New Show: Strike TV

Strike TV

Episodes: There are four complete episodes of a short-format comedy, "Faux Baby," each of which is about 5 minutes long
Clips: Six "Pilots," which seem to be pitches for short-format shows. They generally work as stand-alones
Studio: Strike.TV
Rank: B+
I assume that all of this programming was created during the writers strike last year, when lots of creative people got very excited about turning the internet-weakened television industry on its ear. I'm not even sure what to call this kind of content (clips? short films?), but I'll go with "shows" for now.

In a nutshell, the shows are hit or miss. The serialized "Faux Baby" takes a fun little concept, and completely ruins it. The idea is that a woman is terrified of motherhood, and gets a high-tech doll that is designed to simulate the parenting experience. Sounds funny, right? Yeah, and it might be funny, if not for the hit-you-over-the-head sound effects and the clunky, heavy-handed jokes.

On the bright side, many of the pilots are really, really clever and entertaining to watch. I know that some of this content is going to be vying for a Hulu Award next year. Here's one of the pilots I enjoyed, featuring a pharmacist who really pays attention to her customers. It's sweet, sad, and funny in equal parts.