Dead End Days – Ep. 7 “Something’s rotten at Monopoly Video”

Something is afoot at Monopoly video, something sinister, and underhanded, or at the very least something involving underground zombie movies.

4 swirlies

“We here at Monopoly Video don’t believe the content of such films is appropriate in today’s tumultuous sociopolitical climate.”

Dead End Days shows us a slice of life in a society where zombies are integrated into the culture and respected.

But would you expect any changes in your local video store? I like how this series examines this society through small scenes of the daily grind – here, Zombie movies are now considered politically incorrect. Eric takes on a role, not unlike your local drug dealer, hustling these illegal movies to private customers. Don’t expect any gory zombie attacks or feasts on brains from this series, but instead, a look at how your life might change if the ‘undead’ were living peacefully as your neighbour. Would you live in suspicion and fear, or embrace this new demographic and find a way to make money off them?

More episodes at www.deadenddays.com

You Suck at Photoshop – Ep.2 “Covering Your Mistakes”

MORE: http://www.MyDamnChannel.com/BigFatBrain

4 Swirlies

This is an old one, but this episode made me laugh each time I’ve seen it.  I came across it like most people, looking for tutorials on how to use Photoshop.  What I like about it most is the smoothness of the screen performance.  Anyone who’s tried to used those screen capture tools like Camtasia, will tell you that it isn’t easy to do a lot of cuts.

The story about his marriage falling apart continues throughout the other episodes, descending into a police standoff and a train ride to nowhere.  But I’ll let you watch those on MyDamChannel.

Heather’s Vlog – It’s Hereditary

http://liamshow.com Heather explains how vampires become vampires.

4 Swirlies

“It’s kinda like marrying a hamburger. You can hold off for a while but eventually you’re gonna eat it.”

You can convert?

Another ep from the backlog of Heather’s Vlog. This one is about two two ways you can become a vampire; you’re either born a vampire or you can convert.

Not the funniest episode of the few I’ve seen, but there’s still one or two big laughs. Still very much worth seeing.

The Challenge with Bob Newhart

Bob Newhart, the beloved “everyman” who has been honoured with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, tests his mettle in “The Challenge.” In it, he will attempt to do “what many people think is one of the most difficult tasks in modern society” – opening a new DVD.

4 Swirlies

“I stabbed myself.”

“The Challenge,” like “With the Angels,” which we’ve also reviewed on here was made for Strike.TV, which provided ad revenue to the Writers Guild of America members who were suffering from the 2007 writers strike in Hollywood.

The site actually led to quite a number of web series, all with a reasonably slick look. Unfortunately, most of them, at least most of the ones I saw, weren’t very good.

Even at only one episode, “The Challenge” stood above the rest for one reason and one reason only – Bob Newhart. Although the script is “written” by someone else, the part is clearly Newhart’s – as he rambles on into old paper cut war stories from his days as a clerk typist during the Korean War after stabbing himself with a paper clip.

The video isn’t a bust-a-gut laugh riot, but you feel at ease watching Newhart struggle with the DVD package for his copy of Barefoot in the Park. And his trademark stuttering delivery makes the show charming.

Newhart is, after all, one of the funniest comedians of all time.

Disagree? Bite me. – er I mean tell us who you think the funniest comedians are – living or dead.

The Website is Down – Ep. 2: Excel Hell

The Website is Down episode number two! Chip takes us on a wild ride into the life of a master salesman. How many sales can he make in a single video? One? Maybe?

4 Swirlies

“I’ve used up all the rows in my Excel spreadsheet.”

Mirroring the first episode, the visuals of “Excel Hell” are of Chip, the Sales Guy’s computer screen. It begins with him playing Wolfenstein 3-D, just as Derrick, the Web Dude was playing Halo in the first episode. Apparently, not much ever gets done at PlasTrolTech.

Then after installing software promising him MILF on MILF action, infesting his computer with spyware, he goes on a salescall and has problem entering the information in his Excel spreadsheet – so naturally, he calls tech support.

Anyone familiar with Excel, or really anyone with a pair of working eyes, will be able to tell straight off what his problem is, but what follows is an extremely entertaining exchange between Sales Guy and Web Dude, peppered with hilarious fake pop up ads for everything from ads for used Real Dolls to software from his own company, PlasTrolTech.

Being from Chip’s point-of-view, we see how much of a bullshitter he truly is (even of his Minesweeper abilities) and realize he is a bigger idiot than we previously assumed – so much so that he can’t understand the simplest things about computers – such as even what program he is using.

What should we do with the useless Chips of the world?

Happy Tree Friends Break – Seize The Day

Find out why Lumpy doesnt play well with others.

4 Swirlies

34 seconds!

Back in my sketch comedy days, this is what we used to call a blackout, one short gag and then you’re out.

Happy Tree Friends Break is a shorter version of the internet staple series, Happy Tree Friends. And this one is a good one.

If you want a quick laugh, watch this. If you’re prone to seizures, you can view it as a cautionary tale…

The Vetala – The Sydicate

The Vetala Web Series – Season 1/ Starring Candace Chase, Paul Mendel, Marina Pasqua, Leslie Mildiner, James Tyce/ Written & Directed by Damon Vignale http://www.TheVetala.com

4 Swirlies

This opens nice and suspenseful. A guy packing a crate with guns. A student tacking down a story. Her boyfriend looking for her. Something’s gotta happen… right?

And then it does.

While this first installment doesn’t give us much insight into what’s going on, it does give us one thrill ride of a five minute episode – honestly I was a little surprised it was so long, it felt much shorter.

The only reason it missed five Swirlies is the acting is little stilted, and it was essentially all set up. Also the series seems to be about supernatural stuff, at least according to their Youtube tags, and there’s not even a hint of that in this episode. But those are trivial complaints, perhaps, and I’m quite excited to see where this series is going.

The closing tag (thankfully, there’s not 2 minutes of end credits pumping up the length) reads, “No longer a myth.” Count me intrigued.

Does the title make anyone else think of cheese? No? So it’s just me, then.

The Gamers: Dorkness Rising – Ep. 1

[No official description. After a total party wipe out, a group of gamers decide to try the Dungeons and Dragons campaign again... only with a girl this time!]

3 Swirlies

“I haven’t gamed since… the incident.”

Yes, this is what it is like to game.

Okay, so a bit of a confession, this is a movie chopped up and placed on Youtube. (Yes, legally.) And I really enjoyed watching this as a movie, so I’m excited to include it here.

It seems that this is sequel to “The Gamers,” a movie I’ve never seen. Rest assured, I’ll get it on here sooner or later. But for now we gotta dance with the one what brung us.

Despite being chopped up and having an abrupt ending just before the ten minute mark, it’s a good first episode in that it sets up everything and tells a little story. This story is satisfying on its own but fits into a larger narrative. Sure, ten minutes is on the long side but there are two minute videos that had me looking at the timeline at the 1:00 mark, while I didn’t look down once.

Where this production could have been improved is the craft of it all. Lighting, camera, acting… it very much shows it amateur nature. But the story rises above all that to make on enjoyable watch. And it does a good job of capturing the feel of a tabletop role playing session.

And it is a snapshot of an era. I mean, how many of you have played a table top role-playing game? In another 20 years it’ll be deader than M. J.

Dr. Tran Mail – S01E06

Ask Dr. Tran questions at TranLetters@gmail.com

4 Swirlies

“Why I have so an hard feeling…?”

Nice twist on an internet stand by.

The gag here is an internet advice show starring a little kid who doesn’t want to have anything to do with it.

There’s not really too much to say about it. It’s pretty funny, and the central gag of Tran desperately trying to refuse to do the show gives the whole thing an emotional center to it that helps carry the piece. That being said, this one beat over and over also makes the show a tiny bit on the predictable side. (Hmm… am I putting too much thought into a funny cartoon?)

In this episode, Keith writes in to say he understands Tran, and Daniel asks about boners, prompting the perfectly over dramatic narrator to reveal a few of Tran’s embarrassing secrets.

Well animated (as always from Mondomedia), worth watching and (at least as importantly) nice and short.

Have any of you ever written into an internet advice show? Let us know about it!

Karma Kula – Episode 1 “THE NINJAS”

Karma Kula Mystic Warrior is an original live action/adventure martial arts web series independently created by the Ninjai Gang. Official Website http://karmakula.ign.com

4 Swirlies

“While the body can be cut into pieces by a weapon, the soul is never slain.”

In a word, ninja-tastic.

This series is all atmosphere and action, short on story and character. But that’s the point. While maybe not breaking new ground the “Ninja Group” made a kickass samurai fighting extravaganza that absolutely nailed the genre.

It looks amazing, and the attention to visual style reminds me of both Samurai Jack and (one of my favorite things ever) the ’70’s Japanese television version of Lone Wolf and Cub. I hope, like both of those examples, Karma Kula evolves to something more than just almost cartoonesque cutting and slashing, although for now that’s more than enough.

The only reasons I held back from giving it 5 full swirlies is the very long opening voice over that verges on pretentiousness, and the fact that I’m not sure whether certain things that took me out of the story were flaws or whether they were intentional. For one thing, the guy’s white. Are we just supposed to accept that, or ignore it? And at the end he quotes the bible. So, is he western or is that an unintended anachronism? Hmm… we’ll all have to keep watching to find out.

Which makes me wonder, should we give webseries more of a pass than we do a movie because we expect it to be a low budget labor of love and requires an extra level of our suspension of disbelief? Or do we hold them up to the same standards?