I don’t watch much television. It’s not lack of interest; it’s more commitment-phobia. Some popular programs have an ongoing storyline; the viewer needs to see every episode to be able to follow the story. I can’t plan my life around a series schedule. I’ve turned to Hulu a few times to catch episodes of Bones that I missed in primetime, but the only shows I make an effort to see are the three entries in the Law & Order franchise.
When situation comedies decided that they should not only be funny, but should also present a serious message, they lost me. I suppose they always made a point—didn’t we learn not to jump to conclusions from The Dick Van Dyke Show, to resist impulses from I Love Lucy, and the costs of being stubborn from The Honeymooners?—but we weren’t always beat over the head with it, then treated like morons who have to have everything explained in detail.
I knew about web series but never checked any out for two reasons. I expected they would be like the worst YouTube videos (repeatedly), and I didn’t want to invest the time. Well, the time was right for Vamped Out.
Right now, vampires are big. They are also moody, little kids. Okay, not little kids, but young adults. When you reach a certain age, they’re the same. Comedy is a good thing and most anything can be improved by adding a little comedy. Vampires are cool, but not particularly funny, probably because of that sucking the blood out of you thing. What if a vampire was an out-of-work actor who can’t get roles because he’s not “vampirey enough”?
That’s the premise of Vamped Out, a web comedy series that premiered on April 12. One happy discovery is that it is less than nine minutes long, and those nine minutes aren’t stretched to fill a half-hour time slot. Because it’s online, you can watch it when you want, not when the programmer says you will (I realize with TiVo those restraints have been greatly loosened), and there aren’t a zillion commercials getting in the way of your concentration.
Article comments