The Tangled Web Team Reviews AOL Web Series: Fetching

2.5 CLICKS 
(out of 5)

__________________________________________________________________

A dramedy from AOL and Vuguru about Liza, a woman in NYC who quit her job as a lawyer and ended her engagement in the same week-in hopes of pursuing her dreams of opening her own business, a doggy daycare store called “Fetching.” Written by “Sex and the City’s” Amy Harris.  Watch Fetching on AOL here…

__________________________________________________________________

 

“Well produced but ultimately forgettable.” Read Igor’s full review…

__________________________________________________________________

“The fancy facade of studio shots and backing still can’t buy humor apparently, which is what this show is dehydratingly lacking.” Read Erin’s full review…

__________________________________________________________________

“Overall, Fetching barely scratches the surface beyond a Pet Meme or if Pottery Barn decided to do a promo about thirty somethings in mock crisis and tossed a few pups in for good measure.”  Read Danielle’s full review…

__________________________________________________________________

“Fetching, in its best moments, asks poignant questions about what our pets can teach us…” Read Lorelei’s full review…

__________________________________________________________________

Fetching – ERIN STEGEMAN –  2.0 Clicks

Some dogs need to be put out to pasture, including the remarkably dull Fetching, AOL’s answer to a web series that follows the journey of Liza, a dog spa owner and her look-at-me-I’m-quirky coworkers.  The fancy facade of studio shots and backing still can’t buy humor apparently, which is what this show is dehydratingly lacking.  Everything from the concept to the Modern Family rip-off cast (the “Gloria” actor’s last name is also Vergara) is as exciting as a stale Saltine, and Colette Wolfe’s (Liza) upper body ticks could rival the best of Malin Ackerman.  One plus one plus one does not always equal three, AOL.

Does society really need this series?  Charming white girl dumps her fiancé and career to ‘find herself’ by becoming a business owner and falling for her white friend, all with the aid of the usual suspects: a gay hairdresser and a sexy (but very stiff) Latina; 2001 called – it wants its storyline back.  Series writer and Sex and The City alumnae, Amy Harris, is mostly to blame for the lack of wit, unique plot points, and fresh characters.

Web series are meant for doing the undoable and being trailblazers for future media entertainment – not repeating a formula that worked ten years ago (on a much smaller scale at that).  And, although animals being animals currently makes up about 95% of web media,Fetching feels about as relevant as a third Sex and The City movie. Read more reviews by Erin…

FETCHING – DANIELLE BAUMAN – 2.5 Clicks

If you’re into pastel scenery, photogenic pooches and pretty people struggling with mediocre comedy, then Fetching is for you.  This series isn’t exactly “for the dogs” but there’s also nothing particularly clever or original about it either. The trouble begins with Liza  (Collette Wolf) who appears to be attempting a quirky high-strung humor that she just can’t pull off.  Then there’s her gaggle of cookie cutter friends that have all been pulled from the network archetype stock-pile: the flamboyant gossip-hound gay, the not so platonic excessively hot guy friend, and of course how could anyone forget the spicy sex pot Latina- every sitcoms favorite accessory! And then there’s the doggie daycare clientele, which is where the potential for uproarious laughter really lies, if only someone would write a line of dialogue that is even just a little bit beyond predictable!

While the big budget production value presents a pleasing, dare I say fetching,optical experience; nothing about any of this series feels remotely real. The humor is obvious, the plot is generic and although there are some funny clips of canines, anyone can find that on Youtube. Overall, Fetching barely scratches the surface beyond a Pet Meme or if Pottery Barn decided to do a promo about thirty somethings in mock crisis and tossed a few pups in for good measure. Read more reviews by Danielle…

FETCHING- LORELEI IGNAS –  3.0 Clicks

First of all, kudos to Sex in the City vet, writer Amy Harris, for this brilliant idea.  If character-driven comedy is what you’re looking for, there are few engines more dependable than doting pet parents with too much money and time to put into their surrogate four-legged offspring.  At times, I wonder if the writers try and pack too much context into the five or six minute webisodes; Liza’s law background, and how it affects her demeanor as both a businesswoman and dog pack leader, gets lost behind the romantic storylines.  Both aspects of the character — newly single and newly self-employed — are equally interesting but disproportionately mined, which I don’t think is helping the series, as at times Liza comes off as spineless and annoying.

Fetching, in its best moments, asks poignant questions about what our pets can teach us, like in the episode “Animal Instinct” when Liza wonders if Oscar’s territorial behavior around the date she brought home was simple bad behavior or a sign of a red flag: after all, Liza argues to sidekicks Daveed and Adi, little Oscar’s always had good instinct.  Maybe even better than Liza’s. Read more reviews by Lorelei…

FETCHING – IGOR HILLER –  2.5 Clicks

Fetching is an example of how a web series can have all the right pieces for digital success, yet still wildly fail to distinguish itself from the crowd.

Penned by Sex and the City writer Amy Harris, the show is about an anxious woman who leaves both her career as a lawyer and her fiancé to open a dog care facility. It features attractive actors, cute dogs, a sassy gay character, a sassy Latina character, and sitcom-y situations, but it doesn’t go beyond any of the tropes we’ve become familiar with as TV viewers. Everyone behaves exactly as one expects them to, right down to the gay character making sexual double entendres, and it makes the show feel hollow.

Part of the distinct charm of web series is their potential to stretch the possibilities of the form – to tell stories in creative, wholly original ways. Fetching could have been an opportunity for Harris and AOL Digital Studios to stretch themselves in such a way, but instead the series fell flatly into the middle. Read more reviews by Igor…