Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

Web videos? Do you really care? I mean, aren’t you too busy Twittering and updating your Facebook pages from your iPhones or BlackBerry Storms to watch this silliness?

Actually, while the bloom may be off the web-video rose, those vids are still the web feature with the most mass appeal, and they’re also the most unifying form of online entertainment. This year, forward culture actually did some growing up, although it remains entirely disposable – as soon as one meme is over, it’s on to the next.

For example, right now we’re all still riding in the wake of the flying shoe seen round the world. Muntadhar al-Zeidi’s projectile shoe aimed at the head of George W. Bush has become an instant zeitgeist moment. He inspired the parodies, the Flash games and the tribute websites. It’s all going according to the cycle. Which means by now, most are sick of it and waiting for the next thing – it should be here any minute.

That said, the biggest Canadian story in web video remains what we couldn’t see. The Associated Press has selected Hulu as its website of the year, and the network-backed U.S. video site has proven to be a bigger success than anyone thought it could be. The site offers a mixture of new and older television series and has shown the ad-supported online model can work, and that the web can share space – and life – with the established networks.

Of course, anybody trying to log in from Canada will only find the sadly familiar message, "We’re sorry, currently our videos can only be streamed from the United States," which usually results in an immediate YouTube search to sate our need to be in the know, now!

The good news is that Hulu says the company is looking to expand its international coverage, which means it will attempt to work out the thorny rights issues in this country. It is likely only a matter of time.

If there is a trend to discern, it is the continued blurring of the lines between established media and new media. A perfect example is Jimmy Fallon debuting his new web show to try and build an audience before he takes over the Late Night in March.

The other trend is more of a lesson: if it looks too good to be true, it probably is – we’re looking at you, ball girl making stupendous catch, and Kobe jumping over cars.

Here are our picks for web videos of the year:

1. Yes they did: Can we lump all American election videos in this category? From will.i.am’s "Yes We Can" to Sarah Palin’s Katie Couric interview to Tina Fey’s uproarious impersonation to Joe the Plumber’s idiocy, there is no better fodder for online video hijinks than our neighbours’ race to the polls.

2. Rick Rolling: More a prank phenomenon than a specific video, this meme – as you’ve probably found out at some point in your surfing – is a link that promises something intriguing and new, only to give you Rick Astley’s "Never Gonna Give You Up" video. Again, it inspired all sort of tributes, but the best use – and another sign of the crossing lines between the web and the real world – was the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which had a real-life "Rick Roll," with a surprise appearance by the English crooner himself, atop a float, breaking into his own song.

3. Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog: Hmm, here’s something interesting. A completely professional made-for-web production that was actually able to make money. Has Joss Whedon cracked the web’s most elusive nut? After it launched, this Neil Patrick Harris vehicle busted servers and scored millions of paid downloads on iTunes. Now the collected DVD could be the paradigm shifter that creatives have been waiting for.

4. The "I’m F—kin’" series: This hearkens back to the good ol’ days before Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman broke up (then got back together, sort of), but the one-upping sex-song rivalry (did you know she won an Emmy for hers?) set the web aflame when it launched.

5. Iraqi Shoe Thrower: It’s a newbie, but a goodie. All of our collective angst towards the outgoing U.S. president released in one mighty hurl. Genius.

6. Where the Hell is Matt? Really, should anyone care anymore? With more than 15 million views, the compilation dance/jig video is silly but impressive, though. It’s sort of the perfect form of this still-nascent genre.

7. Tom Cruise’s unearthed Scientology video: It made the rounds in January, so it feels like ancient history, but this initially insider-only interview kicked off a very weird year of "cewebrity." As for Maverick, he’s still in full-on reputation rehab mode.

8. Wassup 2008: Okay, this was election-themed, but it deserves its own entry. The unauthorized update of the famous Budweiser ads proved how powerful intellectual property could be. The director retained the rights – the original ad was based on his short film – and on the eve of the election updated it for a new day eight years later. Awesome.

9. Christian the Lion: Too heartwarming for words, this grainy tale of a captive lion released in the wild, who recognizes his old trainers when they pay him a visit, was the tearjerker of the year.

10. "J--- in my pants": From the guys who brought you "Dick in a Box," this one is actually a 2009 preview. The Lonely Island guys created this lastest Saturday Night Live digital short, and are getting set to release a comedy album in the new year. Something definitely worth looking forward to.