The web-to-TV drama Quarterlife starts tonight on NBC. I can't stand the Danny character, but I'll be tuning in to see how (or whether) it's different on TV. Reviews are all over the map. For example, in the March 3–9 issue of TV Guide, Matt Roush says, "On the web, it airs in disposable bite-size chapters. In hourlong chunks in prime time, it's unbearable." Whoa.

Meawhile, on BET, Generation Now: Top 25 Under 25 sings the praises of Rihanna, Ciara and other young ones. … continue reading

In September, Siege gave us the scoop on Quarterlife, a web series from Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, the creators of My So-Called Life. The series stars Bitsie Tulloch and Michelle Lombardo (Girltrash!) as young artists. It debuted Nov. 11 on MySpace.

I've watched a few episodes, and for the most part I find it witty and endearing. Maybe it's not quite up to Angela Chase standards, but it has its moments. And apparently NBC thinks so too: The network has picked up the series for rebroadcast on TV. Instead of 36 eight-minute episodes (the web format), NBC will air six one-hour episodes beginning in early 2008.

Because I'm not a fan of watching things on my computer, I'm much more likely to see the whole series now. But it's a curious transition: One of the best things about Quarterlife is the associated networking site that allows users to post their own video content and interact with other artists. Will the whole concept lose something in the translation to TV? … continue reading