I
have a confession to make—despite being both a fan and advocate
of quality television, I cancelled my cable subscription in June 2009.
While part of my reason was obviously financial, given the rising costs
for the service, it also centered on the growing ease and convenience
of being able to pick and choose the shows that I enjoy via the Internet.
In regards to the many series that I have a strong commitment to, such
as Lost, Mad Men and the recent Rubicon,
I was more than willing to pay iTunes for the right to download them
directly onto my computer and thus watch them in both a time and place
of my choosing. Others I simply watch on the corresponding network’s
website or Hulu. Even with the cost of Internet service (which I would
need anyway) and what I pay iTunes, it is still a lot cheaper than cable.
And as for the convenience, that was priceless.
Apparently
I am not alone in my switch from my flat screen TV, which I now use
exclusively for DVDs, to the World Wide Web. TheHollywood
Reporter, for instance, ran an article on August 24, 2010, detailing
data released by SNL Kagan that revealed the largest cable subscriber
decline since the information and research firm began tracking the industry
in the 1980s. Apparently 711,000 people followed my lead and dropped
their cable provider during the first quarter of 2010; combine satellite
and telecom into the mix and that number is reduced to 216,100 who shed
their television service but it still pales when compared to the 378,000
increase in subscribers during the same time period in 2009.
The
new Crackle webseries, Held Up, premiers in September 2010
and promises to be one of the Sony-owned video network’s most
ambitious projects yet. Written by Randy and Jason Sklar, creators of
Back on Topps, the comedy centers on two separate but simultaneous
robberies at the same branch bank. According to Entertainment Weekly,
Held Up originally began life as a pilot for Comedy Central
in 2008 but when the network passed, Sony decided to develop it as a
webseries instead with original creator Gene Hong passing the reigns
to the Sklar Bothers.
This is
not the first high-profile endeavor for Crackle as the site has been
producing a number of quality webseries in recent years, beginning with
2009’s Angel of Death. With reported budgets topping
the one million dollar mark, it is obvious that both Sony and Crackle
are committed to the medium. Considering that its last major webseries,
The Bannen Way, amassed 8.4 million views in February 2010
and more than 13 million by the end of March while setting online video
records along the way (according to Wikipedia), the future for both
the medium and the website certainly looks bright.
Despite
such success, however, Crackle still has plenty of cracks. As the New
York Times pointed out in its August 23, 2010, article, “Sony’s
Bet on Sticking With Web Shows,” the 4.1 million viewers that
the site attracted in July 2010 without The Bannen Way is a
fraction of the 12.6 million who clicked on CollegeHumor.com during
the same period. The article also suggests that Sony may merge its PlayStation
Network, which provides games and online content for PlayStation 3 users,
into Crackle and thus provide a much stronger presence on the Internet—as
the Times points out, the PlayStation Network currently has
fifty million registered accounts worldwide.
During
the course of its first five seasons, the ABC drama Lost raised
a number of mysteries and unanswered questions within its narrative.
Viewers expecting a rapid fire sixth season that tied all those dangling
strings into a coherent tapestry, however, were no doubt disappointed
when that final season progressed at its own deliberate pace and placed
the emphasis on the characters of the series instead, as well as an
epic battle of good versus evil. This is not to suggest that the last
volume in the Lost saga was any sort of letdown—the fate
of the remaining survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 was effectively brought
to resolution through triumph, tragedy, tears and heroism while granting
a sense of genuine and heartfelt closure for fans of the series.
The sixth
season of Lost also offered a fair number of answers, especially
within the controversial episode “Across the Sea.” The narrative
in that installment was different from anything the show had done before,
including a lack of regular cast members and a plot that took place
thousands of years in the past. In many ways, “Across the Sea”
was both a mythical fable and Biblical parable; even the only character’s
name mentioned in the episode, that of future island god Jacob, carried
a certain religious connotation to it. Still, Lost was able
to effectively trace the root of the show’s sprawling mythology
through the simple story of a lonely woman who raised two sons that
were not her own—by murdering their actual mother, no less—and
how her deception led to rivalry, betrayal, conflicting viewpoints on
the essence of humanity and an ultimate light versus dark, good versus
evil undertone to the Island.
We
Are with the Band Webseries ReviewReview of the Los Angeles-based webseries that follows
two female hipsters and their comedic misadventures within the local
underground music scene (August 20, 2010).
Mad
Men: The Wisdom of Roger SterlingA
series of quotes and observations made by Roger Sterling of the AMC
drama Mad Men during the show’s first three seasons (August
18, 2010).
Lost
Season One Revisited: ExodusReview
of the first season of the ABC drama Lost with emphasis on
the final episode, including the launching of the raft and the opening
of the hatch (August 16, 2010).
Main
articles are updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
I
have a confession to make—despite being both a fan and advocate
of quality television, I cancelled my cable subscription in June 2009.
While part of my reason was obviously financial, given the rising costs
for the service, it also centered on the growing ease and convenience
of being able to pick and choose the shows that I enjoy via the Internet.
In regards to the many series that I have a strong commitment to, such
as Lost, Mad Men and the recent Rubicon,
I was more than willing to pay iTunes for the right to download them
directly onto my computer and thus watch them in both a time and place
of my choosing. Others I simply watch on the corresponding network’s
website or Hulu. Even with the cost of Internet service (which I would
need anyway) and what I pay iTunes, it is still a lot cheaper than cable.
And as for the convenience, that was priceless.
The
new Crackle webseries, Held Up, premiers in September 2010
and promises to be one of the Sony-owned video network’s most
ambitious projects yet. Written by Randy and Jason Sklar, creators of
Back on Topps, the comedy centers on two separate but simultaneous
robberies at the same branch bank. According to Entertainment Weekly,
Held Up originally began life as a pilot for Comedy Central
in 2008 but when the network passed, Sony decided to develop it as a
webseries instead with original creator Gene Hong passing the reigns
to the Sklar Bothers.
During
the course of its first five seasons, the ABC drama Lost raised
a number of mysteries and unanswered questions within its narrative.
Viewers expecting a rapid fire sixth season that tied all those dangling
strings into a coherent tapestry, however, were no doubt disappointed
when that final season progressed at its own deliberate pace and placed
the emphasis on the characters of the series instead, as well as an
epic battle of good versus evil. This is not to suggest that the last
volume in the Lost saga was any sort of letdown—the fate
of the remaining survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 was effectively brought
to resolution through triumph, tragedy, tears and heroism while granting
a sense of genuine and heartfelt closure for fans of the series.