LG15: The Resistance An Anti-Revolution?

The new lonelygirl15 follow-up, LG15: The Resistance, which was previewed tonight at the New York Television Festival before its premiere this Saturday, may signify the final stage in production company EQAL’s transition from a group of subversively-launched new media rebels to corporate-owned content producers.

A new take on the series’ previously established format of first-person video blogs and “found footage,” Resistance will be released as 8-12 minute episodes every Saturday — a model tailored, according to the producers, to be “an easily accessible viewing experience” for the enjoyment of the casual viewer. During the week, additional clips and blogs will be posted on a daily basis to keep the hardcore fans engaged.

The new format is just part of The Resistance’s determination to draw in new viewers, but you’ll still need a little background. If you thought that lonelygirl15 in 300 words was 250 words too many, here’s an even quicker synopsis of what came before: The Order, a corrupt group of immortals, have been extending their lives with the magical blood of “Trait:Positive” girls, who are prone to dying tragically, among them c.f. Bree, the original lonelygirl, and her London counterpart, KateModern. Jonas, Bree’s first love, fought against the Order until he got frustrated and quit. And from there, LG15: The Resistance begins…

The first episode’s focus is on dragging Jonas (Jackson Davis) out of Order-fighting retirement, a plot point which starts out relatively subtly (with a mysterious message from The Hymn of None, a code name for one faction of the Resistance) before getting jackhammer repetitive with the appearance of Sarah, the only other lg15 character to join The Resistance, and right out of the gate its most grating member. Sarah literally orders viewers to go to lg15.com and harass Jonas into rejoining the fight, while nagging Jonas about being a big wuss — is actively annoying Jonas really the best strategy here? I admire Alexandra Dreyfus’s energy and commitment to the role, but watching her dance around, claiming the title of “Resistance Head Cheerleader,” is more than a little annoying.

The show’s new format means abandoning the shorter chunks of story that made lonelygirl15 so compelling, a risky move. Compiling these storylines into one video gives the series a new sense of coherency, and there are some pretty nifty editing tricks at work, including some 24-esque split screens and text overlays. But editing what would normally have been five or six individual shorts into one episode removes some of the spontaneity, and makes this seem like…well, like a professionally produced web series. Which, sure, the LG15 empire has always been, but its ability to play on its grassroots origins gave it street cred denied to other big-budget releases like Gemini Division. Resistance is a bold step forward for the franchise — but hopefully this dramatic shift won’t cost it its audience.