The Guild – Seasons 1 & 2 (New Video/2009)
Picture:
C- Sound: C Extras: B Episodes: B+
Professionally
produced web series are rising in popularity and becoming more and more
economically viable as a means of production and distribution. A shining example of this trend is The Guild, written by and starring
Whedon alum and rising geek icon Felicia Day (Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Season 8 of Buffy the
Vampire Slayer).
The Guild is structured around Felicia
Day’s character Cyd Sherman a.k.a. Codex who’s life is at a low point. She’s unemployed, nearly friendless, and her
therapist just “dumped” her. To top it
all off, one the more eccentric members of her guild from the online video game
she’s addicted to (clearly based on World of Warcraft, though it’s never
specifically named) has shown up on her doorstep having mistaken their online
interaction for a real-life relationship.
To help her get rid of him, Codex calls together the rest of the guild to
meet for the first time in real life, but things get sidetracked by each
character’s unique hang-ups and extreme lack of social skills.
Felicia
Day’s writing on the series, along with each actor’s quirky portrayal, come
together for an offbeat and deliciously awkward humor. Taking full advantage of online slang and
geeky in-jokes, The Guild
acknowledges the anti-social underpinnings of online gaming and interaction,
while at the same time it celebrates the unique nerd culture that it has
fostered.
This
release contains seasons one and two, each on their own disc and set of extra
features including commentary tracks, blooper reels, cast and crew interviews,
audition footage and other peeks into the preproduction process. Each season has ten episodes and runs a total
of about 45 minutes. Plus, the case
contains a leaflet that has a note from Felicia Day and a glossary of online
slang.
The
picture quality varies as the format switches from webcam to high-quality
video, and at its best is impressive for what was originally online
content. The series is presented in a full
screen 1.33:1 aspect ratio with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo audio. The sound quality is, likewise rather
impressive and a testament to the series’ professionalism.
It is
true that both seasons one and two are available online for free, but for fans
the DVD is well worth the investment.
Not only does it score you major geek cred, but many of the extra
features are exclusive to the DVD release.
But more importantly, this sort of production, aired online for free,
depends on merchandise sales and fan donations to pull in any profit and make
future seasons possible. Fans of The Guild should invest in this DVD set
not only for the loot and renown upgrade, but because the filmmakers need the
gold to keep producing fresh content.
- Matthew Carrick
