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: 4 out of 5 Stars
Tim Helsing is a normal guy as he says so himself: “Normal job. Normal flat. Normal everything.” But then some crotchety old guy comes up to him on the bus and tells him that he is actually a little less normal than he thought. He is in truth the last remaining descendant of Abraham Van Helsing, the guy who offed the original Dracula in Bram Stoker’s novel and has since shown up in any of a number of horror stories, comics, movies, etc. Now Tim must take up the torch and carry on the fight of his ancestors in order to ensure that the balance is sustained between good and evil. And to help him in this endeavor, he has his loyal sidekick (though he doesn’t know Tim refers to him as a sidekick) Poncho de la Cruz who also happens to be a werewolf (he doesn’t know that either). Oh, but there’s one more twist to this twisted story: a camera crew is tagging along to document Tim’s battle against the creatures of the night.
That’s the premise of the web series I Am Tim which comes to us from Red Shirt Films with the full six-episode first season available on the show’s website and on YouTube. The web series does not cover any of the backstory (that’s all supplied on the website), and instead just jumps right in as the over-eager documentary team follows Tim’s “adventures” hoping to see some legendary monsters and catch a bit of blood on camera as well. And I should note that Tim, little more than an office schlub before discovering his true destiny, is not necessarily the best monster hunter around. He tends to fumble through his encounters, with many of the extras from the documentary crew becoming fodder for the monsters they meet in the process (a running joke through the series, and note the name of the production company: Red Shirt). But in a Maxwell Smart sort of way (come on, it may be old but it’s a classic: Get Smart), he always (er, usually) manages to prevail in the end.
This web series gives us a fun little spoof on the horror and documentary genres as well as a nice helping of cheesy gore. As you might expect in a series like this, some of the jokes hit the mark while others fall flat, but it keeps thing rolling at a brisk pace so as not to get boring, and you always know that another schtick is just around the corner in case the last one fired blanks. The gore scenes and “special effects” are rather cheesy, but that actually adds to the humor more often than not. The acting is sufficiently over-the-top (too much so in a few cases), but the documentary format keeps everything in perspective and balances out the excesses. The web series runs six episodes of ten to fifteen minutes and ends on a cliffhanger of sorts that obviously suggest a second season follow-up. Horror fans should enjoy this one, even if it can be a little rough around the edges at times. But they have set up a good premise, and carried it off decently well, and this one could easily continue for several more seasons.
Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 Stars
We all know about Darth Vader: the evil Sith Lord, chief general of the Empire, and primary foe of the Rebel Alliance. But we tend to forget about his brother, Chad Vader. You see, Chad suffered from a devastating accident as well when he rode his bike into a volcano those many years ago. And Darth, being a good big brother, lent him one of his older life support suits and helmets in order to cover up the scars from the incident. True, Chad has not received the same level of notoriety as his brother, but he has succeeded in striking fear into the hearts of millions. Well, make that thousands—well perhaps just a few shoplifters. You see Chad Vader has risen up in the ranks of the Empire. The Empire Market, that is, where he is the Day Shift Manager.
And that’s the premise of this nutty little web series that comes to us from Aaron Yonda and Matt Sloan who wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the series. Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager gives us the less glamorous side of life in the Empire as the title character tries to run his store with an iron grip while also trying to fend off the night shift manager who wants his job. The series delivers the type of ironic humor you might expect if a Darth Vader type was managing a grocery store and regularly mixes in lines from the movies with everyday encounters (“Our plans to make this station fully operational may be jeopardized” he says as they do not have enough people to cover the shift on Saturday). These can be laugh-out-loud funny at times, though it starts to wear thin as the series progresses. Also the story arc for the first season gets a bit tired, but at eight episodes of four to five minutes each it never gets unbearable. And I’d definitely say that the first season is a must-see for all Star Wars fans because it does manage to turn that universe and its grand pretensions on its head. I should also note that Matt Sloan, who voices Chad, does a superb job at the Darth Vader voice.
The series first showed up as part of the Channel 101 film festival and went on to win the Official Star Wars Fan Film Award and it also received personal recognition from George Lucas (no word yet on whether he wants to redo the special effects or assure that viewers know that Chad Vader did not shoot the shoplifter first). You can watch the entire first season on YouTube and they have done two additional seasons for those interested. You can also find out more about the show and buy the DVDs at its official website.
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