About a week ago I wrote an article about an upcoming sci-fi web series from online content producer 60 Frames titled Ark that I thought looked highly promising.  If you missed that article, I recommend reading it before continuing with this one as it covers a great deal of background on the series that I won’t cover here. Check it out at the link below (where you can also watch the trailer):

Upcoming Web Series ‘Ark’ Looks Promising

Since writing the above article I have been fortunate to view an early screener of the entire ten episode series.  I say “fortunate” because Ark delivers brilliant sci-fi and in my opinion is the best science fiction web series that I’ve seen so far.

Ark, conceived by writer Robbie Thompson (known for writing an episode of Jericho) and developed by series producers Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah (showrunners of Beverly Hills 90210), follows the experience of a woman who wakes inside a coffin-like pod on a large spacecraft with no recollection of how she came to be there.

Whilst such a premise might draw parallels to films such as Cube or even the upcoming Pandorum, I think it’s safe to say Ark is neither of these films. If comparisons must be drawn then perhaps Lost is more appropriate – but only in so far as Ark is a character driven science fiction mystery that inch by inch raises many questions.

“My joke term for it is ‘Lost in Space’,” director Trey Stokes laughs. “Just in terms that it is like, well, like a lot of shows it has an ongoing mystery. I hope viewers aren’t upset with me – we’ll find out – but I asked Robbie Thompson to make some changes to the shooting script in order to give away less information than in the original script.  I wanted to make the audience work for it by having the audience placed in the same position as the characters. You know, the characters literally arrive knowing nothing, so we don’t have to teach the audience what the characters know, like what a warp drive is for instance, because the characters don’t even know.”

There are three main characters in Ark: Renee O’Connor (Xena: Warrior Princess), Adam Cardon (Days of Our Lives / Blue Lake Massacre) and newcomer Marjo-Riikka Makela.  All are perfectly cast and deliver superb performances in their respective roles.

I have no doubt that we’ll be seeing more of both Cardon and Makela in the future. It’s a little hard to really write more about either of them without spoiling the mystery, so I’ll note their strong performances and move on to the most well known actor of the three, Renee O’Connor.

Whilst O’Connor was great as Gabrielle in Xena, don’t expect to see Gabrielle in Ark. The character of Connie, whilst similar in some respects to Gabrielle, is very different. So different that the person I watched the series with didn’t recognize her until I pointed out who she was. But if you appreciate O’Connor’s acting talent then you’ll get a kick out of Ark because it’s really a showcase for it.  She’s the lead and pivotal character that the story follows, a story she helps make believable and immersive.

Trey Stokes agrees: “She’s a great actress.  There’s a lot to be said for someone who has had her experience. Renee put the show into that next level that we didn’t intend originally. It was our stated goal that we were going to go with unknowns, but Renee came to us when she found out about it. I’d never met her before but she was just great and really into the material and just wanted to do it.  How could we say no? Whenever along the way we’ve had reshoots and voice over sessions she’s always been happy to participate and make the thing as good as we can make it.”

As impressive as O’Connor is, Stokes is quick not to forget the performances of Cardon and Makela.

“The other two actors were equally great though.  It was an amazing three person ensemble. We were very fortunate to get these three actors.”

Ark is not only blessed with great acting but also with excellent visual effects – and prolific amounts of them. Virtually every second of footage includes a visual effect and yet despite this the environment seems real and not CGI. The effects are so good that if you tuned into a cable network to watch a new TV series and Ark came on, you would believe it was made with the budget of a mainstream series.

Amazingly, nearly all of the effects come from the hands of Trey Stokes. Whilst five people are credited with the visual effects it is Stokes himself who has performed nearly all the post-production work – the visual effects, the editing, the audio and even the sound effects.  I should point out that the episodes I viewed were not yet complete. Some were missing final audio, some effects were incomplete, some of the voiceovers were missing and so on. This means the final product can only be an improvement over what I’ve seen, and I rate what I’ve seen as A-Grade in all its respects. The fact that Stokes managed it largely alone is, well, mind blowing.

One of the few production elements Stokes isn’t credited with is the music score by composer Jon Vandergriff. Vandergriff’s previous scoring credits include the comedy Return of the Ghostbusters, a few episodes of Destination Truth, and a handful of short films.

I found Vandergriff’s score reminiscent of both Jerry Goldsmith’s Alien and James Horner’s Aliens.  His score is not the same as either of those movies but it does deliver the same kind of atmospheric tension that helped make both of those classics great. Vandergriff’s score is prominent, works to convey the message of each scene perfectly, and definitely enhances the series.

The most impressed I’ve ever been with a web series dates back to the web premiere of Sanctuary.  Since its online debut Sanctuary has gone on to become the most successful TV series to transition from the web in history. Where Sanctuary has succeeded in the fantasy genre Ark may well do the same for the sci-fi genre.  It is my view that Ark would translate perfectly to a full TV series.  If I told you the web series was the pilot for a new TV series, you’d believe me.  Once people see what Stokes has accomplished with Ark I’d be very surprised if he isn’t given the opportunity to take it to the next level.

But for now, it’s Ark the web-series, a series that has been in post-production for over a year. Why so long I hear you ask? Despite internet rumors to the contrary, it simply takes a long time to achieve the quality evident in Ark when you’re a one man post-production crew. Fortunately the producers have been accommodating.

“Everything bad you’ve heard about TV producers doesn’t apply to Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah,” Stokes laughs, adding: “And 60 Frames has also been patient and supportive the entire time.”

It was a good decision on the part of the producers to grant Stokes the time needed to take Ark to its potential because the end result is amazingly impressive.  It has to my mind raised the bar for sci-fi web series and there is no doubt in my mind that these ten webisodes won’t be the last we see of the Ark universe.

So when will Ark be released? No date has been set at this time, but it is on its way.  For now, let’s just say it’s “coming soon.”

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• Upcoming Web Series ‘Ark’ Looks Promising