I don't do much in the way of reviews, but there's a new noir web series called The Steps, shot entirely on location in Chattanooga, Tennessee, using local actors and crew members, that warrants equal praise for both its ambition and its execution.

It's a ten-episode endeavor (currently showing episode 2) that was created for online consumption by Chattanooga resident and actor Dylan Kussman (Dead Poets Society, Leatherheads, Delta Blues) and shot entirely within the city limits by local cinematographer Tim Cofield—funded in part by a MakeWork grant from CreateHere.

At first, the thing that caught my eye was the promotion they were running around their release party ... what they billed as a first of its kind 'device party' that featured live streaming of the first four episodes of the show via Ustream. Invited guests were to bring laptops and streaming video-capable phones to have the show delivered into the palms of their hands.  An ad-covered bus parked outside also allowed partygoers to hop onboard and view the world premiere from a passenger seat.

But what really got my attention was something very rare in a web series these days (especially those outside the comedy realm): the show itself didn't suck. Sure, the lighting is crap, and the audio sounds, at times, like it was recorded in a tin can, but no one is at fault for lack of production value when there is an equal lack of production budget. The acting ranges from capable to top-notch, especially considering the local pool being drawn upon—no offense Chattanooga, it's a numbers game. And the writing (the voiceover and dialogue, in particular) is the show's true star.

Slightly reminiscent (at least in tone) to The Big Lebowski on one end and A Simple Plan on the other, The Steps centers on Charlie Madison, a lowlife private investigator from Los Angeles (played by Kussman) who’s forced to live under an assumed identity in middle America to escape his criminal past. It sounds like a cliche, but noir as a genre is founded on cliche, with success defined more by the style and substance of the telling.

Kussman wanted to push the creative envelope and stand out in a space where the comedy genre reigns, to tell, "... a gripping, dark, complex story within the framework of ten short episodes." As he puts it, "...a web noir."

I haven't seen the other eight episodes yet, but so far, he's succeeded. Watch the first two, and imagine what these guys could do with a real budget. And if potential alone isn't enough reason to get behind the project, they've also launched a 'Twitter-fueled' sweepstakes to win a Dell Netbook for fans who correctly find clues in each of the series' first four episodes. More on the contest here.

So the next time you bitch about the web pandering exclusively to the lowest sophomoric denominator (or even if you love that stuff, but want a change of pace), visit followthesteps.net and help get some good, dark web noir off the ground.