The Bannen Way: Season 1 Review

The Bannen Way won Best Drama at the 2010 Streamys. But drama at the Streamys is kind of like comedy at the Oscars. It's not the main event. So, how well does The Bannen Way compete on the grander scale of potential things to watch?

Well, it certainly makes a strong visual pitch. The Bannen Way has been compared to Ocean's 11 and Smoking Aces for its sexy visual style. This flashy look allows director Jesse Warren to create a fun mood that works both as a web series and a feature film.

The main character, Neil Bannen (Mark Gantt), is a thief who dislikes guns. He's not a bad guy, but he simply can't resist playing ball with bad people. Naturally enough, he's indebted to a crime boss 150 grand. He wants to pay off his debt and quit the game, but he doesn't know whether he should turn to his his police chief father or his crime boss uncle for help.

While everyone loves a mischievous anti-hero, it has been done many times. In fact, the "attempting a heist to repay debt" storyline has been done many times. But for fans of the genre, The Bannen Way probably gets away with it by switching up just enough.

Part of the fun of a series like The Bannen Way is seeing how they are going to cleverly give us what we want. The series introduces a beautiful assassin who is known for killing her victims in the throes of passion. She meets Bannen and they begin to get intimate. Previously, Bannen's technical friends installed a camera in Bannen's glasses for heist purposes. Now, they accidentally tune into the unexpected show. Suddenly, they realize who the woman is and rush to warn Bannen before it is too late. It's a unique moment that also advances the plot.

The Bannen Way is good at creating interesting story arcs in just a few minutes. If it were solely a feature film, it would be less memorable. While The Bannen Way offers some twists to stay fresh, it doesn't topple the classics in its genre like Snatch.

Watch The Bannen Way.

From Crackle: The Criminal Lifestyle

Byte-Sized Television Book Review

Written by Ross Brown, Byte-Sized Television is a book intended to guide the aspiring web series creator to success. Brown suggests that, "Webisodes are the Wild West of Hollywood, a vast expanse of territory with unlimited potential just begging to be explored and mined." This book helps us set-up our mining operation by providing an all-inclusive guide to writing, marketing, producing, and distributing a web series.

In 14 chapters, Byte-Sized Television takes us from "What Is A Webisode?" to how to distribute our finished web series. However, it is in the first 5 chapters that Byte-Sized Television really distinguishes itself.

Brown suggests it is vitally important that a web series incorporate marketing as early as possible in the development process. For instance, he emphasizes coming up with a killer title like Web Therapy, which "tells and sells." He also stresses coming up with character types that your audience will recognize from their own experience. The Guild succeeds because it presents recognizable gamer personalities. These tips are straightforward, but memorable.

Reading Byte-Sized Television is as easy as watching a good web series. Brown writes with clarity and humor. However, his jack-of-all-trades approach falls a little short when it comes to explaining the actual production of a web series. A large portion of these chapters is common sense intended for the complete beginner. Yet the information is probably not comprehensive enough to get a beginner started without some additional guidance.

Still, Byte-Sized Television is a welcome contribution to the web series conversation.

00:24 (24 minutes): First 6 Episodes Review

I admit it. I was drawn in by the catchy title. I've only seen bits and pieces of 24, but I was curious to see how a web series might parody it.

So far, 00:24 does not disappoint. The series starts with a bang, immediately showing off its visual style and pace. The episodes are usually under 3 minutes, yet they always advance the story.

Stack Power, played by Ben Begley, performs convincingly as a parody of Jack Bauer from 24. Because the series tries to maintain a tone, hysterical moments are rarer than moderately funny ones. However, my favorite moments were when the tone, pace and acting combined to justify a ridiculous situation.

In episode 6, Stack Power enters a family's house during a chase. He needlessly pummels a man in the arm to shoo him into a room. He then bars the door with a chair before continuing his pursuit. It sounds strange, but it's funny and it works in the context of the show.

One slightly distracting element is the addition of credits over the show. Episode 6 has credits through the first 47 seconds of a 104 second episode. That's in addition to the normal 24 seconds of credits at the end. Regardless, I'm definitely curious to see if this web series can keep up the pace it has established.

Watch 00:24.