Flutterby™! : Sanctuary for All 2007-06-02 22:03:56.457746+00

Sanctuary for All

2007-06-02 22:03:56.457746+00 by Shawn 2 comments

With most of the TV shows having wrapped up their seasons for the summer, I was looking for something new to record when I ran across "Sanctuary" (Flash site with sound) - a new sci-fi series headlining Amanda Tapping, of Stargate fame. Being a Stargate junkie, I hurried over to the site and found that the 2-hour series pilot is being delivered (in 8 episodes) entirely - and only - via the web. After watching the first episode, I can definitely say I'll be buying the others.

So far production quality and story are good. Acting could improve a touch, but that's not uncommon with new shows in my experience - it takes a bit for actors to really establish their character. As for the feel, it's bit of a cross between Buffy and Heroes, with a splash of Hellboy. Oh, and they apparently now hold the Guinness World Record for "Highest Budget Television Production Direct to the Web".

(more of my thoughts and info about the show in the comments.)

#Comment Re: made: 2007-06-03 02:18:43.985816+00 by: Shawn [edit history]

[Edit (2007-06-02): I've re-worked the initial post, and moved some of what was there into the comments, so you might want to re-read the above.]

Okay, so TV's not dead itself, but I think it's becoming pretty clear that the production mechanism has got to, and is going to, change. A few weeks back the hosts of Buzz Out Loud were commenting on the growing irritant of shows that get canceled before they even get a chance to get rolling. As part of their discussion, one of them said that producers should put their pilots on the web - taking them to the TV stations later, after they've become successful. At the time I thought it a wonderful idea.

And now we see "Sanctuary" doing just that. They also seem to be doing it right. Viewing options are low-res Flash Video (via YouTube, et al) for free and higher-res Flash, Quicktime and Windows Media for $2/episode. (HD is also available in the latter two formats for $2.50.) And of course there's a teaser/trailer on the official site. In addition to providing the usual fan fare, the official fan site has an article on Women in Medicine In The Late 19th Century (Amanda's character is a Doctor from that era) and encourages both fan fiction and re-posting the low-res episodes.

Even if this isn't going to be the new paradigm for the masses, it certainly is becoming one for me. This is the second show I'm downloading and watching regularly (at least as regularly as they come out) on my MythTV (now attached to a new HDTV. Mmmmmmm... shiny). Unfortunately, I couldn't get the HD version of Sanctuary to play on the Myth box (although it plays fine on my Linux desktop so there doesn't appear to be any DRM), but the regular versions show up just fine - and look good.

If anybody else has any other online shows they've found out there I'd love to hear about them..