Web Series Review: "NYPD M"

Over the last few months I’ve watched several different web series to understand the medium and the many different ways in which it can and has been used.  There does not seem to be any one right way or wrong way to produce a web series which is where the web series “NYPD M” comes in.  This series is created by Hal Jordan and concerns two police detectives Anderson (Janelle Giumarra) and her new vampire partner Grimm (Jilon Vanover) whose cases ire on the side of the more supernatural.  This being said the premise is very much like The X-Files or Forever Knight or more recently the short lived Moonlight.

What the series excels in is the better than average production design, cinematography, and art direction.  What the series lacks is interesting characters and an engaging mystery and villain.  Because each episode of the series averages 5 minutes very little time is spent on characterizations or the case itself.  The entire first series (8 episodes) comes off as one single pilot episode broken up into 7 bits and because the final episode is also only 5 minutes long the series’ story wraps up too fast and is very anticlimactic.   This is where I believe that many web series fail.

It is my belief that the more successful web series may present an ongoing storyline throughout an entire season but each episode is a mini-movie unto itself so enjoying each individual episode is just as exciting as watching the entire season.  If an episode is revealed (or aired) in a timely fashion (i.e. once a week, once a month, etc.) than the anticipation between episodes is so much greater and the enjoyment so much better.  If all the web series is, is a movie broken up into parts then the series will lack the drive of making someone want to wait for each episode when they are released.  This is how I feel about “NYPD M.”  Despite the very well done end product, if I hadn’t been able to watch the whole series at one time, I wouldn’t have bothered coming back for each individual episode because there just wasn’t enough substance for me.

Many web series have gone in the same route as “NYPD M” and I’ve come to the conclusion that these types of series just aren’t making the most of the medium since there were alternative ways to utilize the medium and still tell a more engaging and interesting story.

To watch "NYPD M" go to http://blip.tv/nypdm