Venice the Series - Up to the Hype?

As an audience member I’m not a fan of hype as all too often I am disappointed. And that has been my one reservation with Venice the Series. Don’t get me wrong – I’ve LOVED the community aspect, the building excitement shared by thousands of fans but there has been just SO much hype and talk of The Kiss that Otalia never got that I wondered if my expectation could be satisfied. Of course I will have to watch the rest of the series to form a definite opinion (which by the way I’m more than happy to pay the small fee of $US 9.99/ £6.75 for) but the first episode was off to a good start much to my relief. A really good start. As a fellow Team UKer mentioned – perhaps it was because we had been so well trained by our time with Guiding Light NOT to expect intimacy that my kiss-o-meter was set to low but we didn’t just get a single kiss. No! We got LOTS of yummy, delicious kisses and it was awesome! (Thank-you!!!!)

*Clear throat*. Right. Moving on. I felt the first episode, the first scene especially, was wonderfully layered and rich. It effortlessly established a number of important aspects about Gina, Ani and their relationship, about Gina, her brother Owen and how he views that relationship. The acting, not surprisingly, was spot on which is a testament to Crystal and Jessica because with just six minutes including credits, they didn’t have the luxury of time to not only establish their characters but to differentiate them from Otalia. I’m sure that the morning-after smexiness and terminology like ‘smart-ass’ and ‘bullshit’ coming out of Jessica’s mouth helped, of course! (yay for artistic freedom!)

But six minutes was very short and I’m curious to see how this time constraint will affect the series. Will there be enough time to satisfactorily establish the numerous characters we know will be appearing later on? Will it be enough not only to establish them but to play out the various storylines without robbing them of depth? My hopeful answer, of course, is yes and I do feel confident that the show we will end up with by the season’s end will fulfil my expectations, especially in view of the quality of this first episode.

However, seeing as I am a fan girl my judgement might just be a little biased. The future of this series is in the hands of the fans - because we are the ones paying the subscription that will fund next season - but the aim is, of course, to grow the number of subscribers to guarantee its long-term success. Was there enough story to intrigue someone who doesn’t have a previous investment in Otalia and Venice? Will this six minute episode be enough to entice new comers to part with their money? I honestly hope the answer is a resounding yes. And I actually feel it will be a resounding yes. Something which has got this much heart, this much wonderful energy with such generous people will surely succeed.

xAnita

Check out episode one for free at www.venicetheseries.com