Crackle Rolls Out 'Coma'

From Crackle: Coma, Ep 1: The Blazer

So far, Crackle is looking promising. Today Crackle rolled the debut of its bid in the webisode race with 'Coma'. The show has the same green-screen technique as 'Gemini Division' but the production value is higher. As for story -- too early to tell for sure. Like most webisodes, 'Coma' dishes out minimal plot per segment, but I already like it better than 'Gemini Division' or Stephen King's 'N is Here'. And...and...Crackle lets you embed content, and...and, it bills itself as 'Your online TV network'. Very smart. Here's the synopsis of episode 1:

Premiere episode! Crime syndicate captain Lennox (Michael Madsen) is part of a "hand-off" that should guarantee re-election for corrupt mayor (George Hamilton). Then Lennox is shot by a mysterious assailant. Was he set up?

More Online Content Everyday

FearNet.com has made the entire comic (or is it graphic novel?) 30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust available online. The online video production is available from the source at FearNet, and is also on Hulu.

I think we'll be seeing a lot of this type of cross-promotion online in the future. Goes like this: 1) release storyboards (with or without sound/acting like Stephen King's 'N is Here') for free, then 2) release a super low-budget video version in 5-7 minute webisodes (or, in King's case, publish the novel), 3) make your money by selling advertising during the webisodes, or by selling copies of the novel.

This approach seems very well suited for horror and sci-fi. Gemini Division, a plucky sci-fi thriller, just rolled out yesterday with two webisodes. There's no comic book teaser to go with it, however NBC doesn't really need that kind of thing to hook an audience.

Here's an episode of Dust to Dust I snagged from Hulu.

Gemini Division Starts Today

NBC Universal has launched the web-only show 'Gemini Division'. This is a sci-fi serial that plays in 5 to 7 minute segments. Here's the promo that was available in the Wired write up. Here's the site where you can watch the first segment.