Dollhouse

Webisodes provides fix for those missing favourite shows

If you can’t beat ’em, stream ’em. That’s how some TV producers view the Internet, using the Web to draw in viewers who either can’t get enough of their favourite show or might otherwise forget it’s even on.

Rescue Me sat out over a year-and-a-half between Seasons Four and Five (currently in progress on Showcase). To keep their fans involved, co-creator and star Denis Leary and other cast members shot stand-up rants – as their dysfunctional New York firehouse characters – which served as two or three-minute long Rescue Me webisodes. (They were posted on crackle.com.)

Battlestar Galactica also entertained fans with a webisode miniseries between seasons of that show, and other sci-fi shows have been quick to make the quantum leap to web TV. Toronto-born executive producer Brad Wright says he’ll be steering the new Stargate Universe in that direction. He plans to produce 30 short webisodes all built around a flying camera ball called Kino.

"It’s flying around and spying on people," he says. "They are literally just voyeuristic scenes we’re shooting specifically for the web." Wright says he has an entire production unit dedicated to the task. "It’s an extra way to get a window on our program and gives fans a slice of life look at our ship." (Look for it on Space’s website once the show is launched this fall.)

Wright and others get the word loud and clear at events such as Comic-Con that fans demand and expect extra web content. Stars and producers from such non sci-fi shows as Fox’s Bones told critics at press tour that they were mobbed by fans who can’t get enough of their adventures.

Meeting that demand for web content isn’t always easy. For one thing, it costs money. Joss Whedon, executive producer of Dollhouse, saw his series limp into a second season at a reduced overall budget after not-so-stellar ratings. The Buffy The Vampire Slayer creator is all for spreading his content out over several platforms, but this year he simply doesn’t have the budget for it.

Hollywood unions, too, are just figuring out how to divvy up web TV production. The Canadian-born creator of Bones, Hart Hanson, says webisode plans for his show are still up in the air. "Our actors were so nervous," he says, especially around the time of the writers’ strike, when future media platforming was such a contentious issue. "The trick is figuring out what is promotional and what is extra value that they should be paid for," he says.

Web TV work considered strictly promotional – studios make no money from it and therefore, neither do the talent – falls outside those restrictions. It is, however, no less a drain on an actor’s time. Some times it’s all just a bit much, says Edmonton-born Nathan Fillion, star of ABC’s Castle.

"It’s a pain in the butt," he says. "When you have one hour to yourself and gotta eat lunch, try to relax and get your chance to wind down before you get your next eight hours of work, yeah, I’d rather take that next hour for myself, absolutely. But I understand that there’s a job to be done."

Executive producer Shane Brennan, who oversees NCIS and the new NCIS: Los Angeles, wants to give fans extra web content, "if it’s something I can do without breaking the budget and working these guys 14 hours a day."

The way around that may be, in some instances, to involve non-actors in the web extensions of a series. Late Night with Jimmy Fallon has gained some attention recently with their silly Internet soap opera 7th Floor West. It features writers and other Fallon staffers stabbing Jimmy in the back – plus, in the words of the host, "a lot of weird, awkward staring" familiar to viewers of The Hills. (Even Canadians can stream 7th Floor West at latenightwithjimmyfallon.com.)

The whole web TV process has come a long way in a short time says Stephanie Cohen, who for five years has overseen the webisode side of Degrassi: The Next Generation .

"We shot in fast, low quality at first," says Cohen, who likens those early efforts to "Mickey and Judy put on a show in the barn." Storylines followed a "What if?" pattern: "What if Paige and Liberty changed places? What if Jimmy wasn’t shot? What if Paige got pregnant?’"

Now they are shot on hi-def digital and are serialized extensions of the series (and can be streamed at ctv.ca/degrassi). "We have an opportunity to continue what would happen if the cameras kept rolling," says Cohen, who won a Webby Award for her efforts.

It seems to satisfy fans who simply can’t get enough of their favourite show. Research at the U.S. cable network that carries Degrassi: TNG showed fans don’t want the web to give them behind-the-scenes docs or shout-outs from actors.

Rather, as Cohen says, "They just want more Degrassi."