Review: The Secret World of Sam King
Bebo is already an old hand at scripted webisodes, with "Kate Modern," "Sofia's Diary" and "Gap Year" to the credit of the now AOL-owned, UK-based social ntework. Like its predecessors, "The Secret World of Sam King" (launched Aug. 6) is home to wholesome, fresh-faced teenagers who just happen to brandish on screen the products marketers pay to integrate into the scripts, but with "King" Bebo has taken this art to a whole new level.
That's because record label Universal Music Group not only squeezes its bands into "King," but its London office actually serves as the set of the series. The title character is a scrappy teenager who doesn't let the fact he is the lowest rung on the totem pole at the company stop him from pursuing delusions of grandeur starting his own label.
"King"blurs fiction and reality in more ways than one. Though King is a fictional creation, he mixes with real Universal acts like Sam Sparro, The Automatic and Sugababes. In addition, the title character often declares his intention to discover new bands he could sign to his own label, which UMG sees as a means for discovering real new talent on Bebo, home to thousands of unsigned bands. So far no such integration has gone on, but at this writing the webisode is in its second week.
As narrative goes, "King" is mildly amusing without providing any real laughs; its fiction-blending and industry setting makes it seem like "Entourage" by way of the Disney Channel. Sam King comes across less a mogul in the making than a Robbie Benson lookalike more likely to get cast in the next Universal-backed boy band. Editing is very polished though, nicely compressing the action so that the 4-5 minute episodes don't feel too slight. (Andrew Wallenstein)
