Danger 5

Danger 5 is an Australian comedy series that is absolutely hysterical. Every aspect of the show makes me laugh. The actors, the set, the script, even the lighting. It is all over the top and over done.

This show is no Breaking Bad when it comes to looks. Everything in the show is done to look cheap and corny. While I understand that this is an approach that most people would hate I think that the show can be views as a good learning tool for students studying film. The show capitalized on low budget... to the extreme. The establishing shows are almost always hand made models, and this is a very cheap way to give a show a very interesting feel. It doesn't work if everything in the film is meant to be taken seriously but not all film needs to be so serious.

Danger 5 is still fun to watch even though it doesn't have crazy animation and locations, and I think that this is something that everyone can learn from. Also its available on Netflix... so check it out

An Unearthly Child, a.k.a. Ha ha! More Doctor Who!

Oh hi, everyone. You thought that Doctor Who was over, right? You figured that since series 6 ended two weeks ago, I'd be done talking about the series? No. You're wrong. Go fly into the Time Vortex. And while you're there, say hi to the Bad Wolf for me.

This is part of the very first episode of the first serial of Doctor Who. Filmed in 1963, the entire episode was shot live to tape, which means that all of the visual effects happened during filming. Most of the scenes took place in the studio, including the TARDIS shots and the junkyard. This shows how possible -- if limited -- it is to film without fancy VFX, and provides insight on how to make something so practical look so good. Because there is no room for error, every shot, every movement, and every position has to be perfect. Sure, if you look closely in this episode, there are a few glitches here and there; but that's to be expected of a show that a) had a low budget, and b) was probably going to be canned anyway. (SPOILER: It wasn't.)

What really shines here is how different the story was in the beginning. In the latest series, the Eleventh Doctor was a bombastic young man who was friendly with his companions and had a legacy that nearly killed him. The First Doctor is an old man who would rather be alone than have stowaways, stumbles over his words, and tends to work in the shadows instead of run headlong into danger. We don't know much about the Doctor or his companions or his travels yet; but it's great to watch the story unfold from here. Of course, if you watch every single Who episode from this point, it might be a bit of a trauma.

Also, you'll start hearing the TARDIS sound whenever the wind blows. (It's not fun. I'm beginning to look like a crazy person.)

Next week, we'll take a look at something different. Maybe.