New Prime

Olan Rogers is the most talented film maker on YouTube. The New Prime series really showcased his talent. New Prime 5, the last of the series was literally made on a shoestring budget, and the effects and plot are just as good, if not better than most Hollywood productions. I cannot wait for the series to be released on DVD. I will definitely be one of the first to buy it! Not only is New Prime 5 hilarious and heartwarming, it is equally dramatic and heartbreaking. The way it ties together the Last Scenes and the New Primes blew my mind. If Olan Rogers does not become a director of major motion pictures with large budgets, then there is no justice in this world.

Olan Rogers (Director, Writer, and Actor), has done an absolutely amazing job with this effort. After "The Last Scene", i was left wanting more and some more expansion upon the cool premise. This does not disappoint; bringing action, hilarity, and even drama to the mix proving that this is his best film yet. It is an hour definitely worth spending! Great short sci-fi flick.

Rating: 9/10

P.S. Pop Rocket has just started and it is looking amazing so far! Make sure to check out this, and many other of his short films and comedic videos.

Between the humor, thrills and action of this amazingly told story, I have a hard time finding a second where I don't want to watch it. Knowing that it is the sequel to his 5 part series The Last Chapter just made it all that much more interesting.

But putting aside all that, it is amazing that he likes to talk to his fans. And that his fans could be a part of it. Between supporting him verbally, as well as buying his goods to help him fund his videos, I happily joined in.

It is purely amazing what a single man could put together with a camera and computer programs. He probably could still pull it off even if he were his only actor. I would suggest to Olan to go to Lulu.com and get these onto sell-able DVD's. Both The Last Chapter and New Prime.

I truly hope one day his skills are noticed by someone who can get him to be much more than he is today.

Olan rogers is oozing with talent! New prime is the best web series on youtube and i am so pumped to see what he does next. New prime is funny action packed and really tugs at your heart strings. Thomas gore is one of if not the funniest person on you tube! every time you see his face you start to crack up because you know he is about to say something hilarious. Thomas should already be in Hollywood as a writer and an actor! He is just that funny! Olan has a great future in this industry and i am really looking forward to see his work on the big screen! Olan never doubt your talent. You are an amazing director and New prime just proves this fact even more, good luck on your journey ahead!

Reviewing Olan Rogers' recently completed web mini-series New Prime without being biased is pretty much impossible for me. I've been a fan of Olan's work for some time now, dating back to his days with sketch comedy group BalloonShop. It's because of this that I was so excited, and ultimately impressed, with the ambition and scope of NP.

New Prime is the 2nd web series of four to explore this particular universe, the first being the inventive and hilarious The Last Scene, and the last two, which are yet to be produced, are to be titled Pop Rocket and The New Scene. Just as a side-note, New Prime works better as a whole if you have seen TLS prior to viewing it. This is because several TLS characters make small appearances, which could otherwise cause confusion due to the actors playing multiple roles (Olan Rogers x4, Thomas Gore x3, Reid Sullivan x2).

Firstly, the humor. Your enjoyment of New Prime really hinges on you sharing the same sense of humor as Rogers. If you were a BalloonShop fan this should be no issue. However, if you are unfamiliar with their style of humor, it may at first come off as jarringly strange, and not really that funny at all. For me though, New Prime and Rogers' humor in general, is the perfect combination of volume, repetition and absurdity. You see, the characters like to yell… a lot. If you don't find Olan screaming "Rev it down!" or "Calm your storm" the first time all that funny, then you probably won't still be laughing by the 30th time he yells it. I was though. Olan has a talent for writing memorably absurd one-liners. Does the following make you laugh: "Quit dipping your toes in my mind butter". If not, then maybe New Prime is probably not for you.

Plotwise I'd prefer not to reveal too much, so I'll just quote its IMDb entry: Two bounty hunters attempt to take down a terrorist known as "The Phantom" and to save the planet, New Prime. Yeah, that'll do.

The performances are what you'd expect from their previous work. Their voices are coarse and exaggerated – a parody of typical action heroes. Reid Sullivan, while not a great actor, is still incredibly endearing as the bounty hunter Dutch ("No, the Nimbus Cubs!"), Thomas Gore is as awkward and hilarious as ever, while Olan Rogers attempts genuine versatility with some genuinely touching emotional scenes.

The special effects are impressive considering the limited budget. The final episode is amazing, combining emotion and exciting special effects to create an incredibly climactic ending, that in many ways rivals those of large Hollywood blockbusters. Sure, a lot of the background renderings are not of the highest quality, but Olan's passion for his work seeps through every frame, which is quite infectious. You can imagine the hours that were put into that final episode, and you can't help but feel a little proud watching it.

Okay, now I want to try some constructive criticism. Firstly Olan, you need to plan more. The first episode is 5 minutes, while the 5th runs for 20 minutes – there's something wrong with that. If you plan ahead for your next series and plot it out fully, you can split it more evenly and create an overall more consistent series. The Last Scene suffered from the same problem.

My second issue is one that most probably won't agree with. I personally feel that the emotional moments in NP, despite being well-executed and surprisingly effective, were unearned, other than in the last episode. You expect us to care for these characters, for their losses and their triumphs. Despite this, we never really get to know these characters until we are force-fed with overly melodramatic flashbacks. I'll admit, I loved these flashbacks, because they show your growing talent as a filmmaker. I just think that before we were fed these flashbacks, the characters should have been explored further through dialogue. Otherwise it feels like we only cared for these characters because we happen to find Rogers and Sullivan incredibly likable, and was then told to care about them.

If that seems convoluted, I apologise. It's difficult to make sense of my thoughts regarding New Prime. Let me just finish by saying that overall New Prime is incredibly ambitious – Olan Rogers, well done. You've created something special here.