Who Shot Mamba? was conceived as an online venture and was written much like a MOW with breaks and cliffhangers. Although the creators of Mamba explored other distributions options including cable TV, their original plan of releasing the broadband motion picture is working out well. If audiences are lucky, a second season is in the works too.

Sites such as Hulu, KoldKast and the Streamys offer an insider's perspective on many new web series. Often, the behind the scenes action is as fun to watch as the series themselves.

Stay tuned to your computer.