Indie Spotlight: ‘Burt Paxton’ Is A Winning Homage To ‘The Naked Gun’

We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we’ll write about and shout out to a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the great (and sometimes not-so-great) attention-grabbing series you probably haven’t heard about until now.  Read previous installments here. 

The rapid-fire, punny comedy of Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker fueled classic films like The Naked Gun and Airplane!. As it turns out, the ZAZ formula works well on the web, too. Creator Aaron Fradkin is the man behind Burt Paxton, a web series with many stylistic similarities to the misadventures of Lt. Frank Drebin.

As in the films from which it draws inspiration, Burt Paxton is characterized by a mile-a-minute pace that rarely goes more than a few seconds without a fresh gag. A lot of these jokes, whether they are outrageous sight gags or groan-inducing puns, hit their marks, and the ones that don’t never linger for too long.

Each five-ish minute episode also features a complete plot, in which Paxton (played by Burt Grinstead) attempts to solve a new mystery. These storylines never get too deep, but they match the comedy style by featuring a few absurd twists along the way.

The influence of The Naked Gun is clear. “I love film-noirs. Aaron loves smart comedies,” Grinstead told The Daily Dot. “We both love sophisticated jokes disguised as low-brow humor. We decided we should collaborate on a project that combined everything aforementioned.”

Like ZAZ’s best films, Burt Paxton succeeds because it cashes in laughs more often than not. Grinstead adds to the fun by emulating Leslie Nielsen well. This is a loving homage, and it’s a good one, too.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• The Board. This colorful sketch show is filled with witty characters.
• Absent. Harvard University helped fund this sci-fi web series about a group of invisible students.
• Milkshake. Two guys go on an adventure to find the best milkshake in Los Angeles.
• Lanky Scoliosis. A Guinness Book of World Records aficionado attempts to romance his desirable neighbor.

Got a series you’d like to see featured in the Indie Spotlight? Be sure to contact us here. For best coverage, please include a full episode in your e-mail.