4 Swirlies

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA2Hs-kBOP0

“These are the hands of Morgan Freeman”

Awesomeness.

This is part two of a three parter from the ‘growing up is hard’ webseries Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden.

There’s a lot of fun stuff going on - maybe favorite bits is the girls tittering over cute boys, and the simmering, quiet jealousy of Beth, played by Sarah Spencer. I think it is amazing because the whole storyline rests almost exclusively on the actor’s ability to emote. It can be risky, as a writer and director, to rely on your actor to communicate something that will make or break a moment. You’ll notice that pretty much all TV and movies have the characters telling us what’s going on at all times. Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden has some great acting and some not so great acting, but Beth’s role in the drama is to give longing glances out of the corner of her eye. A strong, subtle performance.

Then there’s the bizarre freestyle chant of “These are the hands of Morgan Freeman.” Is that a thing? Is that a reference to something? Or is it just something that Otessa Ghadar cameup with for this scene? It is kind of brilliant and deeply confusing at the same time. The delight the party goers have in joining in makes me think that there’s something going on here that I don’t know about. But then, much of the series gives me a voyeuristic sense, it is so believable and so specific.

My only complaint is that the YouTube description promises craziness, and except for the Morgan Freeman stuff, there’s not much craziness. I could have used more craziness. The episode is more about relationships - and while it works very well on that level I was hoping for a little more in the way of antics.

From YouTube Description:

Watch the craziness unfold as Beth and her friends tag along at Hunter’s house party. Hunter’s party has it all- indie bands, hot musicians, booze, and the objects of much teen girl idolatry: Adrian and Jake…? That’s right — JAKE shows up and things get super rocky for Sarah, who’s already had a pretty rough summer what with the Sarah-Jake-Maggie love triangle from hell. And poor Beth isn’t faring too well on her side of the Beth-Adrian-Rox love triangle either. Oh yea, and “The Hands Of Morgan Freeman” make an appearance too!

—

“Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden” (OJBG) is a fiercely local and independent web series set in Washington, D.C. about the lives of a group of teenagers growing up and getting down in the 90′s.

Visit us at http://OJinBG.com/ to check out our episodes, blog, news updates, character bios, and more!

Follow us on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/OJBishopsGarden/

Find us on Facebook:
http://facebook.com/OJBishopsGarden

“The bad things we do. The things we get caught for-and how they are never the same.”

French Subtitles by: http://www.univers-l.com/

- If you like what we do, please subscribe! You’ll get every web series episode sent right to your inbox! -

More from the web series Orange Juice in Bishops Garden
Back to The Watch List’s Main Page

Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden S01E07 “Midnight, Hunter’s Moon, Pt. 2″ | A Webseries Review on The Watch List

5 Swirlies

www.youtube.com/watch?v=riPg1BJC9Sw

“Water the plants, do the dishes, and no parties.”

What a fun, focused episode of the web series Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden.

I really like the storyline of Beth, her sister and her sister’s too-old boyfriend. I like the other storylines, too, but for the most part, Beth just quietly loathes her sister and crushes in the boyfriend, creating lots of subtle tension. The other storylines are more direct in the characters problems, like Sara being more or less a social outcast for sleeping with the guy that Maggie liked.

This is part one of a two parter three parter, and feels like it. I hope the next one is as fun as this one. (Thanks for the correction, Otessa!)

This series reminds me very much of the UK Skins at its best. As much as the drunken teen antics are played up for laughs and drama, there’s an honesty about it that sets it far, far apart from the almost unconscious moralizing that accompanies teen stories in mainstream fiction.

From YouTube Description:

Sarah is a hot mess after the fallout (ahem, being caught red-handed with Jake). She tries talking to Beth — but Beth’s just useless! However, Beth does have a parental-free house for the weekend. Score! Unfortunately, older-sister Hunter has some serious plans for a party without Beth. And, Hunter-the-Effortlessly-Cool-and-Scary… is used to getting her way. Totally pissed at the prospect of being kicked out of her own house — and the epic party — Beth plots revenge on Hunter (*and hocks something nasty in Hunter’s beloved CK-one perfume*). Then, Sarah and Beth decide to tag along + party-crash regardless and… well, just take a look and see!!

—

“Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden” (OJBG) is a fiercely local and independent web series set in Washington, D.C. about the lives of a group of teenagers growing up and getting down in the 90′s.

Visit us at http://OJinBG.com/ to check out our episodes, blog, news updates, character bios, and more!

Follow us on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/OJBishopsGarden/

Find us on Facebook:
http://facebook.com/OJBishopsGarden

“The bad things we do. The things we get caught for-and how they are never the same.”

French Subtitles by: http://www.univers-l.com/

- If you like what we do, please subscribe! You’ll get every web series episode sent right to your inbox! -

More from the web series Orange Juice in Bishops Garden
Back to The Watch List’s Main Page

Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden S01E06 “Midnight, Hunter’s Moon, Pt. 1″ | A Webseries Review on The Watch List

4 Swirlies

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRLWtXPiuNQ

“You know how Vanessa and I have been getting really close lately…?”

In honour of the start of the second season of Out With Dad on July 7th, we on the Watch List are running back to back postings of the last episodes of season one of this popular webseries.

This episode leaves anything dealing with Vanessa to season two, and instead leaves us on a cliffhanger - will Rose come out to her dad, Nathan? I mean, coming out to her friend is one thing, coming out to her dad, even though we as the audience know that he’d be more than cool to know the truth… well, it’s still something else all together.

The shot where Rose tells Kenny is particularly incredible; time stops behind Kenny. Was that done with green screen? Or was it simply time consuming aftereffects? If anyone involved with the production knows the answer, leave a comment and let us know!

The premiere of season two is only a couple of days away, and to wet your appetite, here’s a little taste of what’s to come…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHwWdGd1JEg

From YouTube Description:

In this finale episode of our first season, Rose finds coming out isn’t easy… even when you practice.

http://www.adrianelliscomposer.com/

- If you like what we do, please subscribe! You’ll get every web series episode sent right to your inbox! -

More from the web series Out With Dad

Back to The Watch List’s Main Page

Out With Dad Ep.8 ”Out With Kenny” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

4 Swirlies

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBDxZ9PnDCo

“Things are really starting to make sense.”

Wow, what a reversal for Rose. Just when things seemed at their worse, Rose seems to catch a break. Or does she?

This episode is one of the plottier episodes of the series, and certainly one of the least nuanced. There’s also some minor rough moments in the editing. But in the plus column, the shooting is amazing and the digital effects of the chalk drawings are really great - in a closer shot, they appear out of focus and closer to the camera, as they would be if they were physically present. Sweet. Plus there’s a surprisingly steamy make out scene. This series has recently hit 1.5 million views, and a steamy make out scene certainly doesn’t hurt on the internet.

I feel like all of a sudden the story has ramped up, and with only one episode to go. Will Rose’s love life be resolved in the last ep? Stay tuned to find out…

You won’t have to wait long! Season 2 of Out With Dad starts in just a few days of this post. In honour of the new season, which writer/director Jason Leaver has been tweeting up a storm over, The Watch List will post the last episode of season one tomorrow and then bring you the premier of Season Two as soon as it comes out. How’s that for exciting?

From YouTube Description:

In this penultimate episode of season one, things are shaping up for Rose.

Please tell us what you think! Your comments will be appreciated!

- If you like what we do, please subscribe! You’ll get every web series episode sent right to your inbox! -

More from the web series Out With Dad

Back to The Watch List’s Main Page

Out With Dad Ep.7 ”Chemistry with Vanessa” | A Webseries Review on The Watch List

5 Swirlies

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCdRmZlgISE

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you and Vanessa were-”

I’ll try not to gush, but this is another unbelievably strong episode of Out With Dad.

With almost no dialogue, more character than story, this episode gets us inside Rose’s head like very few other web series manage to do with their characters.

This was all around the slickest of the episodes so far, and while technically there wasn’t anything to compare to the special effects of the previous one, there was still some amazingly sharp and creative editing.

Maybe I’m getting old, but I’m really starting to appreciate character moments like I didn’t before. Sure, there were no surprises or plot twists. And yes, the wall to wall music helped - but at least they were original tracks carefully chosen and acquired for this series, not just a popular song stolen by the series in order to piggy back on its massive mainstream emotional connection.

Writing wise, you’d be tempted to say this episode didn’t have much. No dialogue means no writing, right? I’m not so sure. Having less spoken dialogue does put all the weight on the performance, something which a lot of early career writers, directors and actors try but fail to pull off. If you want a scene to be about what characters are thinking and feeling, instead of what they are saying, it takes too things. One, really great actors who are able to communicate what their character is thinking and feeling without saying it - which is about the hardest thing in the world - and two, a dynamite script. This last one might seem counter intuitive, but without a strong script, how can an actor know the exact right way to play the moment? It also takes a confident director to make sure the two - the acting and the writing - are working together.

Making a web series (or movie and TV show) is such a tough thing; it relies on a large group of people all working together - and if just one of them is off their game, the whole thing doesn’t work. Each person involved with the project, from writer to actor to sound recorder to the person doing the final mastering, they all have to excel at what they do in order for the end result to be any good. That’s the job of the director and the producer.

And besides all that blah blah blah I was just spouting off about, I think this episode really works not only because everyone involved is doing a great job, nt the least of which is creators Jason Leaver and Eric Taylor, but Kate Conway (who plays Rose) is simply amazing.

From YouTube Description:

Ingredients for a high school party: a parentless basement, mood lighting, a dancing fool and someone crying in the bathroom.

Read about the making of this, and other episodes here:
http://www.outwithdad.com/Making-Out

This episode features the following music:

“Steady Beating Drum” by Lara Martin
http://www.myspace.com/laramartinsongs

“Side Swept” by Late July
http://www.latejuly.ca, where you may listen and download “Side Swept”, unabridged, plus other songs from her EP by the same name.
Watch the music video produced by the makers of Out With Dad here:
http://www.outwithdad.com/news/side-swept-music-video

“Time is Wasting” by Dan Beausoleil
http://www.youtube.com/DanBeausoleilMusic

French subtitles by/sous-titres français par: http://www.univers-l.com

Visit us: http://www.outwithdad.com
Join us: http://www.facebook.com/OutWithDad
Follow us: http://www.twitter.com/OutWithDad
Watch us: subscribe to our YouTube channel

Please tell us what you think! Your comments will be appreciated!

- If you like what we do, please subscribe! You’ll get every web series episode sent right to your inbox! -

Out With Dad Ep.4 “Party Out” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

4 Swirlies

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDQ8qZFSuIM

The opening teaser of this episode is a lot of gross fun - as the teacher tries to wash blood off his hands with one of those sinks that only runs for a split second before you have to pump the handle again.

The rest of the episode was good… if a little melodramatic. One the strong points of this web series is the acting of the teens. They really connect with me. It’s not an easy feat to sustain that level of emotion over multiple episodes, as short as they may be.

And this is a very short episode. I like where they ended it, a very dramatic break, but I wonder if the creators could have rolled this episode in with the previous one? Given us a slightly longer single episode with a little more time to tell their story.

From YouTube Description:

Throwing Stones is a horror story about a group of high schoolers who have to attend Saturday School and find they must work together to overcome their differences in over to survive when students end up missing. As if, high school wasn’t scary enough! The series stars Lindsay Seidel (Lionsgate hit The Final), Cherami Leigh (The Mist, Fast Food Nation, HBO’s Temple Grandin), Rebekah Kennedy (upcoming horror features Blood is Blood, House Hunting, and Season of the Witch w/ Nic Cage), Chad Cox (Powder, ER, Spin City, The Good Guys), and Kayla Carlyle (From the Dark), Lynn Andrews III (MTV’s: High School Stories). Writers Bart D. Van Bemmel and Jason A. Wheeler have five feature-length screenplays in production including their dark comedies BUTTERSCOTCH, SWISHER, ANGELS AND DUST, their teen comedy RUSHED, and their teen horror THROWING STONES (which this web series if based on).

To find out more about “Throwing Stones” visit: http://www.throwingstoneswebseries.com.
Follow on Twitter @StonesWebSeries or LIKE us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/throwingstoneswebseries

- If you like what we do, please subscribe! You’ll get every web series episode sent right to your inbox! -

More from the web series Throwing Stones

Back to The Watch List’s Main Page

Throwing Stones Ep.4 “Sticks and Stones” | A Web Series on The Watch List

4 Swirlies

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhY5DylarpE

“You know whose opinions have way too much power? The reviewers. They can be so trashy and mean.”

Oh… it looks like the mysterious girl from the first episode was someone that Vivian knew. Interesting twist.

I feel like this episode is sort of the start to this series. I like the rich set up that it has and the conflicting desires of Vivian. She wants her old life, but it is gone. She wants her dad to be okay, but she wants to go see her girlfriend. I just wish a little more would happen in each episode - I like a strong sense of beginning, middle and end.

This is definitely we favourite episode so far.

From YouTube Description:

A lot can happen in one day.
Latest episodes and info on ABM at www.AnyoneButMeSeries.com

- If you like what we do, please subscribe! You’ll get every web series episode sent right to your inbox! -

More from the web series Anyone But Me

Back to The Watch List’s Main Page

Anyone But Me S01E03 “Countdown”

THE SPAM SCAM: Ruby Skye P.I. is a detective series for tweens. In her first mystery, The Spam Scam, 15 year old amateur girl sleuth discovers that a neighbor has fallen victim an email scam and vows to get her money back, but the clues lead in all the wrong directions. Pretty soon, Ruby has no friends left. Can Ruby solve the mysteries and win her friends back?

4 Swirlies

Click here to view the embedded video.

“I was there too. I was the one with the Mentos.”

The final episode of Ruby Skye P.I. I’m sad that it’s over but I’m glad that we’ve finally arrived at the bottom of all of the mysteries Ruby wanted to solve. Madison Cheeatow (Ruby) was consistently strong throughout the series as a genuine Ruby Skye. I liked the scene with Ms. Springer waving Ruby into the room with a giant pair of scissors. Or maybe they were shears? Anyway, the blades were a foot long. I also really enjoy the playful score featuring what I believe are clarinets.

My main criticism is that this episode seemed kind of anticlimactic, since it comes after the resolution of the main mystery and doesn’t tie up that many loose ends. Such as: why did Diana frame Ruby for shoplifting? But it’s nice that the show finishes with Griffin and Ruby as BFFs again. I also wish the connection between the clown, the petition and Griffin’s dad had been a little clearer. I had to watch the episode twice to follow Ruby’s logic. Or maybe I’m slow.

So, if you haven’t watched the whole series yet, CHECK IT OUT! Especially if you are between the ages of 8 and 12, use words like “whatev” and “smarticles,” and all of your interactions with your friends are documented on your iPhone, Facebook, or email.

Congratulations, Ruby Skye team, on your beautiful show.

Ruby Skye P.I. Chapter 12: Duh Duh Duhn – A Comedy Web Series

In Chapter 10: Seven Minutes in Heaven, Ruby faces danger, claustrophobia, a ticking clock and one very angry sister. Only science — and YouTube — can save Ruby and her friends now.

5 Swirlies!

“That janitor just threw me in the closet, and I’m not talking to you.”

Whoops! We here at the Watch List accidentally skipped Ruby Skye episode 10, and already posted 11. Sorry, guys! Here’s Episode 10 for your viewing pleasure.

Now that we know who is behind the Spam Scam, things are getting tense for our heroes, Ruby, Griffin and Hayley. How do they get outta that closet? Well, it’s nothing short of meme-tastic!

Ruby Skye Ep. 10 “Seven Minutes in Heaven”

Ruby Skye P.I. is a comedy web series for tweens.

5 Swirlies

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Yo Vinnie! You SUCK at rock paper scissors!”

This episode earns 5 Swirlies because I like the scoring for the wedding march. This installment of Ruby Skye draws together all of the characters we’ve encountered up to now — and draws one mystery to a close. The little girl throwing petals during the wedding scene reminded me of a funeral at first, which I guess is kind of apt given that the groom is a profiteering criminal.

Watch this episode if you want to see a wedding crashed, a wall of bottles, and goofy adults on the run.

With one mystery solved, what’s going to happen next ??!?!

Ruby Skye P.I.: Chapter 11: Best Served Cold