-By Mike Shields

That comment has since followed Braun in nearly every article and blog post written about him. The reason he caught such flack wasn’t so much his online vision. Rather, he implied that Yahoo was looking to be that Lucy creator. Meanwhile, his tenure is best remembered for urging Yahoo to build a huge entertainment unit in Santa Monica where he then supposedly battled with execs over parking spots—while producing next to nothing. Anyone recall Yahoo’s Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone?

Braun might have been brash, but he’s not a moron. While Web video has created new stars, dozens of viral clips, and even some cult series, we have yet to see a Lucy. I’d argue we still don’t know what the best format is for the medium: Is it short form? Long form? Quick editing with lots of close-ups? Self-contained one-off clips? Serialized storylines? Lean-back entertainment or highly interactive lean-forward experiences?

It’s been three years since AOL woke programmers up to Web video’s potential with its streaming of the Live 8 concerts, which drew over 5 million unique viewers. Since then, when it comes to big audience draws, we’ve had another global concert event (Live Earth), March Madness On Demand, and a few space shuttle launches. But little has approached Live 8 territory—even lonelygirl15 and Prom Queen were somewhat restricted to their demos. Do you know any grownups that were really into those shows? (I don’t mean to judge. You’re talking to a guy who DVRs Gossip Girl and is pumped for the new 90210.)

AOL tried again with Gold Rush a few years ago—a scavenger-hunt game show produced by Mark Burnett. However, most of the world isn’t exactly clamoring for the much delayed Gold Rush 2.

Many in the industry contend we’ll never have a Lucy, that the Web is about super nichification and not mass hits. Others swear a watercooler show is just a matter of time. I personally don’t expect an American Idol to be replicated on the Internet, but I don’t see why Yahoo, MSN or MySpace—sites that in a given month draw between 50 million–100 million unique visitors—can’t engineer some kind of a pop-culture breakthrough. That, coupled with this trend toward mega-online syndication makes me confident that something can cross over.

In fact, I’ve been forcing myself to search for something good to watch online this summer—and it’s not because the broadcast networks are showing junk like I Survived a Japanese Game Show and Celebrity Circus. (Seriously, that’s a real show…on NBC. You know, the network that used to air Frasier and The West Wing.)

I just love the idea of being in on a new form of entertainment first and witnessing the creation of a new art form. Recently, I threw myself into Foreign Body, the latest series from Michael Eisner’s Vuguru (Prom Queen)—this one a prequel to an upcoming Robin Cook novel.

Foreign Body revolves around an elaborate scheme perpetrated by a possibly evil and definitely greedy hospital corporation seeking to stop Americans from traveling to places like India for cheap medical procedures. The company recruits a group of pretty Indian women to train in the U.S., then embeds them in Indian hospitals, and then has them steal data, which should prove just how risky the practice of “medical tourism” is.

Though the plot is seemingly ludicrous, the show isn’t awful. First of all, its production values don’t scream typical Web video. The show’s creative team has clearly attended the McG/Bourne Identity school of jumpy editing, and each two-minute episode ends in a mini-cliff hanger, building tension like a good thriller novel. Music is also used skillfully,
making it feel like a TV show. And Foreign Body knows that titillating sexual innuendo and lots of shots of women in their bras can keep viewers interested.

However, the level of acting among cast members is uneven, and sometimes the plot is a bit
hard to follow. Occasionally there are cheesy uses of slow-mo and flashback scenes.

But I think my biggest problem with Foreign Body lies in the fact that I’m just not used to watching an online video series of this nature. Sometimes the episodes feel too short, if that makes any sense, and the 50 episodes in 10 weeks doesn’t create the gotta-watch urgency that is inherent in TV. And by now I’ve really seen the accompanying Honda TV spot way too many times. Granted, maybe I’m simply too conditioned to view something like this through a TV lens.

Regardless, you’ve got to credit Vuguru’s and Cook’s ambition, and willingness to experiment with Foreign Body. The show at the very least approaches Lifetime or All My Children quality. That’s not so bad, considering what we’re used to on the Web. But it sure ain’t Lucy.