The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the first season of the web series, "The House Between." "Great, now we?re Martians. Long live and prosper." ? Travis"Those are Vulcans, asshole." ? Arlo

I truly believe that the future of entertainment is the Internet. Not only are our favorite movies or TV shows available as downloads, but original programming too. It has amazed me how far the concept of the web series has gone in just the last couple of years.

"Sanctuary" is one high-profile and high-budget web series, but there are many low budget web series out there that you may be missing. One such diamond in the rough is "The House Between," a web series that has a small budget, but a big heart.

In the next few weeks, Airlock Alpha is going to review "The House Between" as it heads to its second season finale. First off, a review of season one.

The series begins with the episode "Settled." Astrid (Kim Breeding) awakens naked in a barren room. She can?t remember how she got there and oddly she finds her clothes in the closet. She goes out to explore the house and discovers three other strangers: the very weird kitchen obsessed Arlo (Jim Blanton), the scientist Bill (Tony Mercer) and the pompous businessman jerk Travis (Lee Hansen). All of them also arrived naked and have been trapped in the house for some time.

Escape isn?t an option. There is no way to open the windows or doors, which hurt to touch. There seems to be nothing but darkness outside.

How did they get there? Where is there? How do they escape?

These are the questions that must be answered and yes, they are answered by the end of the first season.

Each of the characters has their own secrets. Astrid won?t tell anyone her last name, Arlo is obsessed with "his" kitchen, Bill seems to know something about the house and Travis is scheming. Later on there is a new arrival: a psychic name Theresa (Alicia A. Wood) who has her own ideas of what the house really is.

Trapped in this house, these very different strangers must learn to trust each other. They must figure out a way to survive in this strange and barren Victorian house at "at the end of the universe." Not only must they figure out ways to deal with their differences, but also find solutions to their dwindling food supply and the various threats they face.

The concept brings to mind shows like "Lost" or movies like "Cube." But this series uniquely deals with the "strangers trapped together" scenario in a way that becomes quickly addicting.

What Worked

What makes this low-budget series succeed is the excellent writing. John Kenneth Muir is an award-winning author of more than 20 reference books covering film and television. He has made low budget films in the past, but in 2006 decided to try his hand at an original web series. The result is impressive.

There are so many twists and turns in this series. There are lots of setups, subtext and so many secrets. I loved that the secrets would eventually be revealed before they got too old and sometimes secrets were revealed that you didn?t even expect.

After watching shows like "Twin Peaks" or "X-Files," you get a little gun shy of shows with big secrets. All to often the writers don?t know even know the answers and are making it up as they go. With Muir I feel confident that he knows all the answers and will reveal them ... when the time is right.

I was intrigued from the beginning, but it was episode 3 ("Positive") and its "Oh Crap" ending that hooked me. Episode 4 ("Visited") kept the tension high and is actually a pretty creepy episode if you turn off the lights and pump up the speakers.

I love the black & white "film" look to the show and the music. It really helps develop a unique style that works well with the writing.

The special effects are a little cheesy at times, but they fit the feel of the show and they have a unique approach that is appealing. The special effects (and camera work) in "Visited" stand out the most for me.

When you study art direction you learn that you must always fill the frame of a shot. Empty space is a big no-no. Oddly, here we are in an empty house with barren walls, but yet I don?t notice. Maybe it?s because I?m watching it on a small screen or maybe the story just makes it work. After all, the characters being against empty walls actually works well for the story.

What Didn?t Work

I?ve noticed two things that always suffer when the budget is low: lighting and sound. "The House Between" is no exception. There are times when character?s faces are too dark and plenty of times when sound is a little off. Muir likes to pull the camera back and show everything, but to properly light something like that requires more lights than they had. But, they did a great job with what few lights they had and I noticed an improvement from episode to episode.

Sound is mostly off with dialogue. I had trouble making out a character with a thick accent and often the room tone would go up and down as characters talked. The show could use a major dose of ADR (recording dialogue in post and dubbing it in). Of course that ain?t cheap, but it would be nice someday down the road if the series gets enough financial support. Either way, it?s just a little distracting and is something you start ignoring as you go further into the show.

I?m not always thrilled with how they frame some of the shots, which is the same thing I picked on NBC?s "Journeyman" about. I can think of one instance where a close up on one character was on a tripod and the close up on the other character in the same scene was handheld. I?m confused by the choice, unless there is a deeper meaning there that I didn?t catch. Most of my critiques in the camera work are technical and probably few people will even notice it (anti framing, sometimes centering characters rather than using the rule of thirds, etc). I would have liked to see a few more close ups to help the actors performance shine more.

I do give Muir high marks for shooting from lots of different and interesting angles. I particularly loved the camera work in "Visited." There were some really awesome shots in that episode.

The cast is relatively inexperienced and to be honest it shows in the first episode. But as the series continues the actors grow into their roles and I grew into the characters. By the season finale I felt as strongly about these characters as any other character from one of my favorite TV shows.

Now, after saying all that, I have to accept one big factor: time. Muir and his crew shot this first season in seven days, about one 25-minute (or more) episode each day. Considering that, I can totally forgive the above problems. In the short films I?ve worked on we spent about 5 days making a short film far shorter than one of these episodes, so I have to give them kudos for the great work they did on such a limited time. I don?t even know how the actors could memorize their lines so fast.

My one complaint story wise was Travis. To use "Lost" as a comparison, Travis is the Sawyer of "The House Between." Although Sawyer can act pretty low there is a certain charm there that makes you forgive him. Travis, though, does some pretty extreme things at one point that seem to me to be almost unforgivable. I?m not sure if I liked how things turned out afterwards. But, there are some reveals about the character that does explain his attitude a little.

Things aren?t perfect, which is no big surprise for such a low-budget series. But, the well-written scripts manage to build a foundation strong enough for the actors and crew to work with. As the series progressed I became more enthusiastic and eager to see the next episode. At the end of the season finale I was disappointed that the ride was over and couldn?t wait to watch the second season.

If you are looking for a well-written science fiction series that has mystery, humor and a touch of horror then you have to check out "The House Between." Warning: The budget is low, but your love of the series will be high.

Check back with Airlock Alpha for reviews of each of the season two episodes beginning later this week. You can also check out Airlock Alpha's interview with the show's creator John Kenneth Muir.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

"The House Between" was written and directed by John Kenneth Muir. "The House Between" can be found online at The House Between. The series stars Kim Breeding, Jim Blanton, Tony Mercer, Lee Hansen and Alicia A. Wood.

Marx Pyle is a staff writer for Airlock Alpha, writing out of Vancouver, B.C. He can be reached at mpyle@airlockalpha.com.