Hard Drive 13 Ep.3 “Classified Steganography” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Conspiracy Thriller Web Series

3 Swirlies

“Classified. Yeah, that’s what Dad always used to say.”

This is one series that gets right to the action. You gotta admire that. And I finally get to see some of the shooting guns out of moving cars clips that we were teased with at the beginning of the series.

If you like your web series with lots of on the run, it is all a conspiracy, ‘watched the Matrix again last night’, you’ll love Hard Drive 13. If you’re looking for something nuanced and character driven, you should probably stick with something else.

Another Vancouver series, and this is very well made. Those green screen shots are hard to pull off - and while they’re not perfect, they are pretty good. And having guns on set, well… that’s either expensive (as far as web series are concerned) and you gotta call in a lot of favours. If you want to find a load of talented people looking for a fun side project to stretch their creative skills, I doubt there’s a better place for it in the world than Vancouver right now.

Where I think this series loses me is the story. I know, I’m watching some very interconnected episodes months apart, but I’m still not really sure about what it is about. I’m sure we’re meant to be intrigued by the mystery, and I’m not saying that I don’t want to discover things about the series as it develops, but I do want to know why I am watching. What makes this hacker so special? Is he looking for his father, or is he on the run from the government goons? The motivations of the characters are pretty vague.

And can I just say, what paranoid hacker on the run keeps using his cell phone?

From YouTube Description:

Nomad receives a cryptic message from an old friend; a strained reunion is abruptly cut short.

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More from the web series Hard Drive 13

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Hard Drive 13 Ep.2 “Firewall”

While on the run from the mysterious man in black, Nomad sees a UFO. Dee discovers her coworkers aren’t who she thinks they are.

2 Swirlies

“Time to bail! Gotta get off the grid.”

A big improvement over the first episode.

The plot thickens, with both Nomad and the scientist lady, I suppose her name is Dee, on the run.

If you think the government is out to get you, you’ll probably love this show – because the government is out to get them both. In the opening sequence, there’s lots of gun fire and excitement, but there’s very little of that in this episode. I’m not really sure what’s going on – and sadly, I’m not really intrigued enough to care.

But still, there’s certainly not enough of this type of show online. A little conspiracy, a little science fiction… and no zombies and no vampires. That’s a nice change. Not that I have anything against zombies and vampires – I love ‘em. But you can almost pick a web series at random and get your fix of zombies or vampires. I exaggerate to make my point, of course.

For Hard Drive 13, I’m sticking around until I see some of the clips teased at in the opening.

Hard Drive 13 Ep. 1 “Secrets”

Watch more Hard Drive 13 at http://harddrive13.com

The series starts with a bang as Nomad receives some very intriguing data, landing him and his hacker buddies in some very hot, dangerous water.

3 Swirlies

“My name is Nomad.”

It seems like Vancouver is a hot bed of web series. It makes sense, because Vancouver shoots a lot of “genre” TV shows, but very few homegrown productions – leaving a well paid, highly skilled workforce with few mainstream creative outlets.

In this first episode, we’re introduced to Nomad. Don’t call him a hacker, cause he’s a freedom fighter with a mouse.

Although a bit much with the voice over, this episode is a promising start. Like all hacker stories, Nomad and co. go somewhere they shouldn’t go and get some information they shouldn’t have – and the powers that be come gunning for them.

The series looks great, but – and I think I say this in almost every review? – I’d like to know a lot more about these characters. We’re told Nomad is looking for his father and his friend, but then the story starts with seemingly unrelated information grab. I should also mention that we’re already halfway into the video before the episode actually starts.

I feel like many people are still trying to pace a web series the same way they would a novel or a movie. You’ve got to somehow cram the same amount of story as a hour long TV drama into the much shorter form.

But the clips that hint to where the story is going look promising. Let’s see where number 2 brings us…