Pete Holmes’ ‘Ex Men’ series is not only an example of a great parody comedy series, but his utilisation of the web shows how much he knows his own target audience. Pete Holmes has had much previous internet success with the College Humour Batman series which was all web based, then he moved onto TV with ‘The Pete Holmes Show’. It was on his television show where he created the Ex Men series, then moving that specific sketch series to his YouTube channel, where it picked up the majority of its viewership. Holmes once again parodying the superhero genre to not only a TV audience but also to a sizeable and established web audience from his starring Batman parody role.

Ex Men can be looked to as a learning tool for creating content as it utilises the many trademarks of a web and comedic series through its narrative, aesthetics and industrial elements. The Ex Men series including the ‘Wolverine’ episode can fit comfortably into a web series format, and be compared to other successful web series. Several extracts from Stayci Taylor’s reading helps us define to some degree the many element of a webisode and/or web series. Brown gives a broad description of the common web series, stating ‘A webisode (or web episode) is an individual instalment of an ongoing premise with recurring characters’ (Brown 2011, 1). The statement is vague in its description and can fit into many genres of a show, while Williams breaks it down a little more specifically, saying, “These new online programmes are broken into episodes and feel relatively like abbreviated versions of traditional television shows. However, many of them feature subject matter, use production techniques, and are uniquely structured in ways that differ greatly from their TV equivalents.” (Williams 2012, 12). With both Brown’s and Williams’ assessment on the web series, we can see how Ex Men fits into that, along with other web series out there. It features a reoccurring theme that drives it, whilst having the reoccurring character of Doctor Xavier player by Pete Holmes talking with different members of the X-Men in each episode. The production is a shortened and uniquely structured, featuring very few camera angles and only one set piece. I think above all else the Ex Men series reaffirms the structure and simplicity that makes a web series, by using underlying external and universal themes to drive its narrative. Holmes demonstrates the ability to work in comedy with a small cast, camera work and a background concept that can be universally grasped of superheroes in an ordinary human situation of getting fired from their job. Each episode of the web series can stand on its own, and does not need to explain itself each episode, but use its simplicity of narrative and production, to give the audience a chance to grasp the episode situation very quickly. When producing a web series in the future, Ex Men can be used as an example of simplicity of production can not just equal comedy, but a strong narrative form that can stand on its own no matter what episode your watching of it, yet carries its narrative themes and characters along with it.

References:

Brown, Ross. 2011. Byte-sized Television: Create Your Own TV Series for the Internet. Studio City: Michael Weise Productions.

Taylor, Stayci. “It’s the Wild West out there”: Can web series destabilise traditional notions of script development? ASPERA Annual Conference 2015: “What’s This Space? Screen Practice, Audiences and Education for the Future Decade” 15-17 July 2015. http://aspera.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Taylor-2015_v2.pdf

Williams, D 2012, Web TV Series: How to Make and Market them. Harpenden: Creative Essentials, Kamera Books.

 

Part 1: Describe & Analyse PDF: Good Form – Assessment Task 2