Per the Sci-Fi Network’s panel at the TCA press tour…
“Sci-Fi.com has ordered a 10-part webisode series based on the multi-award-winning “Farscape” the fan and critical darling that has been widely recognized as one of the greatest sci-fi series in television history. Executive-produced by Brian Henson and Robert Halmi, Jr., and produced by The Jim Henson Company, in association with RHI Entertainment, the series will revive and expand the beloved “Farscape” universe.”
Seriously, what’s up with Comedy Central constantly going after the lowest common denominator…?
The network is furthering their original broadband programming market by premiering two new series: “Baxter and McGuire” and “Good God.” I don’t think I really need to tell you anything about the former except that it’s an animated show and its title characters are a pair of testicles.
As far as the latter, it’s a live-action series that takes place in the offices of God; there’s a really funny premise there, but its failing comes from being such a slavish attempt at ripping “The Office.” (It also doesn’t help that the first episode is literally potty humor, revolving around the question of whether or not God took a stinky dump in the office bathroom.)
There are, thankfully, others segments in the network’s web repetoire that are worth making note of. “I Love The ’30s” is a spot-on parody of the various decade-spotlighting series on VH-1; its creators also offer “All Access: The Middle Ages,” which is pretty funny as well. “Golden Age,” however, is full-on genius. It’s an animated mockumentary series about what happened to various animated commercial icons after their careers went downhill; the first episode involves a cereal spokesperson (think Sonny the Cuckoo Bird) who goes insane, kills three children in his rampage to get his favorite cereal, and is now living a quiet life in a sanitarium. “Guacamole” has its moments, with dialogue ostensibly coming from various food items, like a cabbage, a can of soup, and, yes, a container of guacamole. The only thing worth recommending about the surreal “Tiny Hands,” however, is that David Cross appears in its first episode.
Check out ComedyCentral.com for a list of all the web shows at your disposal, but, trust me, start with “Golden Age.”
Watch out for Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, the guys who created Kazaa and Skype. They’re now working on P2P TV, aka Joost. Based on their track record, it wouldn’t be wise to bet against them.
In a little conference room tucked behind a bull pen bustling with new hires, Friis flips open the laptop. He pokes a few keys, locates a Wi-Fi network, hits a few more keys. Then, with a final click and the slightest little smile, he spins the machine around and … how about that: a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert, running full-screen. Another click. Razor-sharp footage of pandas munching shimmering stalks of bamboo. Click. Fear Factor, back from the grave. Click. Earth: Final Conflict. Click. Rocky and Bullwinkle.
Laptop TV! Not to mention desktop and palmtop. “It even looks pretty good hooked up to my plasma,” Friis says.
The vision: universal TV, running on a hybrid P2P platform—millions of exquisitely networked PCs fortified with traditional video servers. Free to viewers who download the player app. Friendly to content owners, thanks to industrial-strength encryption. Delightful to advertisers, adding pinpoint targeting to their all-time favorite medium. Everyone’s a winner!
The goal is to render DVD-quality pictures – no sudden freeze-ups or obvious artifacts – at around 400 Kbps.
The system will be capable of delivering HD content, but that requires the user to have a 2MB internet connection, so it might be a while before that part of the program is ready to go.
It’s an interesting project, but it will probably be a while before big media content is transferred over the internet at this quality. Nothing scares off the networks more than the possibility of piracy.
…is “Can’t Sleep with Dave Foley.”
While it’s not the best talk show currently on the air – that honor might go to “The Craig Ferguson Show,” which has upped its ante by adding Tim Meadows as a recurring guest correspondent – it is, to be sure, the best online talk show. (Sorry, Tom Green.) How can you go wrong with a concept that involves Foley (“Kids in the Hall,” “NewsRadio”), who’s suffering from insomnia, offering a monologue in bed as he lies beside his sleeping wife, talking to a “guest” that he finds online via iChat, and enjoying a number from whatever musical guest happens to be conveniently positioned outside his house.
Right now, I’m watching the third episode, where Dave has a virtual conversation with his former”NewsRadio” co-star, Maura Tierney (who looks just as hot in the middle of the night as you’d always hoped she would), then steps outside for a song from Jon Brion…and after that description, you know you want to watch it, too.
P.S. The other two episodes are available for your viewing pleasure at SuperDeluxe.com.
While watching the Oscars last night wasn’t quite as entertaining as many of us would have hoped (why the heck was Ellen DeGeneres so tame?), several new commercials aired that really had me laughing. The best of the pack was the latest in American Express’ long line of look-what-celebrity-uses-our-credit-card commercials featuring director Wes Anderson in a single-shot ad that’s both hilarious and impressive.
Take a look.
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