Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden S01E08 “Midnight, Hunter’s Moon, Pt. 3″ | A Webseries Review on The Watch List

A Drama Webseries

4 Swirlies

“She loves the spotlight. It’s like food. She lives on it.”

This is the end of the three part episodic mini-trilogy, Midnight, Hunter’s Moon.

Mood wise, this is strange episode of the always emotional engaging Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden. It has more of a literary slice of life to it, rather than a wild party “Weekend at Bernie’s” vibe, which is kinda what I was half expecting. Not to have a dead guy they had to pretend that was alive, but that it was going to a ‘shit hits the fan’ episode. It feel more like a denouement, like the wrap up and cool down after the moment of highest tension.

I am constantly blown away by how simple but still confident and effective this show is. The simple shot in the bathroom, framed both in the mirror and er… not in the mirror, perfectly captured the moment. Of course, a lot of the credit has to go to the actors.

The one misstep, for me, was the scenes with Hunter and her boyfriend. I don’t get Hunter, I’m not sure how we’ve supposed to feel about her. We’ve seen her be mean to Beth many times, but now we get this scene where we’re supposed to identify with her missing her boyfriend? Or her boyfriend missing her? We’ve never really been given a reason to forgive her for her treatment of Beth, but she has this screen time that doesn’t really tell us much new about her as a character. It comes off flat to me.

And to be entirely honest, I’m not sure why the three parter is called Hunter’s Moon.

Still, what really sells this series is the fierce, almost way-too-close, friendship between Sarah and Kris. Kris all but forces Sarah out of her funk about Jake and Maggie. Does that mean that Sarah will go back to Jake? We’ll have to wait and see.

Oh, and the music? Amazing.

From YouTube Description:

And then it really HITS THE FAN. Jake seeks Sarah — he’s all puppy-dog eyes & wants to TALK because he LIKES her. Gulp. And Adrian (secretly) hunts the much younger Rox. So where will Sarah end up, in this Maggie-Jake-Sarah love triangle? And what about Beth and the Beth-Adrian-Rox situation? Who ends up coupled? And who just ends up alone? Something tells me… THIS is one of those nights where all questions gets answered.

—

“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/

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Out With Dad S02E04 ”With Jacob and Vanessa” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Family Drama Web Series

4 Swirlies

If you can’t see the episode, click here to watch!

“I heard you crying again last night.”

NOTE: How to watch with subtitles.

English subtitles
To watch Out With Dad with subtitles:
1. You must press play first, then the ‘CC’ button will appear.
2. Click ‘CC’, and choose your language.
Note: you may need to click ‘Full Screen’ to reveal all the language selections.

This is one of the Toronto web series Out With Dad’s mini-episodes. It’s about two and a half minutes, and instead of being a full on story – instead it is a bit of a slice of life glimpse into Vanessa’s struggles. Not everyone has a supportive parent like Rose – and it was hard for Rose.

This whole episode is two shots, almost all the dialogue in one. It lets the actors really carry the moment. What I like about this set up is how the family is already dealing with one child who isn’t speaking to them because of how he wants to live his life – he married a Muslim woman – which places extra strain and stakes on Vanessa not to put her family through that all over again.

While some of the dialogue spoken by Vanessa’s parents is quite on the nose, the real emotional anchor for this scene is Vanessa’s brother, Jacob. I got the sense that Vanessa is, more than anything, trying to protect Jacob, which leaves her torn. If she is true to who she is, she’ll make Jacob’s life worse. It is a struggle that many of us go through, I think. I think in everyone’s lives, there comes a time when they are forced to choose between their happiness and the values and choices of their family.

While Lindsey Middleton does all the heavy lifting – dialogue wise – and does a great job, Jacob Ahearn has, in some ways, the harder part. He has to listen and emote in character. Actors sometimes tend to focus on the dialogue, what they are saying, but a good actor knows what to do when the other guy is talking. Anyway, both performers do a remarkable job in an intense scene.

Man, these actors do a lot of crying, don’t they?

Lindsey Middleton as Vanessa
Jacob Ahearn as Jacob

From Out With Dad website:

A difficult time for the LeMay family. Vanessa and her younger brother, Jacob, sit upon the steps as they listen in on their parents fighting. Jacob fears he might loose another sibling to something he doesn’t understand, and Vanessa realizes what is truly important to her.

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

A Drama Webseries

4 Swirlies

“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/

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Out With Dad S02E03 ”Having it Out” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Family Drama Web Series

4 Swirlies

If you can’t see the episode, click here to watch!

“We all have to be the victim at some point.”

This is one of the longer episodes of the web series Out With Dad, and one of the most dramatic. The creators of Out With Dad always intended the second season to have longer episodes, intermixed with shorter mini-episodes. I think, at 12 minutes plus, this is the longest episode I’ve watched for the Watch List, of anything.

Dad makes a mistake, and Rose pays the price.

The first half of the episode, I’ll be honest, feels a little more preachy and after school specially than Out With Dad’s usual tone, but the two scenes between Rose, Vanessa and Vanessa’s mother and Rose and her Dad are pretty strong and hit just the right notes. Will Conlon, who plays Nathan (the Dad) has an especially strong moment at the end of the episode. It felt very real (of course, credit for the moment also has to go to Jason Leaver, the writer and director).

I felt like the scene in the bathroom, where Rose has a teary but mostly polite conversation with a stranger, a bit of a misstep. Maybe I’m not teenage girl, but I feel like a moment like that – especially when you’re going through something as private as Rose is going through – would play out differently, much more awkward on both sides. Feel free t disagree. I do think we’ll be seeing more of the new girl.

I always think this series is very well produced, the editing in this episode is very, very strong – all the more so because there’s lots going on that the casual viewer will never notice. There’s so many subtle choices to make in the editing room, like whether this close up includes the other character in the foreground or not, that has a profound emotional impact without drawing attention to itself. You can say the same things about the choice of camera angles during production, or really about any aspect of making a movie, TV show or web series, but it is editing that the final choices have to be made. My buddy said something the other day, about something else, that applies – ‘You control it, or it controls you.’ I think it comes from those struggling with alcohol, but it applies just as much in creative endeavors. You have to be making conscious choices, all the way through, or you’ll be doing things that don’t really work without knowing why they’re not.

From Blip.tv Description:

Sometimes people say things they don’t realize are mean or hurtful. According to numerous sources, the average teenager hears 26 homophobic slurs in a day. Often, these things are said by our friends, classmates, family members. To Rose, comments like these ring louder than ever now that she’s out to herself and to a select few. What if coming out all the way out makes it even worse? What if she’s singled out because she’s gay? Is this what Vanessa is so afraid of? Is that why she’s behaving the way she has been? Questions like these can be overwhelming. Meanwhile, at home, Nathan has an unexpected encounter – which might have devastating consequences. Please comment! We really appreciate your feedback. The next episode, a minisode, debuts August 18th, 2011. Kate Conway as Rose Lindsey Middleton as Vanessa Will Conlon as Nathan Wendy Glazier as Theresa LeMay Caitlynne Medrek as the girl in the washroom Music Composed, Produced and Performed by: Adrian Ellis Created, Written and Directed by: Jason Leaver

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Heather’s Vlog “Heather checks out getfanged.com and Grampires?” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Vampire Comedy Web Series

4 Swirlies

“I got this new leather jacket. The guy who was wearing it was delicious.”

This is the second episode in a row from the web series Heather’s Vlog that is Heather and her Dad talking about internet stuff.

There’s about half or three quarters of a minute at the end that’s vintage Heather’s Vlog, and is hilarious. The first half, they’re checking out getfanged.com, which, it turns out, is a real thing. And it is more a chance to rehash jokes about Facebook than anything really fresh. Once they start getting rolling on confusing Tony Danza for Billy Crystal, it takes off into the types of laughs that this series is capable of.

I think both the previous video and this are designed to bring in new views by connecting with other popular stuff. It can be a smart of promoting yourself online, but I don’t think it makes the best fodder from story or comedy.

From YouTube Description:

Heather shows her dad some more stuff online. Should you friend your dad on Facebook?

Please, nothing too creepy. She is deadly

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

A Drama Webseries

5 Swirlies

“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! -

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Heather’s Vlog “Heather and Her Dad Watch Rebecca Black Video” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Vampire Comedy Web Series

3 Swirlies

“Back in the day, you had to work to be famous. Like Aretha Franklin and Pee Wee Herman.”

We’ve been so focused on keeping on top of the current shows that we are following, that I forgot to keep an eye on one of my favourite series, Heather the Vampire! I see there’s been a few posts since Heather’s return, and here’s the first one.

I gotta say, maybe I’m in a bad mood today, because I wasn’t blown away, despite how excited I was to see it. There’s some funny bits, but really they’re just making fund of Rebecca Black and not doing their usual shtick. I think maybe that was the point, I get the feeling this is a micro-episode, not a full on episode. It is kinda of my fault – I’m sure when the video was first posted was much closer to the debut of Rebecca Black’s video than it is today.

Anyway, the world still hasn’t gotten over Rebecca Black, so do yourself a favour and watch Heather and her dad’s take on it. Like I say, there’s some funny bits.

And I look forward to Heather’s next video.

From YouTube Description:

Heather decides to show her dad what all the fuss is about with Rebecca Black’s Friday video. Do you think they’ll like it?

get Heather’s “Bite Me” T-shirt at http://liamshow.com

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Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden S01E05 “Misery in McMansion” | A Webseries Review on The Watch List

A Drama Webseries

4 Swirlies

“I’m dying and you’re cheating on me?”

Last episode I was still gushing over this series like it had Hello Kitty in it, and this episode… well, I keep going back and forth.

In some ways, it is awesome. It is more dramatic than most episodes of Orange Juice In Bishop’s Garden, with blood and sex and what looks like a half-hearted attempted suicide. And while it it mostly works, I kinda feel like the impact of the accident undermines the other scenes with the two main girls, who otherwise I want to get more screen time with.

We pick up where the previous episode left off, and everything seems to be going great - but then the accident comes. And it is bloody and gross and pretty well done - it looked painful and scary. I’m yelling at the screen, call an ambulance, but the drunken teens do what all drunken teens do; they tried to fix it themselves. In fact, there wasn’t one suggestion to call an ambulance. It made me frustrated as a viewer, but that’s probably exactly what would happen in that situation. Those moments are some great writing.

Where it really lost me is while poor Maggie is bleeding into the sink, we go off and follow Sarah who feels bad because she was caught fooling around with the guy that Maggie likes. And there’s what seems to be a poor attempt at suicide - which I kinda don’t understand. Was she seriously trying to slit her wrists with a safety razor? Was she just trying to cut herself to feel better? Was she just being dramatic? I didn’t get it, and her friend didn’t seem overly concerned about it either way. And while we didn’t know what was happening with Maggy, we got a scene where Sarah hoped Maggy would forgive her.

I feel like this episode really tried to push the melodrama without really dealing with the consequences, which I suppose is part of what makes it melodrama. What I do like, is how the accident leads to the discovery, dove tailing the two plots nicely and naturally. There may be some missteps, but there’s still plenty of good storytelling.

So yeah, parts of it are great, parts are not great. It is still a really amazing, unique web series.

From YouTube Description:

The party kicks it up fierce at Yasmine’s house, sans parents and full of top shelf liquor. Maggie’s got that not-so-fresh-feeling after downing an entire decanter of creme de menthe — and when a MAJOR accident ensues, it threatens to bring down the whole house of cards. The stars finally align for Sarah and Jake… but then Maggie walks in on the “lovebirds.” Is it the final nail in the coffin of their (ex)best friendship?

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

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Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden S01E04 “Yasmine’s House” | A Webseries Review on The Watch List

A Drama Webseries

4 Swirlies

“It’s like the Circle of Hell that Dante forgot.”

I love this webseries.

My only complaint is that some of the acting is… not great. And for all of its rough edges, everything else about it is so amazing. The storylines are original, sharp and more character than plot. I love the chemistry between the two main girls - I love that feel like outsiders even while doing everything with the same group of girls. The writing is top notch, and some of the framing and the way it is shot is really nice. Sure. there’s a couple of shots, especially covering the dialogue, where it kinda feels like the camera was just plunked down, but then there’s many shots, like the one with the girls looking at the house, that are rich with drama and emotion. The shots of the girls swimming were so natural that I started to feel creepy, like I was intruding on their privacy.

I like this episode like I liked the first one. Well, okay - almost as much. For some reason, the scenes in Bishop’s Garden don’t seem to work as well as scenes set somewhere else. I dunno why that is.

I’d like to come back to the acting for a second. I shouldn’t just leave a blanket statement like my earlier one lie, because the truth is that the two main girls (at least the two I think of as the main girls) are actually quite good. There’s four seasons of this show, which is an amazing accomplishment right there. I’m eager to watch each episode, but I’m also excited to see how the cast and crew improve during all those episodes!

Thanks to Otessa Ghadar for making such a wonderful show!

From YouTube Description:

While the parents are away, the kids will play. Yasmine’s parental units go out of town and a party ensues at her ridiculously fancy house, complete with Olympic-size pool and some stealing of beer from her college-guy-neighbors… *Plus* things are looking up for Sarah & Jake…

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

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Out With Dad S02E02 ”Asking Out Alicia” | A Web Series Review on The Watch List

A Family Drama Web Series

4 Swirlies

“I have to puke. Hold my bag. Watch my board!”

Every now and then we like to have one of the creators behind a series do a sort of guest review of their own show. Actually, we only did it once before, with Tyranny, but I thought it worked out nicely. I asked the creator of Our With Dad, Jason Leaver, if he’d like to do one for the first episode of his second season. He said no. But he did agree to do it for his second episode! And we’re glad he did, because there’s a lot of interesting behind the scenes stuff in here…

The Watch List asked me to post a review of my own episode two weeks ago. A filmmaker reviewing his own work? An interesting concept! I declined however, because felt it would be too presumptuous of myself for 2×01 “Out with Dad”. It’s a different for 2×02 “Asking Out Alicia”, with this one I can sit back and enjoy just like any other audience member. This was true when we were filming and while I was editing. So ya, I can review this episode.

First a bit of background, this one was written after production began for season two. I’d already filmed scenes with Laura Jabalee, which you’ll see later. Often when working with actors I find I’m inspired to write more for them; this was no exception. Plus, I wanted to write more scenes for Corey Lof – this guy is hilarious. I’ve come to know Corey and Kate very well, and I know they understand comedy.

However, our three leads were faced with a challenge: our location.

We filmed this episode entirely in front of The 519 Community Centre on Church Street, who allowed us to use their facility to stand in as our high school. Church Street is the centre of LGBT life, vibrance and pride in Toronto. It’s the friendliest street. There is a fantastic energy. There also happens to be a lot of traffic with heavy trucks! There must have been a construction site nearby. Each time one of those trucks drove by we had to stop recording. It was LOUD. The actors quickly caught on to what audio level was acceptable. Instinctively they would pause their performance when a truck approached, when they got the nod from me they’d continue with the scene. What astounds me is their performances never suffered. They kept their energy up, they stayed in the moment. This is especially remarkable for Corey, whose character is the driving force of this episode. In comedy timing is everything. Yet some how his timing was unaffected! The pauses and restarts by the cast were no challenge for me as the editor to work with. Which reminds me, I was sitting on a train editing this episode, laughing out loud most of the time. I hope my fellow passengers didn’t mind!

You also have to pay attention to “Alicia’s pack of girlfriends”, played by Shailene Garnett, Carolyn Nettleton and Lizzie Stuart-Morris. I love them in every frame they’re on screen, they’re hilarious! I never offered them any direction, which I probably shouldn’t admit… but I didn’t need to! Each of them took it upon themselves to have a different reaction to the conversation unfolding before them. Watch for more of them in Out With Dad.

Next up, is the Adrian Ellis’s score. He went with a highly percussive, almost jungle-inspired track, as if saying Kenny is “on the hunt”. The first draft of the score suggested a 1970’s swagger. It fun, but given that our characters were born in the 90’s, it didn’t fit right. In the version you hear, all Adrian did was modify his bass track making it feel a little more modern – it kind of has a reggae vibe to it. I pushed him to have fun with the score. He included some hilarious hits to certain story beats, my favourite: the ding as the metaphorical light bulb turns on for Kenny at 3:05, and the way the music practically says “ooooh…” as Rose learns Alicia asked about her at 2:46.

I had fun making this episode, I can sit back as part of the audience and I enjoy what the cast and composer give us. I’m sure you will too!

P.S. I love the music! Thanks, Jason!

From Blip.tv Description:

Kenny finally finds the courage to ask out Alicia Van Harren, well, eventually.

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