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The fantastic crash and burn of Quarterlife hammered home the truth that television and the internet are two very different mediums. What works for one, doesn’t necessarily work for the other. Do we want to watch full length shows online? Will content that is popular online be just as popular on the mother ship of television? No. The mediums should stick to what they do best. And for internet, that is short form. And usually comedy, which is probably why I didn’t watch Quarterlife, and yet find myself addicted to 2/8 Life, its parody on the Independent Comedy Network (www.icn.tv). “This generation will solve global warming, cure cancer, and fix social security,” each episode begins. “These four kids won't."
I don't watch shorts online very often because – yes I really am saying this - I find them too long. Sitting and staring for up to 15 minutes? Pass. So, although Quarterlife sounded like an interesting, relatable premise, and I respect the taste of producers Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick (My So-Called Life!) I really had no desire to sit through it. I was relieved when NBC acquired it, because now I could recline on my couch instead of shifting around on my desk chair. So I put it in my Tivo list and prepared to lean back. But oh my god it was awful. Lame characters that I didn't care about, dark lighting that made these lame characters hard to see, and storylines that...well, were there storylines? So we reach the point of my story. I was forwarded the first episode of 2/8 Life, a send up of Quarterlife, that airs (I should probably say "lives" since you can share and embed these shorts, and therefore I see them everywhere now) on the Independent Comedy Network (www.icn.tv). And I realized that I hated Quarterlife because it didn’t bring anything new to storytelling, whether that be online or on television. The characters were all people I’d seen before (literally - I’d seen most of these actors elsewhere.) But instead of thinking, “oh I totally know this character, he reminds me of my cubicle mate,” it was more like, “oh I know this arrogant ass who’s always managed to fail upward.” Not exactly someone I want to visit with while snuggling on my couch. Plus, I want my shorts to be SHORT - no episode of 2/8 Life is longer than 4 minutes so far - and entertaining, with relatable characters that I enjoy spending time with. 2/8 got it exactly right, poking fun at the self-absorption of the Millennial Generation (who else would do a video blog?) and as an added angst-bonus, the friends are named after the My So Called Life-ers - Angela, Rayanne, Brian and Jordan. How could you not love that? Plus the millennium update of the Luol, the Sudanese roommate ("I am here to better myself through education") and separated-from-his-wife Bob, who lives on the couch. The gleeful vapidity draws you in, until you actually care about these people despite yourself.
What's great about the internet is that it's an equal opportunity medium - anyone can create content and upload it somewhere. But that doesn't guarantee that it's good, and if it is good, there is no guarantee that it will ever be seen. That’s where the Independent Comedy Network comes in. Only a year old, it was founded by Marc Campbell, who comes from both the business world (a UCLA Anderson School of Business graduate, he was formerly a private equity banker) and comedy (he trained and preformed at the Upright Citizens Brigade and founded the Westside Eclectic Comedy School in Santa Monica). The site features serialized comedy shorts, with a focus on high quality programming. The goal: to provide a forum for talent to showcase their work. “Until now, major media players controlled all production and distribution, but with the launch of platforms like ICN, those days are over,” says Campbell. “Now talent can, and should, side-step the countless pitch meetings once necessary to bring their ideas to life. Top writers, directors, producers and actors can partner with ICN to create great comedy properties and reach a large audience, while maintaining a meaningful stake in their show’s success. This is virtually unprecedented in the traditional Hollywood model.” Clearly the ICN model is working, because I'm not alone in my love of small metrics. 2/8 Life has received over 1.3 million views since it debuted about a month and half ago, and has begun production on 7 more episodes. The first 5 episodes were just re-released with a commentary track featuring the director and cast, and they're equally as entertaining as the actual shows. And you have to love an online network whose tagline is "Comedy for the ‘reasonably’ intelligent (I guess that includes me, although I'd like to think I'm reasonably - no infantilizing quotes - intelligent). The channel has a full slate of 40 original series planned for 2008, and each series will run weekly on www.icn.tv as well as on ICN’s 15 distribution partners, including branded channels on YouTube, MySpaceTV, Blip, Vuze, DailyMotion, iTunes, Joost,Veoh, Revver, Next.TV, Metacafe, Blinkx, Miro, Babelgum and Arootz, along with several new distribution relationships currently in development. 2/8 Life An ode to the NBC/MySpace series Quarterlife, 2/8 Life follows aspiring writer Angela Curtis as she blogs all about her friends despite the fact that she, they, and possibly her entire generation of twenty-somethings aren't quite as engaging as they might think. 2/8 Life features Bob Wiltfong, former correspondent on The Daily Show.
www.icn.tv/series/28life Inappropriate Workplace We all have experienced inappropriate behavior in the workplace at one time or another, but have you ever been asked to change your boss’s tampon? Welcome to Duane’s world! Follow Duane, your standard cubicle drone, as he is sucked into the most inappropriate situations humanly possible. Written and Created by Paula Goldberg, Directed by Ryan Sage and Produced by Neil E. Palmer. www.icn.tv/series/inappropriateworkplace
Annals A history show featuring “Hostorian” Aubrey Goshen, who educates viewers with his unique and captivating take on the real stories behind important cultural trends such as reality television, drug abuse, secret societies and, of course, robots. www.icn.tv/series/annals
Plea Bargain Advertising When two down-on-their luck guys inherit a defunct local advertising agency, they must do their best to keep the agency afloat, despite their complete lack of experience. Eddie Pepitone, of the Sarah Silverman Program and Old School, and Ron Lynch, of the Tim and Eric Awesome Show and Great Job!, appear on Plea Bargain Advertising. \ www.icn.tv/series/pleabargain Warthog It's THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT, but for the three executives of Warthog Inc., it's business as usual. They're the only ones who show up for work Monday morning while the rest of the office, indeed, the rest of the world, has stayed at home. Instead of sitting around waiting for the final end, these three start dealing with the crisis the only way they know how...increasing market share. www.icn.tv/series/warthog WWW.ICN.TV
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