www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF520B844295C1CB

Casual 1.6: A Door/Window from Altermotion Pictures on Vimeo.

Casual 2.1: Transition from Altermotion Pictures on Vimeo.

Take Me Back - Chapter 5 from Joe and Seth on Vimeo.

Total runtime of all videos: about 90 minutes

Welcome!

This is the longest playlist I’ve done for two reasons. One, it is two weeks worth of videos, and two… let me explain.

You may have noticed that for the last couple of weeks, the posting has been a bit sporadic. And this week, I decided that instead of trying to keep up with the volume as I fall behind, just to post one new episode a day and focus on getting them out on time. So that means that the only episodes I posted this week are ones that will end up on this list.

I’ve also been focused lately with following up all the series I have started watching. That means that I kinda know going in which ones will get into the Friday Playlist. One of the reasons I started doing the Friday Playlist was for people who didn’t want to follow every episode we put up. But now most of the episodes end up going in this list. Plus, not a lot of people are using it, which makes me kinda sad.

So, I have decided to put The Friday Playlists on hold for a while until I get back on a regular posting schedule, and I figure out what I want to do with them. They’ll be back, but maybe in a different form.

Until then, this one may be a long one, but it is kick ass. So many great episodes - from dramatic to sweet to bust-a-gut laughing. Enjoy!

Friday Night Playlist | The Best Web Series from The Watch List – May 20, 2011

www.youtube.com/watch?v=D059623A297A861E

Episode 2: The Camera by Camera_Obscura

Casual 1.5: Little Things from Altermotion Pictures on Vimeo.

Total Runtime all videos: about 47 min

There’s the usual suspects on this playlist - Out With Dad, Casual, Space Hospital, Tyranny and Microwave Porn all have great episodes keeping them locked in the top spots. (Even thought I know that this episode of Microwave Porn wasn’t my favourite of them all - it’s still a great episode. You’ll laugh lots.)

Two surprises; one is Camera Obscura, which has the creepiest demon walking down a hallway sequence I have ever seen. And then there’s Blood and Bone China, a series that I wasn’t really loving, and although there’s some things about this episode that nag at me, they did a great job with the tension and suspense.

Hope you have an awesome week y’all!

Friday Night Playlist | The Best Web Series from The Watch List – May 8, 2011

Okay, I’ll stop now. But The Friday Night Playlist is just getting going! Better late than never, huh?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=B027F9C403E9D2A8

Casual 1.4: Cheese from Altermotion Pictures on Vimeo.

Take Me Back - Chapter 4 from Joe and Seth on Vimeo.

All Videos Run Time: About 38 min

There’s some awesome shows in this playlist. There are no surprises, anyone who’s been following the playlists for the last few months will recognize all these show. I hope that you’re enjoying them as much as I am. These are the shows that give my day a lift when I watch them.

One of the things that brings me the most joy of doing The Watch List is not having to stick to shows that are the most popular. Looking at the view counts for the episodes, some of them are only in the hundreds, while others, like Out With Dad, in the tens of thousands. (They are posed to hit a million views overall sometime in the next couple of weeks!) And while I think every one of these shows deserves their views to be in the millions, it makes me proud to be discovering and supporting shows of such consistent caliber. I’ve gushed about each of these shows this week, in fact, sometimes I’m a little embarrassed about how much of a raw fan I am of these web series, so I won’t subject you to more of the same here. But I will say this - all of these web series (and not only these web series) are as good if not better than most of TV and movies that spend millions of bucks to convince you to watch them. Which maybe isn’t the amazing part, because they all could have been made (and maybe would have been made) as independent, low budget movies before web series came along, and they would have been just as good.

Here’s the amazing part. If not for the web series format, you and I would probably never have seen them. In all likelihood, they would have been seen by 30 close supporters and maybe got a cheap broadcast sale and aired in the middle of the night. And all that time and effort would have vanished into the flood of entertainment and content that flows through our TV and movie screens.

We would have missed out.

To me, that we can hop on the internet and watch someone’s dream unfold, in HD no less, is absolutely miraculous.

And so, hook your computer or tablet up to the big TV, hit play on the playlist, and enjoy a small collection of the best of other people’s dreams.

Have a great weekend!

Friday Night Playlist | The Best Web Series from The Watch List – April 29, 2011

www.youtube.com/watch?v=10653A5D372C8A7A

Casual 1.2: Recalling… from Altermotion Pictures on Vimeo.

Casual 1.3: …That Night from Altermotion Pictures on Vimeo.

Due to my lack of posting last week, this playlist features episodes from both but week and this week - so there’s two episodes of Tyranny and two of Casual.

This is a great list this week, and including the two Vimeo episodes of Casual there’s somewhere around an hour to watch.

So set aside some time when you’re at home, make it big, make it loud and enjoy!

Keep watching!

Friday Night Playlist | The Best Web Series from The Watch List – April 22, 2011

This is where we put all our favourite episodes from the week into one playlist. This is the real reason we do the Watch List, so that on Friday you can put your feet up and watch a half hour or so of great web series without having to hunt or to click around between them. Just make it full screen and veg out!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD00E1594930E90C

Casual 1.1: Change from Altermotion Pictures on Vimeo.

[None of the above videos will play on a non-flash device, such as iPhones and iPads. Sorry guys.]

Whoa! We got a monster of a Friday Playlist for you tonight!

We start with the good episodes of 31: The Series. I don’t think you’ll have any problems following along. This web series is based on a gimmick - 31 episodes, 31 seconds long, over 31 days. The episodes are hit or miss, but when they hit I really like them. So here are the hits, in a row.

And then the first episode of the acclaimed family drama series, Out With Dad. This is only the first episode, only the set up but already I’m eager to get into the meat of the show. In many ways, this series appears to be similar to Anyone But Me, about a teen lesbian and her relationship with her dad. But this one focuses specifically on the father/daughter bond, and how coming out can effect it.

Our third series is a rip roaring episode from Aidan5 the series. I was a tiny bit disappointed by episode 4, so for those of you only following along through the Friday Playlists, you may notice that you missed some stuff - but really not much. This episode has a strong action scene off the top and a surprisingly effective character moment towards the end, and one last jolt to keep you wondering what’s going to happen next. Sweet. And this series can’t be cheap or easy to make, but the creators are pumping them out.

Followed by power house comedy Microwave Porn. What else to say? It’s a sitcom about a talking microwave? I don’t really keep a record of what shows make the Playlists, but I’m pretty sure that Microwave Porn is one of the very few series that never misses being included. Even some of our favourite shows have had episodes left off. Not this one. And we have a lot to learn from this show, I think. For one thing, their episodes are released months apart, not on so sort of regular schedule.

I told you this is a long one. Up next is the triumphant return of Space Hospital! This first episode from season two has a lot of what I love about the first season, minus a few familiar characters. But it seems more focused, somehow. And the effects are much better. Oh, and the apes are funny. Get ready for five weeks of seeing this show on the Playlists!

Second last in the YouTube playlist is The Variants, a branded web series about a comic book shop. To be honest, while it is well done, I’m not exactly sure why I like this series. There’s just something charming about it that works. I think the cast has more charisma to them than the average web series. And this episode is a lot of fun with everyone dressing up.

Finally, a fun caper episode for Captain Blasto. This is one of the first series I posted when I started The Watch List. Not, like, the first, but one of them. I haven’t been posting it very regularly (obviously) but in my defense clearly the first three episodes were set up to this one. Finally, we get into the action of Captain Blasto pretending to defeat his own army of goons. Maybe not the most original concept in the world, but fun!

And, as if that wasn’t enough, we have two bonus, non-YouTube episodes today. The brilliant and sweet romance drama, Casual, that I’m super excited to see more of, and the very slick and well directed Night of the Zombie King. I wasn’t 100% sold on the previous episodes, but this one is great.

Phew! That’s over an hour of web series bliss. Gorge yourselves, my pretties, and I’ll be back on Monday with all new episodes.

Friday Night Playlist | The Best From The Watch List – April 8, 2011

www.youtube.com/watch?v=93DD95589B1DF6C3

[YouTube Playlists still won't work on HTML5 platforms, meaning they won't play on iPhones and iPads. The individual videos do play.]

Cool cool cool.

This is a short one, so you have no excuse for not watching them all.

First up is a video that just got released today, but online and on The Watch List. 31 The Series is a horror series (seems like horror is the thing to do right now) that has 31 episodes, released on 31 days, each 31 seconds long. I hope they all live up to this first one!

And then followed by another short episode - this time Naomi The Show. This Vancouver based web series just picked up a few awards at the recent L.A. Web Fest. This episode is pretty funny, with a great blowline at the end that perfectly punctures the comedic tension.

This episode of The Virgin Mattress is the season finale. Some of the episode I really liked, and others didn’t connect with me. Overall, it was a charming show that I’ll kinda miss… at least until season two.

Throwing Stones is still going strong. Episode 4 sees some of the Breakfast Club type confessions we’d been promised. It doesn’t seem to go as well for these kids as it did for those 80′s ones. These kids turn on each other really quickly…

Oh ho ho! Tea, Biscuits & Incest. This is a really old show, internet wise. This episode’s been online for 3 years. It also pushes a lot of buttons. But you know what? Man, it is so over the top that it just makes me laugh.

And Anyone But Me. We’re just catching up on this show on The Watch List, but we may be the only ones. It is about to launch its third season, entirely fan supported. I wonder if this crowd funding model is gonna be the standard some day soon? The only problem I can see is that you’ll probably have to do your first season out-of -pocket, and will you ever make enough in subsequent seasons to pay that back? Or will you always be living hand to mouth and in the hole? I guess we’ll find out, cause it seems like every show out there is trying to raise fund this way.

And that’s it! Not only are there only 6 videos, but I think they’re all pretty short - only Anyone But Me is over five minutes.

Friday Night Playlist | The Best From The Watch List – April 1, 2011

www.youtube.com/watch?v=386412C0327839AF

And one more:

[Sadly, YouTube Playlists and this video from Vimeo will not play on non-flash devices. I'm working on figuring out a solution for the playlists.]

I’m a little pressed for time this week, so I won’t go into great detail about each video. Just to say there’s some fun stuff on there - well worth the half hour it would take to watch them through.

I’ve seen a few new visitors to the Watch List lately. First of all, WELCOME! I’m over joyed that you have found your way here. And return visitors - we love ya too!

I just wanted to say that if you’re new to the Friday Playlists, the best way to watch ‘em is full screen - on your big screen TV if you can manage it. Many of these videos look great in HD. Do whatever you have to do to get ‘em on your living room TV, settle back with your significant other, and watch the best web series from this week. Only don’t make out during these eps - save that for reruns of The Office.

Microwave Porn has become our anchor show lately, much the same way that the very much missed Untitled Fiction Project and a couple of other ones were. The only new one on this list is Broken Toy. Now, it is another series, like Take Me Back, that first came out a while ago but I only found the other day. They seem to be putting lots or time and effort into this series, because in the two or so years since this episode premiered they’ve only released a total of 4. Most web series block shoot, doing a certain number of episodes (usually the whole “season”) at once. But some, including Microwave Porn, produce each episode as they are able to. I don’t think there’s a right way and a wrong way - you just have to be honest about what you expect.

Radiance was a big surprise. With each episode I like it more and more. I didn’t really know what it was going to be about when it started, and I kind of like that. I have a good idea of the kinds of things to expect - what I have no idea what each episode will be about specifically. And that’s the sweet spot where you want to be, where it is clear what your web series is, without being predictable. Granted, it took me until episode 2 of Radiance to feel that way about it. Episode 1 is sort of a prologue and introduction.

Tyranny is still going strong, although I do miss the attention grabbing montage sequences of the first few. I do hope something big happens in the next episode to pay off the dramatic ending of this one. The Virgin Mattress is funny and charming, and this episode features Grace, who is stealing the show as far as I’m concerned. And then there’s the always surprising and delightful Break Ups The Series, with an interesting episode because the couple doesn’t talk about breaking up, but you this is the moment it is happening - and not in the melodramatic way that you may think from reading this last sentence.

And we finish with Vampire Zombie Werewolf. This is the sixth episode, and only its second time on The Friday Night Playlist. I like these last two more than the others because the producer has more to do than simply cowering in terror. This last one, in particular, he actually tries to defeat his hosts. And, of course, there’s the wacky scene with all the vampires. A nice visual gag.

And that’s it for this week. Have a great weekend!

Friday Night Playlist | The Best From The Watch List – March 25, 2011

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C20055069659399

Total Runtime: 40 minutes

One more video:

Take Me Back - Chapter 2 from Joe and Seth on Vimeo.

The above video from Vimeo won’t play on iPhones and iPads.

For those who are new to the Friday Night Playlists, the idea is that instead of you having to hunt for new web series episodes, watching one, and then hunting for another, here’s a way for you to hit play once and settle back on your couch to watch a bunch in a row. And it has all the best web series from the past week of The Watch List’s posts! It’s pretty easy these days to hook your computer up to your TV. You can even set the videos to HD, perfect for the big screen. So dim the lights and enjoy!

This week’s playlist has very short videos and very long videos. Naomi The Show, done out of Vancouver, is new to the Friday Night Playlists, as is Vampire Zombie Werewolf and Suite 7. All three of those shows have had earlier episodes posted on The Watch List, but only with their latest offerings have they made it to our weekly round up of the best of. Incidentally, if you like any of the episodes featured today, but you haven’t caught the earlier episodes, just click ‘series name’ on the right and then find the series you want to watch. Easy.

So, on with this week’s web series episodes!

First up is Moolt, a funny cartoon series that doesn’t seem to have a gimmick, like many of Mondo Media shows like Happy Tree Friends. The creator just lets his characters talk and interact - and it is pretty darned funny. Here’s a short little rant by one of them about the phrase ‘get back on the horse.’ The voice talent is great, too, with a sharp sense of timing.

And then we go series. Tyranny, episode 3. If you’ve been watching the Friday Playlists lately, you know all about Tyranny. Or maybe you think you do. Less montage, less adrift in time than the first two, this one is just telling us the beginnings of a story in 1999. Many web series talk about how they want to make a show like Lost. This is one the few that even come close.

Episode 5 of Bob and Andrew is the last one in the first season. It’s the wackiest of the episodes so far - complete with a conversation with Andrew’s devil. The big strength of this series is the writing. I can’t wait for season 2!

Another Episode 5, this one is Vampire Zombie Werewolf. This is a series that we’ve been following since it premiered, but it never really caught on with us (and with me) until this episode, that has tons of laughs. Int eh other episodes, I liked the jokey segments better, but here I liked the body of the episode, the character interactions, more than the gags of other (fictional) monster based web series. Although I would probably watch Werewolf Astronaut. I don’t think you’ll have that hard a time figuring out what’s going on without having seen the other episodes, but if you like it, you can go back and get your fill.

Naomi the Show has a nice little set-up. Naomi meets strange people at a bus stop. Each episode is short, which is nice. I like this episode for the twist gag at the end that pulls the rug out from under Naomi. And the actress, who is also called Naomi, does a great job giving the character a subtle mixture of ‘aw sucks’ and vanity that makes us both identity with the character and enjoy her being undermined at the end.

This next one is a long one - Suite 7 Episode 3. (At least I think it is episode 3. I noticed that my numbering on The Watch List is a little wonky. Have to go back and fix that.] This one starts off a little week, but about halfway in, when they start hearing the couple next door, there’s some really fun and funny moments in this episode from the branded web series, promoting a good night’s sleep.

And batting clean up this week is Microwave Porn! This is the first of a two parter in which Dave, with some help from Jennifer, tries to cure Allen the microwave of his porn addiction. You do not want to miss the montage (requested by Allen) featuring the microwave doing fun, outdoorsy activities at the cottage while singing about it.

Oh I almost forgot, there’s one more. Once you have watched the YouTube videos, make sure you watch Take Me Back, if you haven’t already. It probably makes more sense if you have watched the first episode, it is heavily serialized. Al has been kidnapped… and in this episode, we find out by who. Sorta kinda maybe. A weird, funny series, that was originally released, like, 3 years ago, that is incredibly nicely put together - it looks and sounds amazing - and has the same quirky tone of a Wes Anderson movie.

And that’s it for this week’ Friday Night Playlist - bringing you the best web series episodes that were featured here on The Watch List this past week. Enjoy!

Friday Night Playlist! – March 17, 2011 | The Best Web Series Episodes from The Watch List

Click here to view the embedded video.

Total Running Time: 29 minutes

This week I found a few videos that weren’t from Youtube. I still haven’t found a reliable way to create a playlist from multiple platforms. If any of you know one, let me know!

In the meantime, here’s two more videos that should be in the playlist.

Take Me Back – Chapter 1 from Joe and Seth on Vimeo.

This Friday’s list is interesting because, just coincidentally, there’s no comedies. Well, just one and it is really more of an odd drama. We got sci-fi, horror, drama, thrillers… and a mix of old and new.

First up is the second episode of the sound fiction series Aidan5. I’ve been waiting for this episode for awhile, and I was quite pleased not only that it came out on time but it rose up to the promise of the first one. It’s got a cool premise and an amazingly unique look!

It’s followed by a very tense episode of Throwing Stones. This horror series has me trying to guess who’s really behind the attack?

Third is The Resolve. If you haven’t read our review, let me just say that it drags a bit for the first 3/4 or so, but the rest is well worth it – in a totally creepy kind of way.

Second last is a bit of an amuse bouche in this list, an episode of the always surprising, and always rewarding, Break ups: The Series. This show has gone from cringe comedy, to wacky, and now to a very sweet and poignant scene.

Finally (in the Youtube playlist) is Tyranny. This series, much like Aidan5, uses a clever visual style and a cool gimmick to punch well above its weight. In this case it is some great editing and jumping between past and future. I’m hooked.

The first video below the playlist is Take Me Back, a series out of Montreal that’s been around for a few years now but I just came across the other day. It’s got charm, good acting, strong production, great writing… I don’t want you to think this show is perfect, but it is one of the best made web series I’ve come across.

And below that is the first episode of The Dominion, a brand new series. Much like The Resolve, what grabbed me was the end. I’ll try not to ruin it for you by giving too much away, you’ll just have to watch it yourself.

That’s it – thanks for watching! You know, I like finding great new series, but what I really love is doing these Friday Night Playlists. And the best part about it is that I can share them with you.

Friday Night Playlist! – March 11, 2011 | The Best Web Series Episodes from The Watch List

This was reviewer j2′s favourite show, and she tore through them in a hurry! If you want to start watching from the beginning, you can either go to the first episode here or check out their category page.

Or, if you just wanna catch the last four episodes, here they are!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Total Running Time: 30 minutes

Also, make sure to check out the full Friday Night Playlist for March 5!

Playlist Special – Funemployed!