Webisode Clack – Trading Eights and Zimm

We could probably have quite the discussion over the question of who is your favorite woman of G4. Surely there are a lot of Olivia Munn fans, and plenty of people would vote Morgan Webb. We’d probably even have someone (me) go old-school and toss Ronilyn Reilly or Tina Wood into the mix. And certainly, Alison Haislip would be part of the conversation. That’s going to be the big hook for Trading Eights for a lot of people. Alison stepped away from geek TV for a moment to take on the female lead of the show.

Of course, as great as Alison is hosting a Ninja Warrior marathon, there’s going to have to be a little more to it than that to keep people coming back after that first curious click. Thankfully, Trading Eights has that little more, in the form of a very intriguing story. As we join the tale we learn that Hildy (Haislip) has a little problem. It seems that her boyfriend is a mob boss, and he’s decided that she’s become a liability. He orders Grant (Sean Owens) to kill Hildy. But there’s the rub. Grant has a thing for Hildy, and he decides that now is the time to leave the family, and he’s taking Hildy with him.

You can see where this is going. Grant and Hildy have a plan for taking down the now ex-boyfriend, Matthew (Richard Tillman). But as they start to put that plan into action, the hunt is on. Bart (Josiah Trager) and Stella (Jill Evyn) are the first to give chase. Stella, in particular, is an early favorite. She’s batshit crazy, in that fascinating to watch way. That is only the tip of the iceberg though, as future episodes bring the promise of the city’s top 12 hit men, codenamed by the signs of the Zodiac.

It’s a very fun concept. Right now we are two chapters in to the third of ten episodes, so there is much more to come. But so far, I’m really enjoying the ride. Haislip and Owens have a good chemistry and that counts for a lot as they’re going to be carrying the bulk of the load here. The real test will come as the Zodiac killers are unveiled. I am a fan of the idea, so now it comes down to execution. There’s no way to say how it will play, but I can tell you I’m very much looking forward to finding out.

You can find more info, and watch the first three episodes, at the show’s official website. New chapters are released every Monday and Friday as they work through the first five episodes. The back five will be out over the summer. Here’s episode 1, “Straight, No Chaser” to get you started.

Trading Eights, Ep. 1: Straight, No Chaser from Trading Eights on Vimeo.

In other news … we received a curious press release in the CC mail this week from the fine folks behind Zimm. The show isn’t ready yet, so we’ll revisit it when there are episodes to watch, but they have an interesting twist in their pre-production. They would like the audience to decide if the main character, Bailey Zimm, should be a man or a woman. To that end, they have screen tests for each up at the site, and you can vote on how you prefer your Zimm. For what it’s worth, I’m picking the male Zimm, but it’s a close call, and I think it will work well either way.

It’s a fun idea, for what sounds like an interesting show. The series follows Zimm, an NSA Field Agent, as he/she is unwillingly recruited by a secret arm of the government to help prevent a terrorist attack. Sounds pretty cool, right? Oh yeah, did I mention that the attack is going to be made by a newly discovered alien race? I want to see that! People of Zimm, you have my attention.

Clacked by Brett Love
on May 05, 2010 @ 11:00 EST5EDT