Our ongoing series covering web-based productions in the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror genres. If you have a recommendation for a web original that we should look at, contact us at mail@axiomsedge-scifi.com.
By John J. Joex
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars (Highest Rating)
This past weekend, knowing that NBC’s “relaunch” of The Event was coming on Monday, I went back to catch up on the three episodes of the show from last Fall that were still sitting on my DVR. I cringed my way through most of the first of the three episodes then fell asleep about twenty minutes into the second of the three. Later, I decided that I don’t have to torture myself with the mediocre to just plain bad sci fi television we have been getting from the broadcast networks of late (other examples from this season include V and No Ordinary Family). Especially when I have discovered a treasure trove of really good genre productions on the web while working on this column. While the big-time networks continue to crank out formulaic or just plain nonsensical drivel in Prime Time looking for the next Lost, independent producers are delivering some really good work of their own on the internet that the general populace is just barely aware of.
The latest web series that I watched is Cell: The Web Series, and if you (like the networks) are searching for a Lost-type series with engaging drama, confounding mysteries, and an emerging mythology, then look no further than this production. And it manages to do all that on a single set with no more than three actors (until the final episode at least) and practically no special effects. And while this is definitely a small, intimate, claustrophobic story, it also has plenty of hints toward a grander tale much like what played out on Lost.
The series begins with a man named Brian waking up in a cell, but not knowing why he is there. He immediately becomes indignant and begins screaming to be released. He then discovers that another person is in the neighboring cell; a woman who claims she does not remember her name and she warns Brian to keep his temper under control. A man then shows up, we do not get his name, and proceeds to punish Brian for his misbehavior with an electric cattle-prod and other means. The man tells the woman that it is her job to teach Brian and keep him in line and from there follows a progression of humiliations to break the will and identity of both the inmates in an at times Prisoner-esque nightmare setting.
That synopsis basically gives you the set up for the series, but you’ll want no more than that going in. Because this tale does not follow the direction you would expect and delivers several shockers. And it also gives us some intense, riveting, drama. There were times that I found myself just staring wide-eyed at the screen with my jaws agape because I was so astounded by the events transpiring. The series runs thirteen episodes of around eight to twelve minutes each (some shorter and the finale goes twenty minutes) and I sat through it all in almost one sitting because I found myself so engrossed. It reminded me of the way I reacted to the early episodes of Lost, amazed by the subtlety and complexity that the writers weaved through the stories. I should note that the acting falls short in a few places and the series kind of drags in the middle. But for the most part the actors do a good job and the few stumbles barely detract from the overall excellence of the production. And Cell definitely manages to outshine much of the more “professional” work we see on television.
Mark Gardner, who has some professional work on his resume, created, wrote, and directed the series, and I would definitely say that he is an emerging talent. And this series has received several awards and many accolades since it first came out last year. I do not know what plans they currently have for continuing it as I cannot find much information about it on the internet. There is a brief interview with Gardner over at SciFinal.com and a stub of an entry for the series at Wikipedia and the show’s website has no information about future plans. I do hope a second season is planned, though, as I would much rather spend more time watching Cell than the piffle the broadcast networks keep throwing at us. Not that I would want to see Cell as a television series, I think it would wear thin quickly in that format and works much better as short webisodes. But I would very much like to see a continuation of the web series and believe that it has potential to develop into an internet phenomena of its own. You can watch all thirteen episodes over at the show’s website.
