Bottom Line: This is a really interesting premise, I just wish that the delivery was a little better. Some of the dialogue is shaky and the intro drags out what might otherwise be a much tighter show. It is still worth seeing for it’s unique look at questions of sexuality.

Rose a comfortably out woman who identifies as lesbian serendipitously meets Anthony a nice progressive straight man and both they and their friends are thrown in to comedic confusion when they unexpectedly find themselves falling for each other.

This Web TV Series is about a lesbian who falls in love with a man and has to deal with coming out all over again. New episode will debut on Sunday evenings.

Details

Cast: Stephanie Reibel, Fay Wolf, Kristen Howe, Jaime Michaels, Steph Davis, Kyle Schickner, Jay Burns, Oren Skoog
Website: Rose By Any Other Name

Facebook: Join Them On Facebook

Ratings

Style 3

For a web series that clocks in at about 5 minutes an episode, the intro is much too long (it clocks in at over a minute). The series itself flows pretty well, with every episode capturing one or two major plot elements. (Pacing 3)

Some of the extended dialogue is awkward, it’s not the acting per se (the female leads are great), there is just something that doesn’t quite flow about the script especially in the scenes involving the male characters. It’s really a shame because overall the story presents a really interesting premise. (Storytelling 2.5)

Polish 3.5

Watchability 3

Novelty 4

Overall Rating: 3.16 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line: Delayed Teen Angst is one of those shows you will need to watch a few episodes of to get the rhythm. It’s different and until you see what they are trying to do the dialogue and pacing might throw you off. If you can get past that, Delayed Teen Angst is a unique retelling of the classic summer love story.

DELAYED TEEN ANGST (DTA) is the tale of noble Lionel (Tristan Scott); his no-nonsense sister, Evie (Amy Vorpahl); and his lovelorn friend, Damian (Fernando Noor), as they straddle adulthood during summer vacation. When Evie entertains the affections of Damian, Lionel struggles with the fact that his partner in chromosomes may be violated by his long-time friend.

From screenwriter Claire L. Wasmund and director Karen Bullis comes this breakout series that takes a comic look at a summer romance that goes seriously wrong.

Details

Cast: Tristan Scott, Amy Vorpahl, Fernando Noor
Website: Delayed Teen Angst

YouTube: Watch Them On YouTube
Twitter: Follow Them On Twitter
Facebook: Join Them On Facebook
Vote For It: Delayed Teen Angst

Ratings

Style 3

Pacing 4

This is definitely a weird one. Go into it knowing that and you will enjoy the story, if you are looking for a “normal” webseries you might be disappointed. (Storytelling 3.5)

Polish 3.5

I’ll admit, after the first episode I really couldn’t figure this one out. The characters are painted with broad flourishes and the dialogue borders on the purple. It took a few episodes to realize that the entire thing was deliberate but once I did I learned to appreciate the unique artistic style. (Watchability 2.5)

Novelty 3

Overall Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line: A sweet, sentimental and poignant look at love and romance. If you can get past some of the sound issues, what you will find is a heartfelt and personal look at some of the pitfalls of relationships that might actually touch something inside of you.

LUVumentary is a mockumentary web series that explores LOVE and takes an intimate look at the journey women go on to have it.

Details

Creator: Jenn Page
Website: LUVumentary

YouTube: Watch Them On YouTube

Ratings

Style 3

Shot as a documentary this series moves at a slow, deliberate pace and is meant to be watched back to back. If you do, what you will discover is one of the sweeter more heartfelt tellings of the unrequited love tale in webseries land. (Pacing 3.5)

I truly enjoyed this story. The awkward moments between Lola and Jimmy are really painful to watch, they both do a fantastic job selling the often confusing and contradictory universe of male/female relationships. Storytelling 4.5

As a lower budget production you are bound to get some hiccups, in this case the biggest distraction is the sound. Often when there is foreground noise, the dialogue gets drowned out. If you play with the volume and take the show for what it is, you may be happily surprised. (Polish 2.5)

Watchability 3.5

Novelty 4

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line: Old Friends was developed by Nick Ross and Tim Curcio as a spinoff from an original sketch show at New York’s Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. The premise is pretty simple, Nick Ross runs into old “friend” Tim Curcio one afternoon. They get to talking about the past which happens to include that one time when Nick took Tim’s wife’s virginity.

It’s funny, it’s sharp and it explores interesting issues about sex, friendship and dwelling in the past.

Old Friends is comedy about friendship, sex, boundaries and virginity. It is the story of Tim and Nick, two 28 year- olds who, until now, haven’t seen each other since high school. Tim is married to his high school sweetheart, Andrea. Nick is dating Andrea’s best friend, Katie.

Everything would be fine if Nick hadn’t taken Andrea’s virginity back in high school. Since high school, Nick’s life has been impulsive and non-committal. He’s a bartender living in New York, enjoying the women and the lifestyle and taking it as it comes. Tim married Andrea, his high school sweetheart, shortly after graduating and they now live comfortably together in Manhattan.

Having never explored a life of sexual promiscuity, Tim is implicitly skeptical of Nick and deeply resents him for having slept with his wife. Nick, who has never had a serious relationship, now sees a chance to re-form some old bonds with Tim and his still very sexy wife. Old Friends follows the unlikely series of events that draw Tim and Nick ever closer, even though Tim would like nothing more than to see Nick die in a fire.

Details

Creators: Nick Ross, Tim Curcio
Website: Old Friends

YouTube: Watch Them On YouTube
Babelgum: Watch Them On Babelgum
Facebook: Join Them On Facebook
Vote For It: Old Friends

Ratings

Style 3.5

The episodes are quick and well paced, heavy on the awkward moments while maintaining a high enough joke ratio to keep you smiling throughout. (Pacing 4.5)

What’s great about this story is how the characters grow. At first Tim and Nick are constantly at each other’s throat, Nick did take Tim’s wife’s virginity oh so many years ago, but over time you can start to get the picture that they are beginning to understand each other a little bit. Even if it isn’t friendship, it is something and the story does a great job of exploring it. (Storytelling 4.5)

Polish 4

Watchability 5

Novelty 3

Overall Rating: 4.08 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line: While the pacing early in the series is uneven, this beautifully shot Hong Kong fantasy will draw you in the world of the mirrorspy.

LUMINA is an original web series written and directed by Jennifer Thym and starring JuJu Chan, Michael Chan and Vince Matthew Chung. Filmed on the RED One, the nine part web series is a dark, densely woven fantasy set against the sparkling backdrop of Hong Kong.

Lumina Wong is beautiful but works far too much; although she lives in a city of millions, she still feels lonely and isolated. Late one night, Lumina has a chance encounter with Ryder Lee, a handsome young man from another world that she can see in mirrors and darkened window reflections. She revels in the fantasy relationship until mirrorspy Eben Sanchez comes into her life, warning her of the treacheries of the people of the Dark Realm. Soon Lumina must choose between the safety of the world she knows and the deadly allure of the unknown.

Details

Cast: Juju Chan, Michael Chan, Jacob Ziacan, Shell Z. Zhu, Vince Chung, Emilie Guillot, Lawrence Milman, Kate Sullivan, Aisling Kinsella
YouTube Channel: Lumina
Website: Lumina
Support the Show: Watch Lumina On Koldcast

Subscribe

Feed: Feed
Facebook Page Lumina

Ratings

The entire series is beautifully shot in Red One, the “mirrorspy” effect is believable and the Hong Kong backdrop that we find ourselves in is one of the most stunning of any web series I’ve seen. (Style 5)

My biggest criticism of the show is that it skips around more than it should, in the first few episodes so many cast members are introduced that you never really get a sense for any of them. Even the “Prince” feels more like a sketch than a fully developed character. In a lot of ways it feels more like a problem with the length of each episodes than the writing, and as things pick up I’m hoping we’ll have more time to truly get to know the people we are following. (Pacing 3.5)

You can really tell that a lot of time was put into the mirrorspy mythology, the story is rich and the concepts they are drawing on make you hope they get past the somewhat uneven pace of the early season. In all, unlike a lot of other single-concept based web series, Lumina really feels like you have been drawn into a new,different and altogether compelling world. (Storytelling 4)

Polish 4

Watchability 3.5

Novelty 4

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Phil thinks that he is the reincarnation of Zorro, most of his co-workers don’t. One day a new worker, Jenny, comes into the office and they spark a friendship around the iconic masked swordsman.

This is a sweet and comedic take on the office romance, complete with a fight with the girl’s boyfriend and a neurotic, obsessed but generally well meaning protagonist.

If there was anything at all wrong with this it’s that I wish there was more of it. By squeezing the character concept into a short, they really had to make us know Phil was a little off of his nut right up front. This isn’t really a problem but it did make it a little harder to sympathize with him.

Overall this is a different take on the romantic comedy that adds a good deal of life to a genre that has been beaten to death.

Creator’s Description

Phil comes into work to find another typical day of ridicule. Constant bullying and a rough childhood has made him into the person he is and by using the fantasy of Zorro he escapes from his harsh reality. It isn’t until a new girl starts at his work that he needs to face his fears and use his “special skills” from within his fantasy for a real-life struggle.

Details

Creators: Grant Cooper, Cameron Dixon, Sarah Fulcher
Vimeo Channel: Phil And Jenny
Website: Unhappy Situations

Ratings

Style 3.5

It moves a little too quickly, this one might have done well with another 3 minutes tacked on. (Pacing 3)

Storytelling 4

Polish 4

Watchability 4

A great new take on the romantic comedy genre, it’s a really fun watch. (Novelty 4.5)

Overall Rating: 3.83 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line: It’s not too often that you get a dramatic web series that manages to touch on complex social issues without devolving into a heavy-handed mess. Anyone But Me is surprisingly sharp and intensely engaging, easily one of my favorite dramatic series.

When 16 year old Vivian McMillan has to move from New York City to the suburbs, her relationships, past and present, are tested. And her identity goes through seismic changes. The daughter of a NYC firefighter, Vivian has no choice but to leave the city with her dad after health problems he suffered trying to save people on September 11th force him to retire. This moving, funny, and relevant new drama speaks to all ages and hearts as it follows the journey of six teenagers and the adults who try to understand them.

Details

Cast: Rachael Hip-Flores, Nicole Pacent, Joshua Holland, Alexis Slade, Jessy Hodges, Mitchell Adams, Dan Via, Barbara Pitts
Strike.tv Channel: Anyone But Me
Website: Anyone But Me
Support the Show: Visit The Anyone But Me Store

Subscribe

RSS Feed: Feed
Facebook Page Anyone But Me

Ratings

Style 4

Pacing 4

Anyone But Me tackles issues of displacement, sexuality and growing up at a steady pace and with an even hand. It’s one of the most profoundly interesting web series dramas I’ve come across and this is coming from someone who loves to hate the genre. The characters are believable, the directing is solid and Rachel Hip-Flores and Nicole Pacent sells their roles (Vivian and Aster) beautifully. (Storytelling 5)

Polish 4.5

This show has built on controversy. The main character is a teenage lesbian trying to come to terms with her identity. As such, it’s not for everyone. That being said, the writers of this series manage to cover a lot of complex social issues without the heavy-handed moralizing that might otherwise alienate wider audiences. If you can keep an open mind, this show will get you thinking. (Watchability 5)

They manage to take the tired old teen “coming of age” story and add enough twists to it to make it watchable again. (Novelty 4)

Overall Rating: 4.41 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line: Once you get past the fact that their coffee shop is very obviously a kitchen this clever, touching story of a group of emotionally damaged coffee shop employees may become one of your favorite web series of the year.

In the premiere episode, Mitch (Morgan Lee) starts his job at the Rose City Coffeehouse, where the pay is meager, the humiliation plentiful, and the customers are always wrong.

Details

Cast: Morgan Lee, Lara Kobrin, Leif Norby, Melissa Kaiser, Jessica Zodrow, Ehren Ebbage, Chris Bolton
Vimeo Channel: Wage Slaves
Website: Wage Slaves
Support the Show: Review The Show

Subscribe

RSS Feed: Feed
Facebook Page Wage Slaves

Ratings

Style 3

Pacing 4

Drama is hard with web series. Drama is really hard, so when someone makes the attempt I have to give them credit, when someone does it well it deserves a mention. Wage Slaves does it well. The story is not without its flaws, the supporting cast feels a little coarsely written and some of the jokes don’t work but the overall story arc is catchy and watching the main character develop is strangely compelling. It’s one of those shows you’ll need to get through a few episodes before it grows on you, but once it does you’ll find yourself watching the entire run. (Storytelling 4)

I am all for low budget productions, and honestly I like this show a lot but you can really, really tell that its being shot out of a kitchen. I wish that somewhere in the pilot they would have explained why that is, or told us it was a quaint bed and breakfast place that sold coffee or something. Without that, I found myself spending far too much time looking at kitchen fixtures and wondering why no one else seemed to notice how weird that was. (Polish 3)

It runs a little on the long side with episodes typically breaking the ten minute mark, but the upside is that you get to see a plot fully develop. What I like about this show as compared to shorter web series is that it doesn’t feel as clipped. It gives you room to start to feel something for the characters and get inside their head a little. (Watchability 3.5)

Novelty 3

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line: The first episode is the best by far, but the series manages to stay entertaining enough throughout its short run (4 episodes) to keep you coming back.

It’s the first day at school and Jude wants to get his homosexuality off his chest. Meanwhile his ex-girlfriend Christa tries to get revenge on him, and the new kid Ben is getting used to the jocks bullying him.

Details

Cast: Tyler Mann, Itay Gofman, Rachel Lenchner, Eden Mader, Lauren Soul, Riven Uchiwa, Adina Yoselevsky
Deviant Art Channel: First Period
Website: Tyler Mann – Deviant Art
Support the Show: Watch More Of Tyler’s Films

Ratings

Sometimes the sheer number of cuts distracts from the scene. (Style 2.5)

Pacing 3.5

The script is solid but there are some points where you can tell that the actors can “see” the camera. It adds to the quirkiness of the entire enterprise but it can distract from the immersion. (Storytelling 3)

Polish 3.5

Viewer discretion is advised, there are a lot of sexual references and a lot of vulgarity, if you are particularly sensitive to either you might want to take a pass on this one. However, if you can get past that you are in for a thoroughly entertaining series. (Watchability 3)

Novelty 3.5

Overall Rating: 3.16 out of 5 stars