For fans of table top games like Dungeons And Dragons, Magic The Gathering along with many other nerdy pursuits a knowledge of probability is an important trait. Poker players would tell you that it’s never about any one hand, it’s about playing the percentages and reading your opponents over the long run. Today’s #WebSeriesWednesday showed a strange connection to this concept, and some great Dr. Who references that I didn’t catch!
For the uninitiated Nights At The Round Table is “A Jamie McKeller Joint,” in similar vein to one of our well reviewed favorites, ‘I Am Tim.’ The show follows a group of four and their weekly table game night. With the loss of their fifth player the group struggles to find a replacement that isn’t a creep, a douche, lame, or perfectly acceptable to all but the most particular member.
As a fan of their other work I had checked out the first three episodes of the series before watching the whole thing today. Maybe it’s my lack of Dr. Who experience (I miss every reference that doesn’t involve a blue phone booth) but this show hadn’t connected with me in the same way as ‘Tim.’ The funny thing now, as I sit here writing my review article, is that I feel ‘Nights At The Round Table’ stands up very well against ‘I Am Tim.’ The deeper and deeper we get into the series and the more we are exposed to the varying situations and styles of humor the more endearing they all become.
The set up is clever, allowing for a new fifth member and a different game every week. The game / guest of the week is a classic web video format that allows Red Shirt Films to highlight one of the many great actors they’ve worked with across other projects. If you are a fan of ‘I Am Tim’ you’ll notice some of your favorite actors crossing over with memorable performances in ‘NATRT.’ In particular Owen Lean, the documentary filmmaker in ‘I Am Tim,’ here he plays an obnoxiously lucky 5th, self named ‘Mungo The Greaterest!’ The real selling point of the show though is the dynamic between the four main characters sitting at the table each week.
Check out the show’s official web site to read some very apt character descriptions which you’ll also find in the show itself. I love Sam’s description, aka “Hammerwang’ whose skills include: hammer wanting (it’s like an angry baguette), beer vanishing, instagramming, MS Word certified. These skills all tie in to the show at some point, although his MS Word proficiency is yet to be put on display.
That I ever doubted ‘Nights At The Round Table’ and ultimately came to love it is a testament to the long run probability of producing quality content when you have a lot of talent. Perhaps the show is not obviously brilliant through the first few episodes but when the talent keeps coming out, keeps showing up eventually it all shines through.
Even more impressive is the £500 budget for the half season series. Creator Jamie McKeller finds it surprising that his cast and crew sink so much time and effort into his shows, all for the pay of a sandwich, some crisps and a bit of Mario Cart, but it is the quality of the output that I’m sure brings everyone back for yet another episode. It doesn’t hurt that they somehow manage to shoot an episode in just six to eight hours. That said I can’t imagine how long it takes to perfect that witty, playful dialogue that defines the show.
‘Nights At The Round Table’ and the rest of Red Shirt Films work can be found on their YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/iamtimhelsing?feature=watch