The Undiscovered Country

BY James A. Bretney, Saturday, May 5, 2012

What if Joss Whedon was a hot chic?

I almost didn't watch Alpha Planet.   The beta males annoyed me and the love interest reminded me of my ex-wife. But I hung in there because of Don Jeanes whose character provided a ground truth to those man card holders so I wanted to see what happened to his character. Then I warmed up o the other characters.  Upon reflection, the casting/acting was really brilliant.

Alpha Planet is Mad Max meets Star Trek, but a Star Trek where the Army of 12 Monkeys futuristic politburo ran the federation.  The year is 2256. For 200 years the entire human civilization has lived on the A.R.C. refuge ship, and supplies are running short. Four explorers have been sent back to Earth in search of signs of new life.

It's a great show. Everyone involved should be proud of this work. Science fiction is hard to do and the actors and crew pulled it off.   Look around, how many high concept Television is on the networks now.  We have a cable network show dedicated to Science Fiction and there is nothing new or novel.

Independent film goers who are looking for edgier, more avant garde, less politically correct and therefore more relevant storytelling, should give this show a chance.  This story is rife with misdirection,  at first I thought the writer was a man and a right winger like myself.  I was surprised - pleasantly.

The universe building Arron Marie Fenton creates in the story is  very reminiscent of Firefly and Planet of the Apes.  People should watch this show because it reflects the harsh and cold consequences of when bureaucracies commingle with the lights of perverted science.

Like I said, it took guts for everyone to stick it out and you guys did it, I really like it. GREAT JOB!!!!  There are some first time filmmaker mistakes in this web, but performances are not one of them.  Texas born Don Jeanes is a real stand out.

If you like a little political intrigue with your science fiction, then watch Alpha Planet. You won't be disappointed.

Joss Whedon, look over your shoulder.

Bite Club - Blood Lies

BY Anna Dougherty Saturday, Aug 6, 2011

Small Screen Stars

BY RICK FOSTER Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Star Fleet Capt. James T. Kirk might have gone where no man has gone before.

But filmmaker and Norton native Michael Darling and co-producer Arron Fenton are exploring strange new worlds by producing space operas and sci-fi thrillers for the small screen - the very small screen.

Darling, his girlfriend Fenton and their production company, Rena'sance Robot, are innovators in the field of Internet TV dramas that can be viewed on computer screens and wireless devices.

Their 2010 12-parter "Alpha Planet" won the People's Choice award at last year's New Media Film Festival in San Francisco.

"Alpha Planet was a great learning curve for us," said Darling, who graduated from Norton High School in 2000 and has his split time between the food service industry and filmmaking since moving to North Hollywood four years ago.

Earth is the final frontier: On ALPHA PLANET

Tuesday, Oct 7, 2010

I was excited when Co-creator/writer/director, Mike Darling submitted his web series, ALPHA PLANET to Web to Watch and I must say, he had me at “post-apocalyptic sci-fi set on a future desolate Earth.”  I’ve mostly been watching comedies lately, so I was energized to watch something completely different, a high concept series in the genre I grew up on.

ALPHA PLANET tells the story of 4 explorers sent to Earth 250 years after the apocalypse.  The team has two main objectives; first, to see if the planet is habitable and second, to see if they can find the original mission crew, who mysteriously disappeared 20 years ago. Shortly after they land, things begin to go awry and the crew has a new set of problems to overcome.

For a show created on a “micro budget,” ALPHA PLANET is impressive. The post fire landscape used as the location for future Earth was a great choice. Combined with the sometimes blown out visual style with muted colors, it definitely screams post-apocalyptic. A nice original score from composer Ivan Ruiz Serrano rounds out the tone and gives the show an extra punch.

The acting is pretty good but is hurt by sound issues and occasionally mediocre dialogue. Unfortunately, there were quite a few times where the score overpowered the dialogue or where the sound was uneven. They could spice up the dialogue a bit with some interesting original vernacular.  My guess is that in 250 years there would be at least some new slang.

The five released episodes of ALPHA PLANET feel like they are pieces of a larger single episode. It makes me wonder if the creators plan to package and pitch the series as an independent TV pilot or movie. Each episode cliffhanger could work as a gripping lead-in for a commercial break. 

Speaking of the cliffhangers, they were my favorite part of the show. They are expertly done with skillful editing and spine-tingling score. I look forward to them. Though only one has had a really good payoff so far, the cliffhanger at the end of Episode 5 has me eager for things to come.

Another strength of the series is the way they combined Sound Effects and Video FX. It made the somewhat cheesy VFX work really well. They did an impressive job with them. Unfortunately they abandoned them after episode one and instead opted to use 21st century tools. I know it takes more time to create the effects but I hope to see them again in future episodes.

Verdict: Almost there. ALPHA PLANET is enjoyable but they can do more, which is evident from the pilot.  Even though the episodes are short, I wish more happened in the last three. But most importantly, the cliffhangers are like crack and I need to tune in again to get my fix.  Check out the series and see what I mean!

14 Predictions, Of Scientific Merit, For 21st Century Life On Earth Tuesday, Aug 24, 2010

We humans are puzzling little critters. How can we have invented both powdered donuts, which are so awesome, and asbestos, which is so not? How is it that scented Play-Doh and Somali pirates can exist within the same space and time? It’s no wonder that intelligent aliens are circling our atmosphere, but carefully maintaining their distance; they can’t be sure if they’ll be greeted with a pitcher of mojitos or a Justin Bieber concert. (Though it could be argued that one could not be tolerated without the other…) And when we finally screw up this planet so badly that we’re forced to flee for good, what will we leave behind to show that we weren’t all bad? When, hundreds of years from now, an intrepid team returns to explore the wasteland we left behind (as does the crew in the new sci-fi series Alpha Planet), what will they find?

Below are some predictions for 21st century life, of sci-fi literature proportions, on both the near and distant horizons, that might leave clues to any future trekkers of our ruined planet. Each of them reveals a little aspect of the angels of human nature, for better or for worse. We’ll leave it up to you decide which are better, and which are worse.

Read the full post HERE

Indie Intertube welcomes Mike Darling from Ren Robot to talk about his series, Alpha Planet! Wednesday, Aug 18, 2010

Episode 22
Skip ahead to 34:00

Listen to internet radio with Destini on Blog Talk Radio

Listen in as Alpha Planet co-creator Mike Darling discusses the story, mythology, production, casting, distribution, future projects and more on
Indie Intertube.

The interview kicks off at 34:00.

Indie Intertube discusses Alpha Planet
Wednesday, Aug 11, 2010

Episode 23
skip ahead to 6:30

Listen to internet radio with Destini on Blog Talk Radio

"The show looks fantastic"

"I want more...I want to see the next episode"

"I really liked it"

"They're doing a lot with very little"

"The show is beautifully shot"

SciFinal Creator's Corner interview with Alpha Planet co-creator Mike Darling. Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Tell us about your show.

Alpha Planet is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi that takes place 250 years in the future. Earth was decimated by World War 3 and 4, and the newly formed "Unified Government" has deemed Earth inhospitable. The entire human population now live on the A.R.C. space ship, exploring the galaxy for a new home. When the search does not yield an "alpha planet", (a planet capable of hosting a human civilization) the Unified Space Exploration Commission sends a team back to Earth to see if there's been any improvement. When the team reaches Earth, they don't find it in the condition they were expecting. Were they wrong or is there something else going on?

Where did the idea/concept for your series come from?

When we were first conceptualizing Alpha Planet we wanted to create a show that had the post-apocalyptic feel, but with a new approach. Living in southern California, we have a lot of barren and abandoned areas around, so it wasn't hard to develop the story based on Earth being a scorched and desolate place. The idea of there being other planets like Earth in the universe has always intrigued me, so I wondered what it would be like to explore these new worlds, and what would it be like to discover Earth for the first time.

Name some of your sci-fi influences. Any favorite movies, TV shows, novels?

Some of the influences for Alpha Planet are Lost, Star Trek, Water World, the Mad Max series, Earth 2, the web series Apocalyptic Playground, and so many others. We try to incorporate as much conceptual technology as possible, while still stripping away what we can to give Alpha Planet a feel of solitude and emptiness.

Tell us about the technical production of your show. What camera & equipment did you use? Editing software & hardware? For visual effects, etc?

When we started on this project we had no equipment available to us. We slowly collected our gear from every resource we could find. Most of it we bought used from sites like ebay and craigslist, which helped save a lot of costs. Some was bought new from indie-budget companies like Cowboy Studio.

We shoot on a Sony Fx1 HDR camera, and edit with Sony Vegas Pro. Some effects are tweaked with Adobe After Effects, and sound is worked on in Adobe Audition.

Can you tell us any interesting facts or trivia about your show? Any funny stories?

We shot the first three episodes a couple weeks after a forest fire swept through the area. It really helped sell the idea of a scorched surface. When we did reshoots in the same area five months later, the plants and trees has sprung back to life and a river was flowing right through the trail to the location. It took a bit of editing to match the shots.

We used both miniatures and CGI to create the two space ships in the series. And Megan Franich, who plays the news reporter in the prelude, played Iris in 30 Days of Night.

Alpha Planet can be found online, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

Alpha Planet - SciFinal Page

Alpha Planet Thursday, June 17, 2010

High-concept web shows run the danger of getting themselves in too deep.

Without a proper budget, quality can degrade and run the danger of turning the web show into a parody of itself. Sci-fi storylines have the tendency of demanding effective locations, effects and acting and thus the majority of low-budget sci-fi movies these days seem to lack all of the above. More so for web shows that are usually shot on no-budget with nothing but the sweat and toil of its creators.

Alpha Planet is such a high-concept show that is aware of its limitations, doesn’t try to hide them and swiftly moves on with the story. Sure, they could have better effect, more realistic ships, better this or that… but overall it delivers. The acting is smooth and doesn’t suffer too much from hammy-ness and the story quickly gets to the point. Their obligatory relationships are established and then we’re in the thick of it. Think good old Star Trek away-team missions.

I assume we’re in the thick of it, as the show has just now begun. So let’s sit back an enjoy. This has the potential of becoming an interesting web series. If they take it in the right direction and don’t muck it up along the way.

So far their first encounter with remnants of humanity includes a hard-disk drive lying in plain sight, seemingly untouched after 200 years of being exposed to the elements. After all, the year is 2256. For 200 years the entire human civilization has lived on the A.R.C. refuge ship, and supplies are running short. Four explorers have been sent back to Earth searching for signs of new life, and we follow these four as they explore this ‘new’ old world. But how did that disk-drive get there?

Earth has never been so alien…

‘Alpha Planet’ Blasts Off on KoldCast

by Drew Baldwin on June 17th, 2010

Tuesday marked the launch of indie drama Alpha Planet, a science fiction web series taking place on a post-apocalyptic earth 250 years in the future.

With the entire human civilization living on a refugee ship for 200 years, supplies are running short. Four explorers (Michael Sweeney, Don Jeanes, JD Mendonca, and Jen Sweeney) are sent back to Earth in search for signs of new life. The series logline, “They know the risks, but not the truth,” suggests a high-stakes conspiracy that involves the fate of humanity itself.

Executive produced by Mike Darling, head of Rena’sance Robot, an independent production company that produces low-budget short films, sketches and web series, Alpha Planet looks like a cross between Brett Register’s The Crew and After Judgment, with a dash of Battlestar Galactica.

The preview episode “Prelude” displays some decent special effects during the news broadcast from the A.R.C. refuge ship on the day the Columbus II reaches Earth, and the first episode “Prodigal Sons” (above) features a great score and a well played cliffhanger. The performances, like the sound and cinematography, are hit-and-miss, but when they’re on—like in the final scene of the first episode—the story is quite compelling. I’m looking forward to the next episode.

Alpha Planet is distributed on KoldCast.TV and YouTube. The twelve episode series will release new episodes every two to four weeks.

Quick Clicks: iPhone 4G Parody, Larry David, ‘Anyone But Me’, ‘Alpha Planet’

by Marc Hustvedt on June 7th, 2010

Alpha Planet, a new sci-fi drama web series set to debut on KoldCast TV later this month, released its prelude trailer [today]... From what we’ve seen so far, it looks part Battlestar Galactica, part After Judgment. “A post-apocalyptic sci-fi taking place in the year 2256. For 200 years the entire human civilization has lived on the A.R.C. refuge ship, and supplies are running short. Four explorers have been sent back to Earth in search of signs of new [life].”