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Online shows like Quarterlife or the stuff they put up on Channel 101 can be new and exciting, but ultimately they lack a certain something that network television has. That certain something is money. But it looks like change is afoot, paradigms are shifting, etc. NBC announced recently that it's producing a straight-to-web television show to be released in a series of easy, bite-sized episodes better fitting to their format.
Gemini Division will be premiering Monday on NBC.com, SciFi.com
and a load of other places for free (including the Xbox Live store, if
you'd prefer to watch it on television). Each episode will only last
four or five minutes, with Fridays stringing all the bits together into
a single normal-ish length episode. If you remember Conan O'Brien's parody of 24 from a few years back, it will probably play
out like that. The entirety of the series has been plotted
out to 50 miniature episodes.
The show will star Rosario Dawson as "a street wise and tough-as-nails New
York cop forced to live dual lives." When her boyfriend is killed, she vows to
avenge his death by hunting down his murderers, who happen to be
involved in some sort of international conspiracy. The series will also
feature computer generated/rotoscoped backgrounds for some reason, that reason
probably being because they look cool.
Of course, this isn't the first time a network has tried something like this. CBS created Wallstrip and ABC produced Squeegees,
but have you heard of either of them? Neither had we,
which is indicative of the success these things have had before. NBC's
effort has a fairly high-profile star, advertising already lined up, and,
despite the potential cheesiness of its plot, at least the
possibility of something good coming out.
Or it could fail again. According to a press release on the show, NBC
is hoping to show its support by "letting the viewers dictate the
show's social-media strategy," which shows an unfortunate focus on
marketing rather than the quality of the actual show itself. Past Internet successes, from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog to the website Funny or Die, have won out due to their quality, not their marketing. Only time will tell whether this show will flop like its predecessors or be the first successful web show of its kind.
Related links:
Review: Grindhouse
Advertising Age: Can this Sci-fi series boldly go where no other has gone?
GeminiDivision.com
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Its so important for the interactive TV genre that Gemini Division puts on a good showing. This is the kind of innovative product that exploits the interactivity of the internet and changes the lean back viewing experience of traditional TV into something far more engaging. Its success would bring much needed attention to the indie interactive web scene.
Signing Rosario Dawson is a great choice, a neo sci-fi plot is a great choice, the one gripe I have though is geo-blocking the show limiting it only to a US audience, I think its a cop out and a failure to fully embrace the internet. NBC, why get only half pregnant?! In mitigation, I suppose with a huge marketing budget, Gemini Division does not have to rely on viral distribution like indies do. And it probably has found revenues in international distribution.
The $1.75M budget is HUGE for the web TV world but my hope is that a nice chunk of that is allocated to marketing (and you can count Rosario’s paycheck in that) to bring attention to the nascent interactive web series genre … indies like ours will gladly ride this coat tail.