My Pal Satan

Comedy – Situational

Created by Dennis Heaton

Director: Vivieno Caldinelli

Starring:

• Jefferson Brown
• Rachel Wilson

Synopsis: Donna literally finds herself stuck with the roommate from hell.

Review:

My Pal Satan is a promising concept for a webseries. It takes place on a closed set (Donna’s apartment), it’s funded by the CFC , and it was created and written by Dennis Heaton, an established screenwriter and the man behind cult hit Fido. The show was nominated for a Leo Award in 2010 and boasts impressive production values, particularly in regards to cinematography.

Donna’s prim and soft outfits highlight the characters ideology and Satan succeeds with a simple coat of red makeup. A special kudos to the set designers on the show for making simple and subtle choices that accentuate their subjects.

However, when you look past the sheen of the series, the faults become apparent. The immature doesn’t  mesh with the cheesy situational comedy.  Cheap gags such as a date vomiting into another dates mouth and Satan using Donna’s diary as toilet paper are examples of comedic setups in the series, but they never evolve into punchlines or poignancy. Instead, the series drifts uncomfortably between morally driven sitcoms of the past and absurd comedic characters of the early 2000’s.

Within the series, the acting flits between passable to professional. Particularly, Jason Gautreau’s two-time appearance as Baxter is one of the acting highlights; when he’s possessed in Episode 5, Possession is 9/10ths the Fun, he gives a varied and interesting performance. Meanwhile, the stars of the series, Jefferson Brown and Rachel Wilson as Satan and Donna respectively, never really find a groove with their characters. They’re not lacking or weak in their performances, but their characters are so two-dimensional and void of meaningful conflict that the actors never have a chance to show off an emotion pass slight discomfort or mild annoyance.

My Pal Satan does a number of things right as a web-series; it boasts an easy to summarize premise, a unique (and short) intro sequence on each episode, a closed set, simple (yet effective) special effects, and a website that glows from polish. However, while the technical aspects are rounded smooth, the show’s jagged seams pop up in the form of intransient characters, meandering plots, and most confusingly, an out-of-order canon; in Episode 4, Miss Popular, Donna bemoans losing her love interest at work, but in Episode 5, the audience sees the beginning of that encounter (and a resurrected character who was killed in the previous one). With only six episodes and an otherwise stellar attention to detail, it’s a confusing misstep.

Overall, the series is an impressive-looking piece of portfolio for all involved, provided nobody cares to look for anything of substance.

2/5