Making semi-irregular episodes since June 2006, The Burg pokes fun at its cast and their lifestyle in the hipster suburb of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Writers Thom Woodley (self-described writer/filmmaker/musician/playwright) and Matt Yeager (actor/writer) lead their cast of friends and neighbors into the online non-adventures of their satirical character’s lives (each of whom has their own fictional MySpace pages). To summarize, the website says it better than I ever could: “You’ll like it because at least it’s not re-packaged broadcast TV or home videos of skateboarding dogs being kicked in the balls.” And if the names Galapagos, Pete’s Candy Store, and North Six ring a bell, you’re sure to be at least mildly amused.

With humor that’s sometimes stale and sometimes hilariously on target, The Burg and its Friends-redux cast fumble through their ironic lives ironically. The acting is surprisingly good on the whole, featuring experienced actors with careers in TV and off-Broadway productions on its low-budget (probably no-budget) sets (actors’ apartments). Wonderfully edited episodes, with appropriate music, vary in length from 5 to 20 minutes and range in subject matter from trying to find a bar not packed with NYU kids to corporate greed and fair trade. Each character is a pathetic satire of a Williamsburg hipster, but threaded through the episodes are occasional touching moments that change the tone of the show from irony (which at times can get boring) to a dramatic comedy (which is entertaining).

Some episodes can drag, but the fourth episode, “Project,” really shows a shift towards increased quality of humor, acting, and character depth. It also has some of the funniest moments of the whole series (“Do you know who Mohammed Ali is?”).

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Zach Jones
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Graham Stark and Paul Saunders decided in 2003 that they wanted to create a website where they could show off their comedic home movies. Based in Victoria, BC, the two friends write, film, and act out their own shorts, all comedies, on a site with a nostalgic old school DOS interface and a catchy theme song. They vowed to update the site with a new video every Friday and neither work nor school has kept them from breaking that promise. The site has gained such popularity since its launch that it has already received celebrity endorsements, including one from Ryan Stiles.

Videos can be viewed by categories like: “shorts,” a broad term for their various short films that stand on their own; “music,” which includes music videos, original songs, and even a movie musical; and “sheer stupidity,” a catch-all for their other reality-based, often absurd films. From a G-rated Jackass ode called Christmas Carolling on Halloween to the LRR Awards, a spoof of the Academy Awards, videos are original, fresh, and thoroughly entertaining. Stark and Saunders even produce experimental fare, like their silent film How to Impress Women, involving their strange recurring Muppet-like character named Gibb. There are several other categories as well, some of which, like “Rapidfire,” consist of multiple episodes strung together and united by theme. There are also sections for news, forums, and DVDs, including compilations from older seasons no longer available on the site. And don’t forget to flip through comics drawn by Graham, Paul, and some of their close friends. 

One of my favorites was a hilarious video with very little to it from their “Sheer Stupidity” section. It finds the boys completing a work-related guerrilla marketing assignment for Snakes on a Plane that had them going around town placing rubber snakes in unassuming places.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Rebecca Halpin
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The Wine Spectator magazine, which celebrated its 30^th anniversary and its 10-year online anniversary in 2006, began as a wine tabloid in 1976. The publication became known for covering more than just grape reviews and sommelier info-trading: under publisher Marvin R. Shanken, the magazine swelled to include reports on vineyard family conflicts, cork taint, and counterfeit wine culture. By 2005, Wine Spectator’s readership included an international base of two and a quarter million. Like the printed magazine, the online content offers a mix of educational programming, vineyard storytelling, and viniculture exposés.

Videos can be found in several different channels, including Wine People, featuring the men (and women) behind the wines; Tasting Journal, which covers topics like the effect of soil on the taste of wine; Learn Wine, explicating different regions and their flavors, including a video of Caymus Vineyards owner Chuck Wagner explaining what you can tell about a grape’s taste from its skin color; Wine Work, about the diligent process from grape to table; Dining and Travel, highlighting restaurants and their extensive or simple wine lists; Feature Stories, with tales of vineyard growth, explanation of new techniques like the Merry Edwards’ dry ice method, and overdue harvest investigations; along with Feature Archives, the video vault, and Most Recent Videos. Each five-minute video has a professional look to it, typical of online magazine video content, well-edited and well-shot. Wine Spectator is also an active site for blogging, wine reviews, and a venue for the Learn Wine forum. 

I’m fond of a video that follows Eric Arnold, “the new guy,” on his first day on the job with Wine Spectator as he learns the physical pain of leaf-pulling pre-harvest in Long Island. He gets so frustrated he jokingly threatens to go work for BeerSpectator.com instead.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Rebecca Halpin
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Every now and then there’s a website that really shows the power of the internet. And there’s no better summary to be made than what’s written by Broken Saints’ creators: In June 2000, “storyteller Brooke Burgess unites with talented wunderkinds Ian Kirby and Andrew West. Their goal? To use available online technology – up ‘til then reserved for hollow corporate schilling or jerk-off toiletfests – to show the world that compelling narratives can exist on the World Wide Web.”

The anti-corporate, anime-influenced, online animated series has progressed past its humble beginnings into a remastered DVD released by 20th Century Fox, but this original Flash site has been kept intact for its loyal fan base and new viewers to peruse.

With a mix of Eastern and Western philosophy and comic book culture similar to Neil Gaiman, the 12-hour Flash graphic novel focuses on a band of culturally varied protagonists who uncover a diabolical corporate conspiracy. The quality increases from episode to episode, beginning with a childish simplicity but progressing into a more deft and dynamic use of Flash’s capabilities. The first 24 episodes are all available to watch for free on the original site. Episodes are separated into 1 to 3 parts, each one lasting anywhere from 7 to 22 minutes. Games, printable PDF posters, free soundtrack mp3s, screensavers, banner links, and all kinds of other techie treats are available for downloading. Detailed character bios are there to help keep the story straight for the confused. There’s also a comprehensive FAQ, press clippings, and a section for the creators to sound off their day-to-day rants. While the website has not been updated since April 2003, the creators still frequent their newsletters and forums, which are as active as ever.

With all the intricate character and plot development and increasing animation quality, this isn’t the type of series where you can point to one particular show to watch. Just set aside a very large chunk of time and watch from the beginning.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Zach Jones
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Founder and CEO Justin Kniest had been working with Dutch venues Paradiso and Melkweg for years as a producer before collaborating with the two concert halls in 2000 to create an abundant archive of the diverse, globetrotting bands that play for their audiences in the Netherlands. Since then, Fabchannel has picked up numerous awards from the local organizations like Prix Europa and Spin to international validations like the 2006 Webby Award for Best Music Website, each complimenting the site’s excellent design and excellent content.

As the tagline goes, “We record, you choose.” And wow, there is a lot to choose. Fabchannel’s archive includes hundreds of well-known and not so well-known bands performing at their best. The video quality is high and performances are separated into clips by song. So, if you’ve been longing to see White Cowbell Oklahoma perform its song “Shot a Gamblin Man” in a Dutch venue – and I know you have – you can jump right to that specific performance. There’s American rock classics, British pop bands, reggaeton, and contemporary Arabic bands. For an English-speaking audience, some of the recognizable names include John Cale, Lily Allen, Audio Bullys, Bright Eyes, Andrew Bird, Josh Ritter, and British Sea Power, among many others. Unfortunately, Fabchannel doesn’t have individual links to individual performances, so to find what you want, you’re going to have to explore the site. And make sure you do, because there’s more than enough content here for any user to discover and appreciate at least one new group. If you register for a free account, you can also make your own playlist of favorite performances and watch them in a loop at your convenience. I can’t say enough about the website, either. Beyond being incredibly easy to maneuver and containing a really well-written blog, it’s fast-loading and designed to trendy minimalist perfection.

With so many acts available for viewing and each video being of such excellent quality, it would be stupid to suggest one over the other. Look for what you like. You’re bound to find it. The one unexpected series of videos that I would recommend watching are Paradiso’s annual Dutch Air Guitar Championship, which are endlessly fun and hilarious and usually have around twenty competitors strumming for the much-wanted title of Dutch Air Guitar Champion.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Zach Jones
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Taste a Chicago public access show about food and wine, is produced by Laura Levy Shaikin and hosted by Jenniffer Weigel of L Squared Productions. The wine segments provide viewers with the latest trends, wineries, and grape reviews that are otherwise exclusive to stores and media outlets.

Weigel, a certified sommelier and a wine critic for the Chicago Reader Newspaper, brought her expertise into the limelight by creating Wine Peeks TV with Jenniffer Weigel.. The online show takes the best clips involving wine from recent seasons of “Taste” and brings them to a larger audience outside Chicago’s public access.    

Several dozen videos are featured on a few channels, each focusing on a different aspect of viniculture. There’s Wine Picks (vineyard staff talk about favorites from their collections), Online Wine (wine clubs and online vendors), Wine 101, Tales from the Vine (stories behind the labels and wine families), Wine Events, and Sommelier Wine Picks (aficionados speak about their favorite pairings). Overall, the content is very educational and informative, less like a commercial than a good friend recommending something excellent.

The Online Wine channel has sparse video content when compared to the rest of the site’s offerings but, judging by user comments, it’s also the most important. Viewers seem fond of the video on Bottlenotes.com wine club, which customizes the monthly shipments based on surveys and your ratings of the wines it sends. After Paul Giamatti’s character in Sideways spit vitriol all over Merlot, it became all the more important for Wine Peeks to cover events like Merlot in May, the only gathering in the world that celebrates the wine, which takes viewers on a tour of the California event, interspersed with interviews praising and explaining Merlot’s history.

One wine that’s hardly ever discussed is the Japanese rice wine, Sake.  So its enriching to watch a few Sake-makers walk through the production process of some of the most popular wines.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Rebecca Halpin
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Launched in February 2005, LO-FI Saint Louis is the baby of Chicago born Bill Streeter, graphic designer, A/V geek, and co-founder of GaragePunk.com. The site is dedicated to all the characters in St. Louis, where Streeter’s been living since 2001.  Bands that frequent the local clubs, rollergirls, and well-known artists that live in his corner of St. Louis have found themselves featured on the pages of LOFISTL at one point or another.

In a mid-size city better known for its underground scene than an adherence to mainstream media’s dictations on taste and style, Streeter has carved out a niche as an archivist of local color, bringing attention to an often over-looked side of St. Louis by filming videos of the people who make his city so distinct. 

His videos have a fairly professional air to them. Streeter isn’t just someone in the pit filming bands with a handheld camera. He usually has a patch into the soundboard and some pretty decent angles. Some even have added touches like animation and filters. Videos are often long, following musical sets to conclusion or dissecting competitive rollergirl leagues with interviews, battle footage, and any other fascinating material he can record.

The art scene is clearly one of Streeter’s favorite aspects of St. Louis. Photographer Bob Reuter, graphic designer Art Chantry, and musicians like The Black Lips are extensively interviewed alongside clips from performances, openings, and exhibits. His other prominent infatuation is with St. Louis garage rock. Performance videos litter the archives and his recordings all have that small-stage, lively-crowd, close-quarters atmosphere that give each clip a hometown rock and roll feel.

The documentary short dubbed “Tom Huck, Evil Printmaker” depicts the graphic artist as he works in various media and talks about his inspirations. It’s not the most original filmmaking you’ll see, but it does capture pretty succinctly Streeter’s love for his cohorts. Like the music videos, this documentary thoughtfully shot and edited, and Huck’s work is interesting, if you’re one with an interest in tattoo-style art.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Nicholas Mosquera
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With the recent trend of bringing back cancelled TV shows due to vocal fans, there’s no doubt that Brilliant But Cancelled should have its own loyal fanbase. Operated by NBC Universal (specifically Bravo) since June 2006, the site is a creative advertisement for its primary sponsor that offers general television infotainment, up-to-date news on axed and returning shows, and links to other online NBC subsidiaries like Outzone.

The video section is the website’s strongest adherent to its own mission statement, displaying full-length pilots of cancelled shows, like the unaired pilot of The Jake Effect – starring Jason Bateman from Arrested Development, which, coincidentally, was also brilliant but cancelled – and 1959’s Johnny Staccato, starring John Cassavetes and Elizabeth Montgomery. The other video sections include “Face to Face” – which features two-minute clips of interviews from Inside the Actors Studio – and categories that contain pilots, trailers, and webisodes for NBC’s cable channels. The written news and blog sections tend to blend into one another. Although entries from the Insider Ousider blog tend to be shorter than those for their newswire, each one delivers information about general TV happenings with the same opinionated, irreverent tone and, despite the site’s name, neither focuses exclusively on cancelled TV. The critics section provides links to reviews that cover “last night’s shows,” good and bad, NBC or not. The site’s forums and comments sections are used by visitors on a daily basis, which is surprising for a website with such a narrow, yet misguided, focus. Much like the other aspects of the site, the photo section has no relationship to cancelled TV shows, since it contains an inexplicable gallery of Oprah photos from over the years (but while inexplicable, it’s certainly entertaining).

The anonymous writers who pen the daily news items and blog posts are hilarious. This quote from an article where actress Eva Longoria rebukes accusations that her show, Desperate Housewives, is boring is just one example of the site’s well-written, deadpan humor: “’This was definitely the best work I’ve ever done in my life,’ said Longoria, whose past work includes a movie called Hustler’s Instinct and an uncredited role on The Young and the Restless.”

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Zach Jones
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The family-owned and–operated Wine Library went from a little shop in Springfield, New Jersey called Shoppers Discount Liquors to an acclaimed new media success when Director of Operations Gary Vaynerchuk decided to begin shipping their huge selection of wines all over America, shifting from a clientele of bargain hunters to one of aficionados.  By February 2006, Gary felt his prominent newsletter was too limiting, and launched the site’s Internet TV Show for all wine lovers, customers or not.  As of June, the show saw roughly twenty-five-thousand viewers per episode, and his numbers keep growing.

In each show, Gary introduces the day’s  topic before launching into 3-6 wine reviews. They are usually categorized by grape or region, which is noted in the title, making it easy to find a topic using the episode spreadsheet. Gary has stated he prefers to work solo where he can be casual and avoid the niceties that come with sharing the stage, but the occasional guest does appear.

So far, Gary has hosted a few Customer Appreciation Days, in which he tastes wines that have been requested by viewers (though the second one resulted in more criticism than commendation). He fares much better when he can choose his own wines to review, such as German Rieslings or Pinot Grigios. (Even if you don’t particularly care if  a certain wine tastes of pinecones,  it can be  helpful  just to hear Gary correctly pronounce some of the French and Italian wine names.)

And if you have a question to ask, Gary is very responsive. The first few minutes of every show are spent responding to viewer questions and concerns. He’s also very expressive. Much to his fans’ delight, he’s the sort of fellow who seems caffeinated at all times, snapping jokes, wisecrack criticisms, and semi-automatic, rapid-fire bursts of wine industry knowledge.

Gary is  known for his unique descriptions of wines: 2005 Pessagno Sleepy Hollow Chardonnay tastes like almond shells and cream pie, for example, while 2004 Patrice Rion Les Charmes Chambolle Musigny tastes a little bit like “a sweaty sock” and a little bit like “McDonald’s fries circa 1992.”

A particularly interesting succession of episodes starts with a trick episode, billed as “the big one,” but in which he cuts off his review mid-introduction to head to a wedding. Many fans were angry. They retaliated not only in comments but in hundreds of e-mails, forcing Gary to apologize in the following episode. Others berated the attackers for their inability to take a joke. It  goes to show  how serious people can be about their favorite vlogs.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Rebecca Halpin
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The Living Room sketch comedy group consists of Vancouver-based comics Sean Devlin and Kevin Lee, and advertises itself as the “world’s only sitcom taped live for podcast.” The two stars filmed the episodes at various venues around the region, intercutting live on-stage comedy with pre-recorded segments, David Letterman style.   Launched in late 2005, the site’s stars both have the ironic comedian sensibility down well enough to earn them a bit of a following.

The more sketch comedy one watches, the more obvious the influence of the seminal 1990s MTV show, The State, becomes. Think two 20-something roommates, getting into various high jinks – whether it’s while ice skating, Christmas caroling, or just sitting on their ratty living room couch. The clips are black and white, which lends a sophisticated, if random, look to the episodes themselves. And if you’re wondering how live performances translate to the podcast medium, fear not. The sound of the audience laughter is never intrusive, and the stage-acting appears rather pleasant after watching other highly edited and stylized fare.  

The perhaps too long “The Time Sean’s Mom Visited,” with the mom played by a man in drag, makes you think that this was just a hasty casting decision. When the gender of the actor actually becomes a plot point however, the piece reaches its completely self-conscious peak.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Nicholas Mosquera
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John Herman is an actor/improviser/filmmaker/writer/ musician extraordinaire with an eye towards trend and relevance. In July 2006, he picked up a camera with admittedly “no plan, no direction,” and just started shooting things that interested him. The result was an experiment in internet media, in which John posted a new 3- to 5-minute video each Monday. The New England blogger also manages other aspects of his life on his personal website, including links to “Stranger Than Fiction,” the New Hampshire-based improv group he manages, his own comic strip, “The Old Man and The Whale,” and his band, “The Man Who Was Thursday Project.”

Although the content ranges widely from a really, really scary haunted house and a snobby film festival to a New Hampshire apple orchard and interviews with James Patrick Kelly, what I appreciate most about The Eye is its crystal clear format. The weekly posts follow one topic all the way through with a clear title (which always begins with “The Eye On…”) with links to items discussed below. Sometimes John takes on the traditional role of “host” and other times he remains behind the camera, conducting an interview or simply guiding the shots. Each show begins with a theme song intro – “You Don’t Want Yr Nails Done” by Panther, whose creative cardboard video can be seen here – and ends with a sometimes entertaining outro. You can also read more about the life of The Eye and about Herman on his personal blog.

I was particularly enamored by the Camprov video, which highlighted a summer camp that allows adults to play around with improvisation in a camp setting. Check out the intro, showing John in short shorts ala Wet Hot American Summer. And hey, they eat lobster at this camp – I’m in. 

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Rebecca Halpin
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After spending six years collaborating with National Geographic filmmaker Richard Goss on wildlife films like “Predators at War” and “Africa’s Deadly Dozen,” Kim Wolhuter, who grew up in the wilds of Southern Africa, began directing films of his own. His National Geographic dossier includes “Tjololo: Tracking the Leopard”, where Wolhuter followed the same leopard for 18 months, “Black-Jack, High Stakes”, “Imapala: Basic Instincts”, and “Stalking Leopards”.

His video blog, Wildcast is an interactive photo and video documentary of Africa’s natural wonders from one of its most ardent fans whose ultimate goal is to help maintain Africa’s wild places and its animals for “future generations through sustainable development.”  It features excess footage too beautiful to toss away, but unnecessary for his current projects. It’s worth noting that Wolhuter has made near daily updates since July 2006.

It’s hard not to watch Wolhuter’s videos when they’re posted with descriptions like “black rhino charges lions and then us.” Each one runs for several minutes, edited for time and interest, and features Wolhuter’s narration, which is always insightful. Stills are posted with each video and can be found on the filmmaker’s Flickr page, matched with lush descriptions of the video, moment by moment.

There is nothing here that is boring or dull.  Wolhuter’s footage easily parallels that of any broadcast television outlet, and he captures unsuspecting creatures in their natural environments with patience and ease.  His background gives him an eye for viewer interest; he doesn’t simly show a vulture or an elephant, but herds of each doing things that humans at home rarely gets to see.

Everything is worth watching, so go explore the archives and see for yourself. There’s almost no point in directing you to one video or another, but I’ll indulge the less inquisitive of you nonetheless: the lion attack is downright fascinating.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Zach Jones
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