One of the byproducts of the recent writers' strike is a website called Strike.TV. The site is a new network for web series, run entirely by the creatives of big Hollywood productions. Or as the site describes itself, "a full-blown community of talented visionaries." Writers from "The Office," "The Daily Show," "Friends," even Die Hard have apparently contributed to the mass of creative product that will soon be unleashed upon us, the eagerly-awaiting public.

One glance at Strike.TV's website and "sizzle reel" though, and one is immediately forced to ask: is this is the best that Hollywood's "top talent" can produce? Certainly, I can't tell too much from the empty website and the generic reel of new content—but one thing is certain, none of it looks good. It's always a bad sign when a preview has to tell you what you're watching ("we have action"—cue a punch to the face. "We have comedy"—cue a talking knife. "And drama"—cue man saying "I still love you" and woman saying "...I don't!"). Ugh.

The big draw for the site is apparently that the writers are finally freed from studio control—presumably so that now they can be creative. You know, without the studio suits breathing down their necks, they can now be really funny, really dramatic, and really...um....creative.

I'm no fan of the studio system and it does plenty to restrict artistic freedom—but it also remains one of the most viable methods of quality control. A totally free world looks like YouTube, and the scary thing here is that these Hollywood creatives, left to their own devices, have made something that looks worse than most of what's available on YouTube.

To make matters worse, Strike.TV remains a unionized operation. Only WGA and DGA members can contribute. So, creative freedom reigns—as long as you're in the right club. It's too bad, because some of the best web series I've seen have been produced by first-time filmmakers who've never even been to Hollywood, let alone joined the guilds and such.

Perhaps most ironic though is that before Strike.TV can launch officially, they still have to recruit advertisers and investors—just like every other distribution outlet. If the sizzle reel on their site is what they're presenting to the guys with the money, I think these creative writers are in for a real shock. Maybe after laughing at the studios for so long, they'll finally understand how hard it is to make a profit off of web entertainment.