Indie Spotlight: ‘Previously On Dr. Elliot Goldfarb, D.D.S.’ Sends Up TV Melodrama

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.

As far as I know, there’s only one web series out there that combines dentistry, crime, and TV recaps. It’s called Previously On Dr. Elliot Goldfarb D.D.S., and it frames its loony brand of comedy with a satirical format that makes fun of the TV industry’s penchant for melodrama.

Previously On comes from creators Glenn Garthwaite, Daniel Giachetti, and Tom Rizzuto, who shared it on the Hatched YouTube channel. Each episode recaps previous events in the life of Elliot Goldfarb (portrayed by Rizzuto) as he descends into the mad underworld of the dental care industry while simultaneously alienating his friends and family. The catch is that we never see the events that lead up to the on-screen action, and we can only imagine what sort of lunacy led to the ridiculous situations portrayed in the series.

We previously saw Previously On‘s central gag in the 2014 web series Next Time On Lonny, and it was executed well both times. The creative trio behind Previously On nail the over-the-top tone utilized by so many TV shows, and some of the performances, particularly Christine Copley‘s take on Elliot’s wife (who can’t live like this), are excellent. Check it out on YouTube.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• I, Remember. Malaysian creators have presented a sci-fi concept based around a character who remembers everything.
• ZDME. The vlog format meets the web series in this show about aspiring filmmakers.
• Mia Morris’ Diary. Dracula gets a vlog adaptation in this web series, which is coming soon.

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