Just some random thoughts/comments/insights/ramblings....
I love Sam Plenty. It's so silly and over the top. It is very Henson-y (even if it doesn't have puppets).
This project is a labor of love. It is a "just for fun" kind of project that Henson is doing to nurture and develop talent, and have fun. This isn't a big money maker for the company -- there are no ads sponsoring the videos, no cost to purchase/access the content... this is basically being given away for free (and aside from a small link in the copyright of the site, not even really a heavy-handed promo for the Henson Company). It is something they did to simply have fun and entertain.
I can't get the sing-along song out of my head....yodelay-ee, yodelay-ee, yodelay-ee!
One thing I love about this is how simple it is. They use a lot of simple (and sometimes silly) film "tricks", and that's a great part of the charm. It goes to show how simple and fun film making can be. I hope this inspires some kids to get a camera, some friends and do something like this. Any 10 year old with a cheap camera and even the simplest video editor could replicate the effects seen in this. I hope people see this and see that you can make a fun action/adventure epic without all kinds of expensive equiptment/locations/costumes/sets/cameras/CGI/ect. When I was younger I made silly videos like this, they were lots of fun to make and used the same kind of tricks.
I love Sanso Pontapuntaquenia! He should direct more mainstream films.
Unlike the Henson Alternative project, this is fun for the whole family, and that's always nice to see.
I love how they built a whole website and a whole world for this production. They could have just slapped the individual videos up in the Henson.com video section or on a YouTube-like site. But they built a whole world to frame the show, and gave it a context and home of its own.
Has anyone decoded the messages with the decoder ring? I haven't.
I'd love to see Henson do more things like this -- not necessarily more live-action sci-fi/cowboy shows, but more original, and free, web content that's presented with such a simple and convenient site (no ads, no junk, no buffering/streaming, no pop-ups, not a lot of unneeded links, not content buried or lost in a big/cumbersome site, etc.) It's just simple, fun, hastle free, and an all-around sharp presentation.
The fake cast bios are loads of fun. If you haven't read them, I suggest that do so now.
Can't wait for episode 3...um, I mean 5.