NMTD

Otherwise known as my latest obsession, 'Nothing Much to Do'. I've really been into literary web series adaptions (which have been a huge thing since the major success of 'The Lizzie Bennet Diaries'), and there are loads to pick from. 'Emma', 'Frankenstein', 'Romeo and Juliet', 'Peter Pan', 'Sense and Sensibility', 'The Taming of the Shrew', 'Jane Eyre', 'Anne of Green Gables', I mean the list is endless! Some are better than others (and some just suck all together). I've checked out several adaptions ever since 'Emma Approved' ended in hopes of finding something to fill the hole... And wouldn't you know it, I found something.

Actually, I found a couple I thought had potential, but this one definitely takes the cake for the best one: 'Nothing Much to Do', a modern web adaption of Shakespeare's 'Much Ado About Nothing'.

For the ignorant few out there, Much Ado About Nothing briefly is about a couple, Beatrice and Benedick respectively. They hate each other and are constantly at odds with one another, until one day their friends decide to get them together. It's pretty funny how it all goes down. Meanwhile Beatrice's cousin is framed for adultery just before her wedding to Benedick's good friend. It's all very dramatic, witty, and of course funny as heck!

I've always loved this play ever since I first read it back in high school. It's hilarious! I know lots of people are like "ew, Shakespeare? Why do you like him? He's too complicated. Ew." But really, if you can get past all the flowery words, it's really pretty straightforward and not that hard, and his plots are ingenious and there's some great dialogue. (Though, honestly I do prefer his comedies to his tragedies, but that's because I'm a happy person. Not that his tragedies aren't good, of course). Anyways, I love this play, and a modern adaption with web video is perfect! There's three different YouTube channels to give us three different POVs (points of view). It can get a little confusing, but they provide us with a full PLAYLIST.

Now the thing with web videos is that they're "in-verse", meaning that they're not just up for all of us viewers to see, but also for all the other characters to see as well. So if a character were to put up a video of them plotting something evil, or a secret love confession, or something of the like, it wouldn't be only us who would be able to see it. All the characters in their universe could see it too. So they can't just post something like that willy-nilly. We have to find out about stuff like that in alternative ways. And the way they manage to have us find out about some of that stuff is INGENIOUS! Like the way we get to see the friends plotting to get Beatrice and Ben together without them knowing... ha! Brilliant!

"If I could, I'd go rip out his stupid heart
and... eat it or something

And they really stick to the original source material. I mean, some literary web adaptions just kind of follow the general plot, changing a few things here and there to make it fit modern times or the situation, and throw in an occasional reference to the book if we're lucky. However, 'Nothing Much to Do' does a screaming job at following the source material. Sure, it's all set in modern high school and whatever, but seriously, they don't waver far. For example, in the play when Benedick is wondering if he could really fall in love after he's made so many declarations in the past that he would not, but then decides: "Doth not the appetite alter?". The same exact thing happens in the show to Ben, except he compares girlfriends to olives by saying he used to hate olives, but now he absolutely loves them. See, they easily could've just left it with Ben rambling on about how confused he was about falling in love and it would've been fine and it would have stuck to the plot perfectly. But they took a step further and included a food analogy in reference to the original source and it made it all the more flawless. Or also in the play when Hero and Margaret are teasing Beatrice with subtle references to Benedick, like making claims that the only cure to her supposed "sickness" is something called "carduus benedictus". The same thing happens in the show when Beatrice is acting out of sorts and they start teasing her with subtle references to Ben(edick) like what they should have for breakfast... "eggs benedick" ("I'm pretty sure it's eggs benedicT" "no, no. You're definitely wrong."). They do their best to bend to the story's will and not the other way around. They even include a lot of the actual original lines (e.g. "Fair Beatrice, I thank you for your pains". Yes, that was actually in there XD)

Beatrice and Ben's arguments are hilarious. One of my favorite episodes is the one where it shows a "typical conversation" between all the friends and OMG it is the best! Because Bea and Ben... I cannot! XD ("That was a terrible comeback." "Yeah, well your face is stupid.") You can see why the others decide that they are perfect for each other, because under all that banter they are basically the same.

My other favorite (because I just have to mention it) is the one where Ben decides he is in fact in love with Beatrice and she comes to tell him to come for down for pizza, but he's so far gone that he doesn't catch on to any of her sarcasm and realize that she doesn't actually mean anything she's saying ("she'd rather spend more time with me than eat pizza. That settles it. She loves me."). That's also my favorite part of the play (""against my will, I am sent to bid you come into dinner." There's a double meaning in that." XDD). And they adapt it SO well! :D.

I love all the characters and how they've been adapted. They all stay true to their original sources (of course! How many times have I said that?), and yet they all are quirky, opinionated, sweet, odd, temperamental, grumpy, or whatever high school students just trying to go about their lives.

Ben in the "bathtub of emotions"

Oh my goodness, Ben is probably my favorite. They've just made him so quirky on top of his opinionated, carefree original character. Like, he likes to sit in an empty bathtub while recording his videos (which he refers to as the "bathtub of emotions")... whyyy? Like seriously, why? IDK! But it's hilariously random.

"No selfies in my interrogation room!"

Then there's The Watch, Dogberry and Verges. You know, the sort of incompetent security guys/policemen from the play? In the videos, they are the ULTIMATE quirks! Like the definition of weirdos ("My mom has me wear these suspenders to keep the devil from infiltrating me"). But they're a crack up. I love them so much! (My other favorite video(s) are when they're interrogating the "auspicious persons" that they basically kidnap and take to their secret "clubhouse" XD.) They're just a couple of students who have started like their own private detective agency or something, and go around "spying" on people and stuff. The best part is that their "theme song" is the BBC 'Sherlock' theme played on the kazoo over random shots of the high school and stuff ('Sherlock' opening style).

"We are an extensively knowledgeable mystery solving team."

It doesn't only post "plot" videos, but sometimes there's other stuff like cooking videos, or Balthazar's (the musician from the play) song cover videos, etc. Stuff normal teenagers would post. That's what I like about it. They make it seem so realistic and natural. Like you know when you watch LBD or Emma Approved or something and you kind of get the feeling that it's scripted, and yet… not, like the actors are good, but… too good. Like it's too polished? Well, this feels more real. If I didn't know the original material and just happened upon it, I would probably be convinced that it was a real thing that some kids were just posting.

Although the "pointless" videos do kind of have a point sometimes. They often set the stage for something plot-heavy that's coming (like I said before, with the friends plotting to get Bea and Ben together, it gives one of the previously thought "pointless" videos a point XD) and/or they give you a sense of "this is too happy, something's going to happen. I can feel it". There are moments like that in the original play too, so kudos to them if they did that on purpose. So, you should know, this show is not all happiness and rainbows. There is some drama included (which you should already know if you've read/seen the play).

So basically, I love this show. I can't wait to see how everything turns out. There is one downside that I have to criticize though. There is sometimes kind of heavy language, which I suppose I have to contribute to their trying to make it real (that they're high schoolers and high schoolers swear a lot. I would know, I remember it well). So if you're offended by that, I would not recommend this to you. It's not too bad at all at first, but once the Hero/Claudio drama hits, it really starts to crank up. I'm actually considering downloading it and compiling all the episodes into one thing when it's all over, so I can clean it up a bit (so if anyone's interested, let me know).
EDIT: I have begun the downloading and editing process. I will have finished it by the time the show ends.

Anyways, here's a trailer for it, and I'll end on that: