Web Series Review: Welcome to Sanditon

Web Series: Welcome to Sanditon 

Released: May 2013-August 2013

Episodes: 27 

Rating: 3/5 stars- Somewhat engaging in plot. 

Synopsis: (As found on the Welcome to Sanditon website)

Welcome To Sanditon is a modern multiplatform adaptation of Jane Austen’s unfinished novel “Sanditon.” 

The series was created by Jay Bushman and Margaret Dunlap, and is produced by the team that created the hit series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

Welcome To Sanditon relocates the action from the English seaside to a California beach town, and replaces the novel’s protagonist with LBD’s Gigi Darcy.

Gigi has come to Sanditon, CA to run a beta demo of the Pemberley Digital Domino application. The residents of Sanditon have all been invited to join in the test, and discover how this “life-revealing” app performs.

Review: (may be a little spoiler-y)

I apologize if that was confusing. Let me make that simpler: Basically, Domino, the "life-revealing" app is an app people use to make video phone calls, videos, etc. And you basically are watching those videos and watching the drama unfold in Sanditon from start to finish. 

First web series review guys!! 

Now, I ADORED The Lizzie Bennet Diaries- they're what made me started watching web series in the first place. There is a little crossover from LBD, but it shouldn't be too confusing. But first of all: a disclaimer: I haven't read the actual novel Sanidton (yet), so maybe my comparisons could be unfair, but all in all, I think my opinions are all based off of things that don't quite relate to the novel. Also, about how closely related and tied in this series is to the actual novel, I have no clue. 

The Good: 

Gigi was brought back! I loved Gigi from LBD, and she again was a great protagonist to watch, although I felt like she wasn't shown enough or participated enough in the story line to actually be able to be the character we all know her to be from LBD. 

The way how different types of social media is included in this series is really amazing- it's innovative, creative and just really fun. It's also cool how they allow people to become a character in Sanditon and basically have a role in the story. 

Also, the ship name guys. TOO CUTE.

The Bad:

What I just said is pretty much the bad. The problem with allowing people to play a role in Sanditon where they can just upload a video of them pretending to be like a university student from Sanditon University, or like a grocery store owner is great- but not integrated in the storyline at all. If it actually mattered in the storyline, then that would be a different case. However, there are far too many episodes that showcase the fans role playing that do NOTHING to support the plot of the series. It's fun and exciting to those who get showcased on those videos, but those videos should not happen extremely often, or if they really want to, they should post these videos on a separate channel. This really annoyed the crap out me. I want a plot and a story that moves forward- sorry but I honestly don't care about a fake university that is not a part of the storyline. 

Also, a little too many Clara recipes. (The ice cream shop owner does ice cream recipe videos)  They are fun to watch, but a couple of them felt like fillers and somewhat useless to the plot. They do make you very hungry though. So good job for that!  

Overall, I enjoyed Welcome to Sanditon as the ending kind of picked up somewhat near the end, and they had the cutest ship name in this series! I wished that the plot moved faster and had a little more depth and interest in it, as nothing really dramatic actually happened, and I felt like Allison Paige (who played Gigi) was somewhat wasted in this series. I'm looking forward to her new series, Gloss, which I definitely review when it ends. :D