The WB is back … almost - VIDEO
I’ve long since given up hope for those flying cars we were all supposed to be piloting in the new millennium. Now, I’ll settle for that other years ago future dream, all of TV at your fingertips whenever you want it. We’re still a ways away from that one, but the new WB is another step in that direction.
The site is still in beta, so the amount of content leaves a little to be desired, but most of it seems to be working, and it gives a good idea of what will be waiting for everybody when the site goes live. They finally came through with my beta invite, and I’ve been poking around. Hit the gallery for the bigger screen shots of the various areas and interface, and join me after a jump for a quick tour in text. A word of warning, the embedded video after the jump will autostart. Beta.
The first thing you notice as you log in is that the site is very flashy. Characters from the various shows are floating in and out of the window. There’s just a lot going on. It’s impressive looking at first, but something I think that novelty will wear off quickly for most. You can get a look at the flashy graphics, and sign up for the beta, if you head over to beta.thewb.com. Luckily, there is plenty more to get to. As of now, the site is divided into eight different sections.
Shows: As you would guess, the link takes you to a page listing all of the shows on the site. Right now those shows include The OC, Smallville, All Of Us, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Friends, Dangerous, The Wayans Bros. Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill, Blue Water High, and The WB.com Originals.
Hovering over the tabs for the shows plays a clip, and clicking any of those will take you to the page for the show. Right now each of the shows have about five episodes available. Obviously, that’s going to need to be upped for the site to compete with the other sites doing this, but I’m sure that’s in the cards for the official launch.
Video: The video page gives you links back to the various show pages on the right, and a video window on the left that plays promos for them. I don’t quite get why you would use it. It seems to me that the people heading to thewb.com are going to have an idea what they are looking for. Perhaps once the originals come online it will serve more of a purpose to give you a peek at something you are not already familiar with.
Originals: Currently there are six shows listed on the originals page. Those are Sorority 4 Ever, Untitled Schwartz Project, Exposed, High Drama Despite All Oz, Lock Down, and Rich Girl, Poor Girl. Unfortunately, they are all still listed as coming soon, so we’ll have to wait and see if there is a gem hidden in there.
Games: The games are rather simple, but hold the potential for a nice diversion from work, if you are looking for one. They mostly play on the same games you’ve seen bouncing around the internet for years. Who is your best match in Tree Hill? It turns out mine is Peyton. There is also an OC memory match, some Friends trivia in Professor Gellar’s Pop Quiz, pop culture trivia with Gilmore Girls, Buffy’s Crossbow Attack, and Smallville’s Escape From Luthorcorp.
Celebs & Stars: This looks to be a portal for entertainment news and video. For now it is pulling news and videos from TMZ.com. I don’t see myself making use of this, because I already get more entertainment news than the average bear from other outlets, but it could be useful for some. I’ll be curious to see how that section expands.
WBlender: Another incomplete section, the WBlender will let you mix, mash, and blend videos from the site into your own creations which you can then share. There are a couple of examples. One has the Friends theme song redone with each word cut out of a scene from the show. The other is a collection of the many instances of Joey saying “How you doin’?”
Video Search: This is a section that really has potential. You choose a show and you can search the episodes for the text you are looking for. I picked a random quote from Gilmore Girls with Lorelai telling Rory, “You got your fabulous flair from me.” The engine correctly picked “Kill Me Now.”
Talk Back: As the name suggests, the fine folks at WB are looking for feedback.
So, that’s the basics of the layout. All things considered I’m pretty impressed with what they have so far. It’s a nice looking site, with some decent extras tossed in. But really, all of that stuff is mostly incidental. The site will sink or swim based on the content, and the player. Assuming that those episode counts grow, they should be in pretty good shape.
The player works exactly as you would expect, and the quality is in the same ballpark with its online rivals. I watched “Welcome To The Hellmouth” again, because you just can’t see it too many times. While you won’t confuse it with your DVDs, it played back smoothly and the quality held up when expanded to full screen. If you watch it in the browser window there is also a section below that toggles between a synopsis of the episode and random bits of trivia. In addition, they have the bonus of letting you share videos in a variety of ways. You can send them to your facebook profile, email a friend, or embed them in your site. I’ve added “Welcome To The Hellmouth” at the end of the post so you can have a look at the quality. It works well, except for that autostart thing.
“Shoot The Wings Off The Flies!”
…demands Morgan Freeman in the new Wanted trailer. We’ve seen a few trailers for this movie, most have been in foreign tongue but still cool and show us things we haven’t seen before. This trailer is no exception, as we see more curved bullet action, more flying cars and yet more Angelina Jolie.
I typed Wesley Gibson into Google just like James McAvoy did and I got 2.3 million results. But then again I can’t curve bullets so I guess were even.
Robert Rodriguez in talks for The Jetsons and Land of the Lost Movies
Earlier today LatinoReview posted a rumor that Sin City director Robert Rodriguez was in talks to direct a live-action feature film of The Jetsons. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed the story, claiming the film is in development at Warner Bros.
But that’s not all, the trade paper also claims that Rodriguez has met with Will Ferrell to helm a big screen adaptation of the 1970’s television show Land of the Lost.
Rodriguez has a history of children films including the Spy Kids trilogy, and would be a perfect fit for a special effects laden effort like The Jetsons. Land of the Lost sounds like a bad idea any way you look at it, even if Ferrell is involved. The good news is that Fanboys scribe Adam Goldberg has already finished a Jetsons script, while Land of the Lost is said to be much earlier in the development cycle. Let’s hope Rodriguez picks The Jetsons.
The Jetsons followed the antics of the George Jetson family, set in a utopian future world with flying cars, holograms, and a robot maid named Rosie. Most people considered it The Flintstones in space.
Did You Know: Hanna-Barbera only produced 24 episodes of The Jetsons, when the show ran from 1962-1963. The show continued to be re-run on Saturday mornings for decades until the show’s growing popularity led to further episodes being produced for syndication between 1985 and 1987.
The show spawned a few direct to television/view movies, and one animated feature film (in 1990).
New Look At Hancock!
Columbia Pictures premiered an exclusive first look at Will Smith’s Hancock on “American Idol” Wednesday night and you can now watch it below!
I didn’t think it would be such a special effects bonanza with flying cars, tornadoes, missile deflecting and more. I’m defiantly going to be seeing this!