I've never watched a series online, but I'm absolutely intrigued by some of the possibilities it presents.
I suppose some movies will always be big screen movies: Avatar, Star Wars and the like. And there is something to be said for the whole theater experience.
Yet for a series, and the potential to dive into much more than the pure "theater experience," I think this is the wave of the future.
Someone at DU weeks ago mentioned a spin-off soap of The Guiding Light that was online. I don't have an interest in this particular series, but the concept has fascinated me ever since seeing this.
http://www.venicetheseries.com/I'm really thinking about pitching this for the novel series I'm working on, especially since there is so much research available that never made it into the novel that could be fleshed out more in this interactive manner. It's a much more personalized, engaging relationship between the characters and viewers; the characters could be blogging; resources about information found in the series could be further explored in wikis, discussions forums, etc.
A real brand could be built this way, and hopefully with more control and thus more integrity.
What do you think about that?