What’s the next big thing in cable TV? I wouldn’t have guessed it, but it’s the docu-series. (Not this one, I hope) But don’t confuse this kind of programming with reality television though. These are well-scripted gems.

In these newly popular “narrowcasting ventures,” DVD video cameras are the real stars. The “talent” is just folks, people without agents and who won’t ask for points on DVD sales. These shows appeal to a smaller audience, but a demographically more interesting one.
Check out “High School Confidential” (WEtv) where teenage girls teenage girls struggle with drugs, sex, boys and the newly complex miniature world of high school. Or another series on the “Whale Wars” (Animal Planet), which is about a boatload of eco-do-gooders fighting whale poachers for months on the open sea.

The biggest difference between the docu-series and reality television is that the subjects in docu-series are far more interesting to watch. Networks take note, you don’t need to waste money on expensive video equipment, make quality content and you won’t waste the viewers’ time.

Neil Patrick Harris (”Doogie Howser”) was never a favorite of mine, but since Josh Whedon, the guy behind “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer” was behind his new web-only show, I thought I’d have a look at the popular-among-geeks “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”. The hype notwithstanding, the interesting thing about Whedon’s mini-series (just three episodes so far) is that it is entirely a web phenomenon.

The offbeat story of a bumbling super-villain and his rivalry over a cutie with pompous super-hero, Captain Hammer, played by Nathan Fillion, DHSAB is most notable as Whedon’s attempt to end run the corporate television system. One hopes it points toward the day when creative content will compete in an online marketplace where the stuff people embrace will make money—eliminating risk-averse intermediaries. Digital media may be a game-changer. This blog production could easily be done on a jvc camcorder. It makes me think, who needs a full dress television production company anymore?

Billed as a “comic opera,” it isn’t really quite funny enough and hardly resembles an opera (maybe a rock opera if you stretch it). The Who did the opera thing better though. And Doctor Who is a funnier and more intriguing doctor than Dr. Horrible.

Flavorpill and Urban Experiment partnered together to create a new web series. They held a contest to find interesting urban city dwellers who would be tracked by a film crew as they explored small cities.

To my surprise, BWE’s Michelle Collins was the city gal having adventures in the Everglades, Florida. She went to an alligator farm, got snakes thrown onto her shoulders, and discovered the “nightlife”. Michelle is always entertaining as a blogger, but it was a treat to see her on-camera cracking the jokes.

Not sure what type of digital camcorder they employed for this series, but the camera work was quite nice. They captured the action of the speedboat navigating the everglades with pretty high resolution.

I’d guess that FP definitely sprung for professional camcorders.