Archive for the 'Drama' Category

• Tagline : NYU student Brian Sandro has a secret: he and his friends pirate hundreds of millions of dollars of illicit Hollywood movies in their spare time.
• Website : The Scene
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• Parental Rating : 15
• Star Rating : 8 out of 10

This is probably unlike any drama you will ever watch on conventional television. The show centres around our main character Brian Sandro, a NYU student who pirates movies for the sheer thrill of being the first to release on the Internet, along with his other nameless Internet friends. Collectively they call themselves CPX and are only know to each other by their Internet handles, Teflon, Pyr0, Slipknot, C0da and Trooper. What makes this drama unusual is the way it all unfolds. We have our main character Brian as a sort of Webcam movie in the top left of the screen, the rest of the screen is dedicated to Brian’s desktop, it’s here where we read the messages going back and forth between the group members, Brian’s long suffering girlfriend Melissa and the mysterious Luckychi2203.

Whatever your views on pirating movies, there is would you believe an unwritten code, that says you will not sell out, to make a fast buck. However Brian finds that an offer from the mysterious Luckychi2203 is too good to pass, especially since his father has been taken ill and he is having trouble making the payments on his tuition.

The first episode I watched, was a little slow, but this is mainly because it takes a while to remember how the cast of characters all fit together. Remember the only person you see live, is Brian, but that may change later, I’m so far only on episode 4 and it’s just beginning to heat up, when the group find out that the movie they’re been working feverishly to rip has already surfaced on the Internet. They smell something fishy and it’s going to be interesting to see how the story unfolds.

The first episode appeared sometime in late 2004 and they are still being released every 2-3 weeks. They’re currently up to episode 19, so I have a ways to go before I am up to date. At around 15 minutes, they are around the perfect length, to just squeeze one in before I come to work.

Conclusion : If you are a tech head, you will no doubt really enjoy the format of the show. For anyone else, it’s going to be a case of suck it and see.

• Tagline : Eleven Bravo Productions presents the new original police drama “PORT CITY P.D.”
• Website : Port City P.D.
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• Parental Rating : 15
• Star Rating : 8.5 out of 10

Wow, now this is what vidcasting and Internet TV is all about. I don’t know of any other dramas like this and if there are, I’d certainly be surprised if they were up to this high standard. Produced by Eleven Bravo Production, they are hoping to make season 1, at least 9 episodes.

Like all good dramas, you have to get your intended audience up to speed, very quickly. Port City P.D., does this very well and then some. 21 minutes of uninterrupted story and that’s just the way I like it. That’s not to say some kind of advertising won’t creep in over time. Producing video is an expensive thing and some kind of adverts, maybe at the beginning or end, wouldn’t detract from the show too much.

The action starts off, like any good cop show at the scene of a murder. Our main character, Alex Dekker and his partner, later stop a car for suspected drunk driving. What starts out as a simple arrest, turns into a murder, when Alex’s partner is shot dead, while Alex is calling in to dispatch from the car. And so begins the story. Somewhere else in the city, a NARC officer, Detective Williams takes down some drug dealers. The two meet at the scene of another murder and end up butting heads. So begins an unlikely partnership, or is it likely in these circumstances. Throw in the obligatory counselor, trying to help Alex, grieve his former partner and you have all the ingredients of what is set to become a cracking series.

Although there is the odd swear word and some mature references, it’s nothing you wouldn’t so far find, on any TV cop show. Actually so far, I find this a little more life like. The dialogue and acting needs to loosen up a little, but I’m sure that will come, the further we get into the show, but it’s not bad by any means.

Conclusion : Slightly formulaic, but highly enjoyable and well worth watching. A particular mention has to go to the soundtrack, especially the theme song “Get Through This” from The Art of Dying, which is excellent. I’m really looking forward to episode two.