Created by Chris Bobay and Christopher Gallego
The Story:
"Pet Crazy" is a new web
dramedy about an entrepreneur named Peter who lives in Los Angeles and is
referred to by the media as an "Animal Hitman." His talent to
eliminate and dispose of problematic creatures of all sizes is rivaled only by
his ability to maintain anonymity in the most high profile city in the world.
With the help of his business partner and longtime friend, Emma, Peter runs a
telephone service called Pet Crazy. They lend a compassionate ear to people
that have been troubled in some way by other people’s pets. These are the
people that need a sympathetic ear to listen, and can return to their normal
lives after blowing off a little steam. However, if you listen very carefully,
amongst these callers you’ll find the people that really need us; the people
for whom Pet Crazy was created. The woman whose child was mauled by a vicious
animal; the husband whose wife is destroying their marriage to save a terminal
pet. It is for these pained souls that Pet Crazy exists. For these select
cases, we offer a very different type of solution.
The Observation: It’s not every day one gets the chance to
review a web series telling the story of a man whose job is to kill the pets of
cheaters, swindlers and wrongdoers. And, despite the potential backlash I may
receive from PETA, I can easily say that Pet
Crazy is one of the most entertaining, original series I have watched.
Don’t get me wrong, I had strong hesitancies before checking this series out.
But I gave it a go, because that is what the Observer does. And believe me when
I say that you will not regret watching this show.
Yes, this series is massively reminiscent of Dexter, where we get to see a well-groomed man who runs a peculiar
business – that of exterminating the pets of those that have it coming one way
or another. In the shows rather short four-episode season, we are shown this
rather light-hearted world that showcases a dark undertone, again, very
indicative of a certain serial killer that airs on Showtime.
My only issue with this show is that it is so short, I was clamoring for
more. The creators hit the tone of this show with a perfect pitch – the bright,
colorful landscape of Los Angeles; the pristine video quality; and a score to
just enhance all of it even further. The performances are also top-notch; I
only wish I had gotten to know the characters a little more. There were certain
storylines, a romantic one in particular, that I was unable to get into because
I did not know the characters well enough to find an emotional attachment.
But that certainly didn’t stop me from enjoying this show for what it had
to offer. They considerably pushed their boundaries further in the final
episode, which involved a man dubbed ‘Animal Lecter’. I don’t want to spoil
anything for you – let’s just say I give their props and practical effects
department an A+ for what I saw. I would love for that to continue, even
embellished upon, in future episodes.
The Bottom Line: Though too short to form a relationship with
the characters, Pet Crazy makes up
for it in professional grade production and performances.
The Interview: I had a chance to ask co-creator Christopher
Gallego about his show. Check it out below after watching the trailer.
This
is certainly a...unique concept for a show. What inspired you to create a show
like this?
[Chris Bobay] sent me the
early drafts he had written and my first thought was "wow, there's no way
we can get away with this!" But I really liked the idea of doing something
a little edgier, something that stood out from all the other shows out there. I
also liked that the material lent itself to a more cinematic style which is how
I prefer to shoot.
Producing
and marketing a show with this concept must have been difficult to sell. How
did you go about doing this?
We knew from the get go that
this concept was going to be a touchy one, especially in a town like Los
Angeles, where sometimes people treat their pets like they would their own
children. So for me, I was determined to make a show that focused more on the
complicated dynamics that animals create in people's lives. So we went through
each scenario where an animal must be "taken care of" by Peter, and
we made sure it was always a situation where good people's lives would improve
by the removal of that particular animal. Although Peter Sullivan (our
"animal hitman") is a businessman through and through, there is a
least a seedling of desire to always help people. For him, if the situation
comes down to making a choice between saving a person or saving an animal, of
course you choose the human life. That's a sentiment which I can really get
behind.
At first people
tend to have a very strong reaction about what they think the show is
all about. Once they see it though, the reaction is almost always positive.
Even fervent animal lovers have watched the show and given us very positive
feedback about how we've handled the material. People who have seen Season 1
really seem to get what we're going for, and as we reach larger audiences, I
hope that sentiment carries on.
One
of the only negative things I can say about this show was that it was way too
short. I wanted more. What can we expect in the next season? Any spoilers
you're willing to hint at?
Thank you so much! That's
actually wonderful to hear, because we worked really hard to make sure viewers
got just enough of a taste to enjoy it and want more. We have great respect for
this new media platform and proud to be developing content specifically for the
web. So your reaction of wanting more thrills us greatly, because we want our
viewers to enjoy it on its current platform and say "Yes! We want
more!" I will say that there are some really exciting things being
planned, and although I can't give too many details about it right now, I will
mention that we're working on adding to the cast a very dynamic actress who is
internationally known and had such a positive reaction to the show that she
offered to help us out in any way possible. So stay tuned!
What
advice can you give to other filmmakers trying to produce/market a web series?
Pick up a camera and shoot!
The genesis for creating our own series is that we were tired of waiting for
Hollywood to come to us and allow us to work on our craft. We have stories we
want to tell, that we have to tell, and there's no waiting around for
permission to do that. I'm a big supporter of this new wave of emerging
storytellers, and the democratization of cinema that's giving voices to people
who otherwise may have never been heard from. Do the work, tell your stories,
and don't wait for anybody else to give you permission to work on your craft.
If you're passionate about what you do, the rest will take care of itself.
The Observation: Despite
what the above synopsis says this show is in the vein of, I found much more Saved by the Bell in it rather than Arrested Development. In fact, I found
this series chock-filled with nods to a number of teen movies and television
shows from the 80s and 90s. Homeschooled is
an amusing concoction of the John Hughes collection. A simpler time for
entertainment of this nature, inspiring this comparatively simple concept for a
web series. I must stress that I do not use the word simple in a negative fashion. Homeschooled
is refreshing in its humble approach to tell a comedic story complete with
an eccentric cast of characters.
Homeschooled revolves around Mickey,
who sports a Zack Morris/Ferris Bueller type cynicism and charm. Due to poor
grades, poor attitude (and drug use) Mickey is kicked out of high school and
finds himself being taught at home by his mother and elderly stepfather with a
big chip on his shoulder against him. He also has to put up with his bully of a
gardener, wunderkind of a little brother and an ostentatious stepsister. And
then there’s the young, punk-clad maid, whom Mickey has taken quite the liking
to. Despite all of these distractions making his life a live-in hell, Mickey does
his best to retaliate by any means necessary.
