Free Web series

wreade1872

I posted this before on an old thread in the television section before realising it might be better here.
Anyway i've been watching a lot of free web shows these days. So thought i'd recommend some. I'll mostly be talking about scripted shows but not always.

Firstly the GeekandSundry.com stuff, founded by Felicia Day; her autobiography ''Your Never Weird on the Internet, Almost" is also awesome.
The Guild: 6 seasons, 72 episodes (8-12), 3 music videos, 2 major comics.
Not my favorite web-series but very solid. I actually prefer reading the comics than watching it but i've only had a chance to watch it completely once so far.

LARP's: 2 seasons, 20 episodes (5-15 mins)
Comedy drama, based around people who do Live Action Role-playing, which i could NOT be less interested in, so it's a testament to the makers that i like this so much. Nice complete story ark.

TableTop: 3+ seasons, 80+ (35-50mins)
Non-scripted, Will Wheaton invites "celebrities" to play tabletop games. Always watchable, but the fun obviously depends on who's playing and what their playing. Good production design, like all of G&S's stuff.

Craft Lab: 1 season, 11 episodes (5-8mins)
Non-scripted, An sfx guy makes geek objects from random materials. It is soooo! much better than i expected. This is not some bluepeter crap.

Space Janitors: 3 seasons, 24 episodes (10-12mins)
Star Wars-esque parody. I'm not a big fan of the star-wars aesthetic so this loses a little something for me but still decent. Pretty good special effects in later seasons.

Spooked: 1 season, 4 episodes (25mins)
Supernatural investigation comedy. There might only be four episodes but with their half-hour tv show length and good story-lines this is still a nice watch.

Outlands and Your Dungeon My Dragon: 6 and 7 episodes respectively (10-12mins)
Animated. Both are done in an 8-bit animation style. Outlands is an Alien-parody and Your Dungeon is set in a World of Warcraft style game. Both are watchable but i think the comedy of Your Dungeon is superior.

Caper: 1 season, 9 episodes (8-14mins)
Super-hero show. Such a pity it didn't get any more seasons but this is great. You'll certainly recognize some of the guest stars. Would of been nice if they used some more super powers as they switch to animation for those parts which works really well.

Learning Town: 1 season, 10 episodes (7-9mins)
Show about guys who take over a Muppet program. There's at least one song per episode... i hate singing and yet this is still pretty enjoyable.


Moving on to the rest of the Net
Classic Alice: 75+ episodes (3-6mins)
Romance, comedy, drama, about a woman who wants to be a writer. I haven't finished this yet as there is a lot to get through but its very watchable.

Red Shirt Diaries 2 seasons, 30 episodes (2-4mins)
Star-trek the original series parody. Pretty fun short episodes, but then i am a sucker for that early startrek aesthetic.

Shelf Life: 4 seasons, 42 episodes (2-4mins)
Like an adult version of Toy Story. Short punchy episodes, very crude humour, very very funny. I've only finished two seasons so far i'm savoring it. Also there's a couple of free comics on their website.

Red vs Blue: 13+ seasons, 250+ episodes (3-10mins)
Animation set in the Halo game universe. I've never played Halo but that didn't stop me enjoying the first season of this which is all i've gotten to so far, so i have alllllll those other episodes to look forward too... good times .

Future Girl: 3 episodes (8-10mins), 4 minisodes (1-3mins)
Roommate sitcom, featuring a girl from the future, a viking and an idiot. I really hope they do more of this. There may only be three full episodes but each one feels quite dense which makes up for it.

Wish It Inc.: 12 episodes (10-14mins)
Sitcom about a company that grants wishes. The magical kind, not the depressing kind . You have a genie, a fairy, a clown (for birthday wishes) etc. Really well made, can be a little twee at times but over the course of the run every character has a chance to shine.

Dragon Age Redemption: 6 episodes (9-13mins)
Fantasy story written and starring Felicia Day, set in the Dragon Age game universe. I've never played the game but this does a good job of explaining the world it's in. Very first scene is really bad imo, but it gets better quick. Good stunts and makeup. Also Felicia makes a very cute Elf.

Coffee Shop Squatters: 2 seasons, 12 episodes (3-4mins)
Comedy about two guys who hang out at a coffee shop all day to work on their screen play. Its decent, i've only watched the first season so far. Raj's girlfreind from Big Bang Theory, the redhead (also she's in Bones) is in the first season, but not in the second as far as i know.

Dael Kingsmill's Mythology vlog: 65+ episodes (8-16mins)
Formerly of Geek&Sundry, Dael sits us down and tells us a myth, usually Greek and sometimes with funny drawing accompaniment. Its a lot better than it sounds. Luckily mythology is completely insane and Dael makes an excellent seanchaí.

MyMusic: 2 seasons, 58 episodes (8-15mins)
Sitcom about a music company. Each character having the name and being representative of a style of music. Metal, Indie, Idol etc. By no means a favorite of mine but quite watchable. Its humor is often based on annoying characters which can be... annoying .

Continuum: 2 seasons, 18 episodes (4-8mins)
A woman wakes aboard a spaceship with no memory of who she is. Sci-fi, thriller? This is really good. Very nice sets and special effects for a webshow. But i've only watched the first season so far, my love could turn to hate if i'm left hanging at the end of season two.

Death Battle: 60+ episodes (7-20mins)
Animated. Ever wanted to see who would win in a fight, Green Arrow or Hawkeye, Luke Skywalker or Harry Potter, Mario or Sonic?, then look no further. The best thing about this is that they actually try to figure things out by doing research and math. It's not a matter of picking their favorite. The sophistication of the animation increases throughout the run and they do a good job explaining who each character is for those you might not know.


More to come....
I'm currently watching, Carmilla, Pioneer One, HerStory, MAlice, and Voyage Trekkers.

wreade1872

Her Story: 1 season, 6 episodes (7-10mins)
Lesbian/transgender drama. Basically the L-Word. Well written and all the actors are likable. Also educational... but i'll forgive that as its so entertaining .



Voyage Trekkers: 2 seasons, 20 episodes (3-5mins), novella, radio-play etc.
This starts as the worst kind of cheap looking star-trek parody but it is funny and actually has a steady improvement rate throughout the first season. Glad i didn't give up on it after the first couple of episodes. I've only watched the first season so far.
These are not full storyline episodes, more like quick skits, the format seems to work very well.

wreade1872

Lackey Johnson presents Lovecraft: 2+ episodes (4-6mins)
I don't normally bother with short films but while there is only two so far this might turn into a long series. These are parodies of H.P.Lovecraft stories. Very good production values and scripting, the comedy is very deadpan.
1: The Ordeal of Randolph Carter, based on 'the Statement of Randolph Carter'
2: Beyond the Beyond, based on 'From Beyond'



Carmilla: 3 seasons, 84 episodes (3-5mins)
Supernatural drama romance. LOOSELY based on the famous Carmilla novella. Its pretty good, things do move a little too quickly from a romance point of view and just how supernatural this university is could have been spelled out a little earlier.
Overall very watchable, at least the first season which is all i've seen so far. Season 3 is called season 0 and is a prequel i'd imagine.

marcbrophy

I see you have Red vs Blue in your list!
A show I also watched the first season of recently and promised that I'd watch the rest, but have yet to get back to it

Interestingly, seasons 6 to 13 are on Netflix. They are segmented into a single episode is a season. It might be interesting to watch them that way, rather than go through all those individual YT vids. Season 6 is 2 hours long on it's own. Though having the entire season in one vid means there's no natural stopping point and you're commiting yourself to watch a full season each time you click play

Nice thread OP, gonna check out some of the other shows also!

wreade1872

marcbrophy wrote: »

I see you have Red vs Blue in your list!
A show I also watched the first season of recently and promised that I'd watch the rest, but have yet to get back to it

Interestingly, seasons 6 to 13 are on Netflix.

Oh... i had no idea they were on Netflix, good spot. I find it difficult to watch things out of order though so they'll probably be gone again by the time i make it to season 6 .
I still havn't finished Archer or Space Dandy on Netflix either. Too many shows too much of a life :P .

Currently watching: Pioneer One, mAlice, My Little Portal, Riley Rewind, Standard Action.

wreade1872

Pioneer One: 6 episodes (30-40mins)
In webshows i normally like short and funny. So this 40 minute long drama must be doing something really right to make me love it . Its hard to even classify this program. Its technically hard science-fiction (so think The Martian as opposed to Independence Day) but there's a lot of politic and beauacratic stuff happening aswell.
It spends some of the last episode setting up a second season which never happened but it doesn't feel incomplete.




My Little Portal: 7 episodes (10-40mins)
A twisted amalgamation of the Portal/Half-life games and My Little Pony. Not being a bronie i might be missing some of the injokes but i still thought this was pretty fun (and messed up ). It doesn't really have any end to it but then neither does Half-Life so that fits i guess :P .

wreade1872

Riley Rewind: 5 episodes (9-11mins)
School drama about about a girl who can turn back time. Not the most original idea, Source Code, Tru Calling etc. Also it was pretty easy to see where the plot was headed. Nevertheless its a triumph of execution, i really liked it. Great production and all the characters are good. Its only 5 episodes but doesn't feel short and the repeat time effect wasn't annoying.




Omega: 10 episodes (6-8mins)
A post alien invasion series. Its rare to see action based web shows so this makes a nice change but i do have some issues with it. It's exposition is a little confusing, how the alien situation works exactly never became clear to me.
It also has one of the most gratuitious cleavage shots i've ever seen. I don't know why it stood out so much it was just so forced and odd, i don't think the beret helped either :lol . Overall still worth a look.


Non-Recommendations are not necessarily negative, as in many cases they refer to things i simply wasn't able to get into and gave up on early, so i can't judge them fully. But i thought i'd mention them anyway.


Non-Recommendations:
Apart from Omega there are 4 other shows on MachinimaPrime.

Tainted Love: 6 episodes, WatchCount [All] starring Orlando Jones. It doesn't appear to be available anymore in ireland but it wasn't great anyway. Its the often done, 'robbing a drug dealer turned out to be a bad idea' storyline. Its Banshee-lite. They try to mix it up by doing some of the action scenes in comicbook animation but it doesn't work very well.

The cLAN: 10 episodes, WatchCount [One ep]. Similar to The Guild or LARPs but based around people who play an online shooter. Seemed a bit of a sausage-fest and i instantly kind of hated all the characters.

Game Over: 9 episodes, WatchCount [One ep]. I think these are all done in first person. They're a series of shorts in which the character dies at the end. Basically snuff films, so if your into that sort of thing...

Good Cops: 2 seasons, 17 episodes, WatchCount [Two eps]. Cop comedy with 70's mustaches. I just didn't like their brand of funny, other opinions may vary.

wreade1872

New Item:

mAlice: 4 seasons, 25 episodes (5-11mins)
Australian horror series, although its set in america. This is GREAT! Its more of a Lovecraft kind of horror so not too messed up, you can still watch it on a bus etc. In fact i guess its more of an action/horror. I've watched seasons 1 and 2 so far, it loses a little something in season 2 but all mysteries lose a little when they're explained.
It has quite a bit of CG for a webshow and while its a little ropey at times, overall its pretty impressive (for a webshow ).
Seasons 3-4 are called 'mAlice Metamorphosis' so not sure how its related to the first parts but looking forward to find out .


Non-Recommendations:
Made in Mosjøen: 19 episodes (4-10mins), WatchCount [One ep.]
Nope, this is not for me. The closest comparison for this show is 'Twin Peaks' so maybe a fan of David Lynch can watch this and report back but this is far too dark, weird and random for my taste.


Ghost Ghirls: 12 episodes, WatchCount [Two ep's]
Paranormal investigation comedy. This uses a sort of Dumb and Dumber approach. I just really dislike this style of overly stupid comedy. I think Jack Black had something to do with this show. It doesn't seem to have an official website anymore so i can't guarantee the link above.

wreade1872

New Item:

Bee and PuppyCat: 6 episodes (5-6mins)
Animated show about the insane inter-dimensional adventures of a food obsessed wo-manchild and her weird magical-cat-thing.
This is so anarchic and random it reminds a bit of Space Dandy. It's such a pity there isn't more of it, really its just 3 episodes split in two but its soooooo good. I look forward to rewatching this multiple times, also theres another series on the same channel called Bravest Warriors, doubt it can be as good as this but its on my to-do list.

Currently Watching: Standard Action, Red vs Blue s2, The Record Keeper, Save the Supers

wreade1872

New Items:

Save the Supers: 7 episodes (6-8mins), 7 minisodes (1-2mins), online game
Adult superhero comedy shot somewhat like The Office. This is SOooooo much better than i thought it would be. Its just so good mixing the superhero stuff with very mundane problems, but it doesn't undercut its heroes their not like wannabe hero's these are the real deal and it still manages to make it funny.
Some very notable guest stars too, such a pity this didn't get a second season but plenty of rewatch value on this one.




Standard Action: 3 seasons, 32 episodes (8-15mins), 2 comics
A fantasy comedy but set in a fantasy world that seems to run on game rules, they mention leveling, classes etc. This is an odd one, it starts off almost like sketch comedy and slowly becomes more story based as the first season progresses. By the end it was practically a comedy-drama.
It can feel a little fragmented at times due to its mix of sketch and story plus it often takes advantage of episode breaks to skip the story forward, such as 'we need to get out of this dungeon', next episode 'boy i'm glad we got out of that dungeon'.
The quality can also vary a bit depending on which character it focuses on although i have the say i did kind of like them all by the end of the season.
When its good its great and when its bad its still average . Looking forward to seeing the direction the show takes in seasons 2 and 3.
There's supposed to be two comics for this but the websites defunct, however one is still gettable on the Wayback Machine.

youngblood

H+: The Digital Series is a web series produced by Bryan Singer and created by John Cabrera and Cosimo De Tommaso. The series, which touches on the subject of transhumanism, premiered on August 8, 2012 on YouTube with two episodes

Whole series on Youtube-interesting watch

A future-set story in which a virus has wiped out most of the human race, and those still alive have their minds linked to the Internet 24 hours a day. Here, a viral incident leads to a new world order.

wreade1872

New Item:

The Record Keeper: 11 episodes (8-13mins)
Christian folklore, the war between heaven and hell, told from the point of view of the angels/daemons. This is really nice, it uses a steampunk asthetic but doesn't overdo it. The acting is great.
The earlier episodes with the old testament bits are more interesting than the latter new testament stuff but its still good through out.
The people who payed for this, the Seven Day Adventists have since disavowed it as being too awesome. As such it has no permanent home on the net but is worth searching for. I prefer greek, norse, irish folklore to christian but that didn't detract from my watching experience.


Update:
Red vs Blue season2
Much more of a single story than season 1 and not as funny but still decent. Ends on a cliff hanger.


Currently Watching: Under InspeKion, Classic Alice ep87+, Bad Timing, We Are Angels, F to 7th