Zerks Log, An Impressive New Online Sci-Fi Comedy
On March 16 Storyforge Labs launched a new online science fiction comedy series, Zerks Log.
Zerks Log follows the mystery behind the disappearance of Captain Zerks Ganymedewski and his ship the Venturi 553. No one knows what happened to the Captain and his ship, but the story goes that the ‘black box’ from the Venturi, containing Zerks Log, has now been found.
Over a scheduled 18 episodes we get to follow along as the eyes and ears of the investigative tribunal that is reviewing what has been found.
First, watch the teaser trailer:
Zerks Log: Teaser Trailer
Zerks Log is the brainchild of creators Steve Lettieri, Rob King and Chris Conway. It stars Ben Alpi as Captain Zerks and I have to say after seeing him in action for only one episode, I’m sold that he’s perfect for the role.
Two episodes have been released so far – 00 and 01. Episode 00 is more of a quick introduction, but now that I’ve given away the synopsis it’s not entirely necessary to watch it before seeing episode 1. Head on over to the Zerks Log Website to watch it if you want to watch the episodes in order, otherwise you can jump straight into episode 1 now:
Zerks Log: Episode 1
Although there’s only the two episodes out as yet, there’s still a few other clips on the official site that are worth watching. Check out the ‘Making of Zerks Head‘ feature which showcases special effects artist Ben Chester creating, well, Zerks head by covering Ben Alpi in goo. It’s interesting and claustrophobic at the same time. You’ll see what I mean. By the way, Chester’s special effects wizardry has also been seen in Star Trek: Voyager, Brotherhood and quite a few feature films including Doctor Dolittle.
One thing I really like about Zerks Log is that the producers clearly understand that success of an online series is boosted by not limiting it’s range to just one region. Unlike productions such as Joss Whedon’s ‘Dr. Horribles Singalong Blog’ and Virgin’s ‘Dr. Hoo’, Zerks Log is available to watch wherever you are in the world.
Also, we haven’t seen the Captains ship yet, but this view of the Venturi 553 ship from the website looks awesome:
I’ll be waiting impatiently for episode 2, this web series looks fantastic.
Zerks Log Website: http://www.storyforge.tv/
March 17th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Darren… thanks so much for the great story. We’re glad you are enjoying Zerks Log so far. We hope you’ll continue to do so!
March 17th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Hi Steve, thanks for the comment and no problem at all. I love the concept and a few of us watched episode one together and were all laughing.
March 18th, 2009 at 1:06 am
Great start to a edge of chair video.
March 18th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Zerks Log is truly a new, fun video. We will all be watching with anticipation for each new episode.
March 22nd, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I’ve known Ben Alpi for most of his life – I always suspected he was an alien…
Great show – I laughed all the way through.
March 30th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
I need more Zerk give me my fixxx!!