There’s a pretty overwhelming amount of web-based shows these days. Here I was thinking there was too much on TV to watch. The thing is, with broadcast TV, at least there’s no shortage of discussion on whether a show is worth watching or not. With webisodes, many times you’re on your own.
So, when I saw the premise for The Puzzle Maker’s Son, I was certainly intrigued. The story follows David Harding (Michael Field) who, after learning of his father’s sudden death, begins receiving clues and cryptic messages that were seemingly sent from his father before he died. Because David believes his father’s death to be suspicious, he doesn’t take these clues lightly. So, we follow David, his friend and co-worker Benji (Mike Butler), and his sister Cynthia (Elizabeth DeSantis) as they try to piece together the clues and where they will ultimately lead them.
Sounds pretty cool, right? Well, in some ways it is cool. There are a couple of clever puzzles thrown in because, well, it’s called Puzzle Maker’s Son, after all. However, the way David figures some of them out is sorta preposterous. For example, he figures out one of the clues to be a picture of an island, so he travels there on his own and, while walking around in the middle of the woods, just so happens to start digging in the ground and finds a buried briefcase. As someone who goes Geocaching, let me tell you that even with exact coordinates to the location of something, it is akin to finding a needle in a haystack, nevermind it being buried! There are others, but that’s just one example.
I also had some trouble with David’s father’s story, what little we learn of him. We get a brief flashback of when he was killed — shot right in the head. So why is it that, earlier, David was guessing that his death was suspicious? Of course it was suspicious, he had a bullet in his skull!
So far there are ten webisodes of this series available, though it’s been a couple of months since a new one has been released. It does end off on a cliffhanger of sorts, though I’m not sure if that’s just how it’s going to end of if they’re planning on giving us more. The writer (Michael Field, who also acts in this) seems to indicate he has a case of writer’s block for the second season, which means, I guess, that it’s coming.
Though I didn’t have a whole lot nice to say about the series, I will give it this: I want to see more. I guess once you become invested in something with a mystery arc to it, you want to see it through, no matter how bad it might be.
The acting is nothing to write home about, but it’s definitely a well-shot production. If you’re at least curious, take a look at the first episode, embedded below.
Clacked by Keith McDuffee 
on Aug 05, 2010 @ 11:00 EST5EDT
