By Christopher Zara
After years of empty predictions regarding the Internet’s star-making potential,
the medium may finally be fulfilling its promise as a launching pad for actors.
That is, if we’re to believe the hype surrounding “Quarterlife,” the online
drama about angsty twentysomethings created by veteran TV producers Edward Zwick
and Marshall Herskovitz. The show, which is dispersed in eight-minute episodes,
has already garnered 2 million views since it debuted on MySpace.com on Nov. 11.
“Quarterlife’s” early buzz has been so strong, in fact, that NBC has decided to
air the program’s first season in early 2008, after its Internet run has
concluded.
All this would be great news if it weren’t for one minor glitch: “Quarterlife”
is not a particularly great show. Considering that the slacker genre is
well-treaded territory in episodic television, the show has an admittedly uphill
climb. But while “Quarterlife” may be novel in its chosen mode of distribution,
it’s hardly novel in its content. The show is more an unintentional parody of
its predecessors, in particular the Gen-X drama “My So-Called Life,” which was
also created by Zwick and Herskovitz. “Quarterlife’s” lead character Dylan,
played by Bitsie Tulloch, makes video blogs in her bedroom and utters phrases
like, “It’s my curse that I can see what other people are thinking,” but she
seems a little too old to be doing either.
This is not to say that “Quarterlife” is without its saving graces. With its
slick production and capable cast, the show has clearly improved upon the genre
of Web-based, youth-aimed series that took shape last year with micro-budgeted
sitcoms like “Floaters” and “The Burg.” Still, “Quarterlife” feels more like a
reject from the upfronts than a groundbreaking hit. Will it survive the jump to
television next year? That all depends on how many of us keep watching longer
than eight minutes.
(c)
2007 Show Business Weekly
