Thursday, January 31, 2008

Sanctuary to the small screen

You know those stories that just catch you totally off guard? Well this is one of those. I had a really pleasant surprise today as a little corner of the interweb uncovered that I'd previously known nothing about. Sanctuary is a web series that started last year and at least for me has flown totally under the radar. Filmed in Vancouver, the series has probably the highest production value of any web series I've ever seen (more than Quarterlife).

The show stars Amanda Tapping, of Stargate SG-1 fame, and chronicles the adventures of a cryptozoologist and her comrades on a quest to track down and help the monstrous and mythical creatures of the dark corners of the world. She maintains The Sanctuary, a part shelter, part veterinary clinic, and part quasi-magical research laboratory for the creatures she administers to. The two hour pilot, which is broken up into eight 15-20 minute long webisodes is available for purchase on the official Sanctuary website, or you can watch the first 4 parts on YouTube and Google Video for free.

Having just watched the first two free sections of the show, I have to say I am really impressed. The series uses almost 90% green screen technology and is stylistically reminiscent of 300 or Sin City, but it has this great Doctor Who kind of fantasy feel to it as well. And it seems like I'm not the only one who appreciates the show, as it was announced today that Sci Fi channel will be picking up the web series for further development and broadcast next season. While the pilot will be re-tooled for the network, the main actors will all remain cast as they are, and the show only looks to expand on the really engaging story of the web series.

I highly encourage you to watch at least these first two episodes below. If you're anything like me, I think you'll really enjoy them.

Sanctuary - Episode 1


Sanctuary - Episode 2


And check here for Episode 3, and here for Episode 4. I hope you enjoyed the show as much as I did. I'll definitely be interested to see how this develops in the months to come. As I said Sanctuary is scheduled to hit the air this Fall on Sci Fi.
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