SamHas7Friends
Encyclopedia
Sam Has 7 Friends was a 2006 web television
series drama created, produced, and funded by the production company Big Fantastic
and subsequently bought and distributed by the web TV studio Vuguru
. The series appeared on YouTube
, Revver
, iTunes
and its own web site. The show revolved around its tagline, "Samantha Breslow has seven friends. On December 15, 2006, one of them will kill her," with each episode bringing Sam one day closer to her death.
-based filmmakers - Douglas Cheney, Chris Hampel, Chris McCaleb, Ryan Wise, and producer Marcus Blakely - in their spare time. The project was on a budget of $50,000. Chris Hampel and Chris McCaleb were also working on Michael Mann's film Miami Vice
; Hampel as Mann's assistant, McCaleb as an assistant editor.
The group formed a production company called Big Fantastic
and set about creating a series of webisode
s. The producers believed there was an untapped market for people with short attention spans, or office workers with only sporadic free time, who would watch a short-form scripted, serialized drama. The series was distributed for free on YouTube
, Revver
, iTunes
and its own site, samhas7friends.com. The series was produced with no business model, and only minimal support from advertising via post-roll Revver ads.
or murder mystery. The story follows an attractive cast of young actors around LA with the knowledge, throughout the series, that one of them is going to kill Samantha Breslow, an aspiring actress.
The seven "friends" that appear in the series opening credits are Sam's boyfriend Patrick, her ex-boyfriend Willie, her best friend Dani, Dani's boyfriend Chivo, her neighbor Scott, Patrick's other girlfriend Vera, and Sam's agent Roman.
The characters get in various fights with each other over the course of the 80 episodes. With webisodes of only 90 seconds a piece, each episode focused on the most interesting minute and a half of the characters' days.
Throughout the series, Sam has a bad run of luck, going through two break-ups, struggling to find acting work and getting in fights with her best friend, her agent and her sister. After attempting various reconciliations, she decides she has had her fill of LA
On the December 15, 2006 episode Sam is murdered while preparing to move out of her apartment and leave L.A. forever. The murderer cannot be seen in this final episode, leaving the mystery up in the air. According to the last episode posted on youtube on June 29, 2009, the answer would be revealed in Prom Queen: The Homecoming.
of the New York Times described the series as "respectably viral." Television critic Andrew Wallenstein was perplexed by the series, and suggested that "maybe drama remains the domain of traditional mediums."
The series received small audiences of several thousand viewers at YouTube, Revver and its own site. At iTunes the show was more popular, receiving more than 10,000 downloads a day through the show's run.
After shopping the series around, United Talent Agency and Big Fantastic caught the eye of Michael Eisner
, the former CEO of Walt Disney
who was creating a studio to produce content for the internet. Eisner acquired the rights for Season 1 of Sam Has 7 Friends as well as an option to produce any future seasons. Through his new production company, Vuguru
, Eisner funded the production of Big Fantastic's second series, Prom Queen
. The series debuted on MySpace on April 1, 2007.
Web television
Web television, also commonly referred to as web TV, not to be confused with WebTV, Internet television or catch up TV, is an emerging genre of digital entertainment that is distinct from traditional broadcast television...
series drama created, produced, and funded by the production company Big Fantastic
Big Fantastic
Big Fantastic, LLC is a production company located in Santa Monica, California which creates, develops and produces online video entertainment. The company is currently most known for their two popular web series Sam Has 7 Friends and Prom Queen...
and subsequently bought and distributed by the web TV studio Vuguru
Vuguru
Vuguru is an independent multi-platform studio founded by Tornante in March 2006. The studio's first project, "Prom Queen", consisted of 90-second shorts in 80 episodes and was distributed online, beginning in April 2007. A second project entitled "The All for Nots" was distributed online and on...
. The series appeared on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, Revver
Revver
Revver is a video sharing website that hosts user-generated content. Revver attaches advertising to user-submitted video clips and originally offered to share ad revenue with the video creators. Videos could be displayed, downloaded and shared across the web in either Apple QuickTime or FLV format...
, iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
and its own web site. The show revolved around its tagline, "Samantha Breslow has seven friends. On December 15, 2006, one of them will kill her," with each episode bringing Sam one day closer to her death.
History
The series was created as an experiment by a group of young Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-based filmmakers - Douglas Cheney, Chris Hampel, Chris McCaleb, Ryan Wise, and producer Marcus Blakely - in their spare time. The project was on a budget of $50,000. Chris Hampel and Chris McCaleb were also working on Michael Mann's film Miami Vice
Miami Vice (film)
Miami Vice is a 2006 American crime drama film about two Miami police detectives, Crockett and Tubbs, who go undercover to fight drug trafficking operations. The film is a loose adaptation of the 1980s TV series of the same name, written, produced, and directed by Michael Mann...
; Hampel as Mann's assistant, McCaleb as an assistant editor.
The group formed a production company called Big Fantastic
Big Fantastic
Big Fantastic, LLC is a production company located in Santa Monica, California which creates, develops and produces online video entertainment. The company is currently most known for their two popular web series Sam Has 7 Friends and Prom Queen...
and set about creating a series of webisode
Webisode
A webisode is a short episode which airs initially as Internet television, either download or stream as opposed to first airing on broadcast or cable television. The format can be used as a preview, a promotion, as part of a collection of shorts, or a commercial.A webisode can be an episode...
s. The producers believed there was an untapped market for people with short attention spans, or office workers with only sporadic free time, who would watch a short-form scripted, serialized drama. The series was distributed for free on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, Revver
Revver
Revver is a video sharing website that hosts user-generated content. Revver attaches advertising to user-submitted video clips and originally offered to share ad revenue with the video creators. Videos could be displayed, downloaded and shared across the web in either Apple QuickTime or FLV format...
, iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
and its own site, samhas7friends.com. The series was produced with no business model, and only minimal support from advertising via post-roll Revver ads.
Story
Sam Has 7 Friends is variously described as a soap operaSoap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
or murder mystery. The story follows an attractive cast of young actors around LA with the knowledge, throughout the series, that one of them is going to kill Samantha Breslow, an aspiring actress.
The seven "friends" that appear in the series opening credits are Sam's boyfriend Patrick, her ex-boyfriend Willie, her best friend Dani, Dani's boyfriend Chivo, her neighbor Scott, Patrick's other girlfriend Vera, and Sam's agent Roman.
The characters get in various fights with each other over the course of the 80 episodes. With webisodes of only 90 seconds a piece, each episode focused on the most interesting minute and a half of the characters' days.
Throughout the series, Sam has a bad run of luck, going through two break-ups, struggling to find acting work and getting in fights with her best friend, her agent and her sister. After attempting various reconciliations, she decides she has had her fill of LA
On the December 15, 2006 episode Sam is murdered while preparing to move out of her apartment and leave L.A. forever. The murderer cannot be seen in this final episode, leaving the mystery up in the air. According to the last episode posted on youtube on June 29, 2009, the answer would be revealed in Prom Queen: The Homecoming.
Reception
Critics had mixed reactions to Sam Has 7 Friends. Virginia HeffernanVirginia Heffernan
Virginia Heffernan is an American journalist. In March, 2011, she began to write regularly about digital and pop culture for the Opinion pages of The New York Times. She is also known as a television critic for The New York Times, and as "The Medium" columnist at The New York Times Magazine. In...
of the New York Times described the series as "respectably viral." Television critic Andrew Wallenstein was perplexed by the series, and suggested that "maybe drama remains the domain of traditional mediums."
The series received small audiences of several thousand viewers at YouTube, Revver and its own site. At iTunes the show was more popular, receiving more than 10,000 downloads a day through the show's run.
After Sam's Death
While the show attracted 3 million views during its initial run, Sam Has 7 Friends caught the eye of the United Talent Agency, one of the "Big 5" Hollywood talent agencies, which operates a unit to scout for online talent.After shopping the series around, United Talent Agency and Big Fantastic caught the eye of Michael Eisner
Michael Eisner
Michael Dammann Eisner is an American businessman. He was the chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 until 2005.-Early life:...
, the former CEO of Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
who was creating a studio to produce content for the internet. Eisner acquired the rights for Season 1 of Sam Has 7 Friends as well as an option to produce any future seasons. Through his new production company, Vuguru
Vuguru
Vuguru is an independent multi-platform studio founded by Tornante in March 2006. The studio's first project, "Prom Queen", consisted of 90-second shorts in 80 episodes and was distributed online, beginning in April 2007. A second project entitled "The All for Nots" was distributed online and on...
, Eisner funded the production of Big Fantastic's second series, Prom Queen
Prom Queen (internet series)
Prom Queen is the first web television series produced by former Walt Disney CEO Michael Eisner's new production company Vuguru and the returning web television production company Big Fantastic, the creators of Sam Has 7 Friends...
. The series debuted on MySpace on April 1, 2007.
External links
- samhas7friends.com — Official site