The Legend of Neil webseries(2008).
© Sandeep Parikh
SDCC: The Web Series of Comic-Con
By: Rich KurasDate: Tuesday, July 29, 2008
While the bulk of attention at Comic-Con went to big upcoming releases like Wolverine, The Watchmen and Terminator: Salvation, the convention also showcased one of the largest growing media phenomena—the web series or webisode. Viacom, Warner Brothers and Sony have all thrown their hats into the ring and started to funnel the almighty dollar into their new webisode departments, and genre entertainment is starting to notice. Director-producer Joss Whedon (Serenity) even put up his own money to create a new series. Here, we present you with the top web series featured at SDCC in 2008:
The Guild
Winner of the South by Southwest Best Web Series in 2008 and currently receiving more than 8 million hits, The Guild has been a powerhouse in the online genre community over the past year and is powering up for a second season in the coming months. Originally written as a half-hour pilot, the show was rewritten to fit a 3 to 6 minute web attention span. The Guild revolves around a group of gamers and addresses the real ‘lives’ of a group of people whose only interaction with society is with their online gaming allies. The group is led by Codex, (played by star, writer and creator Felicia Day), who you may recognize from her days playing Vi on TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayre. In Season two, Day is tight lipped about plot lines but promises a “growing relationship” between herself and Zaboo, her love obsessed Hin-Jew. With her legion of fans from the series (Guild had a line around the corner during its Comic-Con autograph session) and 40,000-plus subscribers, Day manages to raise enough money to independently produce the show.
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
Speaking of Buffy, creator Joss Whedon put up his own cash to enter the web series world with the original miniseries Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. Horrible stars Firefly and Serenity’s, Nathan Fillion, Doogie Howser himself, Neil Patrick Harris, and the above mentioned Felicia Day. It tells the story of a struggling villain, Dr. Horrible (Harris), who goes toe to toe with his arch enemy Captain Hammer (Fillian), while trying to land his love interest Penny (Day). The love was so intense for the anticipated series, rabid fans flooded and crashed the site on its opening day.
The Legend of Neil
If self gratification and classic Nintendo games tickle your fancy, then let The Legend of Neil be that feather for you. A hit on YouTube and nominated for a Webby award, Neil was snatched up by Atom.com who with producer, writer and creator Sandeep Parikh, developed a 6-part web series. The Legend of Neil is a Legend of Zelda parody that tells the story of a normal Jersey guy, Neil (played by a brooding Tony Janning), who gets drunk one night, masturbates to the fairy in the game, chokes himself with a game controller and finds himself in a real life version of Hyrule—the fictional world of the Zelda games. Neil attempts to navigate out of the world, trying to score with the princess and the occasional fairy along the way. Atom plans to release episodes every Thursday through August, and then Neil will make its jump from the Internet to TV, with a debut on Comedy Central’s AtomTV in September.
Kyle Piccolo: Comic Shop Therapist
Worried that the Dark Knight hasn’t received quite enough publicity, Warner Brothers funneled some cash to director and X-Men illustrator John Cassaday to promote the Batman flick. What they wound up with is Kyle Piccolo: Comic Shop Therapist. Each week, Kyle, a Midtown comic book shopkeeper played by New York actor-comedian Eric Zuckerman, features a new customer coming into the store with one of life’s many problems. It is Kyle’s job to ease their minds while helping them with some relevant comic book reading material.
Honorable Mention: Comic-Con also witnessed the debut of On The Bubble News, which officially jumps in the animated side of the web series pool. Created by soda giant Sierra Mist, Bubble brings a zesty and refreshing look at the weekly news. Five wannabe young reporters offer a satire and parody takes on current events. Fans of Aqua Teen Hunger Force will be pleased to hear Master Shake’s Dana Snyder lending his vocal chords to the effort. Check it out at http://www.OnTheBubbleNews.com/
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