“To recommend or not to recommend?” That is the question when it comes to NBC’s new web series Gemini Division. I’m torn: the project has potential, but there are plenty of kinks yet to be worked out.
Gemini Division is a web-based series — something for which I have a documented weakness — set in what appears to be a not-too-distant future. The first installment opens with Anna Diaz (Rosario Dawson), a cop, who is on a romantic Paris getaway with her boyfriend Nick, who has just proposed, but Anna is uneasy about a man she’s seen lurking in the shadows and about Nick. At the end of the first episode Nick goes into something akin to a seizure. If you have read the Gemini Division “About” page, or any other reviews of the web series, you already know what the situation is about — Nick’s not human, he’s something called a Simulant. My immediate reaction was “Blade Runner” and I’ve read others’ comments in the same vein, including from people involved with the project. Now, I have a special place in my heart for Blade Runner (and the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? — yes, that is the title of the novel on which Blade Runner is based. It’s by Philip K. Dick. Look it up and read.) so the project scores points with me there.
Also scoring partial points with me is the project’s use of rendered sets. The show is shot in front of a green screen with CGI backgrounds inserted in post. Some people automatically find this distasteful, because even good CGI still doesn’t look quite real (in fact, this program, like that other web-based series shot with CGI, Sanctuary, still looks very similar to the old Tex Murphy interactive adventures, like The Pandora Directive). I’m not as bothered by this as some for three reasons:
1) I’m a computer nerd and I deeply appreciate the technology.
2) I’m frugal and appreciate work done on a budget — while CGI is far from cheap, it makes possible shots and sets that would be cost-prohibitive (or financially stupid) otherwise; and,
3) It’s green — CGI may take power and computing resources, but that’s still greener than the materials and energy expended on constructing a physical set, or traveling to a location shoot.
However, you’ll notice I started that last paragraph mentioning “partial” points. Gemini Division might score points for employing the technology, but they lose largely in how they’ve used it so far. The first few installments have used comparatively few interesting shots — most have been inside of a very unimpressive hotel room — except for a few of the Eiffel Tower and one inside a virtual Notre Dame. The story gave a major opportunity to really make use of the virtual set as Anna shares a series of videos supposedly showing herself and Nick touring Paris. Sadly, the background to these videos is more like a moving scrapbook than actual scenery — and by scrapbook I mean mostly the kitschy stickers and stuff, not the actual content. Rather than rendering in quaint cafes or museums, we get cheezy effects which were clearly easier to do. If you’re going to use CGI, you need to commit, not cop out. If this doesn’t improve, even my love for cheap, geeky and green won’t be enough.
This project, like Sanctuary, has also hinted at games and some level of interactivity. No mention of what the games will be. Thus far the games menu for the website still has “coming soon.” This is more than we got with Sanctuary, so I supposed that’s something. And this being a network product, I’m not anticipating much more than simple quizzes or word finds or something. As to interactivity, Gemini Division begins by losing points with their sign-up, which demands a cell number and carrier. It appears that the show will involve texting you information. In all likelihood these will just be ads, promos or reminders, but for me, a person way too frugal to even pay to have text messaging and who will not give out her cell number anywhere but to real live legitimate people, I can’t even sign up. The form rejects anything without a valid number and carrier. Major strike against the project on that count. I’m willing to submit to some e-mail spam, but apparently, that’s just not good enough for NBC.
Knock off a few more points for the website. I have seen much, much worse, but the obnoxious beeping noise you get on mousing over a menu is enough to make me want to hurt people — starting with the fool who set up the page. The duplication of some items between the right hand column and the box immediately beneath the video screen (featured videos) is a waste. It doesn’t help that the right hand column seems to be some sort of weird catch-all, as not everything there is a video. Overall, the page is just a little too cluttered to make me happy, and the menu noise is obnoxious for users spending more than 45 seconds on the site.
Another major let-down is the chosen method for structuring the story. We are introduced to this world via Anna’s video-blog style messages to an unnamed individual. Some might find this structure pleasing, but I’m not a fan. The only saving aspect is the continued mystery of to whom Anna is sending these messages. I’ve heard hints that the who is the viewer. This is supposed to make it feel as if we are the trusted confidant to whom she’s speaking. If that’s the case, I’m less enthralled than I would be if we were to slowly find out more about a character on the other end of the line. This structure also makes it a bit kludgy when we need to see action. For example, in the third installment we have Anna nervously staking out a strange location. I felt completely thrown out of the moment because I’m thinking, “Honestly, who calls to have a LiveJournal-style Breakdown Moment while they’re staking out a location?!?!?” In my opinion, that just doesn’t fit, and yet, with this storytelling style, we’re stuck with these awkward situations.
I’m sure there will be complaints about the short duration of the episodes. I, personally, like the idea of non-standard episode lengths, so I’m giving this points. I’ve found the 6-ish minutes used so far (I’ve only watched the first three as of this writing) to be about right. I wouldn’t want these longer at this point because it’s almost too slow in a few parts. I can’t fault their choices in breaking points. Each installment has ended with something that makes me curious about what happens next. I won’t say I’m rabidly counting days to find out what happens like I do with Battlestar Galactica, but I do have a slight incentive to check back now and again to see if there’s something else added. However, I’m afraid that it’s going to get tiring for viewers to constantly be built up to a cliffhanger at 6-minute intervals while watching. I hope the project takes advantage of longer and shorter durations to convey the story and mix up the breaking points. I also hope the writers/producers find a way to keep viewer interest without such dramatic tactics as the project continues.
Yet another downside is that I’m having trouble grokking the characters. So far we’ve only met Nick and Anna, and seen a strange man lurking in the shadows — you know who they are (well, not so much the strange man), but beyond that they’re strangers to me as a viewer. Granted, at this point we’ve had 3 installments, each around 6 minutes and change. This might be something cleared up as the series progresses. I’m slightly optimistic as the website already lists a number of other characters to be introduced, which gives more opportunities to find a character I do grok, in the event that Anna and Nick just never cut it, or to have Anna and Nick interact with characters who draw out new aspects.
I should also mention that the series is already paid for, but it comes with a price tag for the viewer — you have to deal with product placement. NBC, rather than using the sort of debt financing that is normally used in producing movies or television programs, solicited advertisers to pay for product placement in the show itself. So these messages Anna records are done with a Microsoft product as indicated by the icon on the screen. The network Nick connects to is Cisco. I think the placement could be a little less blatant. It’s not as horrifying as some, but it’s not subtle or creative enough to entertain me. Personally, I’d have been just as happy to deal with a few 15-second ad spots. It’s a positive thing that advertisers were willing to shell out for this process.
There are some other potential issues in how this project could impact other endeavors. I could see some negative precedents being set if the project fails — the “if NBC can’t do it, it can’t be done” death knell that makes it nearly impossible for other projects to get funding. This is compounded by the fact that we’re dealing with a network, and network suits can be amazingly good at screwing things up. Even if the project DOES succeed, it could cause problems if there was an assumption that no independent group (and by that I mean a group that is not directly tied to a major traditional media outlet like NBC) could do this alone — that Gemini only succeeded because it had the juggernaut of NBC behind it. I also have a major concern in the wake of the Sanctuary debacle: once it was announced that Sanctuary was being picked up for TV by Sci Fi, I paid attention to the comments from the producers, and pulled up lecture notes from entertainment law, and realized that negotiations to get Sanctuary on Sci Fi had to have started so early that it’s likely the project was just out of, or even still in, beta when it’s future as a web-based series was ended. So, I have to wonder, is Gemini Division really meant to be a web-based series? Is this going to be something that actually contributes to the development of web series as their own distinct medium? Or is this just a lab experiment for potential TV shows? It’s not that using the web as an experimental proving ground is not a legit or good use, but I’m less interested in projects that will be sustained only until their success or failure for TV is settled, and more interested in projects which are going to help develop the kind of criteria that will determine success in the world of the web. I want to know if I’m just beta testing, or if I’m a full-blown user, you know?
All told, I see where the show has potential. If their team takes advantage of the freedom from the time constraints, finds a way to either break out of that vid-blog style (or make it feel less bloggy), truly works the CGI to its full potential and fleshes out those characters, this could be good. Some of the flaws like the website could be overlooked if the bigger issues are corrected. Even at its best I can’t see it as something I’d drop everything for, but it could be a nice addition to the collection of good and interesting things to watch. I can’t openly recommend that anyone go out and watch this, but I also can’t openly recommend avoidance.
Gemini Division Website: geminidivision.com
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